| Author | Message | ||
     Skyguy |
Hey all I am thinking of buying a land rover. Anyone have any opinions? I am thinking around 80,000 miles and less than $7.000. Lovers, haters? | ||
| M1combat |
If you get one do LOTS of google research. You'll be replacing the electrical system on the older ones from what I can tell, but the older ones are the ones that you want. By older I mean '94 and older... '94 was the final year that they were used as a British military vehicle. They turned to plastic after that. I'll pick one up at some point. A '94 for sure... maybe even significantly older. Don't get me wrong... The newer ones are very adept 4x4's as well, but they're plasitc and stylized now. I guess they're for showing the kids around the woods or something  . | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Did you sell your Pinz? | ||
| Skyguy |
Pinz is gone and I want something comfy with some style. | ||
| Bads1 |
Nothing comfy about a land rover. Good tough trucks though. Have you thought about Toyota 4 Runner?? | ||
| Cowboy |
One of the old models with the Rolls-Royce Motor would be nice. | ||
| Thansesxb9rs |
For how much you hate having to work on your Buell I can't see you enjoy owning a Land Rover. They are a toy for the rich that is not that reliable, I know a few people that own them just as a weekend off road toy but would never own one as a daily driver. Plus they are very expensive to repair. (Message edited by thansesxb9rs on September 07, 2006) | ||
| Buellgirlie |
they're great off-road trucks - overbuilt in a lot of ways to be rugged. but not the world's most reliable commuter, highway kind of vehicle. consider a Jeep or Toyota? i know, way more pedestrian than a rover or a pinz, but a lot more reliable D | ||
| Bads1 |
The Toyota 4 runner is a pretty rugged truck. I've owned 3 so far that you can kick the crap out of and they just don't break. | ||
| Road_thing |
How about a nice 4X4 Suburban? 50,000 soccer moms can't all be wrong! rt | ||
| Lowflyer |
Brother-in-law had a Discovery. Well, his mechanic had it anyway. Electrical problems, trans, and a/c compressor. I think they are cool, but I wouldn't buy one. I wouldn't mind a nice Hummer though.  An H-1, of course. Too bad the quit producing them. | ||
| Wardog3187 |
I just bought a 1973 Series III with right hand drive a few months ago and I'm having a blast with it!  If you have any questions, PM me.     | ||
| Ulywife |
How about a nice 4X4 Suburban? 50,000 soccer moms can't all be wrong! That would be my suggestion. I'm on my 2nd one. Both of mine have been 2WD. First one had 178,000 when we sold it 3 years ago and it's still on the road. My 94 has 160,000 on it now and I'll take that truck anywhere. Plenty of room, rear heat and air and can pull a trailer with no problems. Parts and service are reasonable and be obtained almost anywhere. I'm guessing that along with towing the balloon, you need room for your passengers, a cooler, chase crew gear, radios, etc. Can't beat the cargo space in a Suburban and still carry 8 people. In a Tahoe/Yukon you will loose about 18" of cargo space if I remember correctly. I get about 15-16 mpg running around town and lugging kids (and yes, soccer gear!) everyday. I have gotten as good as 19-20 LOADED and running the a/c through the Smokey Mountains. Love my Suburban and looking for my next one. Kristi  | ||
| Phatkidwit1eye |
I would look into a 66-77 Ford Bronco.   | ||
| Rocketman |
You didn't say which Land Rover? Rocket | ||
| Rasmonis |
I had a 2000 DiscoveryII SD. It was a great off road vehicle no doubt about it, incredible. Too many downsides to keep though. Not many mechanics out there to work on them, parts are way too expensive, $350 for headlight, $350 for side mirrors, $875 to do a brake job (all four). If it comes with the Goodyear Wranglers, immediately change them to Michelins or Pirellis. The Discovery's eat the Wranglers in some weird ways (I went through 3 sets in 1 yr - I made LR buy them back the second and third time before I went with the Michelins). If it's a Range Rover you may have better luck, they don't seem to require as much maintenance. PM me if you want more info. -Ras | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Skyguy, I used to be a mechanic at a landrover dealers in a former life, & have owned a number of different ones, my nephew & bro in law have 2 each, if you want info don't hesitate to get in touch, I may be able to find you something here. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Wardog, my Dad had one the same as yours, back in the '70s, & my nephews is the same too but with a LPG conversion. | ||
| Kdan |
Skyguy, I don't know anything at all about Landrovers, other than the fact that the new ones are fords and all the golf and tennis fags around here love 'em. Oh, and the right side mirror pops off with just a simple whack with an elbow. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
IMHO, they've not built anything worth having since '99, when the 300tdi engine went out of general production, & they started using the pos td5 & td4 lumps. | ||
| Bomber |
count on approx USD 1000 for a brake job (pads and discs) | ||
| Lake_bueller |
Skyguy.... I have a 1997 Discovery. While I love the beast, it isnt' a truck for everybody. Yes, they're tough as nails (and then some). I hit a deer at 45mph about 5 years ago. All I needed to replace was the front bumber. I used an aftermarket "stock" piece for about 1/2 the price of OEM. Here's a list of problems I've had with mine (all after 120k miles). Clutch fan, fuel pump, valve cover gasket blown and passenger front window regulator. As of today, I have 133,500 miles. I'm still on my second set of tires (stock Michelans sucked, BF Goodrich T/A's have rocked); my second set of brakes (just getting ready to install set #3 at the cost of about $600). Otherwise, a dependable vehicle that I'd still take anywhere. Some of the downside: 1) Expensive to fix and hard to find a mechanic. 2) Terrible gas mileage 3) They leak EVERYTHING after about 100k miles. Mine leaves little "puddles" everywhere I go. Advise: 1) Use only aftermarket parts (either Atlantic-British or Motorcars Ltd) or used parts (Motorcars Ltd again). 2) If you have a good mechanic, make sure you'll let you purchase the parts. My guy has no problems with that because it makes his life easier. I think I've covered just about everything (and then some). Good luck whatever you decide. | ||
