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"1996 Land Rover Discovery": I use a shop locally in San Jose that services Land Rover, Jaguar and Mercedes. They have two ex-Land rover mechanics that are excellent and their prices are affordable. Additionally their service is much better than the crappy dealer service we have experienced in the past.
Can you please let me know who/where this San Jose mechanic is? Any names would be very helpful!
Thanks!
If she was built on a Friday, then they managed to install the engine before leaving for the pub. I'm eternally grateful. She's a great truck and brings me joy.
You seem to know a lot about Rovers. My goal is to work on her myself and to learn as much as possible about her.
Again, I really appreciate your help on the VIN.
Just checking in - I've been silent for a couple of weeks!
DI seems to be running well - one slight issue. After I'm out around town for awhile and stop, when I get back in, it idles super-low and occasionally dies. Always idles proper when I first start it, but after it's warmed up a bit, it gets funny idle syndrome.
Couple of other things...
Sporin - 96 and 97 aren't bad at all - take the VINs by the dealership and they'll print the history for you.
Lester - welcome aboard - great to have some International folks here as well! I would love to hear some stories of cruising around on the outback.
Thanks and Happy Rovering to all!
wasko
My 11 year old is getting as bad as me - we're in Borders and he goes straight to the magazine rack to buy the current issue of Land Rover World (we subscribe to LRM). He even shells out his hard-earned allowance each month for the £4.99 cost (about $7US).
My wife is even contemplating putting a deposit down at the dealer to reserve a Freelander in December/Jan for herself. After seeing it at the Detroit Auto Show, she's convinced that it will be her next vehicle. We're hopeless
Anyways, the nice gentleman who we're buying the Series III from let us take it around the island for as long as we liked, so we were out and about for 2 hours. Stopped at Ruby's but they were closed! It was Sun. around noon and plates were set, so maybe they open later? When I go back for the final purchase, we'll try again. I put a deposit on the Rover and am hopeful that the house in MI sells w/in 60 days so the SIII will be mine.
Saw the hill that you bike up - that thing is a beast. I'm getting ready to start biking in to work 1-2x a week (10 miles each way) and I was complaining to my wife about the 1 mile hill coming up to our house but after seeing that hill on Bainbridge, I'll be silent Only biking 1 or 2 days because I've got hockey Wed & Fridays, and need to do something with my new SIII
If you want to see the vehicle, check out:
http://communities.msn.com/WaskoandHuntPicPlace and click on Series III LandRover on the left.
Take a look at the odometer - 56k original miles (never rolled). Vehicle is in excellent shape and I'm very excited to add it to the collection. Man, if my wife does get a Freelander, that will be 3 Rovers. Maybe I'll get a Rover Mountain Bike too For those that don't believe there is such a thing, checkout http://www.pashley.co.uk/landrover/landrover.htm.
Thanks - wasko
Hey if you get back and Ruby's is closed again, go down to the marina in town, and find the Thai restaurant right on the water. "Teddy" is the owner, he makes wonderful chicken galanga soup and pad thai. Have him mix up some of his special hot sauce... the red thick stuff with all the seeds in it.
Congratulations on the SIII !! -Bob
Could someone provide thoughts or comments on ACE option?
Another caveat in my buying decision is the fact that I commute almost 100 miles daily and I am concerned about that many miles with permanent 4WD. How do these vehicles typically wear with many miles?
I have done limited research into the residuals that the II might offer and it seemingly compares to most other Subs. Does this seem accurate by most of your accounts?
What are your overall thoughts on the lack of overall horsepower as compared to respectively to the other SUVs in similar price ranges?
Any additional information would be helpful because I am in love with the looks and overall thoughts of purchasing this vehicle.
The SIII is literally a 5 minute walk from the ferry right at the end of a 'private lane'. Up the street from the ferry, left on the lane, house is right there across the next road. Sorry I can't think of road names.
I'm a Thai nut so I'll definitely check out Teddy's secret hot sauce .
Thanks - wasko
For a little adventure, take the SIII down to Port Blakely and do some exploring... there are still some jeep trails that aren't chained off yet.
WARNING: once you try Teddy's food you'll never be satisfied again. We made a trip back there last summer to visit our adopted Gramma and to see Teddy again. He sent me home to Alaska with a big Tupperware container full of his sauce, telling me "You make sure you come back when that's gone". And I will!
I was so dissapointed, my sister-in-law who were accompanying me had to literally restrain me from driving through one of the private farm road that was calling my name! Ah, so close yet...
