Advice for discovery newby

Hi everyone, after owning our Freelander for a few months I've now got the land rover bug so I'm thinking of buying myself a discovery. Haven't quite decided on a 300 or a td5 though. I'll be using it daily to get to work and back, it will also serve as a family car. I want to get into off roading as well so I'd like to fit a lift Kit and all the toys (wether I actually off road it or not it still looks cool)
My question is though, as I can't seem to find many with less than 60k and not at silly prices, if I buy a high mileage disco am I asking for trouble? Am I better off saving my money for something with lower mileage, or will a high mileage disco still be fine? I've read that the 300 is more simplified and cheaper to fix/maintain but I've also read that the td5 is a bit more luxurious which I like the sound of, but more expensive to run, so don't really know what to do.

The 300 is a Disco 1 whereas the TD5 is a Disco series 2 is it not? Hence it will be younger. There's less of a rust issue with the rear floor on a D2, but still be wary of the rear chassis on either of them. Nothing wrong with 160k on a diesel engine IMHO.

The D1 has swivel balls on the front axle whereas the D2 has CV joints which probably take less maintenance in my understanding. Hopefully a more knowledgeable person will confirm/deny this.

When a D2 wheel bearing goes, then a new hub is needed, so you're into 80-odd quid upwards (front are more expensive). There are ways to actually replace the bearing itself, but I'm not sure I'd want the hassle of going down that route.

Depends on what you mean by expensive to run? MPG wise the TD5 gives around 27 which is not bad for a 2.25 ton brick.

The D2, early ones anyway, have no centre diff lock, just high and low range which rely on traction control. Now again IMHO this is bloody brilliant, but if a diff breaks then you cannot limp home in either front or rear-wheel drive depending. (you can get CDL kits, but I haven't as yet).

Bear in mind that fitting lift kits, big tyres etc. alter the handling depending upon how it's done and seeing as you want it to be your daily driver and family hack, you might want to consider that more carefully.

So really a d2 is gonna be the best bet is what your saying?

How about you go out and try both? Then you can make your own mind up?

Yeh I'll find a garage with both and try them, good idea

mileage means nothing, condition is the issue a good condition 200k is better than an unloved 60k

Ideal that's what I wanna hear lol at the end of the day mileage only matters for re sale, which doesn't really bother me, so if the engines are good for high miles then I don't need to worry too much

You'll struggle to find a minty D1 300 with under 60k miles - not unless you're up for spending around 4 grand.
I managed to buy a D1 300 with 71k on the clock about a month back with full history. The only downside was there were a good few panels with dents. It's off to the bodyshop on Monday after a month of stripping it and making sure there was no hidden rust.

They are out there, but you'll need patience or deep pockets.

MGBGTV8 said:

You'll struggle to find a minty D1 300 with under 60k miles - not unless you're up for spending around 4 grand.
I managed to buy a D1 300 with 71k on the clock about a month back with full history. The only downside was there were a good few panels with dents. It's off to the bodyshop on Monday after a month of stripping it and making sure there was no hidden rust.

They are out there, but you'll need patience or deep pockets.

Click to expand...

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f37/absolutely-disgusting-236652.html

*minty* said:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f37/absolutely-disgusting-236652.html

Click to expand...

Hehe!
Yes, I've already spotted it!

You really do need to check rear rails on D2 chassis.mine looked to be ok ish, had a couple of plates. wasnt until we removed them that we found they were totally shot.i now have a nice shiney new rear 1/4 chassis cost near £800 but worth it. as for high miles dont worry. mine went to cornwall from leics non stop last week.166k miles never missed a beat.there and back plus several hundred miles sight seeing never used a drop of oil or water.

I've got a 300 D1 with 154k on the clock, earlier this year the cylinder head went, caused by the radiator losing most of it's fins which also took out the water pump. The local place I took it to (on recomendation) replaced all three for a grand. Initially I thought this was expensive but the mechanic told me that the D1 300tdi was the last disco that he would say was economical to repair adding that had it been the later models I could easily have ended up paying three to four times that for the same work !

I agree with other comments on here and wouldn't be too concerned about 100 to 150 k on the clock as long as it's been looked after. Mine get's an oil change every 3k miles & a new filter every 6k. I reckon with a bit of TLC I'll easily see 200k (fingers crossed)

That's really good advice everyone. I think I'll try to find one with less than 100k but I'll be looking for one that's been looked after regardless of miles. I still haven't decided on a d1 or d2 though. It's gonna be used everyday to travel to work and back, and I want to get into off roading as well. It's only really gonna be used as a "family car" when I wanna look cool lol otherwise we've got the Freelander for a bit of comfort. So perhaps a d1 is going to suit me best?