Thinking of buying a discovery

[ltec]

Im thinking of a 97/98 the last of the tdi. Are these cars dieing with rust?
Ive seen a few with the body mounts rotten, what is the professional way of fixing this, can you buy new mounts to weld in?
What mpg should i expect driving sensibly? I only do about 60 miles a week but dont want to throwing money away.
I need something a bit bigger that i can just throw the dog in the back and use on the farm if need be and not worry about destroying her, would she be suitable?
My biggest fear is in 2 years she would be scrap with rot.

 

[jamesmartin]

jap imports are better ,look carefully as a rot is often more wide spread than first appears ,not that all rot is mot failure,but unless just using for off roading,try to find import or one of the few that are good

 

[arienol]

A lot depends on the type of usage they have had throughout their lifetime - for instance if they've spent a lot of time by the sea there is a good chance corrosion will be bad, if the previous owners haven't kept the chassis and bodywork clean of mud/salt it is also likely they have corroded badly.

The only real way to find out is to check a few out. Take a torch with you, get underneath and look at the inner sills, chassis, boot floor, rear wheel wells, driver and passenger footwell from inside the front wheel arch (this is where mine has started going).

I've got a manual 300 Tdi and it achieves 25-30mpg, primarily around town. It will nudge 40mpg on a decent run.

Ideal for dogs. I've got a German Shepherd and a Border Collie and they love the car. Particularly the Collie who often doesn't want to get out!

 

[ZippyIII]

If you decide to go for something newer, TD5 then my advice would to take it to an independent garage and run a diagnostic check. It may cost you £80 BUT it could save you hundreds! Try to find one without any sunroofs as they tend to leak. Good luck in your search.

 

[cornish rattler]

think i am one of the lucky ones my 98 disco tdi has been wax oiled every year from new and all the rusty points you see on others on mine they are like new.

i have had it since last august and haven't had to do anything to it yet and have done two trips to cornwall and back but do plan to give it a good service, replace the transmission oil, and replace all wheel bearings and while i am at it the brake pads aswell.

 

[thebiglad]

Im thinking of a 97/98 the last of the tdi. Are these cars dieing with rust?
Ive seen a few with the body mounts rotten, what is the professional way of fixing this, can you buy new mounts to weld in?
What mpg should i expect driving sensibly? I only do about 60 miles a week but dont want to throwing money away.
I need something a bit bigger that i can just throw the dog in the back and use on the farm if need be and not worry about destroying her, would she be suitable?
My biggest fear is in 2 years she would be scrap with rot.

You are right to be worried about rust on D1's - it's a major problem.

I've had 4 in the last 4 yrs and two were ok and two were rot boxes not worth repairing imo. I have a friend with a 97' TDi auto which is peachy mechanically but rusty as fûck.

Would you not be better off with a Defender? At least with them if all goes tîts up rust-wise, you can always renew the chassis with a galvy one?

 

[imp999]

You have just got to go looking at a few so you get the idea of what to look at.
I bought mine last September after looking at about 10. I even spent time in our works carpark crawling under a few.
They all look good as you walk up to them! Alum panels.
Take a torch, wear old clothes and get underneath. Undo sill strips and roll back the carpets.
Luckily the mechanicals are simple and fairly cheap.
I get 30 - 33 mpg out of mine with a fair bit of 80mph motorway work.
Oh, and I love it.