Asking for a headache? (LR Discovery II?)

Is this just asking for problems?:

Edit:  This is not an ad by me, I am looking to buy this possibly.

2000 land rover discovery ll - $1000 (Jefferson city mo) 

image 1 of 4

2000 Land rover discovery ll 

condition: good 
cylinders: 8 cylinders 
drive: 4wd 
fuel: gas 
odometer: 130000 
paint color: red 
size: full-size 
title status: clean 
transmission: automatic 
type: SUV 

2000 discovery ll. 130xxx miles. 4.0l v8 automatic. Full time 4 wheel drive. Runs / drives. Needs water pump and exhaust from sitting. Cash only. Firm on price.

• do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers

I'd look closely to verify that "needs waterpump" doesn't mean "needs head gaskets" or "has sunk cylinder liners".

A $1000 Land Rover? How could that possibly turn into a headache?

I asked this very same question a while back:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/just-how-bad-is-the-land-rover-discovery-lets-talk/138855/page1/

I believe the general consensus was that it's a terrible idea and to run as far in the other direction as possible.

Tony Sestito said:

I asked this very same question a while back:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/just-how-bad-is-the-land-rover-discovery-lets-talk/138855/page1/

I believe the general consensus was that it's a terrible idea and to run as fast as you can to buy it.

FTFY ... a Land Rover is almost to Biturbo level in how they call to you.

Why buy one when you can buy two.  There is another sitting behind Bob Steinmetz automotive off MO Blvd  that you can probably get for a song for spare parts for this one when you are going to need them.

Really,   Look At iT, They are Beautiful.    I  HAD to Pass on a Black one,   Is There No Engine Swap That would make them Reliable and affordable?

In reply to GTXVette :

Just had a terrible but wonderful idea.  Do these retain the BOP bolt pattern?  They would be awesome with a Cadillac 472/500. 

Look for rust. These have thick carpets and sound deadening material that holds any moisture. Also, if it needs a water pump it probably needs heads. 

Imho- these are not great dailies- but they make for an awesome beach/dog cruiser. 

Brian Scotto from Hoonigan is putting a Cummins R2.8 crate motor with a Jeep Wrangler 5-speed and transfer case in his after the Rover engine expired. Maybe one day it will be complete. But it is sure not an easy swap. The steering box has to get mounted on the outside of the frame with all sorts of new linkage fitted up

If it doesn't move under its own power, it's worth half that price at most.

An operational one is usually only about $3000 around where I live. 

I'm reminded of line from the nurse to Dom DeLuise at the end of the movie ' Loose Cannons '.  ' I'd rather have my head set on fire and have it put out with a hammer '.

I suppose you could gut it paint it pink and pretend you're a modern day desert rat.  Might require copious use of a sawzall. 

FieroReinke said:

Why buy one when you can buy two.  There is another sitting behind Bob Steinmetz automotive off MO Blvd  that you can probably get for a song for spare parts for this one when you are going to need them.

I see that black one every morning as I come down the off ramp.

Thanks all.  I'm not as mechanically ambitious as some of you so I'll keep looking.

As a small counterpoint - my wife has dailied a P38 Range Rover (similar age and supposedly worse than the Disco) for 6 years now as FB reminded me. It did need head gaskets when we bought it and has needed some other work, but it has been worse than any other European luxury car from that period.

The main issue with engine swaps on these is that the drivetrain doesn't really stand up to the additional torque from, say, LS Juan, so at that point you're re-engineering a large part of the drivetrain.

Oh, and they drink fuel like the Irish rugby team on a bender.

All that said, I would buy the nicest one I could find and not a broken one.

even though they used jeeps and chevys if you could chop it down enough and keep it running it could be badass.

this is actually what i was looking for.

as a EX disco 2 owner, be ready to open the wallet, thats all mine needed when I got it. I had to pull the motor and get it sleeved. 

they must be like how people defend pricey German cars.  They're super reliable almost Honda like so long as you replace everything that is broken or is well known to break pretty soon.  Those posts crack me up.

I'm gonna double down on the Desert Rat idea even if I do hate the SAhS. 

Now that I think about it too there are a couple of $500 Expeditions on CL nearby. 

I had one for 5 years and 60k.  Did head gaskets once, brakes once, a few little things but that was it from 125k to 187k.  It was nicer to drive than comparable land cruisers in my opinion, and generally a very good car to have.  It’s not a Honda, but go in with your eyes open and buy a well cared for example and you still won’t lose much even if it does catch on fire. 

surprisingly slim pickings 'round my neck of the woods. 

$1k needs head gaskets possible tow.  I'm gonna speculate that most people have given up the idea of selling theirs and just let them rot in the back yard.  The above one probably needs to moved from the parking spot.

Being a cheap so and so I'd give them $300 if they were nice about it.   Actually sod that a tow would be in that range.  This is a free car or die.

In reply to nutherjrfan:

Sorry for the thread jack, but can you tell me more about that photo of (what I assume is) the Long Range Desert Group?

Sonic said:

 It was nicer to drive than comparable land cruisers in my opinion, and generally a very good car to have.  

Thats because a sub $5k Land Cruiser isn't a nice car and sub $3k Land Cruisers either don't exist at all or are parts status only.  

I wasn’t comparing at the same prices.  When I had my Disco my dad had an 05 Lexus LX470.  Lexus interior was nicer and it had more power, disco handled much better, had about as much room, and was more fun to drive.  The Lexus was not worth 5x what the Disco was. 

In reply to Stealthtercel :

oh just something I grabbed off the internet.  lemme see if I can track it down.