2001 Land Rover Discovery SE 4.0 V8
Summary:
The Best 4x4xFar
Faults:
My head gaskets were on the verge of letting go.
Had a bad coolant leak from the water-pump.
Had a misfire with the engine.
ABS, TC, and HDC lights were illuminated.
General Comments:
In the year and a bit owning this Discovery Series II, I have nothing but good things to say about it.
I purchased it with 194,000km for a very fair price, and at 218,000km, I just got it back from a major service. My Landy has never let me down, and has never left me stranded, even while slowly dying due to poor compression, engine misfire, and coolant leaks.
I recently had the head gaskets done, heads machined, all new hoses, alternator, battery, CPS, ABS sensors, Oxygen sensors, spark plugs wires, ignition pack, water pump, and so much more all done in this one service. I'm very happy with the results, and I know my reliable Land Rover is even more reliable and it is something to be proud about when owning a vehicle such as this.
A big factor with owning a Rover, is definitely keeping up with the maintenance. If you don't you will for sure get bitten. However, if you love and enjoy the rig, and are willing, as well as have the funds, it is truly unstoppable. I drive a lot, off-road, travel and explore. I've always been around Rovers, even when growing up, and when you sit down and think about it, it really is a great vehicle.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th February, 2014
17th May 2008, 21:52
I purchased a 2000 Discovery brand new and I had lots of the same problems with it when it got higher mileage. It is a great car to drive and own, but everything LEAKS!
I took the truck in for every scheduled maintenance at Land Rover/Jaguar. When the car reached about 85,000 miles, the radiator was leaking and had to be replaced at the dealer.
After that, the head gasket went, but the car never told me that it had. No warning lights or anything. I don't know a whole lot about British vehicles. It drove perfectly fine, until the car ran out of anti-freeze and the engine overheated and I broke down. The dealer said that it would not be covered under warranty because I had had 90,000 miles on the car at the time. They told me that the engine needed to be replaced. I went ahead and did that because I still wanted to keep it.
The other huge problem that I had with this car was that the brakes squeaked like crazy. I had the pads and rotors replaced after the original faded out and they started squeaking. Land Rover told me that this is just how they are. I told them that is these were the same brakes as the ones before, which they are, then they should not be squeaking. The previous pads and rotors made no noise at all. Do they think I am dumb? I am the one driving the car everyday. Dealers think that their customers are so dumb when it comes to repairs, but we are the ones driving them everyday. We know what we hear and what warning lights decided to come on and off, and never seem to be on when I took the car to Land Rover to get it looked at, of course.
I still own the car today, the engine was replaced, and I do not drive it much at all; just for old times sake sometimes. With a Land Rover out of warranty and with higher mileage like mine, expect to put at least $5,500 worth of maintenance and repairs into it each year. An oil change alone at Land Rover is $230.