Hi!, and Advice please..?

Hi everyone,
I'd like to introduce myself, my Names Rob, i am 25, and I live in Mid Wales.. my mechanical skills are near zero as my family doesn't know much about vehicles, and we have never been the kinda family to fiddle with them. (I'm interested to learn though, I have a few friends which do know a fair bit about 4x4's, but cant really rely on them all of the time!)

I have been interested in Landrovers for many years but could never afford a decent spec one, I was going to buy my sisters 'p' reg Discovery many years ago but could barely afford the cost, and when my insurance quotes came back as over £1500 I gave up on the idea and eventualy settled on a 04 Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2L SWB for £650 a year insurance (insurances never seem to make sense to me!). - But to be honest the Shogun has and still is serving me well, although I have a few niggles, it's either passangers or luggage, due to it being a SWB its restricting how many of my friends I can take to events around the UK.. (roof boxes are a no go due to height restrictions, and a trailer would not be suitable, so its a LWB for the future!).. That and the price of parts for Mitsubishi can be extreme!, modifications/accessories are extremely expensive and not easy to locate, compare that against Landrover and you are spoiled for choice with any landrover! - I know I don't need to tell you that though.. obvious really.

I was interested in a Defender but since I have the need to do a fair bit of motorway miles (on occasions) the high rev's of the defender and high price tag to get a great spec kinda put me off, as the newer Defenders with the Puma engine are far outside of my price.

I have recently 'Discovered' (excuse the unintentional pun) a nice '2004 LAND ROVER Discovery 2.5 Td5 ES Premium' Automatic, localy which is advertised at £11,995. (Bit pricey maybe but I can negotiate and to be honest it is mint inside and out with over £4k worth of improvements on the vehicle (seen some of the receipts and it all looks above board).

One receipt showed £2,500 for an "uprated turbo and ECU remap to 200BHP) which brings me to the point where the problems start..again..

Due to the Increase in BHP of around 45% (apparently).. nearly every Insurance company will not touch the vehicle, those that will have quoted me over £1,000 a year. Only two insurance companies seem 'decent' enough at around £700-800 (Insures: Adrian Flux, and SureTerm). - Which is a problem, it doesn't give me much leaway to manouver if they both decide to raise their prices!

I'm just after some advice really, whether to get the vehicle or not (the modifications are attracting me, but insurance not so.. are the modifications worth the worry/cost of the insurance?

Vehicles details are below:

5 Doors, Automatic, Station Wagon, Diesel, 63,000 miles, Silver. SEVEN SEATS, PREVIOUS OWNER CLAIMS 40MPG, UP RATED TURBO, RE MAPPED TO 200BHP, STAINLESS STEEL EXHAUST, XENON HEADLAMPS, HARMAN KARDON AUDIO, 12 MONTHS AA WARRANTY FREE, Full Service History, 7 Seats, Satelite Navigation, Full leather interior, Twin electric sunroofs, Air conditioning, Dual Zone Climate Control, Heated screen, Heated front seats, CD Multichanger, Audio remote control, Cruise control, Auto dim rear view mirror, Multi function steering wheel, Electrically adjustable seats, Electric windows front and rear, Power fold door mirrors, Privacy windows, Rear seat centre armrest, Rear headrests, Rear load cover, Reverse parking aid, Alloy wheels, Xenon headlamps, Headlamp washers, Front fog lights, Side steps, Roof rails, Towbar, Rear wash-wipe, ABS, Remote central locking, Anti theft system. Insurance Group:14.

---

I have been reading some of the forums about and the re-map seems to transform the vehicles for the better (I don't pull a caravan but do pull a 2,700kg trailer for general use), but someone did mention about changing the intercooler as the vehicle would run hotter

ANY advice is Very much appreciated!

