I have a conundrum. No, that’s not a german auto, it’s a pickle. no, not THAT kind of pickle… ok, i have a dilemna. I have a 2000 discovery which 1 - on top of a myriad of repairs excedding 6000 in the last 2 years, 2 - I still owe $5500 on, and 3 - is right now sitting at the shop with a ‘seized engine’ that will cost about $6500 ‘ROUGHLY’. (Maybe this is a puzzler vs. a question?) I don’t know if I should a - have it towed here, pay it off, sell it for parts, and get a new auto (whole other conundrum); or b - pay the repair bill, and pray that it does not have any further issues until it’s paid off. Question on “b” is: what ELSE major could possibly go wrong after this point (and how much would it cost) that would help me decide what to do? HELP?!
Correct Answer:
pay it off, sell it for parts…Stop throwing good money after bad…
Thank you! The math made sense this way, wanted an objective opinion. May I inquire about the “correct answer”? is this an accounting-based answer, land-rover-experienced answer, or both? Thanks again-
You’re in a deep financial pit on this one, no doubt about it,can find a used engine and have it installed for far less than that 6500 dollars you mention.
Two comments.
One is the fact you still owe 4 figures on the vehicle if you scrap it and if that 4 figures is rolled over into the cost of another vehicle then the financial hole gets even deeper.
Two is that you must be abusing your vehicles and what happens when your next vehicle dies an early death?
I say abusing the vehicle because you have a seized engine. In well over 99% of these cases a seized engine is caused by lack of oil, severe overheating, and the failure of the driver to maintain the vehicle or stop if a problem develops.
Sorry to hear about your pickle. It’s good that you’re accepting it as a part of life.
Personally I’d be inclined to pay it off, Ebay the carcass, and acccept the loss as the cost of an education. A Land Rover is a graduate course in deficit financing.
OK4450 may be right about finding an engine, but while Chevy, Ford Toyota and Honda engines can be delivered to your doorstep rebuilt, I’m not so sure about Land Rover engines. It’s worth a Google however.
Sincere best.
If you can afford to pay over 6000 dollars for a repair bill then I recommend you put some of that money at least, down on a new car and sell the other one for whatever you get for it or trade it in on the new one. You will have a new car warranty and a brand new car. You certainly cannot afford to keep this money pit for a single dollar more in repair costs. You can make a very good deal on a new car nowadays. Dealers are crying for customers to come in and make a deal.
You didn’t list the items you had repaired to the tune of $6,000. In a Land Rover, there are likely lots more things that can and will go wrong as the car is now about 10 years old.
A seized motor is a killer in this case. The car is worth something for parts and/or perhaps a mechanic will buy it and do the repairs on the cheap to resell it. Regardless, sell it for whatever you can.
If you are wealthy enough to write off the loss and still afford a new car then do so. If you are up for another expensive car to repair get another Land Rover, or Volvo. I’d suggest you consider a nice basic Ford Fusion. Stay away from pricey exotic cars for awhile.
Hope you are good at arithmetic, because how the math works out will make your decision.
If you have an everyday ‘driving’ vehicle and a place to store the Discovery and you know how to, or want to learn how to, work on it, you have a perfect project vehicle.
Beneath the cute body is one of the world’s toughest trucks. And one of the most able off-road vehicles. That’s why you see them so often on Discovery, History and the Travel Channel. Good place to start a 4X4 project.
There are a few upgrades to make it even better, like locking differentials. You can upgrade a few electrical things here and there…no not a super-sized thunder base stereo, the basic stuff.
If you can do the above and have the time to do an extended search, a cheap engine can be found. Be sure your state allows you to do something other than keep it stock.
You can name it; The Big Lesson
I did not weed through the application but there are a number of Rover engines on eBay.
While I’m not familiar with flat rate at all on these vehicles one could figure around 8-10 hours on an engine R & R. A decently priced engine, a bit of labor, and incidentals and this car could be salvageable for far less than 6500 dollars.
Another possibility is to find a local salvage yard that might have an engine or can find one at a decent price through their parts locator system.
Some yards will also install a used engine for a nominal fee so it’s possible one could get off much cheaper this way.
Since a yard or recycler won’t pay much at all for a 9 year old vehicle with a trashed engine you might consider selling it on eBay under the “Parts Cars” categories.
Catch the right person who’s looking for a Rover (say they have a wreck with a good engine) and they would likely bid it up for far more than a salvage would ever consider giving for it.
OUCH! Thanks so much for the assumption that I don’t take care of my carS. I have onnly owned 2 cars in over 40 years, the first being a 1989 Toyota celica that was driven until 2000 to the tune of over 170000 miles, while living in the metropolitan DC area (read: I-95/395/495), and NY (read: all 5 boroughs). She had oil changes every 4-6000 miles depending on # miles/month, and was taken to the same reputable garage in both her homes. She was donated to the American Lung Association after 11+ years of respect and adoration. The only thing I wish my car could have given me was the ability to drive on the 4 wheel drive beaches of Carova, NC.
