is this right ?

[carracarra13]

I no I'm going to stir a hornets nest up by posting this but I love landies . but I'm concerned about there reliability and having to have work done at a garage the regular trips to a garage (that iv been told will happen more regular with a disco  than a jap car) in your opinions would I be better of jap or disco ? as it must be 4 doors to get kids in and out of, and trust worthy(got to sell our lwb suzuki sadly as not enough room

[Evilgoat]

Jap/German

Have all three. German needs its first wheelbearing at 200K, never had any problems with her.
Suzuki does fall apart on a regular basis but not to the scale the Disco does. almost all repairs take about an hour and cost daft money.
Paj tis a pain to fix some things, but again, my fathers spat out its dummy for the first time 3 months ago after 5 years of owenership (tis an L reg)
Disco, well its dead right now, and has been for almost a month, I'll say no more.

[BK]

Jap,every time,toyota.  (and I drive a 90!!!!)land rovers break just too often but are cheap to repair(if you can do it yourself) jap motors dont break very often but are expensive to repair (parts) so you make your choice.For my money for a daily drive would be a landcruiser

[Thrasher]

You will only get negatives I bet. I have owned a slew of Land Rovers, and other vehicles. Here's the Sp :

Granada - blew 2 heads and 3 engines.
Land Rover 109" - had to adjust brakes in 3 years of ownership. Never failed.
Land Rover Stage One - only failed when it was to be sold, and that was a fuel pump.
Land Rover Discovery - ONE break down that was a pain, due to immobiliser. Had to replace various parts due to abuse/poor maintenance by MAIN DEALER, but it never failed during daily use.
Land Rover Freelander 1.8 - No issues at all. Sold to buy ...
Land Rover Freelander 2.5V6 - Heads failed, had them done, then sold it to buy..
Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin - after one year had a major engine rebuild and gearbox faults rectified at our cost. NOT HAPPY.
Range Rover 4.4 V8 - NO ISSUES. Sold to buy ...
Range Rover 4.2SC V8 - NO ISSUES. Possibly the most reliable and well built car I have EVER owned.

I have not listed all my vehicles in that list....but I'm sure we all know Montego's, Hyundais and other cars from the 80's were not much cop ;-)

So er ... in my experience the only vehicle I've owned in the last 10 years that I've had to pay out nearly £3000 to repair is the Jap one ..... and by that I mean in excess of normal maintenance  :?

Oh and one more thing ... the Discovery which gets abused, sat for more than a year, and passed it's MOT with no issues. Even running on 14 month old petrol ... 

[python]

i have owned tonnes of cars, wouldnt buy a jap over a landie. i own a 93 disco with 230.000 miles and its still going strong. never really cost me much and never let me down..

[robbie]

I have had the disco for 3 yrs now and it has only had a few things break:

PAS pump
Fuel pump
Rear bottom bushes on the shockers

but for service I have had replaced:
Radiator (the old one clogged badly)
cam belt (a must anyway)
tyres (I should stop breaking them)
Belt tensioner

so I think it has been a good one and clocked 135000 miles too so far on an auto box. Used it to tow to France a few times with a big 10ft box trailer too

[Landynuts]

The big problem is that a few people who have problems shout their mouths off whilst the large majority who don't have problems keep it to themselves. I have had loads of Landys and I have only had one major failure (gear box) but this was shortly after a bought it and was probably the reason it was sold. The others all managed 80k to 100k with only service replacement type costs.

[stageonesimmo]

I've had a fair old assortment as well - Subaru, ford, Peugeot mainly I've also had a Stage One V8 and my current disco.  Of the lot my S1V8 was the most fun, coolest and most reliable once I'd done a ground-up re-build.  My disco has snapped 2 cam-belts taking with them a total of 16 push-rods and 2 tappets, its had a new alternator and some ball joints.  All this has been in 4 years on a car thats coming up to its 160,000 mile birthday in 250 miles.  Other than that its just been service parts cost as I do all the work myself.

