This could be the end

I've just got the MoT report back for my '94 Disco and it is very bad, borderline terminal!

I bought her in July last year and she has been a money pit. Firstly the Diesal pump needed replacing along with timing belt, new spare tyre and aircon drive belt, £250.
Then in March this year a headgasket blew between middle cylinders and the water pump was leaking, parts and labour, £683.29.
Four days later rear propshaft had to be replaced, £99.37.
Several days ago driving home from work at 10.15pm the front propshaft went. Combined with the cost of an MoT, £212.38.
Total so far £1245.04.

Five new tyres needed £250

Just failed MoT, One rear light not working, both front headlights aim too low, anti-lock braking system warning light indicating ABS fault, nearside read belt anchorage excessively corroded and both near and offside rear body excessively corroded. Approximate cost to repair up to £500.

This looks terminal.....

dump it mate.get a series instead.i would say get a defender but they are just as expensive.

Perhaps find a mechanically knackered Defender (like mine???) and swap the running gear into it?

Hehe... you got off lightly. The bloke I bought my disco off had spent 3,845 quid on it in 2 years. Fook knows how cos it's still a shed but can't complain for 500 quid

fing is the most basic thing can cost nowt parts but a fair few hours labour, if ur no mechanic like me!that can mount up th ole pennies i can tell u!a few clutch fork breakages and thats best part of a couple grand (if it broke 4 times say)that wuld b real bad luck though!!christ hope i aint jus put th mockers on me landy!!

Kev627 said:

I've just got the MoT report back for my '94 Disco and it is very bad, borderline terminal!

I bought her in July last year and she has been a money pit. Firstly the Diesal pump needed replacing along with timing belt, new spare tyre and aircon drive belt, £250.
Then in March this year a headgasket blew between middle cylinders and the water pump was leaking, parts and labour, £683.29.
Four days later rear propshaft had to be replaced, £99.37.
Several days ago driving home from work at 10.15pm the front propshaft went. Combined with the cost of an MoT, £212.38.
Total so far £1245.04.

Five new tyres needed £250

Just failed MoT, One rear light not working, both front headlights aim too low, anti-lock braking system warning light indicating ABS fault, nearside read belt anchorage excessively corroded and both near and offside rear body excessively corroded. Approximate cost to repair up to £500.

This looks terminal.....

Click to expand...

what yer asking for it?

Kev627 said:

I've just got the MoT report back for my '94 Disco and it is very bad, borderline terminal!

I bought her in July last year and she has been a money pit. Firstly the Diesal pump needed replacing along with timing belt, new spare tyre and aircon drive belt, £250.
Then in March this year a headgasket blew between middle cylinders and the water pump was leaking, parts and labour, £683.29.
Four days later rear propshaft had to be replaced, £99.37.
Several days ago driving home from work at 10.15pm the front propshaft went. Combined with the cost of an MoT, £212.38.
Total so far £1245.04.

Five new tyres needed £250

Just failed MoT, One rear light not working, both front headlights aim too low, anti-lock braking system warning light indicating ABS fault, nearside read belt anchorage excessively corroded and both near and offside rear body excessively corroded. Approximate cost to repair up to £500.

This looks terminal.....

Click to expand...

The disco i bought 12 months ago actually had £8000 spent on it in 3 years.
Servicing,repairing floor pan,abs sensors e.t.c.
All done by main dealer no expense spared.
Used to be owned by a rich bitch with a rich hubby.
Used as a chelsea tractor for the kiddywinks.
Couldnt refuse it it was mint.
Still holding up fine.

Bought my 300tdi M reg for £600 and in 2 weeks have spent about £400 on her. Boot floor, rear shocks, full exhaust, cam belt change and loads of other anoying little bits. Its the way it goes if you want to make it safe and reliable. Keep the one you have you have cos if you buy another one then replacing all the bits n bobs will start all over again. Why do you need 5 new tyres if you put a brand new spare on july last year?

VEGGIELANDEE said:

The disco i bought 12 months ago actually had £8000 spent on it in 3 years.
Servicing,repairing floor pan,abs sensors e.t.c.
All done by main dealer no expense spared.
Used to be owned by a rich bitch with a rich hubby.
Used as a chelsea tractor for the kiddywinks.
Couldnt refuse it it was mint.
Still holding up fine.

Click to expand...

it amazes me wot peeps spend on umm and then get shut ...

So it's gonna cost £500 for repairs plus new tyres yeah?.

What you gonna be able to buy for £500 - £750 with 12 mths MOT and new fuel pump etc etc fitted recently? .............. not alot thats any good i'm sure.

At least if you keep this one you know exactly whats been done and shouldn't go wrong for a year or 2

BTW ......... is the garage that carried out the MOT test the same garage that quoted you for the repair costs by any chance???

