Saw another Disco 2 but...

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maelstrom

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Hi, saw another Disco 2 today: 2003, 65000M, GS 5seats, one owner from new, Has stamps in book (I think it only had just oil changes), MOT and Tax September. Guy wants £6500 for it

Chassis has flaky surface rust but seems solid, out triggers (if that is what they are called) seem rusty, side steps also rusty on underside (they have holes), sill are nice.

Was looking ok, but then noticed an amber light on dashboard that does not go off - the ACE. Owner said that it has been like that for about 2 yrs!

Is this not an MOT failure??

Is this car worth buying or would you walk away?

If I buy it I think I would remove the ACE altogether but I would not have the money to do it straight away.

Thanks
 
I can't comment on the vehcile as I have very little mechanical knowledge but I recently purcashed a DiscoII only to find out the ACE had failed adn the previous owner had somehow manage to bodge the system, I was adviced to remove the entire system as my local Landrover specialist pointed out that the last time they had to fix an ACE issue one problem lead to another and it cost the owner a nice sum of £2k! I quickly made my mind up to go for standard anti-roll bars (as much as it pained me, I like my vehicles to be fully workign with the kit they came with but I couldn't bring myself to potentialy pay that kind of money to fix the system).

If you do intend to buy, check EVERYTHING! - not like myself, I was stupid enought to overlook some things and now I'm paying for it.. 'one learns the hard way' :(

Best of luck with what ever you choose but there are plenty about so might be worth looking around a bit more if things are not quite upto scratch.
 
Thanks, I liked this cause it's not that old, low miles and it seems like it had an easy life. On the downside, the older guy who owns it from new never relly did any maintenance to it apart from a yearly oil change!
Re the chassis: What will a really good one look like, I am thinking it will still have rust. The 2 I have seen so far were flaky, but no waxoyl so I could see what I would be buying.

Cheers
 
Don't dismiss the vehicle out of hand just because the ACE light is on, had much the same fault on mine recently and when the fault code was read, turned out to be a sensor (£50) and 15mins work to sort.
Other than this i've had no problems with it and owned the vehicle for 7 years and it has 127k on the clock.

If you know someone with a code reader who can diagnose the fault, then this may be a good bargaining point to get the vehicle cheaper.
 
maelstrom said:
Hi, saw another Disco 2 today: 2003, 65000M, GS 5seats, one owner from new, Has stamps in book (I think it only had just oil changes), MOT and Tax September. Guy wants £6500 for it

Chassis has flaky surface rust but seems solid, out triggers (if that is what they are called) seem rusty, side steps also rusty on underside (they have holes), sill are nice.

Was looking ok, but then noticed an amber light on dashboard that does not go off - the ACE. Owner said that it has been like that for about 2 yrs!

Is this not an MOT failure??

Is this car worth buying or would you walk away?

If I buy it I think I would remove the ACE altogether but I would not have the money to do it straight away.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I would say that at £6500 everything should work perfectly. I was looking at DII's on Ebay last night and the market prices are definitely dropping. Don't be fooled by the dealer prices, they never sell at that price.

The ACE system is definitely worth having, as it improving handling significantly, but it can be costly to repair if the pipes have rusted.

To be honest, £6500 is a lot to pay for a second-hand car that does 25-30mpg on diesel, nowadays. My advice would be don't rush into buying one, have a good look around so you build up your own knowledge and experience of looking at these cars. You can ask a thousand questions on a forum, but nothing beats getting in, around and underneath a few.

Chassis rust is known on DII, but by the sound of it this car is currently owned by a non-enthusiast, this will end up biting the new owner in the arse, as these cars really need an enthusiastic owner applying the principles of pro-active maintenance and doing the work themselves. A good owner will have cleaned up, painted and waxoyled the chassis.

For anyone looking for one of these cars my financial advice is always the same: whatever is your total budget eg £8000, only spend up to a maximum of 75% of max on the car purchase, so that you have money left to do the things that will need doing, straight away then you won't get frustrated.

Buying a Disco is not like buying a Volvo/Merc/BM etc car. You need to learn lots, see lots, drive lots, so you build up your own knowledge base - and you will need to be ready to travel.