Now my neighbors have 2 Navarro's between them and 1 is never in the garage apart from services and one is never out of the place - both same age, down to the month both, used the same amount - so it just goes to show that even Japs can suffer from the odd problem child now and then.

Our lass drives an MR2 and for its age it excellent - had some starting problems at first but a good dose of looking at, some new plugs, cap and rotor and all has been well for over a year.

I dont really think that LR are as reliable as any of the Jap stuff, but from what I've seen, there isnt THAT much in it.............

[howie]

land rovers all the way,       had loads off outher makes and still gone back  , you can get good ones and bad ones  
 we have had 7 land rovers in the family [me and my dad]  and  not had to much problands  , had jap stuff and when they went  down  , they went down,  cost more then the car was worth or more than i can afford  
 i would stick with land rover , but that's me  

[nat_hale]

Hi there,

We'll all give different answers for different reasons.  I started with a Daihatsu Sportrak (it was 10yrs old at the time, 70k miles), great car, but any little problems cost a fortune for parts and no garages have any experience of them!  Then had a 3 yr old Suzuki Grand vitara, obviously pretty new so not much trouble, although electrical gremlins were starting to show and the costs to sort out were silly!

Now Ive got a 13 yr old Disco, on 163,000 miles, had it 18 months or so and do 18,000-ish miles/yr (inc regular off roading).  Other than service items (which are dirty cheap, and I get it done by an independant specialist), its had a new waterpump (£25 and a 'spanner only' job I could do myself!) and a couple of bits I broke off-road (e.g bent track rod, but would have been the same, but more expensive, on any car!).  Also, plenty of parts suppliers, and specialists who know the trucks and how to fix most things for sensible money.

I think the key thing to remember with Land Rovers is if its a good one, it'll be great, lots of fun and cheap to maintain (and very cheap and easy to modify compared to Jap family 4x4s).  However, pick a bad one and it'll be a nightmare (new or old)!! I looked at lots and lots of Disco's before buying mine (one owner from new, if its had lots theres a reason why!!), and its great.  I know other who were also very picky before buying, and have good ones.  I also know people who looked at a couple and bought one, and have had trouble.  Read up on them (loads on here) and go armed with knowledge (thats what I did, and I'm certainly no mechanic)!

Only draw back to them is they're everywhere, and not exactly different!!

All the best,
Nat

[Range Rover Blues]

Most of the problems I've had with LRs stem from the stupididty of former owners, oh and the fact that by the time I can afford what was a luxury car they have had a long life already.

But then there's a reason they hold their value for so long.......

[Disco Matt]

Mine is 12 years old now, and has been in the family for eight years or so (parental cast-off). In that time, it has only "failed to proceed" once, due to the alarm spider problem. I've taken something of a preventative approach to servicing of late, but in those eight years it has covered about 80k miles (now on 112k) and has had the following done:

Cam belt
Brakes (new disks/pads at main dealer, also replaced assorted seals)
New fuel lift pump (the old one broke after changing the fuel filter and trying to prime it)
New shocks/polybushes
New/recon alternator
New steering box
New battery

In all of those cases I had ample warning of the problem. The old steering box for example carried on quite happily leaving a dribble of oil for months before being changed. The shocks and bushes weren't completely knackered but I wanted to improve the handling. The battery was a red herring as I then found it had a dodgy alternator. The only problem with it at this precise moment is the aircon doesn't work (need to find a specialist - the local garage I use doesn't do aircon!).

It handled four people, a bootload of stuff and a heavy caravan around large chunks of France (as far South as the Auvergne) without complaint. Since I've taken it on it's been around most of the Baja GB 2007 stages, greenlaning, and Powys 4x4 Response training events. There's little or no rust on it either (a few spots I'll sort out when the weather is better).

[crazymac]

Keep on top of regular preventative maintenance and a Landy will do you proud.

I've had nothing but, for 10 years or so now and wouldn't change.

