new to landy's what to look for when buying

Hi

i am looking for a discovery, manual, diesel for around 1500-1800 quid, any pointers at what to look out for would be useful, been offered a 200Tdi with over 200,000 miles really cheap, chassis looks ok what should i be looking for? Whats best 200Tdi or 300Tdi? whats prone to break first etc...

Thanks for any help

Tom

seach n read it's all been done ere before

:welcome:

as said above, if you use the search forum all your questions will be answered.

Main thing, look for rust.
lift the carpets and soundproofing foam...
where? boot floor, driver and passenger footwell, rear wheel arches.
Open the bonet and make sure the inner wings are there..

ask when was the last cambelt change done
check if the steering box is not leaking

200 and 300 are the same engines in terms of power outputs etc, I've found that parts for the 200 engine can be cheaper than 300

which will break first? any will... depends if maintenance has been done or not.

roadster1360 said:

Hi

i am looking for a discovery, manual, diesel for around 1500-1800 quid, any pointers at what to look out for would be useful, been offered a 200Tdi with over 200,000 miles really cheap, chassis looks ok what should i be looking for? Whats best 200Tdi or 300Tdi? whats prone to break first etc...

Thanks for any help

Tom

Click to expand...

Hi Tom, first of all welcome to the barmy house.

Here's a bit of background on Discovery to set the scene, it's not absolutely complete but you'll get the picture:

Discovery started in 1989 with petrol V8 and direct-injection turbo diesel 4 cylinder TDI 200 engines. Allied to the TDi engine was the LT77 5spedd gearbox.

These first lot of Disco's are often referred to a Disco1 "200 series" and were produced until late '93 or early '94.

Available in 3 and 5 door.

Then we move onto Disco1 "300 series" which relates to the much modified but very similar looking 4 cylinder turbo diesel TDi 300. There are a number of cosmetic differences to bodywork, lights and interior. Brioadly speaking slightly more refined vehicle. Different gearbox, now the R380, with a different change pattern.

This series went on until late 1998, before the change to Disco2, which was a complete change of vehicle, bodywork and engine.

Focussing on the difference between TDi 200 & 300 from buyers viewpoint, Tdi200 are very old now and most will suffer from the Disco's biggest enemy - RUST, everywhere !!!

Sills, which are mot-able and expensive to have fixed if you can't do them yourself, boot floors, Rear wings near the seatbelt anchorage points, front inner wings, body mounts everywhere, rear body crossmember.

The day to day operating differences between 200 and 300 are minor, except for the fact that most 200's were fairly basic spec whereas the 300's became more highly equipped throughout their production run.

Items auch as ABS and aircon are great when they are working correctly, but a pain in the arris when they are not.

My favorite is a 5-door 1998 (last of the run) basic spec vehicle, due to the best rust protection.

Price-wise, I just bought a 1998 3-door with 116,000mls and several niggles to resolve, for £800. So with your budget you could and should be able to buy a really good one.

Have a look on Ebay, then go onto Autotrader which gives a fairer impression imo, of what they are really worth.

Good hunting

Dave

Hi,

'My favorite is a 5-door 1998 (last of the run) basic spec vehicle, due to the best rust protection.'

Did the rust protection vary from model to model ?

aston108 said:

Hi,

'My favorite is a 5-door 1998 (last of the run) basic spec vehicle, due to the best rust protection.'

Did the rust protection vary from model to model ?

Click to expand...

No, but in my experience, the quality varied throughout the production run and the latter ones seem to be better protected.

or can it be that the later ones havent been exposed to the elements for as many years as the older ones?

lol

[JP];762067 said:

or can it be that the later ones havent been exposed to the elements for as many years as the older ones?

lol

Click to expand...

Imho, no. The quality and level of consistency of protection is far superior on the later TDi 300's, than on the earlier cars.

Of course there is a time element to all these things, but I don't believe that the passage of time between for example, 11yrs and say 15yrs would make the difference in the level of rust damage that I've seen.

No, I reckon it's just a simple case of LR (miraculously!!) doing it a bit better.

And to support that, have a look at the underneath of a Disco2. I had one 'til recently and the underneath of the body was flawless - the chassis however was absolutely awful by comparison to my other Disco's.

Apparently lots of early Disco2's left the factory without any sort of rust protection other than primer !!!!