Land Rover Discovery?

[rustytr]

Thought I'd ask here since there's more traffic.
Anyway, my wife just gave birth to our first son on Christmas morning and we found out the car seat is a ***** to get into the back seat without putting the front seats damn near up to the dash board. So we're in the market for a bit bigger vehicle. The Land Rover Discovery is our choice but I don't know anything about them really. Is the back seat big enough etc. kind of questions and reliability stuff. Also if you can point me to a good Land Rover board I'd appreciate it!

Thanks!
Troy

 

[JoshC]

Troy, i don't know about any Land Rover boards, but congrats on the new baby, what a Christmas gift huh.

Happy trails!!

 

[cutigers16]

my brother in law has a 2002 discover, and my sister in law has a 98 i think, and i know my sister in laws always is in the shop, and my brother in law said he will never buy another land rover, because bascially you can only take ur land rover to the dealership to get problems fixed, and when things break in that truck, its expensivvvvveeee to fix, and things will break, they will

 

[Jason_25]

They may be the most well traveled vehicles on earth, but from everything I hear, they are the most unreliable as well.

 

[Magicfan25]

It really does seem the Land Rovers are expensive to repair. As for how reliable they are, all I hear is bad. But, how often do you hear about the good? As for comfort, drive one a bit first. I'm only 6' and my knee hits under the steering column no matter what I do. They drive nice and are comfortable other than the knee in the column thing. Is it worth the big price tag? I'd rather have a new Expedition for the money myself.

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

The owner of the car audio shop that built my box told me that one of his customers has a Discovery, and his repair bills are more than the car payment each month!

Mike

 

[jimbo74]

i saw a sweet one out at hollister, but the owner had 31s on it and a rear locer... but was to afraid to use it in anything other than shallow mud or the trails..... they are nice... and a lot aftermarket are availabe for them... but they are also hard to find anything for without a huge $$$$$$$$

 

[SaleenEXP]

I'm not really into Rovers, but even if I was I wouldn't own one. Way too many quality problems and their about the most unreliable vehicles. Two of my moms friends have Range Rovers, one a 00' the other a new 03', they are constantly in the shop. I mean every little thing breaks on them or fails. Same thing with a friend at school who has an 01' Discover - always in the shop for something breaking down. Another kid has a Range Rover which I was in when the air-suspension decided to go out while on the highway only to get it back and have the trans or front diff (can't remember) fail about 3 weeks later.

A few years ago my friends older brother bought a new Discovery in 97' or 98' to put all his rock band's stuff in when they go places, he had a few problems with his but his lease was only for 2yrs so it wasn't that long to suffer lol.

Has nothing to do with Ford's ownership either as Rover was having even more problems under BMW's watchful eye

 

[dave93LTD]

Having compared my truck to many disco's, I find that they are lacking in passenger room. Their wheelbase is only 100". (take a 2dr sport and wedge 2 small doors in the back, and this is what you get) You might consider some other four door vehicle to help with your child seat.
IMO Land Rovers are overrated.
Congrats on the birth of your son.

 

[Hotweels]

How about a pathfinder or a new toyota with the V8?

 

[EOF]

First off, let me congratulate you on your newborn! I have a 7 1/2 month old and love her to death. I know what you are going through with getting the car seat in and out. I have a 1993 Honda Accord Coupe as well as my Quad Cab Dakota which is very hard to get the seat in and out of. The new Land Rover's really do catch my eye, but their reliability is horrible & the cost of repairs is rediculous. My friend bought one new a few years ago and after we went to the store and came back to his house and ate we heard crackling.. We went outside and the engine bay had caught fire. We had to call the fire department because in a short amount of time the whole truck was on fire. There are lots of options in the SUV world, it just depends on how much you want to spend and if you want brand new or used..

 

[Maranda]

I love the look of the Discovery and really wanted one, but ditto on what everyone else has said. Also, little room for a carseat in the back. Just as bad as a car's backseat.

If you like them, actually I've found the Troopers and Rodeos have the most kid/leg room for kids in their backseats. More than the Explorer, FourRunner, Cherokee.

 

[rustytr]

Well, nevermind on the LR. Too many horror stories for me. Well, what about a used one, maybe 96-98, do ya think all the problems will have already happened? Ah, never mind. Anyway, I'm sticking with American made I think so other than the Land Rover, only American made will do... as long as there is a good warranty.

 

[Alec]

Get a 4door Explorer with the 4.6

 

[Stephen]

I'd stay away from the Landrover. First off they're actually rather tight inside, secondly they're very uncomfortable and unreliable.