Thanks

Hi rob, i have a 53 auto, and the book states 25mpg, which i would say is pushing it a bit, i dont have a remap but would be reluctant if it would do 40mpg with it, as for the other equipment on the landy, yes i have them all but hardly ever use them, i do pull a caravan at 1750kg so not as heavy, never had a problem with running hot, maybe just lucky, and no i did not pay anywhere near what they are asking for yours and that was 2 years ago, hope this is some help, oh yes Welcome

you can get a very good vehicle for alot less than that ,they go fine with out remap etc so find one without if its effecting your insurance , and mod it yourself later if you must ,the main thing to look at is chassis and parts fastened to it for corrosion ,engine and transmission your only going to get an idea by driving it, i would keep looking seems an expensive way to buy a few mods

A friend of mine made engine mods to his TD5 Defender and it was putting out somewhere in the region of 240bhp - he spent a fortune and the thing went like a rocket. he never had any engine problems with it and sold it for way more than a standard car - would tend to agree with the other posters and take a standard car and then make modifications in your own time. Make sure you do your research and err on the side of caution, ie. uprate intercoolers etc with any turbo mods.

Thanks for the quick response.. I have asked a few people, even a local car insurance dealer and the general feeling is that this vehicle is to be avoided!.. yes I can get insurance, but only two companies .. says something when one company checked over 80 insurers and not one came back with a quote due to the remap. shame.. such a nice vehicle too!..

I think this is the reason it has apparently sat on his forecourt for some time.. still one thing that bugs me about the vehicle.. it has had 6 previous owners, the last was a disabled man and he spent near £4K on it and within 6 months sold it.. if you spend that kind of money on a vehicle you would think about keeping it for a bit longer than that unless there was a good reason to get rid of it.. umm!...

Off to find a standard one I think.. I wasnt sure if the standard auto transition without these mods would be as good, but if your saying they are good anyways then I shall take your advice and experience any day

I still love the look of the Disco II's.. there's just something about the Disco 3's I'm not keen about, it's the general boxy look and the range rover style tail gate system they have.. not a keen fan, I did test drive a £22K one down in Brecon a month ago, a lovely piece of kit! but it didn't scream "BUY ME", (not that I would have, if it did!).

Thanks for the advice, any more info you can share about anything would be very much appreciated!

Cheers!

Disco II's are a nice looking motor, and like you, if I was to buy a Disco in your price range it would be a clean Disco II rather than a bottom book Disco 3.

As others have said, unless you really need a re-map, the TD5 engine is a good engine. It will seem a bit slow and agricultural after your 3 litre Shogun, but not as much as you imagine, and as Land Rovers engines go the TD5 is fairly reliable and good for a few thousand miles.

When it comes to modfying - should you ever feel the need then most reputable tuning specialists will help you understand the benefits/disadvantages of each of the tuning options you mention and will also recommend what to go for based on your driving neeeds. Just don't be tempted by the Fleabay plug-in box which claims gives xyz% increase in power and 50mpg.

I'm pretty set on getting a Disco II.. although I've been hearing a lot of horror stories about the air suspention system, although i'm not too worried as I have been told they are a cheap fix, if converting to coil - although I'd like to hear some people opinions on this? better/worse?

I love my little Shogun but it's just too small to get all of mine and my friends kit in the back, so its either passangers or luggage not great, but it does shift, and pulls well, it can see off those annoying boy racers behind you at junctions (well for the first few seconds before they catch up again).. leaves them in shock to be honest .. not something I do often though, they are not designed for that purpose!. Fuel doesn't last too long if you start messing about either, at nearly 2T fully fueled, its a heavy beast.

I'd love to modify my jeep but you just cant seem to do much to Mitsubishi's as parts are too expensive/ everyone I ask doesn't want to touch them. - Tends to be a main dealer job for most of my repairs, and thats expensive.

Just wondering what everyones opinions are on the auto transmittion, good/bad- problematic?.. I Have always driven manuals so its a bit alien to me at the moment, I didn't mind the discovery I test drove, seemed to go well, but traffic meant I couldn't test it thoroughly.

disco 2 are good i have auto no problems like any car service regulary ,and most apart from engine easy fix

I have the auto box and changed 1 pipe on it in the time i have had it, 2 years now, £48 for the pipe, its on here how to do it, i had the MK2 2.8td lwb shogun before this which i still have in my shed being stripped for parts as i couldn't afford to keep repairing it, theirs no way i would go back to a Mitsy again, and this may sound daft but the TD5 i have is a lot better in my opinion for reliabiliy