Any advice on purchasing a 2000 Disco with 32k miles

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DeaneH

New Member
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5
Hi
Been looking today at a 2000 Disco 2.5 TD5 with 32k miles on the clock. Dealer reckons it was off the road for 2 and a half years or so, hence the low mileage, but it still seems very low. It's on for £5,595. There is also no service history available.
Bodywork was impeccable and it drove well apart from one or two small issues that he said were easily sortable, but I have little or no experience with Discos so not sure what I should be looking out for, if anything. People selling it are more a 4x4 servicing centre rather than a dealer, and the guy, who seemed very genuine, reckoned this was as clean a car as you could get.
Any advice welcome on whether this seems like a good deal or simply too good to be true??
Thanks a lot, much appreciated
Deane
 
get an AA or RAC inspection, don't know how much they charge?
but it might be the best and cheapest solution when no history available!
is there any warranty with it, ie 7 day money back 30 day parts etc???
 
My concern with low mileage vehicles of that sort of age is how they accrued their milage. I know of a 20 year old Suzuki Swift with 20k on it so its done only 1000 miles per year.

The reason its so low is that its sole owner works 1/2 mile away from her house and drives to and from every day. She uses her husbands for everything else. In 20 years that car has never got warm therefore its oil has never lubricated the engine properly. The car is truely mint but the engine is probably more worn that a car thats driven 12k per year.

Im not saying thats definately the case with yours but it could be and is always my fear with low mileage vehicles of that kind of age. Id rather see something with a fantastic service history.
 
There's no paperwork whatsoever with it - he says it's been HPI checked and is all clear. Comes with 6 months warranty, all parts and labour.
 
There's no paperwork whatsoever with it - he says it's been HPI checked and is all clear. Comes with 6 months warranty, all parts and labour.
I am with Storm on this one, get the chassis and engine numbers and find out from the DVLA any history associated with the vehicle, price seems reasonable for a low mileage example, but as he's a dealer you cant expect anything else really... What model is it, that has quite an effect on value and what toys you will have, but be warned that standing a vehicle up for an extended period can do much more damage than using it on the road, if not done properly....corrosion doesn't stop when its laid up, also oil lubrication can dry out and leave internal parts open to corrosion....an inspection would be a good investment
 
According to the ad it's the 'Td5 GS Auto Diesel Sw', if that's correct?? In his words it doesn't come with too many toys, but he claims that's no bad thing as there's less to go wrong with it...??
 
Even if it was off the road for 3 years, it's still only averaged 3.5k miles per year. Can't the seller tell you any more about it's history?

Definitely check the DVLA website for it's MOT history and mileage. Be foolish not to. What are the few little things that need sorted?

As for the bells and whistles, if you're going to keep the car for a while and it does everything that you want, then I wouldn't worry about resale value too much. It's 11 years old now, so by the time you get rid of it, the difference in value then will be that much smaller.

It does sound like a good car. The bodywork looking good is fine, but have a squint at the chassis. I had an immaculate looking 2000 TD5 - until it went up on a ramp!
 
For a flip side look, I bought the cheapest 2000 year TD5 ES on Auto trader two years ago, it had High mileage and now its at almost 200,000 and so far apart from service items and a few(very few) minor repairs its going well ( touch wood) I am replacing stuff that "may" fail as the warnings on here do tend to induce a bit of panic, or better safe than sorry. Sunroof leaks and a ruined sunroof motor.....both sorted but the motor lacks torque and the leak has returned again, only slight so far. but these are to be expected, after all its still a 12 year old motor.

Point is don't get hung up on the low mileage, at that age and with no history you just cant tell for sure, its always a gamble....

When I got my cheap Disco it was advertised with no history, But when I went to pick it up, the guy had found it stuffed under the passenger seat...full and complete....I was fortunate, The vehicle was totally standard with no Mods and had been looked after, main dealer serviced from day one till it got to be 7 years old then by a local independent for the last bit....So goes to show you cant beat history..Air bags changes noted and injector loom replacements all noted...Any way end of story...If you like it get it checked, remember you will be covered if he is a dealer for any HPI info, but the MOT stuff from the DVLA will give more security.

Winters coming so expect the prices to get silly soon.

But I do enjoy my disco and hope your as lucky..
 
This may cost you about £60 to £80 quid but if you can arrange to take it to a recomended independant garage and carry out a full dionostic check, the TD5's eletronics and fuel system are good at hideing faults as I found out the hard way. Have you tried another Discovery out to see if it has the same power, handling, sounds etc. as I did't so I thought the lack of power was normal. The MOT check is a must but you need the Reg number and test number off the MOT certificate..
Good luck
 
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