Hmmm...Disco II or TLC/LX

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You gents are awesome, I'm all ears here so you can't disappoint me by talking about 4Runner, it was my very first car after all so it always hold a special place.

Anyway, yes, while less a pick-up truck guy, I do consider 4Runner. It's only that I read somewhere (no link to provide, hope I wasn't imagining this one) that Land Cruiser is "out of the box" much more ready for off-roading than say 4Runner or FJ...sorry, no offense to those, I'm just new to this and say what I read...I can be way off here.

I would probably just widen my search to 4Runner as well, since it isn't exactly easy to find a TLC with less than 100k mi here. That's the exact reason I expand my search for the Lexus siblings as well, just in case say there's a good deal on LX470 out there. By now, I think they are pretty equal value.

Comparing to the LX, GX somehow looks very Lexus-ish to me from the 4Runner origin, not sure if I should bother looking at GX at all.

By the way, I did tell myself to follow my heart and get a Disco, to kind of complete that story there...you know what, I think I've read enough about her by now to know that it's better to just keep her in memory at this point. Are we talking about a car or a gal? :p
 
My cousin owned a 2001 discovery. It always had problems. He wasn't very mechanically inclined either which didn't help. The thing would just randomly have issues. It was hard to work on. Got worse mileage than the cruiser also.
His discovery had all the cool gadgets.... That hardly worked. It had not one but 2 sunroofs..... They didn't work and they leaked. He payed less for his discovery than I did for my 80 and his car was 6 years newer with less miles.

I think Land Rovers have always been cool vehicles. They have lots of off-roading buttons to push and knobs to turn. But all the buttons and knobs seems to be the main part of their problem. Along with the crazy mechanical issues they seem to have. If you buy one make sure it has a warranty!!!! Once the warranty expires sell it as quick as you can!
 
I used to own 1997 Discovery. Bought it with 30k mi and drove till 175k mi. On the contrary of negative feedback on disco's, I had a great experience with it. Any old vehicle purchased will need some maintenance and TLC. I must have been lucky to own disco and get 100+ mi out of it without going bankrupt. All it needed was oil change, tune up, head casket replacement(Lucas motor not Bosch) and suspension work.
I do believe Land Rover made some fantastic vehicles in the old days. I used to also own 1995 Range Rover Classic LWB and Defender 90. Defender is a different animal when it comes to reliability and capability on offroad. Yes. parts are expensive. Labor is expensive if you bring it to the dealer. Any "Dealer" you bring it, labor will be expensive. That is why we have such forum like this to trouble shoot and help DIY to prevent bringing to the dealer.
 
Really , how could you insult us like that , a Disco? Why not a garbage truck while you at it !!! jk ;):flipoff2:
Of course a landcruiser . good luck :grinpimp:
 
CRUISER, CRUISER, CRUISER...TOGA, TOGA...CRUISER, CRUISER. GL with the search.
 
I currently own a 04' Discovery that I purchased brand new in 04'. If I could do it again I wouldn't have made this purchase. Thankfully I'm able to do all my own repairs so I've saved huge dollars over the years. This was my wife's first car and the funny thing is she always driving my LC now.

Its such a different truck compared to the 01 LC that I own in many ways. The week point of the LR is the Engine and specifically the factory sleeves that over time regardless of how well you take care of it start to slip and create the "Tick" that many many LR owners speak of. I've replaced my engine with a Turner Engineering Top hat sleeved engine to prevent this issue and she's been problem free since. In my opinion the LR is good tight trail truck given its size compared to the LC. With the solid front axles and narrow wheel base it will take you some places the LC would have a hard time getting into just due to its size. If I'm taking a long trip I'm taking the LC without a doubt. The LC drives much smoother with the IFS. The price of the LR are so low that you can build a trail truck for a small investment. And oddly enough the LR gets worse gas mileage than the LC by 2-3 MPG.
 
