1. Engine Won't Start when it rains or snows
2. Land Rover can not fix it
3. High ground clearance provides excellent vantage point to Wait for Tow Truck
4. Dealer broke the windshield, refused to pay. See Carousel Automobiles: where you go in circles 
5. In most cities, you are at the mercy of the sole dealer for parts, tyres, spare keys, you name it
6. Front Bumper Fell Off
7. Roof Racks Destroyed in Parking Garage
8. 10 miles per gallon (see my actual mpg) - Burns Premium Fuel
9. Poor Resale Value - $10,000 depreciation per year
10. Land Rover termed "Antichrist" in movie The Gods Must be Crazy

Humor
Check out the Land Rover Anti-FAQ or the Top Ten indicators You are a Land Rover Owner. Write your own letter to Land Rover Engineering courtesy of the Computerized Hate Mail Generator at cartalk.com.

Independent Reviews

• Discovery rated "Worst Sport Utility," C. Murray. How automakers tackle reliability. Design News 10-6-97, p 142.
• Selected Usenet posts from rec.autos.4x4 last updated 97.8.1
• Land Rover is not a car, it's a money pit.
• Discover sustains Costly Damage in insurance industry study of "fender benders."
• Built in England, the Discovery also exhibits a distressing tendency toward reliability problems. We receive lots of horror stories regarding Discovery reliability via e-mail, and Automobile magazine wrapped up a long-term test with a very troublesome 1995 model recently. ... accompanied by gear noise and other aural annoyances. Worse, this power plant is rated for 13 mpg city/17 mpg highway, and that's with a light foot.
• Lackluster Crash Test Results. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the 1996 Discovery only 3 stars compared to the Ford Bronco's five stars.

Personal Observations
Seriously, there are a number of features to recommend the Discover. I even owned one (a year of frustration, anger, and boredom, waiting for roadside assistance and monthly repairs). Besides the shortcomings noted in the literature (sluggish acceleration, one of the lowest fuel-economies, pronounced lean when cornering, long stopping distance, defective trim, cheap parts, hard to clean), I've noted the following:

• Poor Human Factors Engineering
• cup holders block access while spilling your drink into the radio
• must use keys to open & close the fuel door
• Complex Clearances Difficult to Use
• Service is Terrible
• Takes weeks to get a service appointment
• Takes days to determine they can't fix
• Took 6 trips to replace a door lock actuator
• Most of the duplicate keys they made didn't work smoothly or won't go in both ways
• Reliability is Abysmal

One of the world's richest languages (see works of William Shakespeare). Pubs, with their hand crafted beers and ales , songs, darts, and good fellowship. Morris dancing, mumming, and other ritual forms. British Comedy including Monty Python, Red Dwarf, Black Adder, and Douglas Adams and his Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Trifle a fancy desert of sponge cake, custard, fruit, jam, whipped cream...

More suggestions? email them to <craigs@mail.wavetech.net>

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go round and round in circles, never getting anywhere ...

Carousel Automobiles
where customer satisfaction is just another slogan

Carousel is the only Land Rover dealer within 300 miles. I suppose, given this virtual monopoly position, they see little reason for improvement. When I asked why an oil change costs $41, they explain that when they have the car up on the lift, they "look at it." Apparently, their highly trained mechanics can spot problems that ordinary mechanics (the kind that charge $20 for an oil change) might over look. Presumably these are the same mechanics that used a screwdriver to remove a mirror?

Car won't start? No problem! they have an opening available in 3 or 4 weeks. How's that? Need to go somewhere? That's why they maintain a large fleet of Audi rentals! Is this a service department, or a car rental agency? They often required several days to fix a problem. Once I, left it with them for a full week and they they still could not fix it. My Disco was in their service department on six separate occasions for the same defective door lock before they were actually able to fix it. What's the probability they could accurately diagnose chronic engine malfunctions? Virtually nil.

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Justice Prevails

Faced with imminent litigation, Carousel sends price of windshield plus 6 months interest!

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Footnotes

Poor Human Factors Engineering

• Dual temperature controls seemed neat, but when the car warms up you have twice as many knobs to adjust: difficult because the cup holders block access while spilling your drink into the radio!
• Gotta use your keys both to open & close the fuel door.
• who figured this out? Most cars have a lever to open, just slam it shut
• The lock freezes when wet. Unfortunately, you won't notice this till your tank is near empty (did I mention the poor gas mileage?)
• No "door ajar" warning light
• Complex Clearances Difficult to Use
• there are 3 different clearance heights, depending if roof racks installed, sunroof closed, etc.
• denominated in Inches, while all US signs are in Feet & Inches
• PROCEDURE: you're headed towards a questionable bridge, flip down the visor, figure which of 3 configurations apply, convert 79 inches to feet, and compare to posted height. If you can't make it, lower the sunroof, recompute new clearance, compare, and apply brakes if necessary! Be sure to caution others (parking valets, drivers borrowing the car): they may need calculator to drive this car. ; - )
Abysmal Reliability
• At 13,564 miles, the hood won't open, key won't operate lock
• At 21,942 miles, the hood rattles, AC won't work, and steering wheels squeaks
• At 23,183 miles, found leaks in value cover gasket, valley pan, front & rear transfer cases, crank seal, and power steering line.
• At 23,191 miles, key stuck in lock, can't open gas flap
• At 24,381 miles, engine won't start, check engine warning light on, door loose and rattling. Door lock doesn't work, transmission indicator out
• At 24,727 miles, engine won't start, door still won't lock, update water ingress kit
• At 25,142 miles, door still won't lock
• At 25,400 miles, door still won't lock
• At 29,139 miles, engine won't start, leaky oil pan, replaced heat shield, transmission light
• At 30,333 miles, engine surges and dies, new oil line installed
• In one year I went through:
• 4 windshields, 3 digital clocks, 3 rear window spray nozzles (they break off in the carwash), 2 radiator hoses, several burned-out warning lights, distributor coil
• The hood rattles at speed and then won't open
• Sunroof won't open
• Plastic trim is cheap and falls off
• steering column trim replaced twice, carpet hold-downs break off; replacement parts unavailable

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