Hi all - Newbie here looking to bite the bullit!

Hi All - Hope everybody is staying safe in these crazy times!

I am in the market for a second car and have lusted after a solid Disco 1 or 2 for several years now. The car will be used for the school run (2 miles), the odd weekend blast and term time camping trips. Originally was thinking a disco 3, but after viewing four yesterday I cant' believe the condition of them, although I understand they are bought to be used.

I'm eyeing this as a opportunity to get myself into a lusted Disco 1 or 2 and I have located a Japanese imported DISCOVERY 4.0 V8 SE with 51,000 miles, car looks brand new to be honest I just can't believe how well it looks both inside and out - it's absolutely spotless and with less than half the amount of miles than the UK equivalents! I havent seen it in the flesh yet but I am planning on making the 6 hours round trip this week!

My question is, has anybody else dabbled with Japanese imports, is it too good to be true? Or will I have relatively trouble free motoring for years to come with an example with such low milage? Also any tips on what I should be looking for or a guide on price for an example such as this?

All advise welcome! Cheers.
D.

Hi there and welcome
Don't know anything about imports, but is it the right choice for a 2 mile run on a regular basis? It will hardly get up to temp

kermit_rr said:

Hi there and welcome
Don't know anything about imports, but is it the right choice for a 2 mile run on a regular basis? It will hardly get up to temp

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That's probably a slight underestimation on my half, it will be a daily driver for the other half. School run, dog walks, local shops, petrol station etc.

I've never had a jap import landy but I did have a jap import Toyota lucida. It was a few years old but in great condition. The Japanese rules are very strict around car maintenance and condition and they usually change their cars at 50-60k because keeping them up to jap standards gets too expensive. They make very good secondhand buys for us in the UK. They drive on the left same as us but their speedos and odeometer are in kilometres, also dash controls are in Japanese. My lucida heating vent controls were complicated and I never knew what a couple of them were for.

Col

Hi and welcome!

Imported vehicles from Japan tend to have very little rust so from that perspective, they make a very good buy. The salt on our roads accelerates the rust so if you buy the disco you’ve found, the first thing I’d do is get it properly rust-treated with Dinitrol or similar, and get this refreshed yearly. It will keep your disco rust-free for much longer.

There are some subtle differences with imported vehicles, such as the radio and rear lights not being to UK spec, but these are easily sorted.

Knappster said:

Hi and welcome!

Imported vehicles from Japan tend to have very little rust so from that perspective, they make a very good buy. The salt on our roads accelerates the rust so if you buy the disco you’ve found, the first thing I’d do is get it properly rust-treated with Dinitrol or similar, and get this refreshed yearly. It will keep your disco rust-free for much longer.

There are some subtle differences with imported vehicles, such as the radio and rear lights not being to UK spec, but these are easily sorted.

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Interesting, I don't know if the importer I had my lucida from changed the rear lights but I know I didn't, and it passed its mot's in the years I had it without comment. It was a great vehicle to drive, 10 seater and 4 wheel drive, it was an automatic diesel that only did 20mpg if you were careful.

Col

From memory, I believe it’s the fog lights that are omitted, so these can be added separately.

Colthebrummie said:

I've never had a jap import landy but I did have a jap import Toyota lucida. It was a few years old but in great condition. The Japanese rules are very strict around car maintenance and condition and they usually change their cars at 50-60k because keeping them up to jap standards gets too expensive. They make very good secondhand buys for us in the UK. They drive on the left same as us but their speedos and odeometer are in kilometres, also dash controls are in Japanese. My lucida heating vent controls were complicated and I never knew what a couple of them were for.

Col

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Great. Thank you for the reply. All sounds promising! Am i right in thinking that odeometer will show both KM and Miles? Also from what I can see in the pictures all controls are symbols not text so all get there. LCD screens could maybe be an issue will have to double check that!

Looking to purchase this week al going well, will keep you updated.

D.

Knappster said:

Hi and welcome!

Imported vehicles from Japan tend to have very little rust so from that perspective, they make a very good buy. The salt on our roads accelerates the rust so if you buy the disco you’ve found, the first thing I’d do is get it properly rust-treated with Dinitrol or similar, and get this refreshed yearly. It will keep your disco rust-free for much longer.

There are some subtle differences with imported vehicles, such as the radio and rear lights not being to UK spec, but these are easily sorted.

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Yes, the dealer has advised the following;

- Does the car come with any sort of warranty and what does it include? 3 months and covers engine and gearbox and shafts pinions etc
- Do you have a copy of the export certificate from japan showing mileage? Yes we have this
- Will the vehicle come with 12 months M.O.T including no advisories? Yes including advisories corrected
- Will the vehicle include a full oil & air / fuel filter change? Yes
- Does the vehicle have a timing chain or belt? Not sure if it is belt or chain
- Will the speedo dial be switched to MPH? We do not change speedos as the gearbox also has ECU in KM and causes issues with gear changing timing , We fit Heads up display , Free
- Will the vehicle include UK band expanders so that uk fm radio channels can be received? We can do this
- I notice in the images that the roof lining appears to be sagging, is this the case? Does it need to be replaced? If so, is this something that can be done by yourselves? We will do this also

All sounds promising from this??? Anything else I should be aware of?

