300tdi discovery buying advice please

I went to look at a 300tdi discovery yesterday on a R reg, the car is an auto and seemed clean and well looked after, the service book was stamped at every 6000 miles although there were no receipts in support and the car has covered 83,000 miles. The sun roofs have been sealed.
Is there anything I should look for in particular or be wary of?
Thanks

Rust

check the levels - both engine oil and gearbox oil - i didnt and both were overfilled and im still dealing with the problems now.

cupholders in the dash - make sure there not glued shut - its annoying if they are

spare tyre - is it useable - if not its more money to spend

colour of cooland indicates how the engine is doing internally - a LONG test drive will show you a bit of the engine.

and all the usual stuff

As Trewy said rust will be the biggest issue, check front/rear wheel arch's, sills, top of arch where mid door's close (5-door model), rear cross member and boot floor. Take a screw driver with you and get the carpet up to check the boot floor, if owner objects walk away, it's only 50 notes for a new boot floor but can be a git of a job to do.

Seat belt mounting points.

Expect some of the electrics to be playing up, usually the window switch's.

Check all the correct size fuses are in place

Engine's normally good for 250K + if cared for, but check all the levels & for leaks

Power steering pipes can rot & leak

Gearbox, usually 2nd is a bit notchy, 4th & reverse can be a pain to engage on some.

Most of all take it for a decent run, by the time I went to buy our 2nd (current) Disco I'd learnt so much from the 1st one and it's issue's .... this time round I got under & into every bit I thought might be an issue (thanks to advice from LZ'rs). I viewed some that I would not even drive in a field, took me 9 months to find our's a really tidy example with full service history, but even she had a few minor issue's.

Take your time, there's plenty out there for really silly money at the moment.

speaking from experience.. if you can, take a screw driver and take the sills covers out and have a look there for rust and lift the carpet a bit and look around..

also look for rust in the boot and over the rear wheel arches...

[JP];749396 said:

look for rust in the boot and over the rear wheel arches...

Click to expand...

I'll second that!!!

Don't forget your nose! A car that has had leaking roofs for awhile tend to rot the sound deadening under the car and it can be a bit smelly (and rusty).

Also tell the present owner you want to see the engine start from cold, and check it is cold before you start it up. This will help show up any cold starting/smoking/knocking issues.

After a good run (don't be too gentle) park it up on dry ground and give it ten minutes to show up any leaks, if serious they will soon be obvious.

Check the oil light works before you start the engine and see if it goes out pretty soon after starting, later check it is not flickering at idle when hot which could be a two quid switch or in need of a oil/filter change or a very worn engine.

Hope this helps

regards

Dave

Thanks for the advice guys, will be checking for that rust then!

And finally then, although some/most of it has been said before.

Chassis and box sections can rust

Rear load bed floor can rot through – water finds its way through the sunroofs

Sills – more places to rot. They’re hidden behind plastic outers, where water and mud collects.

Peeling dash. A common affliction that can be rectified for around £100.

Inner wings. Years of being coated with wet mud takes its toll. Both front and rear inner wing/wheelarches rot. Repairs only need to be patches, though full replacement panels are available.

Smoke. The Tdi diesel will go on forever, provided it is well maintained. A lot of smoke indicates it hasn’t been.

Seized rear door handle. It gets covered in road grime, then packs up. A spot of lubrication should release it, but it might be something more.

Milky oil. An indication that the head gasket has blown

Sloppy gear change. Might just be down to worn linkages, so don’t condemn the gearbox solely on that

Leaking axle casings. Diff casings tend to perforate after a while, but repair dishes are available.

and so you have an idea of one of the places where the rust happears...here's a pic
the water runs down from the top windows, through the pilar and sits on the pillar, as its welded to the rear wheel arch there's no where to go, and starts to rust...
the pic below shows how it is on mine, both sides are like this, rusted around the pilar box section.. you can have a look underneath if you look between the wheel and wheel arch..but the owner might have patched it, so take a screw driver to poke it and make sure its solid..