Advice on buying a used Disco 2

Hi everyone. I'm new to this website and indeed to the whole Land Rover world.

I've never been in a position to afford a Disco but now I hope to have about £12,000 to spend on a used one.

I currently have a BMW 120D sport and it is far too small for us and is rubbish in the snow, which means during the winter we cannot get anywhere near any countryside without the risk of getting stuck! Problem is we love skiing and walking which we can't do during the winter with our BMW!

Anyway, enough background. I hope to get £6,000 for my BMW and pay off the remainder of my loan, and get another loan for around £12,000 which I hope to use on a Disco.

Can you please give me some advice on what type of Disco to go for, what I should look out for and if you know where I may be able to find the best deals?

My partner is also concerned about fuel consumption so if anyone can put my mind at ease (with some figures) that would be a great selling point for me. I currently commute for about 8 months of the year, along a motorway - approx 90 miles a day.

Looking for a Diesel one by the way.

Look forward to hearing all your comments, tips and so forth...

£12k will get you a lot of disco. 30mpg.

I know it will get me a Disco, but which one should I go for, what should I look for, how to I make it more fuel efficient?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

A black one with tinted windows and big wheels.

Discoteq said:

I know it will get me a Disco, but which one should I go for, what should I look for, how to I make it more fuel efficient?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

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disco and fuel efficient????your looking for the wrong car mate if your already worried about the fuel costs

You need to think long and hard about purchasing one of these vehicles !.

In my opinion Landrover owners fall into one of two categories, the first being someone who doesnt have to worry about money, and just sticks it into the main dealer WHEN things go wrong, and the second, someone who is into the whole " Landrover " thing, and thus can forgive the " bitch of a vehicle " when it goes wrong, or starts rotting away.

The Discovery 2 is a fine vehicle, and if CARED FOR PROPERLY can give many years of, relatively, trouble free motoring.

HOWEVER, when things go wrong, and if you,re not familiar with a spanner, it can cost BIG TIME.

As they have become older, ( since 1998 ), there is a LOT more information about on how to fix some of the many problems when they develop.

I think my D2 is great, and is the perfect " Landrover " for me, but it is ,sort of, my hobby, and so I can forgive it when it wants repairs or replacement parts.

If you think that all you need to worry about with a Discovery 2 is fuel consumption, then you MAY be in for a shock !.

The " newest " D2 you can buy now will be 8 years old, and I think you will be ripped off if you buy one for £12000.00 !.

I would advise that you search the internet till you,re " blue in the face ", about the Discovery 2, so that you are FULLY AWARE of all its good points and all its bad points.

Cheers.

Discoteq said:

Hi everyone. I'm new to this website and indeed to the whole Land Rover world.

I've never been in a position to afford a Disco but now I hope to have about £12,000 to spend on a used one.

I currently have a BMW 120D sport and it is far too small for us and is rubbish in the snow, which means during the winter we cannot get anywhere near any countryside without the risk of getting stuck! Problem is we love skiing and walking which we can't do during the winter with our BMW!

Anyway, enough background. I hope to get £6,000 for my BMW and pay off the remainder of my loan, and get another loan for around £12,000 which I hope to use on a Disco.

Can you please give me some advice on what type of Disco to go for, what I should look out for and if you know where I may be able to find the best deals?

My partner is also concerned about fuel consumption so if anyone can put my mind at ease (with some figures) that would be a great selling point for me. I currently commute for about 8 months of the year, along a motorway - approx 90 miles a day.

Looking for a Diesel one by the way.

Look forward to hearing all your comments, tips and so forth...

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Any modern diesel, like your BM will seem like a rocketship by comparison to a Disco TD5.

Just to put it into perspective for you:

BMW 1 diesel weighs about 1500kgs and has about 150-160bhp? - 50mpg?
Disco TD5 weighs 2250kgs and has 138bhp. - 25 to 30mpg.

So the Disco will be slower and heavier, much heavier on fuel.

You might be better with a newer Freelander II which has a newer generation engine, four wheel drive for winter and is light - but more money.

Or go for something like a Volvo or Audi allroad type of estate.

Don't get me wrong Disco's are great - but to get the best from them they should be treated as an enthusiasts car.

ye , dont buy one.

£12,000 will get you the best Disco 2 around and you'll still have £3k plus to spare. £12,000 will also get you an early Disco 3.

They are good at what they do, but if you don't need what they do, then you're paying for something that you ain't using. And you do pay. Normal servicing, unless you do it yourself is high. Parts aren't too bad, but things do go wrong on them with sometimes alarming frequency.