The very best of luck to you

Dave
 
thebiglad said:
I would say that at £6500 everything should work perfectly. I was looking at DII's on Ebay last night and the market prices are definitely dropping. Don't be fooled by the dealer prices, they never sell at that price.

The ACE system is definitely worth having, as it improving handling significantly, but it can be costly to repair if the pipes have rusted.

To be honest, £6500 is a lot to pay for a second-hand car that does 25-30mpg on diesel, nowadays. My advice would be don't rush into buying one, have a good look around so you build up your own knowledge and experience of looking at these cars. You can ask a thousand questions on a forum, but nothing beats getting in, around and underneath a few.

Chassis rust is known on DII, but by the sound of it this car is currently owned by a non-enthusiast, this will end up biting the new owner in the arse, as these cars really need an enthusiastic owner applying the principles of pro-active maintenance and doing the work themselves. A good owner will have cleaned up, painted and waxoyled the chassis.

For anyone looking for one of these cars my financial advice is always the same: whatever is your total budget eg £8000, only spend up to a maximum of 75% of max on the car purchase, so that you have money left to do the things that will need doing, straight away then you won't get frustrated.

Buying a Disco is not like buying a Volvo/Merc/BM etc car. You need to learn lots, see lots, drive lots, so you build up your own knowledge base - and you will need to be ready to travel.


The very best of luck to you

Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for that advice, makes sense. Re painted chassis, I am a bit scared that this might be hiding something, especially if it has thick waxoyl. I know that people will tell you to scrape bits off etc etc, but how many sellers will actually be happy with you doing that??
 
maelstrom said:
Thanks a lot for that advice, makes sense. Re painted chassis, I am a bit scared that this might be hiding something, especially if it has thick waxoyl. I know that people will tell you to scrape bits off etc etc, but how many sellers will actually be happy with you doing that??
Click to expand...

It's problem isn't it? Do you want to see it warts and all, or do you want to see a good well looked after one? It's a poser...................

What I try to do is take an overall view after looking at it indetail. My question to myself is, does this feel right? I've asked all the questions - do the answers ring right? Do I get the feeling that this person knows and likes their Disco? Do they have receipts or other evidence to prove the service history, not just the service book which is the easiest thing in the world to forge/fiddle with?

Have a look on the D2 Boys Club website and check their advice and their 'for sale' cars.

Dave
 
Had another look at this car and took a friend who knows his way around chassis. He said that the chassis is sound (he tapped it with a screwdriver and it made a ringing sound) but he said that if I do not look after it, it will need welding in 2 years max. Also looked at ACE resevoir and it is full, so the amber light might be due to an electrical faul. He noticed that the front brake flxi hoses are very corroded - are these expensive to replace at a garag? I also noticed that these is some oil beneath the engine, towards the back of the engine. There is like a beam underneath the engine, which seems oil. He will go down to £6000. Apart from this, the Disco is in lovely shape inside and out, and appears to have been used just as a car, if you know what I mean. I am thinking of going for it. What u all think??? Cheers.
 
it
maelstrom said:
Had another look at this car and took a friend who knows his way around chassis.

1. He said that the chassis is sound (he tapped it with a screwdriver and it made a ringing sound) but he said that if I do not look after it, it will need welding in 2 years max.

2. Also looked at ACE reservoir and it is full, so the amber light might be due to an electrical fault.

3. He noticed that the front brake flexi hoses are very corroded - are these expensive to replace at a garage?

4. I also noticed that there is some oil beneath the engine, towards the back of the engine. There is like a beam underneath the engine, which seems oil. He will go down to £6000. Apart from this, the Disco is in lovely shape inside and out, and appears to have been used just as a car, if you know what I mean. I am thinking of going for it. What u all think??? Cheers.
Click to expand...


It sounds from what you say like the car has not been owned by an enthusiast, that would be of concern to me as there appears to be no pro-active maintenance.

1. If your mate is right that welding would be required within 2 yrs I would be considering walking away - it's not cheap enough.

