How rare is a 5spd disco?

How rare is the 5spd discovery?

I've been keeping an eye out, but they don't seem to appear that often. I just found one for sale by a former Land Rover of North America employee. He is selling several series, a 109, discovery's etc.

He told me it is rough and he was intending to make it into a trail rig. Rough is a very subjective term, so I'm assuing the worst. I have not looked at it yet. Here is what he told me:

- '95 (he said hi-miles, I assuming 150-200K)
- Color is green
- Leather Int
- Dual sunroof, both work
- center diff lock
- 5spd

He is asking $2,000. I think that is cheap, but on the other hand I'd hate to convince the wife we have to have it, and we end up putting a ton of cahs into it. I would really love a 5spd discovery.

Thanks,
Troy

not that rare. Take a little time and you can find one that is nice for that price. Any disco that old that has not been maintained perfectly is going to cost much more to repair than the initial price.

some things to consider;

D1s have terrible valves, electrical problems, bad door handles in winter or when they rust at all, leaky roofs, the hazards come on when you hit a bump hard and you have to pull the fuse and replace it, roof rust with anything that has had a roof rack on it, they have been known to arbitrarily blow out the rear window, the spare tire often pulls the OEM hanger off, and some always sag from one side or the other for no apparent reason. Fog lights and rear fog lights are replaced constantly, etc

you would be doing yourself a favor to get an S model. S. Brady just acquired a nice one, not sure why outside of nostalgia. They are beautiful designs and exemplify the Camel Trophy when Rovers became really popular in the USA during the mid - late 90s but that is about it. I saw a nice looking one at UltimateCardeal.com which you can see here although not a 5spd you could convert it; http://www.autogallery.info/suvstrucks.html



I'd much rather have this



but Defender 110s are coming in and more will be next year and more the next year and they are all under 20K for a nice one and all 5spds. rox my sox! of course you'll need it appraised for equal value if you can't shell the cash out and most likely 20% down.

my favorite D1 story - sold mine completely camel trophy kitted out on ebay, 5spd, everything you could ask for. A 22 year old bought it. He drove it into a river and stalled it, had to be pulled out by a generous Suzuki going by. Flooded the exhaust and engine and left it sitting while he and friends replaced the head. The e-brake rusted after sitting for 2 months and he then had to replace the brakes etc. After getting back on the road he drove downtown and got hit by a drunk driver. He pulled off all the kit I bought and sold it on ebay for $5k and then his insurance gave him nearly twice what I sold it to him for. He wrote me an email a few months later explaining all this and thanking me for selling it to him at such an affordable price lol and that he was on his way to buying another one hah!

good luck and take your time - you might want to have a land rover dealer help you out but you'll pay for it. I say wait for next years Defenders!!! Check autotrader, there are usually some good ones on there

They are actually quite rare, and tend to fetch a premium over their automatic cousins.

There are many reasons to own a Rover, principally the ride quality, style, driver ergonomics and 4wd design (i.e., solid and offset axles, coil spring suspension, long travel, low t-case gearing, big windows, fat steering wheel, seating position, etc.).

Essentially, there are reasons to own a car beyond its practical attributes. That will make sense to some, and not to others.

So far, my Disco has been supremely reliable, and leaks no oil...

I had a 1997 5-speed manual Disco which I ended up selling off towards the end of 2005.

Z O O R O P A said:

D1s have terrible valves, electrical problems, bad door handles in winter or when they rust at all, leaky roofs, the hazards come on when you hit a bump hard and you have to pull the fuse and replace it, roof rust with anything that has had a roof rack on it, they have been known to arbitrarily blow out the rear window, the spare tire often pulls the OEM hanger off, and some always sag from one side or the other for no apparent reason. Fog lights and rear fog lights are replaced constantly, etc

Click to expand...

^That brings back memories.

electrical problems - check. I replaced the speed transducer and headlight/signal arm.

bad door handles in winter - check. The driver side door lock would freeze shut due to the snow/ice.

leaky roof - check

blinking hazards after hitting a big bump - check

oil leak - check. Small drops after long drives. Top off before any long trip. If it's not leaking then you don't have any oil! Haha


Despite the problems, I still like the Discos. My heart said to keep the Disco, my brain said to sell.

Oh yeah, gotta add in an important detail. And yes, my Disco was expedition white. :bike_rider:

expeditionswest said:

Essentially, there are reasons to own a car beyond its practical attributes. That will make sense to some, and not to others.

Click to expand...

Makes sense to me.

expeditionswest said:

So far, my Disco has been supremely reliable, and leaks no oil...

Click to expand...

Give it time, they all start that way.

It took me all of about a week to find one locally when I bought mine. A 5 speed is not all that common, but I would not say they are extremely rare. Of course if you want a specific year/model/color than it might take some time.

I see five ads for Discovery series 1 with manual transmission
on Autotrader and Craigslist tonight.