Get a low mileage 2004-2005. Gives you the 5 speed and eliminates the air pump on the 2006-2007. But most important is less to no rust and maintance history. Stay away from trucks that spent their life in the rust belt. I bought my latest 100 series. Nevada truck all documented Lexus dealership history. Then baseline all fluids and belts, hoses, T's. Removed the AHC and added a Old Man Emu 2" lift with a Slee Differential drop, a set of Slee Rock slider steps and a new set of BFG AT/KO 33" tires and your good to go.
image.webp
 
In addition to my earlier post, I had to drop an 04 Disco at the body shop and it was sputtering and making all sorts of weird noises. Plus everything felt all loosy goosy. Apparently this guy was just here a week ago to have the head rebuilt or something and it's still running like crap.

This picture isn't of a Discovery per se, but it gives you an idea of what is coming into the shop.

IMG_20141022_145149505.webp
 
Thanks all, keep the good stuff coming!

I'm in no rush, but ready to buy. I'd rather wait for the right one to show up. What do you all think of this?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/ctd/4803534348.html

This statement is interesting though: "VALUE PRICED TO MOVE FAST DUE TO CARFAX INDICATOR,DONT MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT DEAL" I'm gonna call them to get more details...first time I see someone using a non-clean Carfax as a selling point. :ban:

03 and 04, especially with low mileage are still in the high 20s at a minimum, sounds like the 200 series aren't as good for the purpose of off-roading if I'm willing to step up?
 
The 200 is good off road as well with crawl control. Also, it will stomp many cars in a flat out drag race, 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. Not bad for a body on frame truck. ;<)
 
many folks would say to go '03 and newer for the 5 speed and more.
98 and 99 IIRC had a rear locker rather than electronic traction control.
around 2000 had issues with the front diff.
 
MrKungFuKick said:
.........
Anyway, yes, while less a pick-up truck guy, I do consider 4Runner. It's only that I read somewhere (no link to provide, hope I wasn't imagining this one) that Land Cruiser is "out of the box" much more ready for off-roading than say 4Runner or FJ...sorry, no offense to those, I'm just new to this and say what I read...I can be way off here.

......
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I kind of doubt that whoever said that was impartial. If you stay in the Sierras the 4Runner will definitely be a better rig. The trails are kind of tight for my full figured 100. If you cross the mountains head out into the Great Basin the 100 has an edge in cargo capacity and overall ride comfort for long hauls on gravel roads as well as long trips on pavement.
 
About 12 years ago I was comparing a disco and a Tacoma. While at the dealer looking at a model that was 2 or 3 years old the salesman asked me about why I wanted it and after talking to him for about 5 minutes he told me if I needed to get to work and this would be my only vehicle I should go look at the Toyota I had in mind. He flat said the disco I was looking at would require many times the amount in maintaince and not be reliable. I was actually bummed at the time as they are great looking vehicles and I wanted one. I ended up in the Toyota and the salesman didn't have a sale that day but he hopefully slept good giving me good advice on what to do.

From people I know that have owned rovers most regret their purchase unless it's a second vehicle and they can fix it themselves, even then there must be a passion for the brand for the extra time and money to own.

Buy what you want as it will always be in the back of your head if you don't get it.
 
it's interesting that many Rover owners seem willing to acknowledge the severe reliability shortcomings of the brand and yet are nevertheless willing to put up with its foibles. Must be some sort of cruiserish loyalty going on.
 
e9999 said:
it's interesting that many Rover owners seem willing to acknowledge the severe reliability shortcomings of the brand and yet are nevertheless willing to put up with its foibles. Must be some sort of cruiserish loyalty going on.
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I think that speaks to how good of a vehicle they are when they are running. I've worked on them and driven them and they are great driving vehicles. I put them in the same category as a bunch of other luxury vehicles such as Audi: if you can afford to drop it off at the dealership along with a credit card every time it needs repairs and not worry about how much it costs, get one. Sure, you could be an enthusiast as well and do everything yourself but who has the time nowadays?
 
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