Disco 1 price curve

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
I’ve seen the number of tattered Discos (including 2’a) and even P38s on the road go down over the last several years. I think many have been to neglected by their cheap ass previous owners they’ve finally been scrapped or parted. While total numbers may have gone down the % in decent shape or being parted on CL has grown over the ones beat to hell
 

K-rover

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2010
2,163
62
Raleigh, NC
It was just cheap shot at Toyota. I thought we were Land Rover fanboys here.

I'd like to justify a clean D1 for daily driver use, but it just doesn't appeal to many people. You want an old car to put smiles on peoples faces when they see it. Discos don't seem to have that connection. Most Discos I see are just cheap cars to their owners. They look shabby and I can imaging all their friends have heard the owner complain about them breaking. That contributes to a general perception that Discos are undesirable. As long as sad Discos outnumber shiny ones owned by enthusiasts, they won't be valuable.

I don't buy a car to please other people. As long as it puts a smile on my face that's all that matters. I get people asking me about my D2 almost every time I drive it.. You don't get that with a Jeep JK or a Toyota unless its old FJ. The majority of Discos on the road these days are owned by enthusiasts. After the first few expensive repairs, the soccer moms and posers sell them off.
I see at least 5-6 tricked out JK's everyday.. I don't bat an eye.. but if I see the silhouette of what looks like a D1 or D2 It catches my eye every time. Even in stock form.

I don't see Land Rovers as an investment opportunity, but as a fun hobby to enjoy. Obviously the market for Defenders is absurd, but the people buying those $100k Defenders are just posers. Not true enthusiasts of the brand
 
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bgbrox

Well-known member
Dec 25, 2016
63
8
Golden, CO
Maybe the number of beater Discos is regional. I see them all the time.

I agree that my opinions are more important when it comes to my own car. Personally, I like the low current prices. However, if you want/expect a general price increase, you need wider popularity. There's nothing intrinsically better about a Defender or G Wagon, but they're popular with enthusiasts and "normal" people. That pushes up prices.
 

K-rover

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2010
2,163
62
Raleigh, NC
Just did a craigslist search for "Land Rover" in the Raleigh, NC area. There are tons of L322, LR3, evoque..etc.. for sale, But only 3 D2's, No D1's, 1 RRC, 2 101 FC's, 1 Defender 130, 1 series IIA, and 1 D90 200TDI.

Not that long ago there were lots of D2's and at least 3-4 D1's.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Rust free to most people means the paint is good and I don't see rust when I climb into the driver's seat.

Disco 1 will rust from the inside out. A lot can be learned about how solid a truck is when you take a front fender off and get a look at the support that runs behind it. I've had trucks I thought rust free and find that support rotted thru.
 

mgreenspan

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2005
4,723
130
Briggs's Back Yard
Disco 1 will rust from the inside out. A lot can be learned about how solid a truck is when you take a front fender off and get a look at the support that runs behind it. I've had trucks I thought rust free and find that support rotted thru.

That's what they all do. It's there somewhere just have to find it.
 

Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
Disco 1 will rust from the inside out

Same for a RRC - maybe worse because of the steel subframe the body attaches to.

Is there anything one can do to prevent this on a D1 other than not driving it?

I'm so paranoid on the RRC that it never ever gets driven during the Winter except on the driveway.

Both are in a heated garage so at least they are dry.

Thanks!
 

AbnMike

Well-known member
Apr 6, 2016
1,218
117
Western Slope, CO
I turned down $8,000 for my lifted rust-free 1996 Discovery 1.

I think it's worth $9-10k. Wasn't needing to sell. The guy ended up with another one somewhere in that same price range from NY somewhere last I heard.

I think the D1s are definitely on the way up, not so much the D2s, but some D2s could get some price-love by people buying into the rising Discovery trend who don't know the difference.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
That's what they all do. It's there somewhere just have to find it.

