Discovery 2, would you buy this one?

1999 Land Rover Discovery 2 TD5 GS 7seat s/history MAY SWAP FOR CLASSIC CAR ECT | eBay

Right following on from my previous thread was considering buying the above discovery, it's local'ish. I'd be down there now but the seller had to go out?

"I know nothing" is a phrase that springs to mind, been chatting with a helpful gemsdad on here but if two heads are better than one then many must be better still.
The three amigo's! sounds like nothing or really expensive [been researching on line and their mentioned everywhere] but which and how do you tell just viewing a car?
Mileage scares me, can they still be good with 195k. I used to say if the bodies good I can sort the mechanics but I'm reading sealed? diagnostics? specialised equipment? main dealer only fixes?

Should I keep looking, if I go with money in my pocket I could end up owning it.

Any tips or pointers much appreciated as always

Brian

personally that seems like a very tidy vehicle for the money even if the mileage is a bit high, as long as you check it over carefully then I would see no issue in buying this , if I was in need of discovery that would be one id consider as u can spend a few quid on it at that price

hope it helps

yellow90 said:

personally that seems like a very tidy vehicle for the money even if the mileage is a bit high, as long as you check it over carefully then I would see no issue in buying this , if I was in need of discovery that would be one id consider as u can spend a few quid on it at that price

hope it helps

Click to expand...

Thanks and it does help, a few more of a similar opinion and I'll feel so much happier

There's also this one that's not far from me

land rover discovery td5 energy tuning box fitted and coil springs on rear | eBay

Don't know what the difference is between the two other than the headlights

hmm they may have differences in the diff lock linkage and a few trims but not much else

depends what your after I personally like the newer headlights
although I have just baught a TD5 defender and that was twice the price so either way they arnt bad for the money

yellow90 said:

hmm they may have differences in the diff lock linkage and a few trims but not much else

depends what your after I personally like the newer headlights
although I have just baught a TD5 defender and that was twice the price so either way they arnt bad for the money

Click to expand...

Cheers mate:tea:

Overpriced but nonetheless a nice tidy vehicle (I do like the TD5 engine and have owned a couple of D2's). I would be offering £1,750 and definitely not over £2k, if the seller gets £2k for it he will have done well

Nigel-S said:

Overpriced but nonetheless a nice tidy vehicle (I do like the TD5 engine and have owned a couple of D2's). I would be offering £1,750 and definitely not over £2k, if the seller gets £2k for it he will have done well

Click to expand...

Many thanks for the advice and taken on board, still trawling ebay and have seen dealer ones at less money with less miles so guess it's top price [must admit you seem to get an awful lot of car for your money nowadays].
Been checking out the 300 tdi ones for ease of maintenance but struggling to find one that looks half as good and they're not much cheaper.

personally I think 300tdi is a bit owtdated in modern traffic if its just being used on road everyday , for this reason I have changed the 200tdi defender into TD5 although mine do go very mnuch off road too

plus they rust a lot worse than TD5 discos

yellow90 said:

personally I think 300tdi is a bit owtdated in modern traffic if its just being used on road everyday , for this reason I have changed the 200tdi defender into TD5 although mine do go very mnuch off road too

plus they rust a lot worse than TD5 discos

Click to expand...

Not really driven a td5 to know of any difference so something to consider, now if the td5 is also more rust resistant than earlier models that's got to be a plus:5bcheers2:

The rear of the chassis on a D2 is more prone to rust than that on a D1. Worth spending time underneath having a look first.

mblinko said:

The rear of the chassis on a D2 is more prone to rust than that on a D1. Worth spending time underneath having a look first.

Click to expand...

Thanks mate, I'm writing this all down as always forget when viewing [to much to take in]

You'll probably find the headlights go missing in the first week

I'm not a fan of modified Disco 2's, I'd rather have what LR built it as.

At nearly 200000 miles (count the zeroes) there's a lot of grief waiting to happen.

