4 X 4 virgin

i want to buy a discovery 2.5 tc5 2003/2004 any model . more goodies the better. its so i can tow a 5 berth caravan . 25' hitch to back. looked at big estates but iv towed b4 and think im kidding myself. iv test driven 2 discos . a t reg td5 . imaculate but with 0serv history . gave that 1 a wide berth. also a 2003 td5 es 74000 miles with stamped landrover history . very nice . fully leatherd up and added extras. but not a garaged dealer . but no mention of any recall fixes. going to look @ a 2004 gs model later this week . full history with 64000. i am mech minded . went on whatcar web sit and they slated discos . but they gave x trails a 5 star . ti;l u read the owner reviews. pages of them { so def not buying one. }. only 2 for a disco 1 bad 1 good,.my unc had a 2.2 and the engine went arse up. but app thts nothing new. please help advise would be appreciated. :welcome2:

Welcome...
personally if I just wanted a tow vehicle & wanted nice goodies, i would get a Rangie.
Not that Disco's arent good for towing, but long hauls towing on motorways shouts Range Rover all day long at me...

I was recently in the market for a TD5 Discovery, then i realised that V8s were alot cheaper. I looked at about 5 V8 discoverys, each had there own issues. In the end i bought a P38 4.6 Range Rover, it was cheaper and in better condition than any of the discoverys, fair enough it is a 1998 and i was looking at '02 discos. I would agree with Foss on that so long as you can put up with the MPG.

Hi Mate,

We tow a Bailey Senator with our 2003 TD5 Auto. Can't tell youve got it on the back.

Its different again to towing with a 'car'. You don't get thrown round in the disco,the disco has complete authority over the caravan and the whole outfit feals very safe.

The Auto takes all the hassle out of it - all that hill start stuff and pulling away at roundabouts. I'd never go back to manual.

i just so happen to have a 4.6hse fer sale

A range rover on LPG. If you're not gonna go off road with it you defo want a range rover. I'd go for a 4.0 se on gas, still got plenty of toys etc. Look for a full service history and one or two owners. They are the king of 4x4s for a reason!

pete5570 said:

A range rover on LPG. If you're not gonna go off road with it you defo want a range rover. I'd go for a 4.0 se on gas, still got plenty of toys etc. Look for a full service history and one or two owners. They are the king of 4x4s for a reason!

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The Disco 2 and P38 are both Great cars...personally I would steer clear of the LPG idea myself and go for a derv.......There's alot more to go wrong...and when it does, not many places will touch it...£££££

nathan5346 said:

i just so happen to have a 4.6hse fer sale

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spam spam spam,wonderfulllllllllll spam.

nathan5346 said:

i just so happen to have a 4.6hse fer sale

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there he goes again .... LZ's oh fishal delboy

From what I remember X trails have intercooler / turbo problems due to not letting turbo chill out after driving - I steered clear of them too! As for LPG - I never had any problems when I had Jeep Cherokees running on gas apart from being difficult to get cos I'm rural. If you live near or pass a station I'd go for it. Get tank underneath if you can cope with possibly losing ground clearance - not in boot cos it takes up too much space. Spare wheel well (toroidal tank) options are also available but you dont get same range cos tanks tend to be smaller. Best gas conversions (I think anyhow) are underslung with a smaller petrol tank which allows space for bigger LPG tank. Whatever - make sure you get all relevant certificates etc.

i def wouldnt go for an xtrail i do a lot of valeting for a local nissan garage and there nothing but trouble as prev's people have said loads of turbo trouble and timing chain trouble there seems to be a prob with them snapping!!! and parts are not cheap like land rovers.
Havent towed my caravan yet but iam hoping it will be good when we go to spain next year!

Defo a tdi disco like mine and run it on waste oil from local chippy bloody cheap as hell only problem is if I park in town on a friday / saturday night I get a gang of drunks quing at the back door waiting for there kebab !!!!

p38 4.0 has the k series engine designed in the sixties, had one and it went wrong at a big expense, i looked at getting a range rover diesel, but for the same money you can get a disco 3 years younger, however the comfort levels on the range rover are far superior to the disco.

Mr Fleg said:

p38 4.0 has the k series engine designed in the sixties, had one and it went wrong at a big expense.

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WTF the original 3.5 was a buick/oldsmobile 205 cu and the 3.9 is derived from it as is the 4.0 which is supposedly a 3.9 strengthened and then you have gems thor engines

fanatic said:

WTF the original 3.5 was a buick/oldsmobile 205 cu and the 3.9 is derived from it as is the 4.0 which is supposedly a 3.9 strengthened and then you have gems thor engines

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Yup, the K series was the old Marina/Ital lump originally, then enlarged and used in the Rover 800 and some of the vans.

V8's are good, as long as you start with a good one and are religious about keeping water and oil levels maintained. They don't have cracked heads, dual mass flywheel and oily loom problems like the TD5, but they do need to be watched for coolant type and leaks.

Or, you can buy one with a blown engine and put a short engine in like we did.

LPG is fine, we wouldn't be without it and will hopefully be getting our larger 110litre tank installed soon, that will give us 400miles+ range. That leaves us with the original petrol tank as well as three LPG tanks.

Peter

Rangie 4litre with lpg is the way to go if you're wanting to tow a big caravan. i had the old rangie, a 93, it was the most comfortable and reliable car i'e had, really regret getting rid of it. It pulled a shogun with a cravan on the back up a wet hill, no problems. It never missed i beat all the time i had it. Look after those V8,s and you won't have problems.