Early Discovery: Am I being daft?

[2MB]

My girlfriend passed her driving test about 11 months ago, and the insurance on her current volkswagen polo will soon be up for renewal. As is customary where new drivers are involved insurance is a bit of a lottery, and I did a bit of hunting around on comparison sites for favourable quotes. It seems, to my surprise, just about the cheapest car for her to insure is a Land Rover Discovery Tdi, fuck knows why. She has also said she would like something a bit bigger and with 5 doors (baby on the way), and would like to be 'high up for a change' (shortarse). Decent looking Discos can be had for £notmuch, and I hear they like a bit of veg. Her commute is only 3 miles each way, so even economical motors like the polo return shit MPG.

 

Am I missing the point or being foolish in thinking one of these could be a reliable conveyance for my good lady? I don't mind a bit of tinkering to keep cars going, but would rather not spend every spare minute messing with a car that was actually needed. I have searched this forum and rust seems to be what kills them. The one I'm going to see today has had 'all the welding done', but where should I be looking for grot spots? I'm not completely averse to welding but again don't have the time or inclination for this to become my life. Is it safe to assume the ones that don't mention previous welding in their ads are going to need it soon?

Sorry about all the questions but these things have never been on my radar and now I'm almost convinced we need one in the household, so any advice would be much appreciated. 

Thanks in advance

[Rusty_Rocket]

I've had my early 2-door for a few years now.

If you pick a good one, it'll be totally reliable- mine has with the exception of the Bosch injection pump shaft seal failing last month. Mine has done 40k on 100% bio though..

Watch for rot, that is your biggest challenge (body not chassis) and otherwise enjoy the simplicity of a big tough tonka toy.

I'm not sure everyday use is ideal as they're quite a lump but there's no reason why you can't. Mine does 30mpg consistently.

[wuvvum]

I seem to recall boot floors being a particular weak spot on early Discos.

[andy18s]

Boot floor,rear door inner arches,both front footwells and the innerwings are the worst areas for rust

Then check all the bodymounts.These collect all the road crap and can disappear quickly

Make sure you check for where any of the oils and fluids are leaking.No oil leaks usually means no oil unless you get lucky

If it's going to be used for such a short commute it's never going to get warm enough to use veg

[PiperCub]

Not sure if this is relevent at this point but I read recently that the earlier Discos are starting to appreciate in value somewhat as demand for simpler ones increases (app. the later ones are getting very/stupidly complex? Is this fair comment or not?).

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Do it !

No Discovery has had all the welding done, just what it's needed for this years MOT, but if you're not averse to waving the sparkle stick once a year ,it's not the end of the world.

As a family car ,it's difficult to better a Discovery after 14 years of 200 and 300s and with the kids grown up, Mrs N changed to a Freelander2, which is OK but she still misses the practicality of a Discovery.

In fact we've just decided to look for an early 2 door V8 instead of a Range Rover for general tip runs,towing and the occaisional OLLI wankering . Trouble is good ones are starting to get expensive.

If your girlfriend's only driven the Polo she might find a Disco a bit intimidating at first,but get her to persevere and after a few days she won't want to drive anything else.

[I_am_Diesel]

Do it!!

 

As previously mentioned rust is a big factor but the 200 & 300Tdi are easy to work on and everything else is relatively simple. I had a 5 door 200Tdi a few years back and apart from the rear inner wheel arch dissolving it was great.

 

My then girlfriend could drive it OK and she was rubbish at most stuff.

[purplebargeken]

Just do it, WCPGW.

[andy18s]

Not sure if this is relevent at this point but I read recently that the earlier Discos are starting to appreciate in value somewhat as demand for simpler ones increases (app. the later ones are getting very/stupidly complex? Is this fair comment or not?).

Of course they are,'cos I've not long sold my V8 Disco to Skizzer........

[Ghosty]

A 17 year old mate has one and loves it. As long as it's not a TD5 you've got a nice, rugged workhorse.

[PiperCub]

Of course they are,'cos I've not long sold my V8 Disco to Skizzer........

 

Oh, erm,..........sorry, sore subject?

[andy18s]

Oh, erm,..........sorry, sore subject?

Ha,no. not at all !

[Rusty_Rocket]

They've long been in the 'banger' category. I've genuinely had the owner of a £20k Defender sneer at me when he pulled alongside at the traffic lights!!

Rather tragically I've also got a few of the launch accessories -the blue cloth bag that sits between the front seats and a rear luggage blind in the correct blue!

 

Try and find one that isn't too holey under the aluminium panels. They are out there, mine has never been welded and is a K reg. The inner sills will need a patch or three in a couple of years though.

[meggersdog]

200TDi's do suffer with head gaskets.Usually at the back of the engine.If it sounds like an exhaust manifold blow it isn't.

[twosmoke300]

Don't do it !

 

You will spend every waking hour chasing rust , water leaks and synchros

[2MB]

Thanks for the replies, balanced and free of bullshit and bluster as always. The one I went to see had had a lot of welding done, but it all needed doing again, along with a lot more. It was quite annoying because everything electrical worked and the sunroofs didn't appear to have let in water. However, there was a worrying crunch downshifting from 3rd to second at any speed and the range selector jumped out of gear (?) so the gearbox was fucked I'd say. Also there was a very odd noise when turning the steering wheel coming from the wheel itself. That said I do like the feel of the things and visibility for parking etc is excellent. Just need to find one that's been repaired a bit better over the years, there are loads still about so it shouldn't be impossible!

[PiperCub]

NorfolkNWeigh:   In fact we've just decided to look for an early 2 door V8 instead of a Range Rover for general tip runs,towing and the occaisional OLLI wankering . Trouble is good ones are starting to get expensive.

