TD5's - are they worth it?

Opinions gratefully recieved, was told when looking for a used Land Rover to avoid TD5's, more problems than they are worth.....is there any truth in this?

I've read reviews online and yup, they are so mixed, which is what I would expect I guess, but would I be better off going with an older model? I don't have a great deal of money, so things going expensively wrong, I am trying to avoid (aint we all?)

Thoughts please

main issue with the TD5 engined landys is that they like being plugged into a expensive bit of test equipment to do the fault finding - rather than the older 200/300 engined ones that you can fault find using your eyes and ears

all depends on what your budget is really

Sean said:

all depends on what your budget is really

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

Not much really lol - the only reason I was looking at TD5 was that they had 3 diagonal seat belts across the back (car seat issue)

I guess £4000 will be our max, I know this is limiting but needs must and all that.

Louise, £4k should get you a 2001 or 2002 TD5 with high-ish milage. Don;t worry about the milage tho...a well-looked-after model with high milage is better than a hack with low miles.

2002 had a lot of problems fixed (such as plastic dowels in the head), and is a good buy...

think she'd be better buying the best 300 she can get for 3500 ish, least then she'd not be running to the garage everytime the engine coughed or burped

Check out Honest John on line, a few lines of good points, pages of bad. I still went and got one though 2001 es auto, i love it to bits but have spent lots of pennies keeping it running, at the moment looking at my second head gasket in 18 months so another £800-900. Go anywhere luxury. I may even flog mine as I cannot keep going with the expense

Thanks for all the replies guys it really does help. I have had sooooo much bad luck with cars, just getting fed up with it now.

So thinking back to the older models, is there anyway to have 3 diagonal seat belts in the rear? Really not a lap belt fan at all.

Hi Louise

If you looked around you could maybe get a TD5 with most of the niggly issues sorted out. This might apply to an older model car with higher mileage. If a manual, a new clutch and Dual Mass Flywheel could have been fitted. The wheel bearings also tend to fail and are only available as complete units at £200 each. The fuel pump also fails and are about £150. The 7 seaters have air suspension and the air bags can leak. They are about £80 each and if replaced last along time.

The head gasket could also have been changed on an older car.

The steering boxes tend to leak are roughly £200 for a reconditioned one (exchange)


There is a bolt holding on the oil pump sprocket that can work lose. If this fails the engine is usually toast. This may well have been sorted by a careful owner.

The fuel pressure regulator usually develops a diesel leak and will be about £80 for the part and about 1 hours labour to fit.

All the above items will have labour involved to fit them as well. There are a whole range of other small issues that crop up as well.

The pre march 2001 cars are not affected by the planned motor tax rises. The TD5 with the normal 16" wheels will have cheaper tyres, but they may have been recently changed also if you shop around.

The TD5 is really nice car to drive and is very spacious. I got mine due to having the 3 proper belts in the back. It's obviously very big and can be hard to park. It's 5 or 6 inches longer than the Tdi model. The ES model TD5 has parking sensors. These would be real useful, but I think the ES is group 15 insurance instead of 13 for the lower model cars. Maybe wouldn't make much of a difference.

The boot is huge and if a dog guard is fitted it can be piled high with gear.

Mine is a 2000 GS with 125K and little service history. I got it a year ago for £3950 which was a good price as the prices were not falling as they are now.
To date I've had to fix about 6 or 7 issues. It was way down on power when I got it. I didn't realise but have now sorted it, basically by cleaning the engine sensors. I have a slow coolant leak somewhere, which is not serious and will be fixed in the better weather.

Oh and my sunroofs also leak. They're easy enough to sort if a little fiddly. The main dealer will try and sell you complete sunroofs at £900 to fix this. It normally takes £30 seals and some sealant to sort.

The TD5 will give problems, you can be sure of that. If I wasn't able to work on mine I think my heart would be broke by now. It's now going great though and has been reliable for a few months.

If my sister told me she was thinking of getting a Discovery TD5, I would probably try and talk her into a Honda CRV.

Cheers

Andy

Hi Louise,
I bought my 2000My TD5 Auto just over a year ago after handing back my company BMW. She's now got 210,000km on the clock and I have had a few things go wrong but also a few things which I see as normal wear and tear.
1) Head gasket cuz the radiator was leaking & she overheated (poor maintenance by previous owner)
2) Front discs and pads (wear & Tear)
3) Fuel pressure regulator replaced (Wear & Tear)
4) Two PAS pipes burst on different occasions (don't know why)
5)New Radiator (old one leaked again 12months after being repaired)
Normal Servicing cost are quite high which I have done at a local indpendant due to a 2 year warranty on the car - Head Gasket and Radiator covered. However, when the warranty expires, I'll service myself which will reduce costs considerably.
The only thing to do at the moment is the injectors which are noisey and there is an internittent misfire (probably oil in harness).
I love the car to bits and would not want to part with it just yet. We've had great holidays out into the bush and when visitors come to see us from overseas, I can't really think of a better vehl to take them to the Kruger Park in!
My colleague at work has 2 Disco 1's and his maintenance cost over the last 3 years has been +/- R3,000 (£200) so they have been really cheap. He goes on expedition at least once per year as well.
In Summary, you pay your money, you take your choice. Personnally I would take the Disco II cuz it is a better refined car than the Disco I ( I worked on DII project at L/R before I moved to South Africa). We put a lot of effort into that car. However, there are a lot of electrics that can and do go wrong.