Check your oils and water, service every six months (its an hour job!!) grease the props regularly, change the brake pads every two years and wax oil evert two as well and you'll be fine

[Range Rover Blues]

Mine is 12 years old now,

Blue is coming up on 20 years old this year, we have no idea how many miles it's done but we suspect it was a police car when new.

[nzoliver]

Howdy!
Well, when you see TV footage out of Africa, the Middle East etc, i'll bet you'll see loads of LR product and a few Toyotas. Maybe some Jeep stuff. 8-[ To me that says a mouthfull. 
It would be fair I think to reiterate that 70% of LR product that has been built is still operating :clap:

My 10cents!   

[Hightower]

Land Rover Discovery - ONE break down that was a pain, due to immobiliser. Had to replace various parts due to abuse/poor maintenance by MAIN DEALER, but it never failed during daily use.

Except for that tow home from Tesco's . .
Or the gearbox blowing up in Dorset . .

Didn't you mean daily ABuse??

 ;)

[davidlandy]

for a daily run about i wouldnt touch a landrover of any kind

I have had a few german cars over the past few years VW /Audi- with hardly and ounce of trouble from any of them. I do 40,000 miles a year at least and need reliability and good(ish) mpg.

[muddyjames]

I have had my auto disco for 3 years now and it has done 180,000 miles ish. I use it tow caravans and trailers quiet often and it doesnt argue.

I did have a hefty bill 3 days after I bought it but that was due to a well known garage in Alton way not doing the crankshaft pulley nut up tight enough so it knocked the timing out slightly, wore the crank shaft and smashed the back of the pulley.  

Appart from that it has needed not much work. Ok it has needed somethings that to be honest have been needed due to me paying neglect to it like a blocked radiator and causing overheating, so a new rad. It failed the last MOT on 1 wheel bearing, no advisories.  :dance: I take it off road and submerge it under water occasionaly too!

I have fitted a veg oil conversion and I worked out my mpg today. doing a 416mile trip on 56litres of veg oil worked out to be 33mpg. Never saw above 22mpg on diesel! Towing a empty caravan today with a very strong head wind I did get 17.5mpg. Yes poor but as I say a very strong head wind. Spent as much time as possible hiding behind a lorry for "clean" air.

Bent a track rod once, but my mistake off road, battery failure but that was an old battery and a duff new one.

Previous owner before methough had spent 2k on repairs but only about £600 was on parts. Still alot I know but this is the main reason I bought it as I knew most of the major parts were new!!!

Dad had an isuzu once. £70 for a new wing mirror. No internal adjustment or heated, just a bog standard mirror. Ouch!

LR parts are cheap and if an idiot like me can do some repairs then everyone else can too!

I love my disco and wouldn't get rid of it just yet.

[discorich]

to be honest. i have a 17yr old disco, until i got it, it had had no problems at all, since i got it nowt major really bar a head gasket, which i did myself for less than £100 and a timing belt that only bent 6 push rods again did the work my self so cheep. i have broken a few things like diffs and CV's but that is due to the abuse it gets off road and running big nobbly tyres. i used it for my daily run around until i got a company car. i love them and i didnt know owt about mechanics befor i owned this disco now i know quite a lot.

[robert francis]

I WOULD BUY JAP IF I USED IT ON ROAD ALL THE TIME BUT FOR AN ALROUNDER YOU CANT BEAT A LANDY, THE PARTS COST FAR LESS AND YOU CAN DO SO MUCH YOURSELF EVEN IF YOUR AS BAD AS ME ON FIXING THINGS, I STRIPED A FRONT AXLE DOWN TO CHANGE A DIFF, IT WAS HARD BUT I DONE IT AND IT COST ME £63.99 TO DO, BET YOU COULD DO A JAP FOR THAT, USING SECOND HAND PARTS, CHEERS
IM SURE YOU WILL MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU, CHEERS

[discorich]

like robert said parts are cheep, especially if you are in club that have members who have various bits sat around in garages. i changed my diffs to series 3 once to try and re gear, it worked but they were a bit soft for a 200tdi disco with grizzly claws, so i blew 2 front ones, but i got the replacements at the really high cost of a bottle of wine (£6) for both of them. i am sure there are not that many jap cars that you can do that with and it only takes 20min to change back diff and maybe 40min to do the front, once you know what you are doing it could even be quicker. i will let you know when i fit my lockers, as the diffs will be out yet again. haha. but in all seriousness if you are driving on the road all the time do you need a 4x4? for road towing prob jap but for offroading i have to say the landys seem to be better suited to green lanes over here, but they are all quite narrow so a skinny landy is good.