I think if you kept a brand new Disco1 in a perfect environment it's whole life it would start to rust in all the places we know about. Eventually they learned the dis similar metals lessons. You have an aluminum door skin bonded to a steel door frame. You have the aluminum front fenders bolted to the steel reinforcement apron. Then back at the rear door strikers you have a large steel frame cross brace back behind that area.

That's why saying your basically getting a brand new disco for 40 grand is a stupid claim. I could probably keep a good solid Disco for the rest of my life. But our kids won't. Even the museum pieces will be junk.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
That's what they all do. It's there somewhere just have to find it.

I think if you kept a brand new Disco1 in a perfect environment it's whole life it would start to rust in all the places we know about. Eventually they learned the dis similar metals lessons. You have an aluminum door skin bonded to a steel door frame. You have the aluminum front fenders bolted to the steel reinforcement apron. Then back at the rear door strikers you have a large steel frame cross brace back behind that area.

That's why saying your basically getting a brand new disco for 40 grand is a stupid claim. I could probably keep a good solid Disco for the rest of my life. But our kids won't. Even the museum pieces will be junk.
 

YellowIron

Active member
Jan 28, 2018
28
0
Michigan
I've read and heard maybe the price curve on some of these Discos is on the way up. Not sure how nice a Disco would have to be to fetch 10 grand.

I've built a hand full of trucks like this and usually end up with right around 8 grand in them and nobody willing to spend that much. People might be getting interested but I'm not sure the price is moving yet.

This is why I thought it was silly to think about a $45,000 Disco with the wrong shit hacked into it. No more a NEW Disco than the ones any of us are driving or building now. If the price curve acts anything like it did with say Chevy, then there are lessons learned on how to play it. Special editions will be worth more. Anything that makes one of them significant. Like my neighbor has made a career out of selling chevy restorations and parts for restorations. He would find a car someplace and know enough about vin #s and the history of those cars to identify the real valuable shit. Like he found a Yanko Chevelle that he knew had to be a real early one. Come to find out it was Yanko Chevel #1 still had paper work showing it was Don Yanko's daily driver. Sold that car for crazy money fully restored. So I think a Camel Vehicle or a Trek vehicle would be good candidates.


Damn Stew, I got your panties in such a bundle that you started a thread about price curves with a goal to seemingly disprove my estimated value numbers. Bravo.

What have you built for $8000 that lacks interest needed to bring you to the point of completing a sale at a profit? You accuse me of being a tool who believes I have the auto business figured out, yet here you are stating you can't bring the value add factor into what you build. Is it because your marketing of said money losing builds have poor usage of your and you're?

There are 2 price curves. One for the rare and special limited edition type vehicles that you mention, and another for resto-mod vehicles. A matching numbers Mustang, Challenger, or Camaro will certainly bring the most at the auction block, yet a similar vintage vehicle with dissimilar numbers built with a factory and period correct restoration will bring great money as well. A resto-mod done well, using tasteful design and engineering adaptations will often bring similar money as the car with dissimilar numbers.

The price curves are dependent on scarcity of supply. When you factor in the value of nostalgia and allow that variable to naturally or artificially grow you'll build demand quicker. Everyone wants what they can't easily have, so if supply becomes increasingly constrained demand tends to accelerate and compound regardless of whether scarcity of supply is natural or artificially caused.

Ask your Chevelle buddy what happened to the price curves when supply of virgin iron dried up. Then ask what happened when the supply of everything else dried up. There was a time when a half rotted vintage muscle car was worth scrap weight. Those days are long gone. When that market took off a vehicle that used to be obtainable for a blue collar man to restore in his garage began being bought up by industry men to break, crate, and inventory for resale to a whole new market of wealthier buyers.

The American muscle car market is a prime example of early players capitalizing on watching the pricing curves and using their capital to further their profits by creating supply constraints. They saw that nostalgia created a demand that naturally increased when they reduced supply artificially. That market was made, thats where the term Market Maker comes from. Rather than letting the muscle cars go through the motions of your average vehicle the industry players hoarded supply and marketed its new found scarcity while appealing to the emotion of nostalgia.