Ooh lordy guys, you lot have giving me so much to think about! Thankyou for the responses.

It is the seatbelt and space issue which has led me to the TD5 (see my other threads lol) I just can't seem to think of anything else that is suitable space wise (seatbelt wise)

So at least you guys have giving me/us bits to look out for now.

There are two that I am currently looking at. Not full spec of course...

LAND ROVER Discovery 2.5 Td5 S , 1998 S Reg , 104,000 miles £4,495 (manual)

1999 V Reg LAND ROVER Discovery 2.5 Td5 GS, 117,000 miles £4,495 (auto)

What do you think about these years model wise? I know I know it's not the same but ah well......

I would definately go for the Auto if it's a good one. It also depends on the driving you are going to do. 80% of my driving is on Tarred roads (main roads / Highways) and 20% dirt roads / off road. The Auto is perfect for this....and you can't beat an Auto when crawling in heavy traffic or following a pride of lions in the bush!!
I know what you mean with the seat belts, I've got three kids as well and I will not drive unless they are belted up.

Heehee the only lions I'll follow are the ones at Longleat (safari park lol) but yeah I'm leaning towards the auto aswell, plus the two seats in the boot are the forward facing ones.

Currently trying to sort out finance, so if they except buttons, hopefully have a new motor soon lol

Thanks for the reply

Louise

The Auto GS would be better. The manual gear change isn't particulary slick and the clutch can be a bit cumbersome in traffic. The auto comes highly rated.

My wife just started driving my TD5 recently as our Scenic was off the road. I was a bit nervous how she would get on with it, but she hasn't had any problems and says she likes driving it.

I have side steps on mine and although I don't particularly like the look of them, I find them great for helping the smaller kids step in and out, particularly if you have your hands full, at the same time as getting them out, as often happens. Without them they would struggle a bit at age 5 and 4.

Try and get a decent service history.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

Cheers

Andy

To give you the other side of td5 ownership experience, I have had a 01 td5 ES for a little over a year now and put 22k miles on it in that time (up to 53k miles). It has not missed a beat in that time, excepting replacement of starter motor - more out of paranioa that necessity. It is also an auto and is a dream for everyday operation. Had two manual 300tdis before and there is little comparison.

In terms of size, I would not worry too much, our DII is actually smaller than our Saab 9-5, with better views out!

good luck with choice

All sides of the coin is good Dave, makes me feel better if someone says something nice. lol

Andy, yup will keep you all up to date with this stressful search which I can now go GRRRRRRRRR again.....the auto got sold today!!!!

They can all be sods when they want to be, and 300s are geting old now watch out for rot.
find a nice one and look after it, a bit slugish off the mark but once going there good

Have a look on ebay. There's heaps for sale. This will give you an idea of prices and specs etc.

It's a buyers market so make sure you try and get some money off if it's a normal type sale.

Cheers

Andy

Ive got a new middle seat diagonal seat belt kicking about somwhere, my dad bought it for his TD5 110 CSW but never fitted it.

Edit: Just realised this is the disco section....:dizzy:

mormond said:

They can all be sods when they want to be, and 300s are geting old now watch out for rot.
find a nice one and look after it, a bit slugish off the mark but once going there good

Click to expand...

I've already being bit on the ass regarding the rot issue, guy at the MOT station used a whole can of yellow paint marking up all welding points!!!

andymach23 said:

Have a look on ebay. There's heaps for sale. This will give you an idea of prices and specs etc.

It's a buyers market so make sure you try and get some money off if it's a normal type sale.

Cheers

Andy

Click to expand...

Hubbys been trawling on there aswell, trouble is I need to buy via trade rather than private as just don't have the cash.

woods767 said:

Ive got a new middle seat diagonal seat belt kicking about somwhere, my dad bought it for his TD5 110 CSW but never fitted it.

Edit: Just realised this is the disco section....:dizzy:

Click to expand...

Would that fit another model though?? (why I like old fords, parts are like Lego heehee)


Well rang up another garage about a 300TDi instead.....sold yesterday!! I swear I am jinxed :doh:

Your best bet is to just keep your options open. I was looking for a replacement 300tdi 110 last year after some theiving sod tried to nick mine and burn it. They were overpriced and not in particularly good condition. A TD5 110 popped up for silly money so I bought it. It cost me £500 to sort out some problems but for the price I paid I really can't complain. The week after I bought it there were loads of 300tdi 110's for sale. If you want something specific you will never find one when you want it. If you keep an open mind, something will come up.