Hi, new to discovery ownership, questions?

hi all,
so tomorrow we go to pick up the wifes T reg TD5 GS auto. its got 138k and seems to be in reasonable nick,
no rust I can see, no major oil dribbles etc.

I want this thing to stay as reliable as possible.
stealer is doing a 'service' on it, i am going to assume it will just be oil & filter change, nothing too strenuous!

what can I do to prolong the life of it, reasonably competent with a set of spanners, worth getting the haynes manual or one of the 'workshop manual CD's' off fleabay?

its got 4 decent pirelli scorpians on

waxoil, waxoil everywhere you can get it.








oh - and did i mention waxoil?

hmm, waxoil, heard of it, never used it tho

Check it's service history (a must for these), Make sure it has had the correct amount of oil changes etc. The auto boxes can be troublesome on these cars. Make sure all the electrics work, does it have sunroofs, do they leak?
I assume the dealer is giving some sort of warranty with the vehicle. I would take out a warranty with someone like the AA after it expires. Remember, when you collect the car check it's service history though!
Good luck!!

treat it like a classic british car


chase the rust

Hi,
I purchased my first Discovery this weekend and when I viewed it, it was rather dirty underneath, with mud/grass.
First thing I'll do when the weather get's a little better is to get the pressure washer on it underneath then a going over with a wire brush and then give it a good coat of waxoil to finish.

dont forget the welder

Not owned a TD5 personally (prefer 300's) but have looked at some for the Mrs., I'm presuming you'll get a 3 month warranty. Make sure you check all the electrics are working, find any water ingress, rear suspension can be temperamental, check all over for any welding that might need doing on body/chassis. Check the oil in gearbox, chance's are it'll need changing....

But as MHM said seal up the underside asap to stop it rotting away from under you.

As for the manual's, search on here, there is a thread/link for them to download.

Hmm, no warranty from the dealer (I think) might pay for one tho!!
most of the history, but last 3 yrs nothing logged

I hope you're getting it cheap if there's no warranty or history. This is how you would buy as a private buyer. If he's a trader you do still have some come back i suppose. Check the price you are paying against the book price, ie parkers. I would want warranty, this is an early TD5 and they in my opinion are the least reliable. I don't want to put you off, but who knows what has been done in the last 3 years. Warranty is a must for this one!!

dint they have problem with the oil pump dropping a bolt or summat?

Well I have checked parkers, its around a grand under book

Warranty is often irrelevant, second hand cars sold by dealers are covered under the sale of goods act, so they must be fit for the purpose, be free from any hidden faults (unless they were pointed out to you) and last a reasonable amount of time, the later will be based on the age, mileage and service history.

So is there any sort of time frame where if it goes BANG I can say, oi mush, you got this MOT'd and serviced, why didnt you spot xxx??

do a search for "heap of ****e" or look in the Q & A's bit.

Mogwyth said:

Warranty is often irrelevant, second hand cars sold by dealers are covered under the sale of goods act, so they must be fit for the purpose, be free from any hidden faults (unless they were pointed out to you) and last a reasonable amount of time, the later will be based on the age, mileage and service history.

Click to expand...

Exactly right, I once bought a jap import 4x4 (yes I should be flogged) from a dealer who was acting as an agent for a private seller, the car dealer ended up paying for the subsequent fault's that showed up once we'd driven her a few times. Dealer tried to f*ck me off but after quoting a few legal buyer right's & threatening trading standards they soon changed their mind's, and they ended up putting the car right at major expense to themselves.

The Mad Hat Man said:

do a search for "heap of ****e" or look in the Q & A's bit.

Click to expand...

best laugh I've had today

ScottyK said:

So is there any sort of time frame where if it goes BANG I can say, oi mush, you got this MOT'd and serviced, why didnt you spot xxx??

Click to expand...

It has to be "fit for purpose" when sold, hence why most dealer's give a 3 month warranty to rectify faults.

Dewin said:

It has to be "fit for purpose" when sold, hence why most dealer's give a 3 month warranty to rectify faults.

Click to expand...

Try to buy a warranty anyway.
They are quite reliable but when they do go wrong they can cost you. Most expensive failure on these is a cracked head. You may also get problems with the SLABS ecu and the ACE. At this mileage and age you might expect bushes etc to start wearing. On my S reg the gearbox oil cooler pipes have just corroded through. It's also needed a new rad. Bear in mind it's an old car and don't drive it like it's brand new!

When you change the engine oil don't forget that you need to change the centrifugal oil filter every time (haynes manual recommends every 6000 miles but up until now I've changed mine roughly every 12000 with no engine problems at 120,000), also change the full flow oil filter, (the conventional looking one), this they say only needs to be done if it's needed, however no hints are given as to what constitutes that, you'll no doubt do it as a precaution though.
When you change the gearbox oil also change the screen filter, this is easy just undo the sump and the screen filter is held in place by a four torx bolts, swap them over chuck the sump back on with a new gasket and fill it up with the right amount of Dextron 3 oil, this will be a bit more than the Dextron 2 but has a higher mineral content which makes a smoother gear change.
Invest in a proper workshop manual (about £45 from somewhere like Autopost) and ignore most references to using test book, the Landrover diagnostic computer, there's usually a manual way to do things without the need for a computer. The diagrams and information is far superior to the haynes manual.