2. Any problems with the ACE can be expensive. Any bollocks like "it just needs the light turning off" is tripe - there is a problem and the solution could involve one of many things, some expensive. Without proper electronic diagnosis it's impossible to say more;

3. If the fronts are gone, you would be best replacing all 4. The parts are not too expensive, but the garage time and lots of brake fluid could add up to £200+

4. There is a leak of some fluid. This could be diesel from a leaking FPR (£110 plus fitting - £200-ish?) It could be an engine oil leak from the rear camshaft seal or the cam cover (parts £30 fitting ?? £100). Could be engine sump gasket (£45 + fitting ?? £100)


I know no second hand car is going to be perfect, but if you can't/don't want to do the work yourself, you fall into the welcoming arms of a garage who will charge you what they believe they can get away with (too often).

Frankly I think this car is too expensive considering the number of items so easily found that need rectification. I would not pay any more than £5000 and it would have to be perfect body and interior wise.

You will obviously do as you think right, but my advice is offer £5000 (assuming you still want to buy it) and if he doesn't accept - walk away.

Good luck

Dave
 
Thanks Dave, a lot of food for thought there! I think I am slightly blinded by the one owner/lowish miles/light use combination which is rather difficult to find. Will have a good think.
 
One last thing, should I be looking for stuff that was changed because of recalls? This was not mentioned by seller. Cheers.
 
My disco 2 has oil underneath it,The oil leaks into the hand brake drum then out every year before MOT i have new flange and oil seal fitted and the hand (transmission ) Brake shoes burnt off then the hand brake works great for about a month then packs up its done this for years so i bet that's where yr oil coming from.Mind you this year i'm going to fit one of those DiscX brakes on and remove the drum then the oil can fall on the deck.
 
One last thing, should I be looking for stuff that was changed because of recalls? This was not mentioned by seller. Cheers.
 
Hi
Just noticed from a previous post you stay near me:rolleyes:

I have a facelifted 2003 Td5 that I might sell for less than the one your looking at. I've had it for 6 years

i stay just outside Falkirk in Brightons.

Give me a shout if you want to see it or even if you just want some advice.

Cheers
Graeme

PS I also have a Nanocom so if your looking at other Td5's I could plug them in for you to check them over.
 
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Good advice from Dave there i reckon Maelstrom.
I'd also have a good thorough look through the history and receipts, if there are any... a DII needs its maintanence and you are buying its history as much as the car itself.
It would be due a major service, sticking with the intervals, at 72k miles which is £500ish at a decent independent specialist... all oils, filters and loads of other checks.

So i'd bear that in mind plus the chassis welding... personally i'd like to have the welding done then get a good waxoyl job done on it so you know its tidy.

Its all about the maintanence with these cars, i really look after mine and its just returned from a 1300 mile round trip to the south of France with no hiccups... aside from the intercooler hose falling off my EGR by pass kit but that was a 2 minute fix.

Jim
 
Thanks again guys. The price is now down to £5800. As I said the one thing that put me off a bit is the fact that the whole chassis and other components under the car are rusty. Not rotten, but rusty enough to flake slightly. It should be fine with a powerwash and a wirebrush. Does this sound about right? All chassis I saw so far seem to be more or less like this. Should not need any welding now. If I clean and waxoyl it, should it be ok, or will it still continue rusting away, even if I maintain it yearly Am I being paranoid?
 
Last edited:
maelstrom said:
Thanks again guys. The price is now down to £5800. As I said the one thing that put me off a bit is the fact that the whole chassis and other components under the car are rusty. Not rotten, but rusty enough to flake slightly. It should be fine with a powerwash and a wirebrush. Does this sound about right? All chassis I saw so far seem to be more or less like this. Should not need any welding now. If I clean and waxoyl it, should it be ok, or will it still continue rusting away, even if I maintain it yearly Am I being paranoid?
Click to expand...

Re the chassis, there are several companies that will do a "prepare and waxoyl" your car for about £400. This will include inside chassis rails and all panels so it should protect your investment.

As I've said to you before I reckon the right price for this car is about £5000 - if you stick at it that what's you'll pay, then you can get someone to sort out the these few niggles.


Never,ever pay too much for a second-hand car,there will be surprises, there always are.

Dave
 
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