Here's my favorite: "because life is not always fair"

94 Land Rover Discovery, 45,500 miles
Black, 5 speed - $7500 (Vail CO)

Great condition, new tires, ready for winter,
MUST SELL because life is not always fair,
call for details Ronnie 970-331-1154

http://rockies.craigslist.org/cto/884490057.html

yeah for the most part I wouldn't consider them very rare. If you have a little time and can do a minimum amount of research on the net you can find one in white green or silver fairly easy it seems. They made them between 1994-1997 and the 1998s are all autos. I'd push for the silver as it hides scratches really well and you get the "grey" interior as opposed to the nasty tan. Cloth is certainly preferable to leather in my opinion. The 96 and 97 years were known for better quality

Between ebay, autotrader, landroverexchange.com, Roversnorth and a google search you can find what you are looking for or a nice example in a week or two for sure.

I would consider a '93 D110 under $40K rare which does happen from time to time and I would think it might start happening more often than before given the national economics and the lack of financing available for loans on older vehicles

They do have a commanding view and great ergonomics - if you don't mind the reliability, weekend time dedicated to mechanics or the bill when it comes to inspect it.

Did I mention the swivel balls collect H20 like free refills at a 7-11

I parked next to one of the Rovers North team vehicles today, for about .000039ths of a second I thought "nice truck" then I remembered the endless issues with sensors and how the entire vehicle would turn off every time I turned my Hellas on while driving lol or in the spirit of what someone in Fireside Chat said: they have terrible reliability, they were expensive to fix, they have terrible reliability, they have terrible reliability, they need constant attention, they have terrible reliability;

I really don't think they have good reliability lol

now a 2004 Disco is a beautiful machine and mine never complained despite a good thrashing, although I needed therapy after being abused by my D1

ZOOROPA,

Wow, you must have gotten a lemon. While I dont drive my 94 disco too often anymore it has been very reliable despite my gross inattention to maintenance. There have been the odd electrical gremlins from time to time and a leaky steering box but thats it since I bought it in June of 1995.

BTW I wouldnt recommend a Defender to someone who is considering a Disco. Two totally different vehicles in respects to handling and comfort. You are basically driving a noisy tractor unless you do extensive sound proofing as I have with my Defender. Still I wouldn't want to drive any other vehicle on a daily basis like I do my Defender. I look forward to it every day.

My expedition green '97 D1 has been a joy to own. No major issues other than a water pump going out at 65K and a fuel relay dying at 103K, the truck has been solid and dependable. I did replace the front and rear passenger doors recently as a result of a tree branch mishap and it was a breeze. Oh and my sunroofs don't even leak. <knocking on wood>

I did have a plain white '95 that I suspect was on its way to giving me daily headaches but it died a gruesome death before it ever got that far. If you do your research and are patient I'm pretty sure you will find exactly what you want and be armed with some knowledge of what to expect.

kellymoe said:

BTW I wouldnt recommend a Defender to someone who is considering a Disco.

Click to expand...

x2. A Defender is a step up from a Series, but a step down from nearly everything else. At least when it comes to comfort level, which is important to most people.

Thank you for the advice. I thought they were harder to find than that.

I really don't mind buying a truck that needs work. My last purchase was a '98 cherokee that didn't run for $1,600. A few weekends in the garage, a used OME suspension, new BFG ATs and it has been going strong for 60K. For a total of about $3K I have a reliable expediton capable rig with no montly payment and only liability insurance.

I really like Land Rovers, but the cost of parts is what concerns me. I'd probably be better off looking for a cleaner model.

kellymoe said:

ZOOROPA,

Wow, you must have gotten a lemon. While I dont drive my 94 disco too often anymore it has been very reliable despite my gross inattention to maintenance. There have been the odd electrical gremlins from time to time and a leaky steering box but thats it since I bought it in June of 1995.

BTW I wouldnt recommend a Defender to someone who is considering a Disco. Two totally different vehicles in respects to handling and comfort. You are basically driving a noisy tractor unless you do extensive sound proofing as I have with my Defender. Still I wouldn't want to drive any other vehicle on a daily basis like I do my Defender. I look forward to it every day.

Click to expand...

X2

I bet you do Kelly!

I drove mine for 128K so I think that is fair. If you look at carreview.com you can see there is some merit. Add to that I drove around the country and had many great adventures with fellow owners all who had similar complaints. My dealer are all good friends of mine and told me straight out that the vehicles were a real sore spot since no one likes seeing their dealer THAT much. When the valves blew at 60K miles the dealer informed me it was common, on one day back in like 2000 they had more than 25 Discovery series 1s get towed in for one thing or another on the first day of snow lol those kind of stories and my own personal experience in accordance with my grease monkey friends led me to my convictions about the D1 being less than practical but it is great to hear some success stories! The two dealers I use are top notch and I have every confidence in them.

Certainly I could have got a Monday morning or Friday night build just after the UK lost a football game to Germany or the Irish or something or more likely won lol

good luck in your search troy, should be fun