Land rover discovery II as a tow vehicle?
 

Instead of getting a hitch on our ml350 (dealer quote is $3,500, towing capacity 7200lb) we are thinking of picking up an early 2000's or late 1990's discovery. There are plenty around for the price, with <150k miles. Does anyone have experience with the reliability of older rovers?

It would only be towing a couple times a year. The boat is on a lift all summer so only once out of storage to the water, and once from the water to storage. Maybe a few other jobs now and then.

wouldn't own one. they are crap. I'm sure someone on here is going to have a different opinion. i own a shop and we work on a ton of them. the electrical system is the biggest problem.

I looked heavily into II and III's and a little bit at IV's last year. Ended up skipping on them due to expected costs of keeping the II and III's running. IV's where more money than I wanted to spend. As mentioned electrical is common and what really put me off was suspension parts and how frequent they need replacement. I went a different route and skipped on the Land Rovers. If you search thru European Discovery sites you'll find frequent and costly work needed every 70 to 100 KMs. I was figuring to budget $4,000 over the cost of the SUV in the first year of ownership.

At your price point why not an older GM or Ford truck or SUV (Yukon, Tahoe, Suburban...)?

Saw video on youtube of one pulling a ram dually

Unless there is something special about the ML - there is no reason that just a hitch is going to cost $3500. Should be 1/10th of that. Call Uhaul and ask - they install more hitches than anyone.

Rubbish. The Disco II is an outstanding truck if you keep up on your mx and are willing to do your own work. They have a bad rap because they are typically driven by Soccer mom's who want something "high end". There are inexpensive, simple fixes for the infamous "3 Amigos" which is the most common electrical issue, and once you convert to coils your suspension problems disappear. My 2001 D2 has 170K on the clock and gives me exactly zero trouble. And I beat the hell out of it. Having said all that, if you want to pull a big wakeboat with it you'll be disappointed. They are not meant to be pullers. It'll will pull fine down a flat freeway, but once you hit hills you'll be in the far right lane with your hazards on.

Every soccer Mom I know had a brand spanking new one and it was in the shop all the time. To get one with a bunch of miles???maybe the bugs would all be worked out but I don't see the point other than a absolute love for the styling.

Like a soccer Mom I don't do my own vehicle maintenance and I quickly dropped the Mercedes not because I did not love to drive the car, I just get sick and tired of running to the dealership to fix stupid stuff.

Buy an American Made truck or a real sized SUV for towing. Discovery is nothing but a headache. Or goto a hitch specific shop and get a hitch on the ML for I would thing waaaay less than the MB dealership.