(Don't) Panic! At the Disco

"DrZ" (dzehner2)
04/04/2018 at 09:51 • Filed to: Land Rover, Subaru, Disco Inferno, Land Rover Discovery, Offroad

2000 Land Rover Discovery II: adventurous, spacious, will break on me all the time

Last night, as I picked up my wife’s car from our friendly neighborhood mechanic (the only guy in town who works on Volvos, apparently)... I saw this. Staring at me. Beckoning with is massive lights: “come on mate, let’s go exploring!” So I asked the owner of the garage the story behind this lovely Disco II and he told me a customer dropped it off last summer to have some work done and never picked it up after they finished up with it. So it’s been sitting there with all the major issues fixed, waiting for someone (me) to pick it up. Just needs a new battery, and probably could use some new tires. They even sounded interested in trading me for my 2005 Subaru Legacy GT wagon that’s got 225k miles on it!

The War Wagon. Trusty. Loyal. Has only broken on me once...

So now the question is, do I go for it? We’re expecting Baby #3 in the fall and I could really use a car that fits 3 car seats across in the back and is an automatic so my wife can drive it when I break myself doing something silly. I love interesting cars and shudder to think about getting a minivan or somesuch. I’m plenty mechanically inclined, and can borrow a friend’s car for a few days if the Disco breaks down on me (if...hahaha), and do most of the work on it myself. I think the adventure is calling me, and if they’ve got service records for it I may just go for it. What do you guys think? Any Disco owners out there want to talk me out of it, or at least share pitfalls I should avoid?

DISCUSSION (34)

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:03

When you say “major issues”, do they include the head gaskets, sunroof drainage, and traction control system (look up 3 amigos)? Those are the things you need to make sure are in good order.

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:11

I love these. Every now and then I look at them on Craigslist. Then I start looking on the owners forums. Then I have a drink and move on. Some day maybe. I retire in 24yrs, that sounds like the appropriate time.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:16

Do it...then sell it to me when your done

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:18

They’re a pain to get little ones in and out of because the back doors are so small and the rear wheel wells intrude so much into that space.

If you’re ok with the mechanical stuff, what bloody said, then ask if you can try it for a couple days.

Snowrydr01 > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:29

3 car seats across the back ehh. You are probably better investing in some narrow car seats rather then another vehicle. We needed to be able to fit 2 car seats and an occasional adult in the rear and did a lot of research. They weren’t cheap, and they were heavy, but narrow seats are out there.

And then i bought a 100 series land cruiser (LX470 actually) instead of taking my own advice because we wanted a beach/snow vehicle. We liked it so much that it has become our weekend/vacation/ any trip over 20 minute car entirely as a family unit.

razorbeamteam > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:34

Looks awesome, and I love white land rovers. I say make it happen. YOLO and whatnot.

BeaterGT > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:43

Do it!

PS. I hope my Legacy lasts as long as yours.

adamftw > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 10:52

3 car seats wide aint gonna happen. That one doesn’t have the third row, either.

Discos are great though, I miss mine... BUT you should have a third car on call when something happens and you need to get to work (like you said). For me, I never had a “it stranded me” issue more like, “I ordered the parts but they didnt get here on time” issue... or if you fix one thing and break something or don’t have the right part you can’t just run down to AutoZone and get it.

She’s definitely been wheeled (see dent in the door), so make sure it’s tip-top. It should drive like a tank, everything should feel solid and tight. Like Bloody said as well... three amigos, head gaskets, and hopefully no sunroofs to leak because thats a SD. If there are sunroofs and they leak, try cleaning the drains once. If they still leak, seal them because it is a royal pain to chase down the leaks. My front one was fine but I couldn’t get the rear to drain a year or so into ownership so it got sealed up with silicone.

What’s your commute? Expect a max of 12-13 MPG and it needs premium. Not plus, premium.

DrZ > adamftw
04/04/2018 at 11:03

Great points all around! Is the 3 car seats across in the back impossible, or just hard? I think it’d be awesome for trips with our older kids with the stadium seats so they’d actually be able to see what’s going on outside. :) If putting the infant seat in the middle is an inconvenience, I can deal with that. Definitely will need to check for a 7 seater version if this one doesn’t have that option. Good call.

Her being wheeled was a bit of a selling point so that I don’t have to worry so much about the exterior, and it drives the price down.
I’ve got a 20 minute-ish commute, so gas mileage isn’t too huge of an issue but I should do some budget calculations on gas to see what impact that’ll have. :)

DrZ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
04/04/2018 at 11:04

Yeah, the specifically mentioned changing the head gaskets. That was the one thing I knew to ask about before I started doing my research last night. Test drive will include a car wash to check for sunroof leakage. :) Going to ask about the 3 amigos as well! Thanks!

