Thanks for the reply. I don't have a garage but I do have friends and family that would surely help with that, and I was thinking of parking it for the winter. And I am not totally useless in mechanic, but rebuilding an engine in not something I have done before but I'm sure I could learn.
As for the other rig I will avoid them, I really appreciate your input on this topic. And as for what kind of travel will will do, we would like to visit Canada, go to places we've never been. I was thinking at first I would setup a bed in the back of the Land Rover and in the future I would get a roof top tent. What I had in mind for the Disco was upgrade the suspension and tire this year and them next year do bumper and roof rack, year after probably roof tent and fridge. And every year being able to adventure further and further from home.
That sounds like a fantastic goal for building the rig. Canada has a ton to explore. The downside is, much of the good exploration out east like the TransLab or other logging roads can be quite isolated, so reliability and self-recovery will be the number one priority no matter what rig you buy. While Land Rovers don't have the reputation for being reliable, reliability is at least a little bit subjective. All vehicles break, it's your attitude & preparation about what to do when they break that matters most. To illustrate: Some years ago, a fellow bought a nice shiny KTM adventure motorcycle for a trip through Mexico. Before he crossed the border, he found out he needed a new fuel filter (I think that's what it was but it may have been an oil issue). He didn't have any spares with him -- in his mind, a brand new bike shouldn't need spare parts -- and KTM dealers were few and far between. Therefore, his whole trip was ruined because from his perspective "the KTM was unreliable" -- "What kind of twenty-thousand-dollar adventure bike can't even do a two week trip to Mexico" was the frustration. On the other hand, had he been prepared that the service item was coming due/knew more about the machine, he may have been able to pack a fuel filter with him, and what was a trip-ruining experience could have been turned into some parking lot/side of the road maintenance more akin to oiling a chain. Attitude + Preparation trump reliability every time.
One final thought on mindset -- I don't know your specific needs and budget, but what you posted earlier in terms of links leads me to believe that you are not in a spot to drop $85K on a new Gladiator or whatever. Based on those links, you are mostly buying the "bones" of a vehicle -- at those ages, anything can go wrong, and stuff is going to wear out. With a Land Rover with 200k kilometres on the clock, you are essentially buying a 98 pound weakling with the Genes of Dwayne Johnson. It's going to take you some time and energy in the gym to turn your 98 pound weakling into The Rock -- but you don't need to be The Rock to enjoy an adventure! There are many to be had along the way while you build it up.
So with that mindset stuff out of the way, generally speaking, the first thing you want to look at is Rust. Rust is like cancer. Once it starts, it spreads, and it's very hard to eradicate completely. Panel Rust is fixable, but be wary of rust on the frame. Most models of vehicle (regardless of manufacturer) have "rust prone areas" so learn what those are.
When buying used, unless you have very good and detailed service records from a licensed garage (and with LR, preferably a LR specialist garage) I would assume that all wear parts are going to need to be redone with vehicles at the milage you are looking at, and I wouldn't stray too far from the beaten path (i.e. no where a tow truck couldn't come get my rig) until I had them replaced. I would invest in the "leave me stranded" bits first.
- Wheel Bearings/Hubs
- Battery
- Alternator
- Brake pads, inspect callipers & rotors.
- Brake Fluid (On some rigs, this is also the fluid used in the clutch)
- Engine Oil
- Trans Fluid
- Diff Fluids (Do a "diff-cover off" inspection to see if there is wear)
- T-Case fluid (again, if there's a way to pull a cover to inspect for wear, do it).
- Water Pump (If the pump appears to be functioning, keep it as a spare)
- If it's a manual, consider replacing the clutch, pilot, and throwout bearings.
- Oil Pump (Same as WP, keep old one as spare)
- Suspension (go cheap first, unless you know exactly how your rig will be configured and what that will weigh. In other words, buy cheap Monroe shocks if you absolutely must replace them, rather than springing for the ARB kit right away, because as you build your rig you'll eventually dial in your 'usual weight' and should base your final suspension on that weight).
Those are all things you can probably do in a driveway with some jack stands and a good set of mechanics tools (Maybe not the clutch, that's a big job, but it's possible -- done it 4 times in my life, one was at -30C and terribly unpleasant). There may also be electrical issues that are common, but spending some time on expo-focused Landy forums can help -- most will have a "Land Rover Disco II Problems Thread" or something that will highlight the common failings and fixes.
The other bits that can go wrong are more complex and can end up being major money sinks, like engine problems -- valve seats burning up, cam chains (if it has them) being stretched out of spec, etc. Another bigger item of concern is internal wear on the gears and synchros in the trans. The trouble is, it's very hard to tell when there are sleeper problems that are significant for almost any vehicle. Regular fluid changes can help, but one still never knows. Once you've decided the rough make and models you are interested, get an idea of what these big things cost by calling around to a few shops in your area. Even if you do the work yourself, this will give you a 'worst case scenario' calculation. You can probably get the transmission rebuilt fairly affordably versus buying a whole new one. Some Land Rover engines have a reputation for being bulletproof, which means you probably don't need to worry about them if they are in your rig with a clean service history. Some LR engines are known for being very useful boat anchors on a good day, and that's it. This info alone might be enough to avoid one Landy over another.
These aren't things you should worry about necessarily, but keep it in the back of your mind: "If I buy this rover for $XXX thousand dollars, and EVERYTHING is needing to be replaced, what is my total outlay?". That may tilt the balance more in favour of the $3k Landy with 200k on the clock over the $10k Landy with only 180k on the clock. $8k can buy a lot of parts and repairs. On the other hand, if the 10k Landy has one of the bulletproof engines and the $3k has one that is known for problems, maybe the 10k one is a better buy. Obviously, I wouldn't suggest buying a rig with the intention of replacing the engine or transmission, but be prepared for that so you at least go in with both eyes open.
I would avoid anything that has been messed with/modified into an 'overlanding' rig by the previous owner too much. Bumpers and bolt-ons are usually fine, but generally, "Too much" in my books is if the original owner has messed with the electrics -- tapped into the loom for a set of lights here, piggy backed off a fuse for a radio there, etc. -- if they've done that, they've introduced gremlins into the system. Moreover, it suggests that they did things the "easy way" instead of "the right way" (probably because of ignorance, not intent), and this approach was probably not exclusive to the electrics -- the "easy way" approach may have been taken with other aftermarket parts. I don't say this as a condemnation of amateur shade-tree mechanics, because I am one -- I say this because I know that the vehicles I modified early on in my overlanding life were not done properly -- I simply didn't know what I didn't know -- and it had a negative impact on vehicle reliability. Since I am a person with incredibly average intelligence and skill, there's a lot of people like me out there! You do not want to inherit a "Learner" rig like that.
I hope that is helpful! If there are specific questions or points of clarification please don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to share my perspective on this stuff, though there are thousands who know a lot more about this than me so I'm hoping more people chime in
especially to tell me where I'm wrong, so we can both learn!