Neo
I have just been there myself, going through these sites, my heart sinking as I calculated how much $$$ it would have costed ME everytime I read the horror stories of Rover-ownership.
If you, like myself, are a mechanical moron, and are fortunate enough to afford a new Rover, here are, for whatever it is worth, some of my observations thus far with my '01 Disco.
(1) Concerns regarding lack-of-power and braking have not been problematic at all. For everyday driving and highway driving, there is plenty of power, and the braking has actually been excellent. My wife and I actually like the feel of the bank-vault-like "solidness" as the V-8 pulls the heft of our awesome Rover (hey, that was almost poetic).
(2) It is hard to call anything a bargain at this price range, but Discos actually are very reasonably priced. Other SUV's we have test-drove either costed alot more (e.g. Big Lexus SUV / Land Cruiser, BMW, Mercedes), or offered alot less ( e.g. Montero, MDX, 4 Runner, et al.).
(3) I have had my share of cars that I've enjoyed driving, but BY FAR, my ROVER takes the prize in "Joy of Ownership" category. The view, the feel, the drive, the capability, and all the gawkings....
(4) So far, only 1 and a half mo. into the ownership and 2000 mi, we have not had any problems; A colleague of mine who has a '00 Disco with about 16,000 mi., had so far only one visit to the dealership for the leaking sunroof. My impression has been that the reliability issues with the newer (post-BMW) Rovers have been fairly decent.
Well, all this writing is making me want to go out rovering.
Thanks to you all Nanuq, Wasco, lgray, rkoesler et al. for your advices. (by the way, where are you guys lgray and rkoesler??)
Rovero ergo sum
Neo
All of the comments and reviews about the Disco's lack of power, trips to the dealership for repairs, etc. really have made me nervous. It's good to read your positive post!
Anyone else care to chime in with positive comments? There are a lot of us out here who want that little extra assurance that the Disco II doesn't have to be a love/hate thing. Does it have to be that complicated?! More positive feedback, please!
Thanks!
LGray
I love it. However, I have an annoying squeak in the rear of the vehicle. I can not figure out what it is.
Has anyone had this trouble and what was the problem?
"maxout", I too have had some squeeks, and still do, but I'm getting used to them. I just turn the music up. My rear sunroof sometimes makes noise, as does my drivers door. My rear cargo door did make noise but the dealer adjusted that, so now it's ok. Once in a while, I hear noises from the rear, but I have no clue where they are (seats, stuff in side bins, tonnau cover, ???).
It's good to read some nice and positive posts like those above, as any car can be crappy, and some people just like to cut others' down.
I've only had one really bad LR experience (99 DII), but had some other crappy and problematic cars as well (Mercedes- 94 & 98 C280 & CLK320, 00 BMW "M" roadster, and 90 Toyota truck - first 30K miles only - it's been perfect since (has 187K miles now)).
Happy Rovers to all!
As I've been looking at old Rovers, I've got some sound advice for all
If you worry about every squeak and rattle that your Rover makes, you'll worry yourself to death. Worry about taking care of your Rover and it will take care of you.
As I was admiring the '73 SIII, I asked the owner if there were any water leaks. "It leaks up here by the tops of the doorjams sometimes. Also, a little by the rear tailgate area - here." As he pointed, I started laughing. He was puzzled. I told him my '96 Disco is almost 30 years older and leaks in both of those areas. We both had a good chuckle about that one!
A Rover will never be perfect. It will be a great value for the money, will last longer than many of the cheap American vehicles with their abundance of plastic components, and it will remain one of the most unique vehicles on the market.
Rover on all!
Thanks and good weekend to all - wasko
MAXOUT, you may try folding up and re-latching the second row seats and the jump seats (if present) - worth a try!!!!
LGRAY, you haven't got yourself a Rover yet!!!WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR????? Remember, everyday without a Rover is, er, a day without a Rover!!
Neo
I had to share my dealer experience. Living in SE Michigan, I have 2 rover dealers to choose from. The one with the better rep is closer to me, so that's where I took her. I know some of you live in the area too, and I would love to hear your experiences. Farmington Hills LR is THE place to go. They were falling over themselves to take care of me. They were careful with the car and the techs are great. A new service/parts manager( Dan) to top it off- he was very pleasant to deal with. The service advisor(Dave) was so helpful and sincerely nice. They fixed my Lizzie in a timely fashion and treated her as well as they did me. I have no desire to buy a vehicle from anywhere else. Now if I could only take my Pathfinder and my Turbo Coupe there for service as well, I'd be all set. But seriously, for those of you who are nervous about buying a Disco; I would find a dealer you are comfortable with, that you know you can trust. Peace of mind is everything.
