To buy or not to buy?

Hi everyone, I have a small amount of money to spend on a used car (£2000). I have always fancied a 4WD and was surprised to find that Discoveys are available for that kind of price. I was considering just getting a mondeo (cheap to buy and fix) but would love a Disco. I do about 5K miles per year and in off road terms wouldn't have to cope with more than a muddy field or dirt track when I go mountain biking and camping. So my question is would I only be getting an old wreck for that sort of money or something that I could get 2 or 3 years of cheap, fun motoring out of? Of course all cars go wrong but would the repair bills be enormous or should I just play safe and get a Mondeo?

Cheers!

Hi - recent convert to Land Rovers (Discovery's in particular) myself.

Parts are pretty damn reasonable if you shop around (although diesel engines and gearboxes are at least as expensive, if not much more so than normal cars). Mechanically they are a big Meccano set.

£2k was our ball-park budget and we got the best Disco we saw in this price range. Frankly if it was a car it would be a bit of a shed, but it was the least "sheddy" one we saw. Land Rovers may last forever, but they don't "age" as well as Japanese off-roaders. Bear in mind the cost of parts for a Japanese 4x4 will probably bankrupt you...

I was going to say you'd be getting an old wreck (and there are plenty on the market for £2k) but if you're careful and patient something will turn up.

Final thought is you get the same car, but with more toys and usually in better condition for the same price or less if you buy a Range Rover...

Also consider Shoguns, Troopers/Montereys and Landcruisers. Seen too many desperately rusty Nissan Patrols to ever recommend them at this money. All will cost more to service and repair than a comparable Disco or Range Rover...

IMHO

Malcolm

Hiya popeye, I own a 1991 Tdi Discovery which I bought from a bloke selling it on ebay. £2000-00 was my winning bid! It came with a 12 months MOT and 6 months tax left in the window. So far nothing big has gone wrong, just replaced a ball joint and a seat base. In the our local "free ads" paper the "Trade it", I've seen loads starting from about £1800. With Land Rover bring out the new model Discovery the price have dropped. A diesel would be a good choice as the MPG are a lot better than the V8. (about 25mpg with the Tdi but the V8 sounds a hell of a lot better!!!!) The 5 door model still hold their price a little, if you can get one with a set of All Terrain tyres on then all the better as these can be a bit pricey. My main advice would be, don't just buy the first one you look at as there are plenty of dogs out there! But with £2000 you should find a nice tidy one with a 12 month mot. Good luck with the search!

A friend of mine recently picked up an immaculate 1995 V8, with only 70k on the clock, for £2600. Real bargain stuff. Now it's going to cost him £1300 to convert it to run on gas, but this still means he's got an absolute blinder for less than £4k!!! Anyway, the moral of the story is this; he went to view the car (private sale), which was advertised for £3800, and made an offer of £2500, the seller said £2600 and Nigel bit his arm off. He does know what he's looking at, so knew he wasn't getting rubbish, but the fact is that he got the price lowered by £1200!!!

Long story short, don't rush and don't be scared of being cheeky or walking away. With a bit of care and patience you should be able to find a decent car that will last you more than 2-3years...

Thanks for tips! Lots of really good stuff to go on there. I think patience is the key. I like the idea of a V8 but I expect fuel bills would be frightening especially with an auto box. Its easy to let your heart rule your head with this kind of thing. I think some more research is needed. I have never driven a 4 wheel drive so I suppose that would be a good start! After all I might not like it!!
Anyway thanks for the advice and I will keep you posted!

Don't rule the V8 out completely, keep your eyes open for one that has been converted to run on LPG (which costs approx 40p per litre). You would most certainly be able to find a quite decent Classic Range Rover running on LPG in your price range, probably a couple of early Discos too. Having an LPG system fitted does little to alter the value of a vehicle, unfortunately :-(

Just keep an open mind, try before you buy, and let us know how you get on!!!

Just to 2nd what Chris Jones has said with the V8, but also if you look at a LPG conversion make sure that it has the "Fitting Certificate" or you'll have all sorts of problems with insurance. Both the Range Rover and the Discovery are Permanent 4WD so they do drive a little different from a normal car. Just pop down to any forecourt with one on and ask to take it for a test drive and see what you think. Beware though, they are addictive!

Hi Popeye,

Ive got a 1991, 3.5i 5 door disco.

Dont be put off by the V8 lump, Mines done 120,000miles and is as sweet as a nut!

I travel from Chesterfield in Derbyshire to Nottingham 4 times a week and as yet she has never returned less than 23mpg!!!!

Bloody hell!!! 23mpg? I'd be over the moon if I could get that!!! I drive from Newton to Plymouth on a daily basis and my best actual return on gas has been 15mpg, though it is an auto. Thats doing a steady 65mph, but again thats using the cruise control. Difference here is in the cost of the fuel, I pay 39p per litre for gas, which in perspective makes it cheaper to run than my 200tdi Defender (especially with diesel prices going the way they are right now!!!). And my V8 has done just over 110k and never skips a beat...

Also, Fishface has a bloody good point, make sure you get an LPGA certificate with any LPG conversion you might look at.

Just to confirm my previous post,

Today i went from my house in Chesterfield to buy a stainless bullbar from Colin Tandy in Corby, A round trip of 176 miles, 70% motorway, 30% country and town roads, when I filled her up tonight she took £28.35, at 91p per litre, thet equals 6.9 gallons or 25.5MPG !!!!!!!!!!

hmmmm Dave sheds buckets full of tears ...... Diesel is costing me 96p per litre and the 300dti is doing about 23 mpg on average..ok it s got a faulty turbo which I hopeto have resolved by Tuesday but if I had bought a v8 with GAS CONVERSION it would have cost me less to buy and less to run though the insurance is higher,still in the long run diesel power isnt the cheap option it used to be. I read about the guy getting 45 mpg but if you have to spend £1000 on the mods to enable that , you could buy a hell of a lot of fuel for that money .

That is mighty impressive! Is yours a manual or auto?

Its a manual, LT77s Gearbox, The engine is a rare 3.5 injection V8 only fitted to these cars for 8 production months in the early 1990s.

If you look in the for sale section she is up for grabs!!!!

I need an automatic due to my shreded left knee !!!!!

Ahhh, thats why I bought my auto, only its both my knees that are shot, along with my foot and ankle too!!! Thats a shame 'cos it sounds like a beauty of a motor.

She is a BEAUTY!!!!!!! But if you've got the same problem as i have then you will understand why she has got to go.

I really do want her to have good home, ALL BUYERS WILL BE VETED!!!!!!!

I was in the fortunate position of being able to keep my Defender whilst buying the Disco for daily driving, not that I get much oportunity to drive Percy now but I just couldn't get rid of him!!! My son Max was devastated when he thought Percy was going, even Leigh-ann didn't want him to go!!! They really do become part of the family...

I know its sad but she really is my BABY, I will cry many tears as she ROARS out of my life, Who ever buys her had better take good care of her or i may do them harm!!!!! lol

My mum,dad & jack russell (scruff) will miss her loads !!!!