This same analytical approach can most likely be applied to the D1 and RRC supply as has already been in play with NAS Defenders. I do not know where we are on the curve at this current time, but I see variables at play that will probably cause it to follow a similar pattern to the above mentioned vintage muscle car market.

All in all, you're basing your argument off of poor analytic theory from the start. There are 2 curves. Just like there is your and you're. Not everything is singular, except maybe your inability to profit off of vehicles you build. You're wrong, your logic is flawed.

Camel Trophy originals with great papers belong in the matching numbers curve, all of the rest goes into the driven collectables curve. Just like there is You're and Your, there are also 2 curves. Some markets have even more than 2 curves, multiple curves for the same core concept. Kind of like There, Their, They're. Look to your there's and find your answers, Stew. :rofl:
 

Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
Very good points.

However thinking the potential buyer size for what you described is much greater than what is there for Landie Rovers. There were not even many sold when new.

NAS Defenders were in even lower numbers and while there are enough folks out there to make a nice back log for ECR, not sure the same will be the case for the RRC or D1.

Personally after owning a 2003 110 5 door SW in Brasil and 1995 NAS 90 in the US, I?ll take my RRC and D1 over both.

Time will tell as far as value yet in the meantime I?ll enjoy driving them.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Damn Stew, I got your panties in such a bundle that you started a thread about price curves with a goal to seemingly disprove my estimated value numbers. Bravo.

What have you built for $8000 that lacks interest needed to bring you to the point of completing a sale at a profit? You accuse me of being a tool who believes I have the auto business figured out, yet here you are stating you can't bring the value add factor into what you build. Is it because your marketing of said money losing builds have poor usage of your and you're?

There are 2 price curves. One for the rare and special limited edition type vehicles that you mention, and another for resto-mod vehicles. A matching numbers Mustang, Challenger, or Camaro will certainly bring the most at the auction block, yet a similar vintage vehicle with dissimilar numbers built with a factory and period correct restoration will bring great money as well. A resto-mod done well, using tasteful design and engineering adaptations will often bring similar money as the car with dissimilar numbers.

The price curves are dependent on scarcity of supply. When you factor in the value of nostalgia and allow that variable to naturally or artificially grow you'll build demand quicker. Everyone wants what they can't easily have, so if supply becomes increasingly constrained demand tends to accelerate and compound regardless of whether scarcity of supply is natural or artificially caused.

Ask your Chevelle buddy what happened to the price curves when supply of virgin iron dried up. Then ask what happened when the supply of everything else dried up. There was a time when a half rotted vintage muscle car was worth scrap weight. Those days are long gone. When that market took off a vehicle that used to be obtainable for a blue collar man to restore in his garage began being bought up by industry men to break, crate, and inventory for resale to a whole new market of wealthier buyers.

The American muscle car market is a prime example of early players capitalizing on watching the pricing curves and using their capital to further their profits by creating supply constraints. They saw that nostalgia created a demand that naturally increased when they reduced supply artificially. That market was made, thats where the term Market Maker comes from. Rather than letting the muscle cars go through the motions of your average vehicle the industry players hoarded supply and marketed its new found scarcity while appealing to the emotion of nostalgia.

This same analytical approach can most likely be applied to the D1 and RRC supply as has already been in play with NAS Defenders. I do not know where we are on the curve at this current time, but I see variables at play that will probably cause it to follow a similar pattern to the above mentioned vintage muscle car market.

All in all, you're basing your argument off of poor analytic theory from the start. There are 2 curves. Just like there is your and you're. Not everything is singular, except maybe your inability to profit off of vehicles you build. You're wrong, your logic is flawed.

Camel Trophy originals with great papers belong in the matching numbers curve, all of the rest goes into the driven collectables curve. Just like there is You're and Your, there are also 2 curves. Some markets have even more than 2 curves, multiple curves for the same core concept. Kind of like There, Their, They're. Look to your there's and find your answers, Stew. :rofl:

Don't flatter yourself. I've written you off as an idiot. Just trying to get the real value on a Disco. Not your stupid ass pipe dream. I only got one sentence into your post. So shove the rest up your ass.