buying a disco

Hi all, thinking about buying my first 4x4, looking for a few tips pointers on what to look out for when buying a secondhand discovery.

Thanks.

Tip number 1. Do a search

and if thats doesn't work search again

Tip 2. Be more specific. What do you want tdi, td5? Etc, oh and :welcome2:

Silverlandy said:

Tip 2. Be more specific. What do you want tdi, td5? Etc, oh and :welcome2:

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hi landy thanks, yeah td5, strictly for the fields, hunting, 97 to 00.

rusty chassis, oil in loom, to start ya off

just do your homework , and dont buy the first one you see , view as many as you can , then you will see what you get for your money...

I'd go for a late 300 tdi if I were you.

muddytrax said:

I'd go for a late 300 tdi if I were you.

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got the same advice on another forum thanks. This is what he said

"td5 disco is apiece of ****e
air bags leak
wheel bearings collapse and you have to buy a complete hub
abs sensors give trouble and you ned a computer/nanocm to reset them
injectors leak and fill the engine with diesel
heads crack round the injectors as above
fuel pressure regulators die **** diesel onto the starter
fuel pumps give bother have to drop the tank to deal with it
dual mass flywheels give bother

have i put you off yet i'm a land rover head full stop but i have had two the first the engine siezed due to a crack in the head round an injector it filled the engine with diesel in 2 days , that was an 04 with full land rover service history
the one we have now has had most of the problems i listed above and a few others ,when it ****s bolts it does so dramatically and expensively and needs a computer to switch of the fault lights etc etc etc ,compare that to a 300tdi discovery which are great machines can be fixed with a bag of tools and a hammer on your drive"

yep 300 is the best option

I can agree with the 300tdi option.

When I was looking for a disco a year and a bit ago, I was looking at a 1997 to 2000 model too. Didn't pay too much attention to whether it was a mk1 or mk2 disco, just looked at milage, faults, and rust. Saw a couple and in the end settled on a 1998 300tdi xs model.

It's solid as a rock, and since I've had it I've been green laning quite a few times, and in doing so, worn some parts out, and replaced some already worn out parts, but generally it's a solid motor. A little bit flimsy perhaps, but probably less so, than a disco 2.

I would be happy to jump in that disco tomorrow and drive it across Europe. It's never let me down, and just keeps on chugging away. I fear landys with too many electrics, and electric windows is about as technological as I'd like a vehicle to be, that I intend to be bouncing along over rock and mud in. About 3 weeks after my old man got his L322, I turned up outside his house, to see him with an AA bloke holding an multimeter, trying to work out why his battery had got flat, and he couldn't start her up. Turned out it was something to do with the air con, or something, but it was the electrics at fault. Since then he's had a few more problems with parking sensors, and engine diagnosis nonsence that just proves to me how much more prone to breakdown, modern electric - everything landys are.
Disco 2's look smarter, but if you're buying a Land rover because you want the reliability and ruggedness that the vehicles offer then go for a 300tdi.

I often drive vauxhall vans, and ford transits in work, aswel as old and tired Land Rover defenders, and when I jump in my disco after being in a works landy, it's like the ritz, so don't expect a 300tdi to be like an old tractor, it's much more refined than that, but when I get in the disco after being in a van, it's noticeably slower, and more woolly, but it drives and feels like a landy.

No experience of TD5s but if I was to get another disco, it would be a late 300tdi.

The first thing is that the DII TD5 is definitely not a piece of ****e - like anything else you need to learn how to look after it, then it's a great vehicle.


However for your stated purpose, I would agree with others in saying that the DI TDi 300 is the way to go for you.

Simple and basic to look after.

If I was on the look out for another Disco project, I'd be looking for one with (or more to the point - without) the following:

Late 300tdi
Non air bag model
No sun roofs
No ABS
Uprated, factory standard stereo system
7 seater, but this is an easy addition if it hasn't got them
Grey interior - not the cream
Pref Epsom green
5dr (3dr is easier to work with if you're planning on fitting the wide arch kit)
If you're looking to off road it a lot - go for an auto
Drive by wire accelerator
Central locking

A friend of mine has just brought what appeared to be an absolute minter with 90k on the clock and only 1 owner! Got it on the ramps yesterday and the chassis is an absolute abortion! Very odd, as the rest of it is in superb condition.

The list of things to check for is endless. I've got a document of the main things to look out for if you want me to copy & paste it on here.

bforbarney said:

got the same advice on another forum thanks. This is what he said

"td5 disco is apiece of ****e
air bags leak
wheel bearings collapse and you have to buy a complete hub
abs sensors give trouble and you ned a computer/nanocm to reset them
injectors leak and fill the engine with diesel
heads crack round the injectors as above
fuel pressure regulators die **** diesel onto the starter
fuel pumps give bother have to drop the tank to deal with it
dual mass flywheels give bother

have i put you off yet i'm a land rover head full stop but i have had two the first the engine siezed due to a crack in the head round an injector it filled the engine with diesel in 2 days , that was an 04 with full land rover service history
the one we have now has had most of the problems i listed above and a few others ,when it ****s bolts it does so dramatically and expensively and needs a computer to switch of the fault lights etc etc etc ,compare that to a 300tdi discovery which are great machines can be fixed with a bag of tools and a hammer on your drive"

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Just bought a disco 2 with a busted engine, head cracked so they had a new one put on then 600 miles later Conrod went through the block, I'm in the process of installing a 300tdi engine into it as mentioned the td5 is crap, I think this is where land rover really went wrong to be honest. Simple is the way forward

the td5 is a cracking lump, its just the ****s that dont look after them , which in turn they fail like any other engine...

1spin said:

the td5 is an often cracking lump that causes more problems than an engine should, its just the ****s who drive them have more money than sense and love to pay for labour and over priced parts , which in turn they fail like any other engine...

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Edited for a little more down to earth assessment of such an over engineered motor.

1spin said:

the td5 is a cracking lump, its just the ****s that dont look after them , which in turn they fail like any other engine...

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mmmmm what do you have

wiltshire landyman said:

mmmmm what do you have

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transit van lump.

Dr_evil said:

yep 300 is the best option

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200 TDI is the best option,300tdi's blow piston rings!!!

My 300tdi ES Auto Disco is for sale at the moment.....PM me for more info if your interested?

All I use mine for is hunting and getting to work and back.

I disagree about Td5' been s**te, if you find a good un they are a good capable landy

300Tdi's are alot easier to work on, I prefer the simple design when been off road.

Used to have a ford ranger pick up and when the TC started working it was useless in the rough stuff!!!