DSY1984 said:

Does the vehicle have a timing chain or belt? Not sure if it is belt or chain

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V8s have chains not belts dealer should know that.

Has it been registered in the UK yet, (does it have uk plates)? make sure they do it before you take it.

J

Sounds really nice!
If it was me I'd convert it to LPG but i know that is a swearword for some. and if you will not be doing many miles............. when I looked for my V8 i hoped for a jap import but couldn't find one.
But if you keep running it for short trips expect to be changing the exhausts every now and then! Might be worth putting a stainless system on to begin with.
All very sound advice +1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Best of luck!
Oh and PS, I wish all cars had chains, would hate to have to be changing belts

DSY1984 said:

Great. Thank you for the reply. All sounds promising! Am i right in thinking that odeometer will show both KM and Miles? Also from what I can see in the pictures all controls are symbols not text so all get there. LCD screens could maybe be an issue will have to double check that!

Looking to purchase this week al going well, will keep you updated.

D.

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My Lucida was never officially available in the UK so the speedo was only in kph, this was before electronics were so popular and mine couldn't be switched. I would imagine a disco has the ability to change between kph and mph, and even if it can't, the speedo dial will be calibrated in both kph and mph. Does the disco you're after have an electronic speed readout or an old fashioned needle and dial, having never owned a disco I wouldn't know.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

My Lucida was never officially available in the UK so the speedo was only in kph, this was before electronics were so popular and mine couldn't be switched. I would imagine a disco has the ability to change between kph and mph, and even if it can't, the speedo dial will be calibrated in both kph and mph. Does the disco you're after have an electronic speed readout or an old fashioned needle and dial, having never owned a disco I wouldn't know.

Col

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As I can tell you from the kit car world, it is totally legal to make your own speedo dial up.
One guy I knew had one that was totally devoid of numbers, it just had marks at 30, 40, 60 and 70, in those days, before 20 mph speed limits. It passed SVA I think, may have been before it. anyway he showed it to the plods who said it was OK. You could print summat up and stick it on the old dial.
In the end, you could just use tape, or buy a cheap old TomTom. Nothing to worry about!

Oh and my Disco 2 2000 has an old fashioned dial with both kph and mph on it although the milometer is digital and the trip milometer can be changed from one to the other!

Stanleysteamer said:

As I can tell you from the kit car world, it is totally legal to make your own speedo dial up.
One guy I knew had one that was totally devoid of numbers, it just had marks at 30, 40, 60 and 70, in those days, before 20 mph speed limits. It passed SVA I think, may have been before it. anyway he showed it to the plods who said it was OK. You could print summat up and stick it on the old dial.
In the end, you could just use tape, or buy a cheap old TomTom. Nothing to worry about!

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I couldn't be arsed taking the speedo apart to doctor the dial so I just wrote 30, 40, 60 and 70 in tipex on the glass.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

I couldn't be arsed taking the speedo apart to doctor the dial so I just wrote 30, 40, 60 and 70 in tipex on the glass.

Col

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Nice! and no i'm not putting the ferkin pics up again!

Stanleysteamer said:

Sounds really nice!
If it was me I'd convert it to LPG but i know that is a swearword for some. and if you will not be doing many miles............. when I looked for my V8 i hoped for a jap import but couldn't find one.
But if you keep running it for short trips expect to be changing the exhausts every now and then! Might be worth putting a stainless system on to begin with.
All very sound advice +1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Best of luck!
Oh and PS, I wish all cars had chains, would hate to have to be changing belts

Click to expand...

Nowt wrong with LPG it's just another thing to service. Then there's finding somewhere that sells it. But there's an app for that

kermit_rr said:

Nowt wrong with LPG it's just another thing to service. Then there's finding somewhere that sells it. But there's an app for that

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A1 hire has the cheapest near us, and, I have heard, all over the country.
I don't do apps, my phone is steam powered!

DSY1984 said:

Hi All - Hope everybody is staying safe in these crazy times!

I am in the market for a second car and have lusted after a solid Disco 1 or 2 for several years now. The car will be used for the school run (2 miles), the odd weekend blast and term time camping trips. Originally was thinking a disco 3, but after viewing four yesterday I cant' believe the condition of them, although I understand they are bought to be used.

I'm eyeing this as a opportunity to get myself into a lusted Disco 1 or 2 and I have located a Japanese imported DISCOVERY 4.0 V8 SE with 51,000 miles, car looks brand new to be honest I just can't believe how well it looks both inside and out - it's absolutely spotless and with less than half the amount of miles than the UK equivalents! I havent seen it in the flesh yet but I am planning on making the 6 hours round trip this week!

My question is, has anybody else dabbled with Japanese imports, is it too good to be true? Or will I have relatively trouble free motoring for years to come with an example with such low milage? Also any tips on what I should be looking for or a guide on price for an example such as this?

All advise welcome! Cheers.
D.

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Welcome. As above, this is not a good choice for a runaround. The battery will hate it. You will constantly have a flat battery. So you will either need a solar charger , or to use it for more than hops around town. Otherwise look forward to an OH, who knows the AA guy on first name terms,and is very angry, several times a month. Sometimes several times a week.
Buy a Disco for camping , and something else as a runaround.

Hello and welcome to the forum