Which is better, Disco 2 or 3?

In a couple of months time I'm going to be looking for another Discovery. I used to love my old 1995 Disco but Disco 1's are getting a bit old in the tooth now. So I'm considering a late D2 or one of the first D3's. It will be mainly (80%) for road use, pulling log trailers. But will also be used in the woods whilst doing tree work.
Reliability is what I'm more worried about. My feelings were, A late disco 2 may have had a lot of its niggles sorted out by then, whereas an early D3 would come with its own new problems? And I would of thought the D2 with its TD5 would be easier to work on/repair? I'm fairly familiar with TD5 engines, with the works Defender.
As I'm writing this,If I'm right......I may have answered my own question!
Any thoughts,those of you in the know?

If its a car you can work on yourself (relatively easier), I would suggest you go in for a disco 2. The disco 3 as a newer vehicle is certainly more refined but more of a dealer's car when it comes to resolving some of the problems that WILL come up. Being familiar with the td5, I would suggest you stick with what you know and find urself a nice looking late model disco 2 with all systems on par and you're guaranteed to be a happy man.... I love me disco 2

D2 all day long,find the youngest tidiest example you can.Get rid of as much rust as you can,paint then waxoil inside and outside of the chassis and underbody.Rip off the SLS and replace with decent quality springs.Rip off the ACE and fit standard anti roll bars.Have the injectors out and replace the seals and washers.
You then have the nearest thing to a modernised D1 you will get - makes a nice car.
Early D3's are now nearly all starting to fall to bits,are awkward,rusty and expensive to repair.Shame as apart from being far too heavy they were a nice tool to use.LR have long since forgotten the idea of a field fixable 4wd utility.....

The early D3s are almost 8-9 years old now so would expect the niggles to be sorted out by now anyway. Personally if i had the cash i would go for the D3 they are so comfortable and great on the road, also extra power will be better for doing a lot of towing.

I would also suggest a DIII. Once you have driven one the previous Discoverys will seem like gutless dinosaurs, no matter how cute they may be.

DIII's are so much more powerful, so much better for towing 'proper' loads.

fergusontom said:

The early D3s are almost 8-9 years old now so would expect the niggles to be sorted out by now anyway. Personally if i had the cash i would go for the D3 they are so comfortable and great on the road, also extra power will be better for doing a lot of towing.

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Niggles sorted out - Ha Ha,you ought to try running a LR garage,of all the ones I talk to I dont know any of them that think they are in any way sorted.They are a workshop disaster....

I wouldn't touch a D3 or a D4, nothing is user-repairable, major assemblies are not repairable or exchange, parts not listed for the transfer box for example.

The sort of things like suspension bushes needing regular replacement is a joke. Ours has covered 150k on the originals.

The only real question mark on a D2 is the rear chassis, but apart from that, 99% of parts are available and nearly everything is DIY-able.

Stick to a D2 if you haven't got the money to pay a dealer to do the repairs.

Peter

thebiglad said:

DIII's are so much more powerful, so much better for towing 'proper' loads.

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Dave:

They can't tow any more than a D2, and even with their fancy electronics I'd still take a beam-axle Disco any time.

Our display trailer is 3.5 tonnes with the display engine inside, our V8 D2 handles that very well indeed, I wouldn't say the D3 was hugely better, but does have more ponies

Peter

3 hands down. Better on and off-road

I'd say Disco 3 is the better vehicle by far IF you can afford the potential bills that could come with ownership of one.

The D3 is the better vehicle, the drive compared to a D2 is like night and day. However it is a complete arse to work on. I changed the turbo on a development buck at Gaydon and they had to take the body off lol.

i have both and the d2 is a far better all round vehicle the d3 is a better road car but the d2 does most things just that little better with the upside if it breaks down you can fix most things yourself and your not paying that main dealer expensive prices just to look at it
just look out for the chassis problems on the d2

I have a 2004 td5 which I have had 6years my wife has a d3 from new yes the d3 is load better to drive but cost a fortune to fix and apart from a few little things have been garage jobs but it's under warranty in 2008 invoices inc service and mot £2624. 2009 - £1990 2010 - £2360 2011- £3950 2012 was £1300 where as my d2 is no more than £150 per year apart from a new xyz switch £165 and a bottom pulley at £260 if I was paying for repairs stick with a d2

darrenm said:

I have a 2004 td5 which I have had 6years my wife has a d3 from new yes the d3 is load better to drive but cost a fortune to fix and apart from a few little things have been garage jobs but it's under warranty in 2008 invoices inc service and mot £2624. 2009 - £1990 2010 - £2360 2011- £3950 2012 was £1300 where as my d2 is no more than £150 per year apart from a new xyz switch £165 and a bottom pulley at £260 if I was paying for repairs stick with a d2

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That just about sums it up. Then factor in the odd engine failure at 8-10K just to put a lid on it.

Well I heard these horror story's before I bought my disco 2 td5. "To hell with it", I thought & bought one. Owned for six years. cost me a fortune to maintain in that time. But may I say I absolutely loved it to bits. I now have a disco 3 and also heard the horror story's before buying, "to hell with it", I thought. I must be a sucker. But like the guys said above it is awesome. In fact it is a mammoth step in difference, I'm in love with it. (I forgot to mention its a v8 so no nonsense like the diesels suffer)

the lad that work for us had a 2000 td5, got rid and got 07 d3, had to go back, so many problems, they changed it and got a 57 plate, last 2 months it has lost the lights, sls has gone, tyres are dearer, he's sick to the back teeth of it, cost him nearly 4k this year!!!
cheap motoring or what?

Thanks for the input guys. I'll keep in mind everything you've said whilst Disco shopping. I'm slightly swaying in the direction of a good solid D2.

Despite being a disco fan and am currently on my 6th disco 1, if you want solid axles on coil springs with a powerful but reliable Diesel engine plus a lack of electrical gremlins then buy a jeep grand cherokee with the Mercedes 2.7 turbo diesel. Ok, I admit my love affair with my cherokee has been soured by heater failure, water pump failure (in France) and now an exhaust gas leak from an injector, but I would still choose it above a D2 or D3.

Popcorn?

Vincemcdonald said:

Despite being a disco fan and am currently on my 6th disco 1, if you want solid axles on coil springs with a powerful but reliable Diesel engine plus a lack of electrical gremlins then buy a jeep grand cherokee with the Mercedes 2.7 turbo diesel. Ok, I admit my love affair with my cherokee has been soured by heater failure, water pump failure (in France) and now an exhaust gas leak from an injector, but I would still choose it above a D2 or D3.

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guessin you missed the heading of the thread.... Last I checked, this forum was still called landyzone, so I guess even though u got solid axles on ur vehicle too, you're on a forum that's dedicated to a vehicle that's entirely different from yours.