Disco Inferno, the cost of the five new tires included that spare previously fitted.
Rafa_surf, I have been seriously thinking about getting a Series for a few months now but have had the constant noise in my ears saying "buy a proper car" from my wife as it'll be cheaper." Funnily enough this noise has recently gotten louder!
Captain Chaos, yes the garage that quoted that price was the same one that did the MoT but today is going to be spent making phone calls, getting prices and (hopefully) pulling in favours.

I think I can see a very dim light many miles away on the horizon.....

Ours was a bit like that but we kept the costs down massively by using second hand parts (except for the head gasket which I did myself (only to find a cracked piston and so end up honing bores, replacing big end shells etc).

The welding was the killer in the end as I can't weld properly (yet...) and so we swapped it for an old "normal" car with someone who could weld

I guess my point is that by using second hand bits and doing the work yourself you needn't dispair, but welding is not something everyone can do to an acceptable standard (important for safety critical stuff).

Agree with the better the devil you know comments. If you like the Disco and have recently sorted so many problems, is it really a good time to cut your losses and gamble on something else that may be worse - or are there more problems bubbling away?

Malcolm

malcolm_durant said:

Ours was a bit like that but we kept the costs down massively by using second hand parts (except for the head gasket which I did myself (only to find a cracked piston and so end up honing bores, replacing big end shells etc).

The welding was the killer in the end as I can't weld properly (yet...) and so we swapped it for an old "normal" car with someone who could weld

I guess my point is that by using second hand bits and doing the work yourself you needn't dispair, but welding is not something everyone can do to an acceptable standard (important for safety critical stuff).

Agree with the better the devil you know comments. If you like the Disco and have recently sorted so many problems, is it really a good time to cut your losses and gamble on something else that may be worse - or are there more problems bubbling away?

Malcolm

Click to expand...

This is something that my wife and I have had 'discussions' about! She thinks that once the work is done we should sell the Disco as its been no end of problems and get a little 'normal' car.
My thoughts are we know the engine is OK, both propshafts are OK and once welding done major parts of the bodywork are OK so why risk buying a 'normal' car that could put us right back to square one on the possible problem front.
I think I might be edging closer to victory on this one, any support from the board would be welcome!

If you've spent a load of money getting it sorted why pass it on to someone else to enjoy the benefits? I'm currently rebuilding my 110. Started by taking it off the road for a few days to get it through the mot then one thing led to another and now it's in the garage stripped to the chassis. I reckoned if it was worth doing I might as well do a proper job that'll last a good few years. But after spending a pile of dosh on it I'm definitely not selling it so some other tw&t can have a great Landy for a bargain price.

Have used British Remould tyres (when times were hard!) some people dont rate them, but paid £29 +VAT last time each.Shop around for fitting.

sashtony said:

Have used British Remould tyres (when times were hard!) some people dont rate them, but paid £29 +VAT last time each.Shop around for fitting.

Click to expand...

Fitting no problem but who supplies them?

mate i bought a disco 1 (1996) 3.9 v8i xs on lpg. it was **** when i had it and going from a tweaked 325i beemer that was absolutely reliable to this was a gamble and a shock! - i had to do it due to having more children, 7 seats was a must, and it was this or a people carrier! having driven it for a month i found the following problems, 2 new front shocks, air filter, leads, plugs, it "hunted" when it was idle and occasionally stalled when you came to a junction, the water pump went on it and i replaced the serpentine fanbelt at the same time, 1 of the front cats rattled, the brakes were crap and made hell of a noise. well i bought a haynes manual, became a member of this forum, got some bloody good tools and some wd40 and found a website called "paddockspares", now im no mechanic but i can follow basic instructions, i replaced the front shocks with bilstien blacks, i have prformance ht leads and k&n filter, it doesnt hunt anymore as i adjusted the idle speed, i put on the new water pump and belt, ive sorted the exhaust and generally sorted it all out and kept it maintained, it now goes a lot better than it used to and due to the new mintex pads and discs fitted all round by myself it stops a lot better too! my point i suppose is, when we 1st had the disco and everything went wrong with it i very nearly sold it but thru sheer stubbornness and the theory of "well ok the last parts lasted 16 years and 125000 miles, hopefully the new parts should last as long" now me and my missus absolutely love it as so do the kids! have faith and you will reap the rewards! but my i ad - if i was having to pay garage prices i would have got rid of it ages ago - now its my hobby!

forgot to mention i put a new battery on it too, the fella wanted 2 grand for the motor originally and i knocked it down to £1700, and ive only spent about £300 cash and a lot of man hours putting it right - the end result - bloody marvelous!

Put it through another MOT with a different garage and see what comes up. There is a lot of tossers out there trying to drum up more business for themselves cuz they know you will get them to do the repairs to pass the MOT.

On the plus side i would keep the disco because if you get rid and get another one you could end up spending that money all over again. At least you know what work has been done to your disco and you will only lose the money if you sell it.