right - sincere apologies to you seasoned veterans who all want to discuss technical stuff and how to best buff up your chrome a-bars or whatever it is, but i'm sur le point de taking the plungefor the first time, and would very much appreciate a bit of guidance (and you all had to start somewhere too, right )

going to have a look at a 2001 TD5 ES auto tomorrow (46k - about £9500) - what are the main things to look out for (assuming it's not just a disasterous choice completely and i'd be better off with a nissan micra or something)

i take it the leaky back window seals and wet carpet issues are specific to the TDi, as are the rusty welds just above the rear wheel arches - anything else i should make a point of checking and/or testing ?

any advice/sarcastic comments/obscene abuse very gratefully received (but bear in mind if i buy the thing, you'll be stuck with me on here )

oh - there's a pretty good internal shot on the dealers website, and the curry hook looks in good order.....

The curry hook is excellent, had my Chinese take-away safely latched onto it the other day.

I have had my own 2001 TD5 for 3 years now and have not had any bother with the back window seals or rusty welds but have had bother with the sunroof leaking, check out the headlining in front and to the sides of the roof. Otherwise just the usual stuff such as condition, smooth autobox, service history etc.

Perhaps a biased view but in my opinion the Disco is the good choice, the Nissan Micra the disasterous one!

thanks for that, mantamad

the thing looked in immaculate condition (probably better than you'd expect even for the modest mileage to be honest) and - other than the fact that i arrived late and didn't have time to take the thing for spin, which'll probably flag up all manner of lurking evils, there were only two warning lights on the dash that were immediate cause for concern

first up, the back end was raised in "off road" mode, and stubbornly refused to return to normal cruising position, and the fuel/water contamination light was on. the disco has, though, spent a lot of time standing still (only 8000 or so extra on the clock since the last service back in 2005, and the garage who have it have dropped the advertised price by £2000 since it was first listed - plenty fo forecourt time there, then ! ). i suspect the "water in the fuel" may be due to condensation, given the lengthy inactivity - how about the non-lowering rear end, though - could this simply be a case of poor lubrication and seizing up through non-use, or does it have the potential to be a real deal-breaker ?

test drive on saturday, now, with the promise of a "good thorough service" beforehand, and attention to the two fascia lights as above, though i'm tending towards getting one of these independent assessment things done, as it's not coming from a landy dealership, or even somewhere that sells quite a few, and i doubt their competence to deal with anything too complicated with regard to the suspension....

I can't help on the suspension as mine does not have air suspension - not something I know anything about. Might be worth a search on here to see whats been said.

As you say, if its been sitting for a while, the water in fuel light may just be condensation. This is easy to check/fix. The fuel filter is located in the O/S rear wheel arch (god knows why) and the fixing on the bottom of the device is removed to drain off any water, this is part of the service schedule and might not have been picked up if they are not familiar with the car. Otherwise if the electrical connection is damaged, it might also cause the light on problem.

Hope the test drive goes OK. At least if you get an inspection done, all faults should be listed, either that or the promise they are correctly recitified and a good warranty.

Let us know how you get on.

On my TD5

You have to hold the button in for a second or so to activate/deactivate the suspension... the chime noise is the give away. When you hit about 25 Miles an hour with the suspension raised, it will make the chime-ing noise and lower itself automatically. When you take it for a test drive, if you get over 30mph and it dosent lower and chime then there is something wrong...

also, when you stop, get out straight away and stand for about 30 seconds looking at the back end. you should hear the sound of air rushing out of the suspension (like truck air brakes) then you should visibly see the back end lower by about 1-2 inches... this should happen in normal suspension mode every time you switch off.

see picture for fuel sedimentor, behind rear offside wheel, note also the vunrability of the wiring ... maybe worth a waggle and a closer inspection.

thanks people - i've found elsewhere that the warning light relating to the fuel contamination is a "known problem" (see here for the full gubbins on this) so this will hopefully not prove to be much of a issue. No problems flagged up by an HPI check, so as long as the suspension proves equally non-serious and the test drive goes OK, looks like i'll be best part of 10k worse off in a few days.....