What to look for when buying my first Land Rover ?

I guess i better post my first thread.

I have £2000 to spend on my first 5 door Land Rover (if it has leather its a bonus).
I was wandering what would be the best one to go for ?
I have been looking at Freelanders and Discoverys as i know 110's and Defenders are out of my price range
What are the best specced freelander and Disco models to go for ?
S, GS, ES Xei, Di, V6 Tdi, ??


I have a good mechanical knowledge and know to look out for the usual

service history,
cambelts/timing chains, tensioners and water pumps that are overdue
head gaskets that have been done on 1.8 k series engines
overheating and coolant leaks
leaky and whining diffs, gearboxes and power steering
electrical gremlins, starting problems, bad connections on lights, switches not working and engine (ecu) dash lights etc
pulling to one side under braking, suspension leaks..
leaky sunroofs and wet footwells
bolster wear on seats and dog damaged interiors
as well as the usual offroad damage underneath and rust on body around bottom doors, windscreen edges, sills and rear arches.

Is there anything Land Rover specific i need to look for ?
How do they take mileage ?

Am i correct in guessing 100k + mileage aint really an issue if there is history and receipts to back it up ?

And how do the Disco 200 and 300 Tdi's fair as the miles go up ?
Do they have any Head Gasket, Gearbox issues etc ?
As i think a TD5 is out of my price range etc ?



Any tips and advice is appreciated.

Richard

Discovery ES is the most luxurious of the old models apart from limited ones like the Manhattan

Make sure there's no blue or white smoke on start up as that could be a problem, check rust on the boot floor as thats a bastard as well as the body mounts

300 is more refined, we had one that went for 130 thou before we got rid of it, rubber hoses were going and dad couldn't be arsed replacing them so he bought a lower mileage one to use 34,000 on the clock so like new

Make sure the guy lets you run it for a while so you can check for overheating etc


Then all the mechanical bits you can look for as you know whats going on

200tdi disco with mot must be rare ,as is 300 but very good motors if can be found with out rust underneath,p38 can be got can be in remarkable condition body/chassis wise but may have ongoing electrical work,condition of vehicle more important than full service history its only a stamp in a book,check fluids you can easily water ,oil etc freelander isnt a proper 4x4 its a car

jamesmartin said:

200tdi disco with mot must be rare ,as is 300 but very good motors if can be found with out rust underneath,p38 can be got can be in remarkable condition body/chassis wise but may have ongoing electrical work,condition of vehicle more important than full service history its only a stamp in a book,check fluids you can easily water ,oil etc freelander isnt a proper 4x4 its a car

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I'm sure that must be good advice guru but ****ed if I can understand it.:doh:

thats not surprising with you iq

Suris said:

I'm sure that must be good advice guru but ****ed if I can understand it.:doh:

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makes sense to me.

barmatt said:

makes sense to me.

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Creep :doh:

jamesmartin said:

thats not surprising with you iq

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That might have been funny, if you'd got it right. :doh:

must admit it made sense to me aswell..... though i got to dissagree with bits of it...... my 200 tdi has an mot... will need some welding before the next one though.... theres still a lot about round here..... mines on 167k and shows no sign of major mechanical problems.... on cars of this age service history is a non issue... you just assume it needs a full sevice, cambelt change unless theres proof of it being done recently and the brakes will need pads sooner or later.... asuming its running with no sign of engine problems and major transmission wear anything else is unpredictable and a lot is largely dependent on the mechanical sympathy of the driver. unessential goodies not working you either fix as and when or live with.... whoactually needs central locking on the rear door or a rear window heater? ....long as wheels go round its useable.

look around and be patient

2 months ago sold my 1997 discovery ES,160k full heated electric leather, cc, air con, sound system, heated screens, service history,solid boot floor, straight good panels,nice interior, for £2100 to a mate, hes loved it since

ive just replaced it with a stunning range rover p38 for £2250, that if was how it looks now after a full valet and clean, in a dealer witha years mot would be around £4k asking price or something

best thing to do- is go look at the ones nearest, have a look and a drive and get a feel for what you want, look for something you get a lot for your money, ie a p38/disco, a defender etc you get nothing for your money

I found a 29 year old Series 3 LWB that had never been welded and still has no rust. engine had only done 24k so carb needed cleaning. After changing ignition parts etc.. and other old parts that wanted changing & getting a full lube/oil service it cost me £1800. Should out last me. Don't rush into buying landy as there is always a bargain around the corner

polsta said:

look around and be patient

2 months ago sold my 1997 discovery ES,160k full heated electric leather, cc, air con, sound system, heated screens, service history,solid boot floor, straight good panels,nice interior, for £2100 to a mate, hes loved it since

ive just replaced it with a stunning range rover p38 for £2250, that if was how it looks now after a full valet and clean, in a dealer witha years mot would be around £4k asking price or something

best thing to do- is go look at the ones nearest, have a look and a drive and get a feel for what you want, look for something you get a lot for your money, ie a p38/disco, a defender etc you get nothing for your money

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Not exactly true you may get more in a disco but when it doesn't work does that still count??
Defender has nothing so nothing can go wrong!!
And a P38 isn't very good unless you like a garden ornament lol

Suris said:

That might have been funny, if you'd got it right. :doh:

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ricc said:

must admit it made sense to me aswell..... though i got to dissagree with bits of it...... my 200 tdi has an mot... will need some welding before the next one though.... theres still a lot about round here..... mines on 167k and shows no sign of major mechanical problems.... on cars of this age service history is a non issue... you just assume it needs a full sevice, cambelt change unless theres proof of it being done recently and the brakes will need pads sooner or later.... asuming its running with no sign of engine problems and major transmission wear anything else is unpredictable and a lot is largely dependent on the mechanical sympathy of the driver. unessential goodies not working you either fix as and when or live with.... whoactually needs central locking on the rear door or a rear window heater? ....long as wheels go round its useable.