 

Yes, I think the article I read mentioned that searching out a really good early Disco (I'd go for the V8 myself too) is the thing to do before the prices get too high which I believe has happened to earlier (presumably 'classic') Rangies. They implied the ship has sailed for cheapish 2-door types (70 to-mid 80's?) unless really munted.

[Skizzer]

Of course they are,'cos I've not long sold my V8 Disco to Skizzer........

Ha! No, it's me, so they won't go up in value until five minutes after I sell it on again.

 

I've owned this for literally weeks and nothing has gone wrong in more or less daily use. Jinxed it now, mind.

[catsinthewelder]

Ms C has been running the ex-DW example for the last 18 months and loves it more than the kids. When I put my foot down about how much of my time it was taking to fix she was up for spending all of her savings to keep it going, as it happened a local breaker sorted it out for £150.

 

They aren't the best for short journeys though, it takes a good five miles to warm them up.

[2MB]

A V8 would be ace but they don't seem to fall into the strange insurance loophole as the Tdi.

That said, some of the Tdis are £240 for the year, some are £600+, with seemingly no rhyme or reason.

What are they like with the autobox? After driving a manual it would seem like they would suit it

[JohnK]

I had a 300tdi auto and it wasn't that bad. Suited the engine quite well.

[DVee8]

Do you fancy a ride up to Hexham?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Discovery-300TDi-ES-Automatic-/141722059784?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20ff4b0408

[dollywobbler]

Land Rovers have the simple problem that you will ALWAYS be chasing problems. I love them, but they just do my head in - especially as you rarely see a lightly used Discovery. They've all done mega miles and nearly all will be rotten in many places. 

 

Interestingly, I bought mine from a girl who's boyfriend had bought her it as her first car. She must have had to very quickly learn about double-declutching. Oh hold on. Perhaps she didn't. I remember the state of the gearbox oil filler plug when I pulled it out...

[2MB]

The Hexham one looks really good but she strongly dislikes red cars.

I've just got back from looking at one very local to me that didn't sell on eBay. For this reason I assumed it would be shit, but it wasn't, By no means perfect but honest looking.

 

Collecting tomorrow

[Rusty_Rocket]

The 2nd gear synchro failure is common on the LT77 gear box, the R380 (fitted to the 1994 onwards 300tdi's is less prone to the problem.

However, while mine does crunch, you learn to live with it to the point that you can go months without any noise at all, unless the 'box is totally worn out.  You simply can't rush the gear change in a Disco- they are more light truck than car.

 

They have their weaknesses.  But this is counteracted to a point with an absolutely excellent spares backup and very cheap parts prices.  Every Land Rover owner knows the peril of 'blue box' parts but if you're careful and can do the work yourself, you can run a diesel on a very modest budget.

 

Glad to see you've found one 2MB!!

[dieselassist]

I have a 99 disco1  300TDi Im using daily at the mo - I spent the last 3 or 4 weeks of all my spare time, tring to get it Doe tested (commercial test); all four discs needed replacing (pitting); new rear axle stub inner seal needing replacement (gearoil escaping n onto the disc/contaminating pads), all new pads, full brake hardline front to back, plus the body to rear axle drop down hose replacing, new rear splash guard 9rotted) - small patch on the chassis above the rear bump stop, drivers door needed new hinges (I used l/h hinges after dismantling them n reassembling n welding them to reassemble them to mimic r/h hinges), door frame where they mount needed welding... I previously welded the outer sills n rear quarter...

 

It failed its retest on rear brakes 'a lazy caliper' - due to time constraints had to get a scrapyard second hand €50 caliper n that was lazier than the one that came off!! Between the old one the scrapyard caliper, I managed to swop about n match a pair of pistons n it passed the test on 3rd attempt - the rear brakes on disco 1s are bit inadequate n the pads are tiny....

 

Ive has other issues like door latch/lock on drivers side (had to run round to the passenger side n unlock the door from the inside...

 

Ive had it about 6months n its only done all of 137k miles (genuine as recorded on previous goods vehicle tests), and while it 'never failed to proceed, im just a bit sick of it now - they are simple cars, and everything is very 'mechanically simple', but equally everything is very 'heavy duty' - my disco destroyed my big 2.5 tonne Halfords jack; I don't mind doin mechanical jobs or welding on my daily's but this has needed a 'lot' - both in time and expense... 

 

...as its just had a fresh test on it Im going to flog it online; its just taken up too much of my time n cash.

 

If yr buying one, buy one off someone like me, whos done all the work, but is sick to backteeth of it/financially crippled from it, and enjoy the fruits of his/her labour with many trouble free miles; you'll probably have to pay a good few quid more to secure such a fettled one, but its the more sensible/less hassle in the long run approach...

[Pillock]

That sump plug looks like Toyah Wilcox.

[2MB]

Well, I'm a convert, at least until MOT time in january. It's rough in places but the usual grot spots have been looked after over the years it seems, everything works and it doesn't rain inside.

 

I've given up trying to make phone pictures the right way up, they are hell bent on being upside down

 

One possible issue I have noticed is a tiny amount of steam coming from under the grille after a run. Not sure if this is just water that has been splashed onto the engine by the wheels or if it's getting out somewhere. No apparent use of water or any signs of HGF, but this seems an odd place to have a rusty stain:

 

 

To my surprise, SWMBO likes it a lot, and even had a dream about it last night!

[Rusty_Rocket]

Nice one, that looks great! Check the base of the rad- they go crusty at the very bottom. I notice it has the cubby box between the seats- they're quite sought after nowadays! Is it a 7-seater?

[brickwall]

Looks good - even upside down!