[Thrasher]

Except for that tow home from Tesco's . .
Or the gearbox blowing up in Dorset . .

Hehe I didn't count those, as one was caused by a knackered battery (which can happen to any make), and the second one - well I did have a spare gearbox round the corner didn't I ;-) It was only off the road for about 8 hours in total (not counting sleep/drinking time)

[davidlandy]

Except for that tow home from Tesco's . .
Or the gearbox blowing up in Dorset . .

Hehe I didn't count those, as one was caused by a knackered battery (which can happen to any make), and the second one - well I did have a spare gearbox round the corner didn't I ;-) It was only off the road for about 8 hours in total (not counting sleep/drinking time)

Youre being a little selective there young man!  you should declare it all!!!

[lee celtic]

Disco 200 tdi 1989

in four years it's had.

Clutch and fork £85
Head gasket £80 inc bolts
alternator £45 recon
starter £60 recon
cambelt (done to be safe) £50 ish inc thread lock(£11)
Front brake pads and discs £32
prop UJ £7
servicing

All work done by me and some help from a mate . By using a manual and asking on here I feel there is now nothing I wouldn't have a go at..
It has had lots of other stuff done but that was for fun tyres shocks lift etc... :dance:

[muddymart]

Well this is my downfall also, i bought a 3  door disco have three children (under 10), now this is my second three door disco and i love it, last year (07) it never let us down , nothing broke, and nothing blew up,just one bearing that was moaning , and i got the rear bearings, brakes and discs changed, along with a new timing belt, and oil change all round, thats all ive spent, so in one year of ownership im quite happy,
I was going to px for a shogun (5 door and 7 seats) but after searching the net on shogun/pinnin forums and discovered the prices on parts and locating them were quite a troublesome task,

so the disco is here to stay, im sure whatever you buy , if its serviced and looked after it won't cause any problems..

good luck..
Martin

[gtomo2]

must say i had a rangy with a mazda diesel in it and it was the enigine that let me down every time. got a v8 disco now on a 91 plate it does 180miles per week every week up and down the motorway to work and back plus off roading only problem i had was a bust oil pump that did the engine in but at £100 for another v8 engine and a couple of days to swop it over. not a problem. inlaws had a pej 2.5td for a week it needed a new gearbox, engine, and started ring. at over £2000 for the parts alone. So me i will stick with landys every time

[discowoman]

lot of misinformation around concerning Land rovers reliability...mainly due to people seeing owners under the bonnet - and making 2+2=6..preventative maintainanceis the watch word..youi abuse any vehicle and neglect servicing and sooner or later it'll bite ya!

[Ruprick]

Well if I can add my 2 peneth.

I've had my 300tdi disco for 2 years now and never actually let me down that I couldn't get home.
She's done nocking on 200K and still going strong.

And, IMHO, if Landy's are good enough for Her Majesty's forces than that just says it all I think.

This is just my opinion.

[TDi90]

DONT GET A LAND ROVER - they are unreliable.  :-#
i drive one because i LOVE THEM! not for reliability, not for reliability, not for reliability!
go german, for reliability...
R

[BK]

 :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: hell im glad SOMEBODY agrees with me.........hooray YES they ARE unreliable but we are all biast cos we all love our landies me included,if you want an unstoppable offroader buy a landrover,if you want a occasional muddy field basher and you want all the toys and keep your hands free of grease on a weekend buy an X5 or summat