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So i guess its a hit or a miss on what i can find for sale at the time.
If the central locking on the rear door or a rear window heater works that a boost.

polsta said:

look around and be patient

2 months ago sold my 1997 discovery ES,160k full heated electric leather, cc, air con, sound system, heated screens, service history,solid boot floor, straight good panels,nice interior, for £2100 to a mate, hes loved it since

ive just replaced it with a stunning range rover p38 for £2250, that if was how it looks now after a full valet and clean, in a dealer witha years mot would be around £4k asking price or something

best thing to do- is go look at the ones nearest, have a look and a drive and get a feel for what you want, look for something you get a lot for your money, ie a p38/disco, a defender etc you get nothing for your money

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I'll take my time and not rush into anything .
What you sold on is what i need.
Although there just seems to be **** on the go the now as everything else is overpriced.
I guess the hunt goes on

JohnnyP said:

I found a 29 year old Series 3 LWB that had never been welded and still has no rust. engine had only done 24k so carb needed cleaning. After changing ignition parts etc.. and other old parts that wanted changing & getting a full lube/oil service it cost me £1800. Should out last me. Don't rush into buying landy as there is always a bargain around the corner

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Sounds like you were lucky finding that.
Thats what i need to find
Very true about a bargain to be had round the corner

sible88 said:

Not exactly true you may get more in a disco but when it doesn't work does that still count??
Defender has nothing so nothing can go wrong!!
And a P38 isn't very good unless you like a garden ornament lol

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I'd say if it doesn't work its pointless having it.
Are P38's that bad ?
Worse than Freelanders ?:blabla:

im far from an expert, all ive owned is a disco, and now a p38, and just had a bit of a search for weeks for it, and pondered options and looked at hundreds of internet ads and went to see a few and spoke to people, thats just my findings

thing is in also on internet, you mostly hear the negatives, people speak out more about negatives and negative expiriences than the good, same as people generally search out forums and make posts about help and problems and fixes, than just to post good, theres probably loads of p38,disco, owners out there that dont use internet really or forums that have and look after them and dont cost more than the average car to fix and run and problems, problems can arrive with any car, people buy used or brand new cars of any make and can have endless problems if you get a "bad one" or one thats not been well maintained, all you can really do is look at a lot and do best you can to find a good one thats been looked after

people advised dont get a disco, i got one ,luckily it was the 1st one i went to see, but it was a nice one and felt right,i bought it and owned near a year and drove it all last winter daily and made several long trips in it this summer of 300+ miles each way, and it never skipped a beat, never broke down and nothing broke or faulted on it, it was rock solid for me and a good ownership expirience, paid 1900 for it and sold it for 2100 !!!

i paid 2250 for my 1996 p38 inc a spare set of mint 18" hurricane alloys with superb tyres, worth say £400 on ebay id get, and its lovely, here it is, its diesel and a lot of car and luxury for the money

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/here-she-my-new-range-rover-p38-dse-164927.html

and here is a copy of a post i made earlier in another thread below, all you can do is take your time and look for a private seller whos got a bit of money and the sort of range/land rover owner youd like to buy from whos maintained it properly and not abused it and upgraded to a newer one like i managed to find, rather than one from someone whos used and abused and cashing in, or a bit of a shark of a dealer whos polished a turd in the aim of profit

...
seeing and going in mine,my mates now wanting one, saw a couple of the other day and today we went to see a year 2000 one, 4 years newer than mine, 35k more miles, auto, and mine was in much all round nicer conditon, all the walnut dash/console trim was shagged, all peeling and looked rubbish, chassis and underneath was quite flakey, 3 of the air bags looked ropey, and it was £4000 !!! cruise control didnt work, air con didnt work, 1 of the rear door central locking didnt engage, better sound system in mine, my interior was nicer, less leather wear, general interior plastics were more worn and marked than mine,more scratches here n there, double the price of mine and mine was a lot nicer condition and a better range rover all day long

my mate was a bit shocked really, after giving it the "yeah its 4grand , 4 years newer, etc etc etc, and i was quite smug and also made me even more pleased with my one and at half the price !!!!

so look about, its like any car, you can buy a good one, yes might be hard to find and a bit of luck, but ive seen posts on here from p38 owners who have had them a couple of years etc and proved reliable they say with no more than average costs of owning and keeping a car, and also....you feel like a king in a range rover and something nice and luxurious and superb to be inside, and they are british and have an element of class, that in itself is worth a lot !!!

good luck

honestly.. paying that for my one in the condition its in, and going today with my mate seeing one that was £4000 , he said absoloutly no chance of much movement in price for cash as snows around the corner, made me so chuffed with mine, if he offered me a straight swap id of laughed and said no chance, i was patient in the search and the right one came along