Stick with new Disco - or not??

Hi, I'm looking for some opinions if possible......
I bought a 1998 Disco (1) last week) and posted an introduction on here. All was going well until today....I bought it from a dealer after trading in a BMW. I have had Discos before and know they have quirks, but I am not sure about this one.
It's only done 97000 miles and has a full service history. Most of the work has been done at the same garage and I have checked there, so mileage and history is genuine.
But today, I noticed a whinning noise coming from the front of the engine block. It appears to be from the alternator belt area. It increases with revs. Then, after 10 miles or so on the motorway, the engine oil light began flickering at low idle. It went off as soon as I revved and stopped completely after a few miles on the A roads. To cap it all off, it's running very cold. I was getting heat on the motorway, but as soon as I get on the minor roads, the guage drops below the lowest level and the air from the heater gets cooler.
To top it all off, it's ****ing water from both sunroofs!
BUT - the Disco is really tidy. The bodywork is mint and I know it has been well looked after. It has been serviced every year without fail and anything that has shown wear has clearly been replaced immediately.
I have a one-month warranty. I can take it back the dealer tomorrow. But I don't want to rush into living them the car back if all these problems are just minor and can be sorted quite easily.
I know I can sort the leaks out etc - I'm not that bothered about that - bit I do worry that something major is going on with the engine.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Ta

read the "crock of ****" thread. (yu may need to look).
itemise faults.
take it back.

If it's under warranty take it to them and see what they are willing to do . If is had the head or other water system work recently then it may only need bleeding properly , if not , could be head or P gasket .as regards sunroofs if they leak how good is the boot floor ??

if? it has to by law

Hi,

Thanks so far. The boot is fine. It was one of the first things I checked when I originally looked at it. I suppose my thoughts are that it appears a very tidy Disco and I do not want to rush into giving it back too soon as true "good" ones are hard to find. But, I bought this to travel to Greece in with the wife at the end of the summer because we are moving (crap economy, I know!) and I am worried that these early problem are a sign that I may have bought a pup....

I got a pup today , her names Molly .( sorry going off subject )

If you`ve got a warranty with the Disco take it back,

After all thats the whole point of a warranty,

Lets you know if the warranty covers whats wrong, if it dosnt cover what the problem is, then you know what needs fixed anyway.

Good luck.

ffs - it HAS a warranty - by law - it has to be "of merchantable quality" - it aint as it stands - so yu can take it back - read the thread i suggested.

Fanny - where are ya?

You should take it back.
You are maybe assuming that your question to the garage is " I have a warranty, give me my money back. "
It isn`t (yet), it is "I have a warranty, the car has these problems, plese fix them under the warranty"
You have apid for that warranty one way or another, may as well use it

Thanks for all the responses. I'm actually not in any rush to give it back. I'm just hoping all these problems are a group of minor ones ie oil pressure switch, worn belt etc etc rather than one big problem. Nobody appears to be suggesting it's one big problem, which would is a bonus. I know the garage won't be a problem, and I would rather fix the issues than start searching again for another Disco.

no dont fix anything this means you are accepting the faults take it back first get them to sort the probs

Holagaz, you seem to be reluctant to take the Disco back to the garage to at least give them the chance to make good - is there a reason for this reluctance?

I don't think anyone is suggesting you ask for your money back, you just want a car that works properly, that's all.


Dave

No, I'm not reluctant to take it back at all. I'm going there this morning. My reluctance is because they may decide they would rather bin a car that, in theory, is only worth a couple of grand rather than do potentially expensive work.
I'm also a bit ****ed because I "moaned" the wife into submission to get a Land Rover against her better judgement and I'm already dealing with mechanicals. Not good when I convinced her this was the truck to get us all the way to Greece with our worldly possessions in a few months!

holagaz said:

No, I'm not reluctant to take it back at all. I'm going there this morning. My reluctance is because they may decide they would rather bin a car that, in theory, is only worth a couple of grand rather than do potentially expensive work.
I'm also a bit ****ed because I "moaned" the wife into submission to get a Land Rover against her better judgement and I'm already dealing with mechanicals. Not good when I convinced her this was the truck to get us all the way to Greece with our worldly possessions in a few months!

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I can understand that you feel cheesed off just right now, but these issues are really minor to a Landy owner. Once they are fixed you WILL have a great vehicle. They do need more attention, but they do deliver as well.

Re taking the car back, if they fix stuff, great. If they say no, then come back on here and we will walk you through fixing these problems and the preparation for your trip to Greece. Nothing here is terminal, OK?

When you are in Greece and investigating all the wonderful out of the way places, she will thank you for getting a Disco - hopefully


Dave

Thanks for all the responses. The garage were fine and it was as i thought (hoped). We think it is all minor stuff and already ordered are oil pressure switch and thermostat. The belt squeal may take a bit more investigation, but it's in hand. Definatley not water pump as it responded to some belt goo!
It's going into the garage tomorrow to have the few bits done. They're even going to investigate the leaking sunroofs - although that might only be a problem until I get to the sun!
In the meantime, I used time this afternoon to fit three new leather gaitors to gear-sticks and handbrake and they went on fine. An hour's work. Changed the look of the cockpit already....I also tackled checked the boot properly - no rust to be seen. I tackled a couple of other minor things and the Landy world is a lot happier place to be now...
I will update after the garage tomorrow in case it can help other people. THanks,.

Sounds like the world is a happier place - I'm very pleased for you.

Once you've these current issues resolved you might care to consider the common engine mods that maek the car run better and more economically.

Good luck with the garage

Dave

So the cold running has been sorted with a new thermostat and also possibly an air-lock sorted. Oil Pressure Switch replacement appears to have cured the intermittent flashing light problem (fingers crossed). So now I can get on with the list of minor jobs which give Discos their "character"! Thanks for all the responses.
Because I am taking the Disco to Greece, I was planning to have cam belt done. Got a couple of wildly varying prices today - one as much as £370. Seems a bit steep. Does anybody know a mechanic in or around the Wirral who may be able to assist for fair remuneration?
Ta

holagaz said:

So the cold running has been sorted with a new thermostat and also possibly an air-lock sorted. Oil Pressure Switch replacement appears to have cured the intermittent flashing light problem (fingers crossed). So now I can get on with the list of minor jobs which give Discos their "character"! Thanks for all the responses.
Because I am taking the Disco to Greece, I was planning to have cam belt done. Got a couple of wildly varying prices today - one as much as £370. Seems a bit steep. Does anybody know a mechanic in or around the Wirral who may be able to assist for fair remuneration?
Ta

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I don't know any mechanics close to you but I would suggest that you do it yourself.

It's not at all a hard job to do, and you could do several other "preventative maintenance" at the same time.

If you're going to be living in Greece permanently, the cooling system will need to be in tip-top condition to prevent an overheat, so removing the rad to give better access for the cambelt change will allow you to give it a good flush out and therefore keep it in good order.


If you do the work yourself, calmly and methodically, you'll know what's been done, where everything is and how it all works. PLus you'll save yourself a load of cash and potential frustration - the worst thing ever is paying a "professional" to the work for you - and they **** up!!!

If you do a search on here and/or how to do it, you'll get all the info you need to DIY.

Cheers
Dave