Hey all, I've been lurking the EP forum for about a year and posted here and there. Obviously the one thing you take away here is that Expedition-type vehicles and their related pursuits are not for the faint of heart or light of wallet. In that light, I'd been building up my 2000 Jeep Cherokee (my second XJ, but first Expo build) for the last two years with quite a few modifications from suspension to bumpers to shocks to tires totaling around $6,500 invested with labor costs when needed. At the same time, I got hooked up by chance with a local crew of Land Rover enthusiasts and did a trial ride with them...their rigs blew me away for their (sometimes stock) performance and capability.
Long story short, one of the guys is looking to sell his totally kitted out 2004 Discovery SE for what seems like a very fair price - $8500 with 150k on it. Lot of mileage, even compared to my 120,000 Jeep, but he seems like an honest dude and said he's put about $15,000 into it since his purchase in upgrades, maintenance and preventative care. Has had the ABS done, new transmission, alternator, valve cover and head gasket, new Woods' driveshaft, new center diff and has factory front bumper with grille guarde, Baja roof rack, etc
I guess what I'm looking for is a sense of what I'd be getting myself into. When I look at my Jeep, it's a very utilitarian but trustworthy vehicle that rides like a dumptruck but also has never, ever, ever let me down. I also assume I'm heading into some serious maintenance territory, though, since the A/C recently blew, I have a definite coolant leak from a temp or water-pump connection and some of the electronics have recently gotten funky.
However, could be the same or more from the LR so would just love some insight from the experienced Disco owners out there on what I should be projecting for in terms of future maintenance and costs. Also open to your arguments, opinions, heart-on-your-sleeve love affair for the Land Rover Discovery and why it'd be worth the additional investment now and in the future. I'd be taking a serious hit in gas mileage and pumping Premium makes me cringe just to think about, but it's also not far off when I'll be trying to fit more than just my dog in the back seats and the Disco is like a warehouse inside compared to my cozy Jeep interior.
If this post should be somewhere else, please let me know. Also, if I were to join their Disco-owning ranks, I would open myself up to help from that crew of LR owners that I wheel with to assist with repairs and general troubleshooting and my auto-inclined neighbor owns an old Range Rover that he works on himself.
Here's my Jeep and also the Disco in question:
Long story short, one of the guys is looking to sell his totally kitted out 2004 Discovery SE for what seems like a very fair price - $8500 with 150k on it. Lot of mileage, even compared to my 120,000 Jeep, but he seems like an honest dude and said he's put about $15,000 into it since his purchase in upgrades, maintenance and preventative care. Has had the ABS done, new transmission, alternator, valve cover and head gasket, new Woods' driveshaft, new center diff and has factory front bumper with grille guarde, Baja roof rack, etc
I guess what I'm looking for is a sense of what I'd be getting myself into. When I look at my Jeep, it's a very utilitarian but trustworthy vehicle that rides like a dumptruck but also has never, ever, ever let me down. I also assume I'm heading into some serious maintenance territory, though, since the A/C recently blew, I have a definite coolant leak from a temp or water-pump connection and some of the electronics have recently gotten funky.
However, could be the same or more from the LR so would just love some insight from the experienced Disco owners out there on what I should be projecting for in terms of future maintenance and costs. Also open to your arguments, opinions, heart-on-your-sleeve love affair for the Land Rover Discovery and why it'd be worth the additional investment now and in the future. I'd be taking a serious hit in gas mileage and pumping Premium makes me cringe just to think about, but it's also not far off when I'll be trying to fit more than just my dog in the back seats and the Disco is like a warehouse inside compared to my cozy Jeep interior.
If this post should be somewhere else, please let me know. Also, if I were to join their Disco-owning ranks, I would open myself up to help from that crew of LR owners that I wheel with to assist with repairs and general troubleshooting and my auto-inclined neighbor owns an old Range Rover that he works on himself.
Here's my Jeep and also the Disco in question:
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