| Daves |
158,000 miles on my Expedition and still runs great. Nothing broken I have owned it since 72,000 miles Want a truck? Don't fool around, just buy a Ford and be done with it. | ||
| Chasespeed |
I like the Land Rovers, tough as nails, BUT, not very reliable in my experience.. Probably the best SUVs I have owned, my 93 Trooper, had 321K on when it was stolen back in Feb of this year... 4 inch suspension, 3 in BL, 25s, lockers, etc, very capable 4x4, and almost no maintnance, My 99 Rodeo, is in a similar set, with 150k, and the lift, etc.. For 7k, you can have a nice RELIABLE 4wd SUV, and have some money left over to lift, better tires, etc... Isuzu's, 4Runner, Older Monteros, etc... Just my opinion... I have pics... | ||
| Spinzealot |
UNIMOG FTW!  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
If you fancy a Discovery, try & find a '97-'99 model with the 300tdi diesel engine & 5sp manual, they were the best ones made, I buy & sell em here. They run well, not quick, but strong & economical, you'll get around 22-23 mpg (us), & it'll cruise at 75-80 mph all day in comfort. Look after them, regular servicing, cambelt every 50-60,000, they're good for 300,000 easy. As you can tell, I'm a fan. Whatever you do stay away from Freelanders, total crap! (we call em a 4x4 for hairdressers) If you're after a Defender, anything up to about '97 you should be ok with. Personally I wouldn't touch one with a td5, & be very careful post '98. The old Rover V8 (originally a Buick design) is a light & reliable old tool, & there's lots of tuning gear available, Offenhauser do some good stuff. If you're looking at the old "series" models try & get a late III, & check the chassis well for rust, the rest of it is just like an erector set. The 2.25l 4pot in a lot of the old ones is a slug & as reliable as all hell & will run for ever no matter how you abuse it, it'll run on 50/50 gas/kerosene if necessary, but by god it's thirsty, worse than the V8. Landy's are a bit like V engines, once you get bit, it's for life. Whatever happens, have fun | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I like the Land Rovers, tough as nails, BUT, not very reliable in my experience.. Chase, I've heard that said about a certain make of motorcycle too.  | ||
| Chgojim |
i had an 02 discovery. i loved the truck until you had to do any service to it. bomber is right....brake jobs are close to 1000 (and it doesnt matter how easy you are on brakes...you will go through a set a year). my cousin is the president of the dealer group here, and my good friend is the service manager, AND i still dumped the rover and got a 4runner to replace it. great truck until you need to take it in for service!! | ||
| Fullpower |
Ya know why the British drink warm beer? Lucas refrigeration. The Lucas/ Marelli alternators on the newish Rovers are a bit problematic, and more than a bit expensive on this side of the water. might make somewhat more sense to own such a rig closer to where they build 'em. Around here, if downtime is an issue i would counsel against owning anything that exotic for regular daily transport. If you just need to show off, and arent going to snivel about repair costs, then go right ahead, get that which is the coolest. | ||
| Cowboy |
Lucas lighting....damn I rode Nortons for years I never did see where I was going. | ||
| Rocketman |
I don't know why it's a common place saying on the BadWeB but I can assure you no one in the North of England drinks warm beer. If it were so there would be a lot of barmen hanging from lamp posts. I'm told the Freelanders are really good off road, but I have done some work on the 2 ltr K series petrol engine variant, replaced head gasket, overhauled cooling system etc, host of electrical problems related to the drop glass in the rear door and the ecu that controls god knows how many functions. They're junk, end of. The ecu needs specific LR hook-up. The cooling system has a little known transmission cooler that's a prat to bleed. The clutch units are suspect to wear and were subject to recall I believe. Stay clear. They're expensive enough to repair in the UK. The Internet offers a lot of LR info, but I'd go with someone who has first hand experience. It counts for ever so much in the quest to have a good reliable one. Here's my great friends recently home built version I posted on here a few months back.  Rocket | ||
| Rocketman |
Mazda 3.6 TDi motor.  Rocket | ||
| Rocketman |
 Rocket | ||
| Lake_bueller |
"brake jobs are close to 1000 (and it doesnt matter how easy you are on brakes...you will go through a set a year" Dude....I spent $700 on my first brake job and my second will cost about $600. That's 8 years and 135,000 miles worth of driving (and 2 years were spent in the mountains of Colorado!!!) | ||
| Lowflyer |
"I don't know why it's a common place saying on the BadWeB but I can assure you no one in the North of England drinks warm beer." I think it's because our grandpas came back from WWII with "horror" stories of the warm beer in England.  Mostly, only those of us who have traveled there ourselves and drank the beer would know better. For those of us that do know better, it's still sort of funny to say that brits drink warm beer. There is probably something you guys say about yanks that is similarly misunderstood, yet comical in a needling sort of way. Nice ride, but the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the truck.  | ||
| Thansesxb9rs |
Dave, the Land Rover and Range Rover are both owned by the Ford Motor Co. Skyguy, just go out and buy a 99 Dodge Ram with a cummins in it. Will last you forever and they get around 18 to 20 mpg. (Message edited by thansesxb9rs on September 09, 2006) |