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 11:06

Sad to see one sit like that, but as others have pointed out, Discos can be a handful. They’re also very cool and quite capable offroad. Also that one has at least $2k invested in that roof rack and uprated bumper, and that makes me super jelly. I started tagging my Disco work a bit ago, so here is a non-comprehensive view into my ownership.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tag/disco-inferno

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 11:11

3 Amigos is normally an easy fix (afternoon and a 6 pack) and also see if there is a Center Locking Differential kit is installed (pretty much just a lever that enables you to lock the center diff), makes life offroad much easier.

adamftw > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 11:17

The truck is narrow by modern SUV standards. I’ve never tried, but I’m sure some googling will find a better answer.

DrZ > adamftw
04/04/2018 at 15:16

Yeah, doing some Google Fu on it. I think I’ll bring the seats by with me when I get the oil changed in my Subaru and test them out. I’m sure he’ll be cool with that if he wants it sold. :)

DrZ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
04/04/2018 at 15:17

I did see a CLD lever installed! They also mentioned it was stuck in 4WD high, so there might be some gearbox issues to deal with. Not great.

DrZ > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
04/04/2018 at 15:18

Good idea! If he’s ok with me trying it out for a couple days while he keeps my current car as collateral that might be our best bet.

DrZ > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
04/04/2018 at 15:18

HA! Literally what I was doing last night. Scotch and Disco forum research. :P

DrZ > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
04/04/2018 at 15:18

Now we’re talkin!

DrZ > Snowrydr01
04/04/2018 at 15:20

I think you’re onto something here. Basically this car is going to be our weekend in the woods car and my daily. It’ll be a rare occasion that we need to fit all 3 littles in at once. I’ll be taking my son to daycare most days, and my wife will have the other two. The Disco would be an adventure, and could also probably fit narrow car seats (pending research on that).

DrZ > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
04/04/2018 at 15:21

I started reading your adventures this morning while doing some research on Discos. You inspired me to post about my find!

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 15:22

Meaning it can’t go into 4WD lo? That’s most likely the shifter is gummed up, if you leave it in 4Hi and never switch to lo, the shifter will get stuck. That’s just a case of opening it up, lubricating it and working it free.

DrZ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
04/04/2018 at 15:23

Sweeeeet. That’s what I was hoping for. Will bring a can of WD40 with me on the test drive. :P I have a feeling I’ll need a few with this car anyway, so might as well get started off on the right foot!

DrZ > BeaterGT
04/04/2018 at 15:24

It will if you put a new engine in it like I did lol

BeaterGT > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 15:32

Haha yeah, I clicked on one of your older posts and saw that. I bet yours really moves out. Right now I’m sitting at ~114k and completely stock. Really need to switch out that catted up-pipe...

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 17:05

Oh awesome! I think the most comprehensive review I did was right after I bought it. Either way, that white one is a great looking vehicle.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/head-to-head-gmc-yukon-vs-land-rover-discovery-ii-1796297468

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > DrZ
04/04/2018 at 17:40

Damn it. Now you’ve got me looking again. There are so many cheap ones on my local CL, some even come with parts cars!

Which, if I’m honest, is a sign of a bad decision.

Look at this! 3 of them!

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/land-rover-discoverys/6550432905.html

DrZ > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
04/05/2018 at 13:52

Ooooooo... Sorry not sorry. :P

DrZ > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
04/05/2018 at 13:53

Car to drive. Parts car. And a parts car for THAT parts car. All for $4500? What are you still doing here??

DrZ > DrZ
04/05/2018 at 13:55

Well, I got some more info on the Disco today after calling the garage... It only has 80k miles on it (!!!!) and is indeed a 7 seater. The suspension is in good shape (YAY!) and they just replaced the head gaskets (YAY!). I’m going to ask them to do a loooong test drive when I bring in my Subie for an oil change in a couple weeks (which will give him enough time to put a new battery in it). I’m thinking of asking to swap cars for a day or two so I can really make sure I can fit the kiddos in there, that it won’t overheat, take it through a car wash, etc. Do you think that’s reasonable to ask for?

DrZ > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
04/05/2018 at 14:17

Great write up!!

CaptDale - is secretly British > DrZ
04/05/2018 at 14:41

OMG BUY IT NOW YES!!!! So I don’t

DrZ > CaptDale - is secretly British
04/06/2018 at 09:09

I’ll do this for you, and all those others who would come after you. :P

DrZ > BeaterGT
04/06/2018 at 09:11

Stay stock, stay happy. But yes, this thing goes like a stabbed rat and I love it. :D :D :D

CaptDale - is secretly British > DrZ
04/06/2018 at 11:06

Good Man!