Unless you tow big things, go offroad a lot or live up a Scottish mountain the only reason to have one is as a hobby. Like, for example someone might have an old British motorcycle. Money pits that you don't often use for their intended purpose. Sure they do other things like seat 5 in comfort, have a commanding road presence, great view of the road and a cavernous boot, but all those things can be got elsewhere cheaper and more reliably.

pedros said:

£12,000 will get you the best Disco 2 around and you'll still have £3k plus to spare. £12,000 will also get you an early Disco 3.

They are good at what they do, but if you don't need what they do, then you're paying for something that you ain't using. And you do pay. Normal servicing, unless you do it yourself is high. Parts aren't too bad, but things do go wrong on them with sometimes alarming frequency.

Unless you tow big things, go offroad a lot or live up a Scottish mountain the only reason to have one is as a hobby. Like, for example someone might have an old British motorcycle. Money pits that you don't often use for their intended purpose. Sure they do other things like seat 5 in comfort, have a commanding road presence, great view of the road and a cavernous boot, but all those things can be got elsewhere cheaper and more reliably.

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In a nutshell, I believe.

Discoteq said:

Hi everyone. I'm new to this website and indeed to the whole Land Rover world.

I've never been in a position to afford a Disco but now I hope to have about £12,000 to spend on a used one.

I currently have a BMW 120D sport and it is far too small for us and is rubbish in the snow, which means during the winter we cannot get anywhere near any countryside without the risk of getting stuck! Problem is we love skiing and walking which we can't do during the winter with our BMW!

Anyway, enough background. I hope to get £6,000 for my BMW and pay off the remainder of my loan, and get another loan for around £12,000 which I hope to use on a Disco.

Can you please give me some advice on what type of Disco to go for, what I should look out for and if you know where I may be able to find the best deals?

My partner is also concerned about fuel consumption so if anyone can put my mind at ease (with some figures) that would be a great selling point for me. I currently commute for about 8 months of the year, along a motorway - approx 90 miles a day.

Looking for a Diesel one by the way.

Look forward to hearing all your comments, tips and so forth...

Click to expand...

Hope your good with spanners or have a good friend that is as you will end up fixing it no mattter what age disco you get . Disco 2 are easy to fix parts price`s are cheap for most parts but as they say you only get what you pay for . I have a 2000 TD5 owned for 5 years in that time i have replaced the clutch both ace pipes all 4 shockers front springs all the brake disc`s rear callipers air compressor both air bags. Then you have your normal service`n . So would i trade my disco NOT A CHANCE why it tows great & when i go shooting some of the places i take it that jap crap would run away from . So if you can put up with bad bits & fix them yourself their a great buy if have to take it to a garage its gonna cost you .So good luck & if you do buy one welcome to the family

Its funny reading the replies in this thread, i totally agree with the comments though.
I bought a D2 just over a year ago and whereas it has been good as gold and i absolutely love it to bits, its not without its issues.
Mine has done almost 90k miles, wax oiled since it was 5 years old and it has a pretty comprehensive service history. Ive kept it up to date on the servicing since owning it which hopefully will see a good return when i sell it next year.
Ive replaced the air suspension compressor that went last week and it cost me £400 to get it replaced at an independant specialist. Ive also replaced the rocker cover gasket and slave cylinder in the clutch.

Mod wise, i blanked the EGR off and ive removed the tow pack as i never tow anything and it also affords a bit more clearance for green laning.

The family and i are off to France on holiday Friday and its a 1k mile round trip, at 28-30 mpg its not going to be cheap!

You should get a really tidy example for your money but if i had £12k i really wouldnt spend out on one, i'd go with the Freelander 2 or get something with less gadgets to go tits up, like a 110 or ultimately not buy a 4x4.

Jim

Oh, and check under the carpet in the boot if you can... they rot like a bastard in and outside of that area.

hum
this is my experiance i have had a discovery td5 es premium 54 plate for 5 years now it has a full service history from land rover but is relitivly low milage 69k
full wax oli and all the toys you could think of sat nav electric seats heated seats front and rear heated screens ect
now i have concidered selling it and have found that i am getting offers around 12/12500 so i would think that the disco 3 is either a very poorly built car or something terminal is wrong with it
we do a family holiday to austria every year and scince having the new disco (previous 300 tdi ) we have found it to be a fantastic car to haul the family and there posesions 3k to austria now i will get birated for this after my almost 3000 miles round trip we with the car at 75 in crouse controle with air con on all the way avaraged almost 40 to the gallon (39.47) so in my oppinion they are a good all round car and if you have need of the size look for the last of the bread 54 plate

jimalmighty said:

Oh, and check under the carpet in the boot if you can... they rot like a bastard in and outside of that area.

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not found that on a td5 yes on a 300 and 200 tdi