Why American made? The Land Rover is british. I sat in the new 4Runner at the car show, and I really liked it, its a very nice vehicle and it has all kinds of room. My Lexus has 120,000 miles on it and is just like new in every way, and has never been in the shop for anything but routine, my 01 Sequoia has almost 50,000 miles on it, and its the same. Toyotas run forever.

Plus, the 4Runner is built in America at least...

 

[SaleenEXP]

I would only look at the 02' and up 4dr Explorers with the 4.6 V8 like Alec said, has nothing to do with the fact that I'm getting an 03' 4.6 Mounty . They're just awesome, very fast for a stock suv, handles excellant with not a lot of body roll compared to other suvs, quality is excellant, and you'll love the ride b/c it'll remind you of your Audi....they have that nice firm, tight/taught ride thats still smooth like a Beemer or Audi.

But the 03' 4Runners are very nice also, a friend just got one about a month or so ago and they are much better then the previous one. He has the V8 and it's very smooth and pretty quick, only slightly slower then am 02' 4.6 Explorer but still a lot better then the lethargic last gen 4Runner. And somehow he gets about 17-18mpg in the city...somehow the new V6 and V8 4Runners are very efficient and rated about the same, V8 is around 17mpg and V6 is around 18mpg in the city???

 

[rustytr]

Originally posted by Alec
Get a 4door Explorer with the 4.6

I meant SUV not mini-van.

 

[Majisto]

Originally posted by Stephen
I'd stay away from the Landrover. First off they're actually rather tight inside, secondly they're very uncomfortable and unreliable.

Why American made? The Land Rover is british. I sat in the new 4Runner at the car show, and I really liked it, its a very nice vehicle and it has all kinds of room. My Lexus has 120,000 miles on it and is just like new in every way, and has never been in the shop for anything but routine, my 01 Sequoia has almost 50,000 miles on it, and its the same. Toyotas run forever.

Plus, the 4Runner is built in America at least...

Tell the phrase "Toyotas run forever" to my friend's Camry which just blew out its transmssion two days ago. It's funny because not too long ago, the engine decided to seize up also. Apparently there was a build-up of oil sludge in the engine and the oil pump became clogged, and well we can all guess what happened from there

Oh, and did I mention the suspension is the rattliest thing in the world? Feels like he is missing a shock on the front right driver's side.

He's also one of the easiest drivers in the world. He never races his vehicle or is hard on it.

 

[NoBoundaries]

www.discoweb.org

Good site. I check it out every once in a while.

Good luck!

 

[Stephen]

Originally posted by Majisto
Tell the phrase "Toyotas run forever" to my friend's Camry which just blew out its transmssion two days ago. It's funny because not too long ago, the engine decided to seize up also. Apparently there was a build-up of oil sludge in the engine and the oil pump became clogged, and well we can all guess what happened from there

Oh, and did I mention the suspension is the rattliest thing in the world? Feels like he is missing a shock on the front right driver's side.

He's also one of the easiest drivers in the world. He never races his vehicle or is hard on it.

The oil sludging is a common problem with the 3.0liter V6 in the Camry, Highlander, Lexus ES300 and Lexus RX300, there are many TSBs about it, its caused by the engine's innability to filter very dirty oil, and is easily remedied by routine oil changes. As a matter of fact, Toyota and Lexus routinely reject examples of these vehicles as certified pre-owned because they have not had routine oil changes because of the sludging. This only happens to the 3.0liter V6 in the Camry and those vehicles listed. The LandCruiser doesn't have this engine, and the Iforce V8 is dead reliable, said to be Toyota's most reliable. No Toyota engine but the 3.0V6 has the sludging issue. Also most cars will continue to run fine with the sludging and the owners never know, it had to be REALLY bad for the engine to seize. Meaning no oil changes for quite some time.

As for the Shocks, how many miles on it, might need new ones Also could have helped to have the chassis lubed at some of thoise oil changes he never had done which caused the sludging. Probably missed all the recomended transmission services too.

You can be the easiest driver on earth, but it seems to me he just doesnt care for his car. I own two Toyotas, my sister has owned 7 including 3 Camrys and she has never had a problem with one, not one. I have a customer who has a 1991 Lexus ES250 with 300,000 miles on it and a 94 ES300 with 180,000 miles on it, both with that engine, and no sludging on either, and they still run and look great for their ages. Toyota/Lexus consistently rank among the most reliable and longest lasting vehicles on the road. I think you very much have an isolated case on your hands there. Keep the cars in good shape and they'll always bring ya home.