I'd look for something with less miles, standard front end and maybe a set of tyres, MOT and tax. Then look at £2500.

We bought our D2 V8 in 2009 with a crook engine, 89k miles for £1850. We've had it on the road 5 years come July and it's been great. Spend the money on the right things and you'll be OK.

Peter

Peter

Forget the bits you can see, they all look nice.
Don't part with any cash until you have been over the underneath with a fine tooth comb, the body work is fairly bombproof but its a different story underneath.

I knew what I was getting with this

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/my-new-project-253183.html

but gives an idea what to look for.

listerdiesel said:

You'll probably find the headlights go missing in the first week

I'm not a fan of modified Disco 2's, I'd rather have what LR built it as.

At nearly 200000 miles (count the zeroes) there's a lot of grief waiting to happen.

Click to expand...

Now I thought the headlights were original but just a higher spec model

Mileage was off putting but a few said it was nothing to worry about

biggeeeee said:

Forget the bits you can see, they all look nice.
Don't part with any cash until you have been over the underneath with a fine tooth comb, the body work is fairly bombproof but its a different story underneath.

I knew what I was getting with this

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/my-new-project-253183.html

but gives an idea what to look for.

Click to expand...

These things [or my defender] are so heavy built it's amazing they suffer with rot like they do, rust seems to be their biggest downside yet you'd think they were over engineered

Cheers for the input guys, it is very helpful and hopefully it'll stop me buying the wrong one

biggeeeee said:

I knew what I was getting with this

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/my-new-project-253183.html

but gives an idea what to look for.

Click to expand...

yet it looks so nice, I get what you mean about getting under there for a good prod. Unbelievable

brianjbox said:

Now I thought the headlights were original but just a higher spec model

Click to expand...

I can see a couple of "flags" with this saying look deeper.

Yes, the headlights are facelift units, but probably fitted after market; the front bumper and washer jets are pre-facelift, as are the rear light clusters. So a thorough check behind those headlights would be in order.

The advert refers to "Christmas tree" lights. From reading that I would presume it's the 3 Amigos which is probably going to mean at least one replacement wheel hub, and somebody with the diagnostics to find out exactly which one.
The sunroofs are going to need work too are you could end up with some expensive electrical problems in the future from water ingress. The driver's window coming out of the runner could also indicate corrosion inside the doors.

Be very careful when you check this vehicle and don't get dazzled by its external appearance.

Thanks Brian, really appreciated

To be honest now guy's, I'm getting scared off the things

The sort of money I have to spend seems I'm going to be buying trouble sooner or later even if I'm lucky first time round, I'm ok with normal mechanics but I'm not in a position to have to keep running to the garage every time a light comes on

I'm still trawling the net looking at ads for these but now doubting I'll find "the one"
If I buy old to simplify things there's going to be more rot or worse 'some dodgy repairs' if I buy newer I'm going to get something more complicated to fix when the inevitable problems occur.

Guessing their still simpler than a jap import:lol:

You either pay the money for a half-decent one, or go for a tarted-up wreck.

Bargains are around if you know what to look for and where to look.

We looked at 10 or 15 before we plumped for the one I bought.

We bought another one for £1100 or so, that was a D2 ES, but needed work.

If you do find a good one, allow money to put right anything that NEEDS doing, don't spend out on lifting it or off-road stuff, get the beast sorted properly first.

When they are right, they are damn good motors, but most are on their second time round the clock and 5 owners, most of whom couldn't afford to get them seviced properly.

In their day, Discoveries were an expensive motor, but once the bills start to come in they get dropped by their owners and start the long slippery slope to the scrapyard.

We now have a V8 D2, starts on the button, will drive to Scotland and back without breaking down and like last weekend will tow our 3.5 tonne trailer up to Durham and back without using any oil or water.

That's a decent motor.

Peter

Cheers Peter, I have seen a couple I'm dead keen on, will just have to see how they pan out

Brian