My truck handles great, has more than enough pep, and I wouldn't trade her for anything. Take the plunge. You will be giddy with delight when you do.
Kim
Metro-West offers free pick-up & delivery & takes one day to do the service, however they had already lost the info. I had given them in their computer when I called a couple of days later. I'm hoping that is not a bad sign.
LR Peabody is more of a schlep for me & I'd have to rent a car. They have done all the previous service on my RR (for the first owner). They claim it takes them 2 days to do the 30K service; could that mean they do a more thorough job? They are also a larger dealer.
Just to be a little bit paranoid here, but how does the average owner know that absolutely all the fluids, filters, etc. have been changed during a major service like that? It seems there could be a temptation to cut corners at times.....
Thanks for any advice! Steve
I'm planning to buy a 2001 SE with ACE by the end of August, and I realy want to take advantage of X-plan. However, I can't find anyone who works for Ford.
Does anyone out there know of anyone who might be able to help me? If so, please let me know and I will be forever grateful.
Thanks for any help,
Steve Schwarz
thanks
Bill
HRConsulting@hotmail.com
www.roversnorth.com
www.atlanticbritish.com
Any information appreciated...
Regardless, it does affect BOTH banks of cylinders. If one side of your V8 was done (sounds so from your description) then the other side needs done as well.
The drill is to replace the stock valves with "carbon cutting" valves. These stop the buildup of gum and carbon on the exhaust valve stems, which keeps them from eventually sticking in their valve guides.
Advice I've heard repeatedly is that these engines thrive on hard work. I leave it in '3' almost all the time, only using 'D' on the freeway. It gives me lots better performance too. I periodically (every full tank) run it up to max RPMs thru the gears. I'm FANATIC about fresh lubes regularly, but do use my engine hard.
Evidence of sticking valves is cutouts while driving, accelerating thru the gears you feel loss of power as if some spark plug caps fell off. It doesn't actually die, it just gets momentarily weak as if there's water in the gas. The ECU will store "codes" that indicate misfire. Prolonged misfire means to start looking at sticking valves. An OBDII reader (at the dealership) will retrieve these codes from the computer for diagnosis.
Take a look at www.discoweb.org and see if they have any more details.
I hope this helps, -Bob
Thanks again for your input...happy rovering LK
They quoted me @ $300+ for a key+remote... So the question is: does anyone sell them cheaper? Can I use any aftermarket ones?
Thanks!
Steve
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Hmmmmmmmm. Just a sec... if you have misfiring then you'll have unburnt fuel out the exhaust... and you might smell more fumes. I guess I have to say I don't know! I've talked myself into a corner here.
Best thing is to have the dealer retrieve the ECU codes with the OBDII and see if it reports extended periods of misfiring... that's the main clue.
Good luck, -Bob
After several months of research including religiously reading the various threads in this forum, I finally went and signed for a "Disco" -- Gee, can I use that term now that I'm official? I should be picking up my SD7 in a week or so. I had access to the X-Plan so I was able to add roofs, cold climate, a CD changer, and front fog lights and still come out at about 35K. Some may be asking, "why not go for an SE instead of adding what I added to a SD." It's a 36 month lease -- the SD lease program had the most aggressive residual and money factor. Anyone interested should investigate this option. Anyway, all this to say "thank you" for all the information, good and bad, you folks have provided me over the past couple months. Kinda feels like I'm getting married again..., for the second time -- nervous excitement, did I make the right decision, don't really know what I'm actually getting? My first vehicle ever was `74 Bronco -- this is a fortieth birthday present to myself (Gee, could I be attempting to re-live my youth?). Anyone spotting a white Disco on a flatbed truck heading up I-95 toward New England in the next week or so, be sure and wave "hello" -- and be kind and gentle to my baby -- she's coming to a good home!
How about "Kannik"? That's Yupik Eskimo for "snowflake".
Try asking your local LR dealer if they happen to have a used fob around instead of buying one brand new. The used was about $40.00, it hardly looked touched and the charge was also to have it programmed. It's working out great.
To the guy that just bought a new white Rover- congratulations. Mine is white, too. I have a SE, but had the jump seats installed after market. Enjoy and let us know what you name her.
-Bob
'96 Disco "Anuqa"
Any thoughts??