Land Rover Repair: 2003 Disco series II future??, crystal ball time, electrical faults

Question
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Followup To
Question -
We're considering purchasing our 2003 Disco series II coming off lease in a few months. We have 37,000 miles.we've had minor problems along the way but love the car. How do you think the car will perform at 100,000 miles? Do you think the cars are built to last??We service the car by the book.
Answer -
Hi Shelley,

crystal ball time.  Most Disco's have weird electrical faults, window operational failures, door lock problems, ABS, TC, EDC woes, suspension problems.  All are difficult to diagnose and expensive to repair.  As for the rest of the mechanical systems, there are none better.  

IT all depends on how you drive and maintain your Disco.  My '95 still looks good and it has 360,000 kms.  Your '03 seems to be in good condition and may well last for much more than 100k miles.  Routine maintenance is the key to keeping this Disco on the road.

Best of luck,

JohnMc



John
We've had no electrical problems. Does this mean we should be OK in the future? Or does this mean we can look forward to electrical problems to begin?
Thanks so much for your help.
shelley

Answer
Hi Shelley,

of all the problems I've help solve, many are related to electrical faults of some sort. Windows, doors, ignition, lights all could have eventual problems.  Expensive to repair because of the time it takes to find the fault...unless you do the repair yourself.

One big problem is the suspension on your '03.  It can be very expensive to repair.  Leaks in the air bladder or compressor are big problems.  

Since you know the Disco well, you know how the Disco was maintained and have an advantage over most 2nd owners.

You've never had your windows refuse to operate?  Rear windows are usually the first to randomly fail then recover.

Hard to predict what will happen and when but can say the problems do exist and eventually you'll find out.  Electrical problems are a nuisance. I would be more worried about suspension problems and valve problems as the Disco gets older (more mileage).  EMS (engine management) is better than older versions - a real plus!

Best of luck,

JohnMc