2003 Disco, Good Bad and the Ugly

[AlmightyMoonPie]

I am looking for a used 03 Disco SE or HSE for a ocassional daily driver and tripper. I was wondering abut the dependability and Maintance issues that I might face. I am hoping the BMW 4.6 is better than the old 4.0 It will be used on a few ocassions for minor offroading. I was also interested in the Navigation system and how well it works, I have not seen a Disco with one in it but have seen many online, Is it worth it?

Thanks
MP

 

[wolfman]

We have 2003 Disco HSE. Love the bigger motor, better brakes, and better ride over the 2002 Disco SD we had. In our opinion the 03 is much better than earlier Discos particularly for your listed uses. The Nav system works well and seems really accurate. Its is VERY VERY cumbersome in its use. You are better off getting a stand alone Garmin or such and dash mounting it. The external antenna for the GPS is useful. I have pocket GPS I throw on the dash of my 2004 G4 Disco and occasionally reception is weak. I read on Discoweb that some of the 2003 can not add a locking differential - not a problem if you are only off roading every now and then. Good luck in your hunt!

 

[Alyssa]

Not to burst your bubble, but the 4.6 is not a BMW engine.
As wolfman says, the navigation system is accurate, but doesn't have a large picture display screen. It is pretty complicated to use, too.

 

[D Chapman]

I think he got the BMW idea from the cylinder heads....

The stock GPS is a POS, and not worth the money, IMO. It's not a deal breaker, per say. But the 03 is a nice looking truck, if you like "nice looking".

When you say "off-road on occasion". I take it with a grain of salt. Off-roading is addictive. With that said, the 99-00 or the 04 is a better bargin, IMO. But, the headlights in the 03 are pretty "cool looking".

 

[Alyssa]

Oh--- the other nice thing about getting the NAV is that you also get the 320 watt harmon kardon stereo system, instead of 220 watts.

 

[syoung]

I didn't get NAV in my 04, but I bought the same system (Harmon Kardon) on sale from Crutchfield to install in my 95 Disco. It is cumbersome at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy to use. It's always nice to be able to punch up the closest Chinese food while road tripping or when I was in Napa, we used it to find the wineries we wanted to see. The way the HK NAV works is almost identical to the Blaupunkt Travel Pilot- another great NAV unit.
As for not having a big display, it's better that way in that it isn't distracting you from driving. Just listen to the nice lady and she'll get you where you need to go. I also run a couple GPS systems with maps and I find the maps horribly distracting so I just use them for topo info.
It isn't worth what it costs from Land Rover, but the same head unit can be had for $400 and the other $1500+ you save can go towards a professional installation of a much nicer amp/speaker set. Probably still have $500 left over.

 

[AlmightyMoonPie]

When you say "off-road on occasion". I take it with a grain of salt. Off-roading is addictive. With that said, the 99-00 or the 04 is a better bargin, IMO. But, the headlights in the 03 are pretty "cool looking".

Yea, I currently have a snorkled '94 Jeep sitting on dana 44's and 37's for a offroad ride. I just want something dependable and comfortable for trips and such.

thanks so much for the advice.

Chuck

 

[RBBailey]

I had a '94 DI that I modified myself, owned it for 4+ years and only spent $30 total on actual "breakdown" repairs. The rest was normal wear and tear maintenence at the recommended mileage. I had 128k on it when I sold it...

BUT, I love the '03 more and more every day. ONLY thing I wish is that it had the locking diff, but since this will probably be the last daily driver that I buy for 10-15 years, I'll get around to a lift, locking diff, and other mods when the warrantee runs out.

I have really appreciated buying the certified used also, they fix anything and everything that might go wrong...

squeak in the seat - new one
rattle in jump seats - fixed
strange looking fender flare - replaced all four

I will have a lot of fun when I modify it, but in the mean time it is a very comfortable car for daily driving and very capible off road when traction is an issue, just remember, momentum is the key with the ETC.

Save your money on the HSE unless you neeeeeeeed the H&K radio. Spend your money on a nice color display GPS that you can stick on your dash, you will be glad you did.