2nd car is my Land Rover. She’s much more highmaintenance, but I researched how much her maintenance, fuel, and insurance would be, and even opted for the longest warranty I could get on her. She weighs twice that of celica, but I don’t hold her weight or appetite against her, because I needed her to address MY new needs… being freshly emancipated from a lying, cheating fiance, and now living in a state where pesonal property tax and insurance aren’t half your paycheck, I opted for the single-girl-who-can-haul-anything-without-a-mans-help vehicle. Her entire 9 years in my ownership since December 2000, she has ONLY been serviced by a Land Rover CENTER, not authorized dealership, and I have said yes to every recall and recommended repair regardless of cost that they suggested because I understand that if I take care of my car it will take care of me, a mantra I will never give up, courtesy of my late father.
A deer hit my car about a month ago (yes, tried to head butt the left side of my car, coming out of the woods; got up and ran away so no obvious damage to the deer) while I was driving on a local country road on a moonless and streetlightless night. I took it to the shop recommended by my insurance company, which happened to be the same parent company as the dealership now owning my currently frequented Land Rover CENTER. They failed to notice that as a result of the deer impact, and in their repair of my entire front bumper and left quarter panel that the hood wouldnt open. This, after waiting 2 weeks for the body to be fixed, put my in slight disfavor with this company. I asked that they PLEASE check the oil while they were at it, as it was due for a change. The (allegedly) did, and said “it was fine”. Two weeks later, while waiting for a part to come in to allow them to fix my hood release, strange sounds started coming from the underside of my car. I called them and asked if they could look at it or ask someone from LR to look at it when I brought in in for it’s SECOND round of repair on the ORIGINAL deer damage. My universal joint was mangled (how’d THAT happen?) and needed to be replaced. NOw about $1500 in rental fees and $1000 in repairs out of personal funds to get her back to near perfect condition, I have to wait another week to get that repaired. Interestingly enough, 2 weeks later, I am driving up a hill, Easter Saturday, about an hour from my house, when I hear a very strange noise, notice my oil light has just come on, and as I pull IMMEDIATELY off the road, the call stalls. 6 hours, a state trooper, 3 calls to AAA, and one 2 hour tow back home, and I am told my engine has seized, but its a holiday weekend and we wont know the cost to repair till the next week. New engine repried by LR estimated at $8800; used with good compression and done by a different shop, $6-$6500.
Now you have almost every detail, except some minor details like my making sure to wash her undercarriage immediately after driving her on the beach, and that I follwed the regular recommended service by LR - NOT covered by warranty - every 7500 miles to the tune of $150 to $750.
DEFINITELY an abuser of my cars. I should be arrested.
All this to ask politely that you consider that there are ALWAYS extenuating circumstances to a plea for help on/in a bog/chat room… there’s usually just not enough character space to include it all.
Oh - and thanks for the advice… wait, you didn’t actually offer any advice, at least not relative to my question.
Sorry, Tappet brothers, if I’ve abused my character space… I’m really a nice person, and quite the adoring fan of the automobile.
You state your vehicle has a “seized engine”. An engine will seize for one or more of the following reasons:
- Breakage of an internal part. (extremely rare)
- Severe overheating and failure to shut the engine off.
- Lack of oil lubriation due to either a very low oil level or complete lack of oil.
Which one is it?
My feeling is that you are not checking the oil level because from your comment in the above post I gather that you are having the oil changed every 4-6k miles and assuming everything is ducky between each oil change. I also have a feeling that you are not raising the hood and checking the oil level every few weeks nor are you having it done.
Am I right?
Whatever happened with your Land Rover? I am on my third engine and the vehicle recently turned 91k miles. Fortunately they were all covered under my warranty and extended warranty. Now for the bad news, I hot a deer in Minnesota last weekend and did almost $5K worth of damage to it. But, I was able to drive it home which was almost 700 miles away. You can say what you want about a LR, but they will usually get you home.
Is Rover still using the 1962 Buick Special aluminum V8?? Many of those owners walked home…
The combined EPA mileage on your Discovery is 13 MPG. You might be able to get a Cash for Clunkers deal on a new car if it gets 23 MPG combined or better. That would give you a $1000 deficit. If you find a new car or truck that gets 17 MPG to 22 MPG, you will get $3500 ($2000 deficit). It’s better than nothing.
Hey, the engine is destroyed already!
IIRC the vehicle has to be in running, driveable condition for the C for C deal to work. It would be a pity to install a new (used) engine just to have that engine trashed with “Clunker Bomb”.
Under these specific circumstances, it still might work since the truck was running a short time ago. It’s worth a shot if the OP wants to try it.