Discovery Advice Please

[roscoe]

I have decided it is time to trade the Jimny for something bigger and have always had a hankering for the green oval.

Went yesterday to have a look at 3 Discos. One was too pricey at £5995 (my budget is £5000), the second was damp inside and the third did catch my eye. It's a 1996 300tdi ES, 120000 miles, full land rover service history, 1 owner, new exhaust, fully loaded with goodies and looks very good for it's age. Price £4495. The only thing holding me back is that it is for sale from a very small dealer, he even has a portakabin!! Haven't done the test drive yet, wanted to see a few Discos to get the feel for them first.Does this seem a reasonable price?

Having looked at the 3 Discos, I see a recurring theme. On the rear panels, just behind the wheels, there is a bracket where the mudflap goes (I think). On all three cars I looked, the panels had rusted right though to a certain degree. Not too bad on the ES but holes right through the panels on the other two and the panels seemed to move quite a bit..... Is this a common fault and how serious is it???

Any other advice most welcome......

[dis1john]

Hi,

I have a '98 5 door and it has corrosion in the rear door wheel arch area and I paid a whole lot more money 18 months ago.

My advice - for what its worth - hold out for the least 'rusty' (although it electrolyte {spell?} corrosion) example you can find.  I have seen '92 Discos with spotless paintwork...

As I understand that to fix this properly costs £££.  Also if the panel is 'holed' or very weak near the seatbelt mount, then it would fail an MOT.

Overall for a very nice '96 example I dont think £4.5K is excessive, though prices for Disco 1s have gone through the floor and those in the know could probably find the same thing for around £3K...

Other places to REALLY check - rear floor under the carpet and front (inner wings).  Good luck  :D

[Budgie]

If it's just the mudflap bracket inside the wheelarch that's rusted then it's a common problem and the new brackets are about £15 each to replace.  

If it's holes & paint bubbles on the wing/wheelarch lip then go have a look for another one.

If you like the looks of this one then try a haggle, do a cash sale, MOT only, no PX and no warrenty (if you're happy doing any work in the near future) and you should get it alot cheaper.
I got £1000 off the price of my Disco by doing that and if they don't move on the price then walk away, there are plenty of others out there.  

When you drive it, look out for a wobble in the steering, take it onto the M8 and get it upto at lease 60mph to look for this. Also, when you pull away listen for any "clunks" from the drivetrain, leave alone if there are any exessive ones. Try the difflock & low range on the transfer box to make sure it works, it may not have been used for some time, if ever!
The turbo should come it at around 1700 rpm, make sure you can feel it.
If the rev counter jumps around, don't worry about it, use it as a bargenning tool, it's only a bad connection and can be fixed in  minute.  

[muddymart]

i got  a 1990 'g' for £600 bargaining, only needs the rear cross member replacing,and thats £120 from mm-4x4,no major faults,even had a brand new exhuast and radiator, first job i do was to get the timing belt changed,
the same reg disco  elsewhere i was looking at was £1100-£1200 ,pays to shop around and barter if you dont mind putting the work in,

[roscoe]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm in no hurry to buy so I'll take my time finding the right one.

My car's MOT is due end Feb, so I've got until then if I don't want to spend any money on my current car.

[Brother Ted]

Mine is a 1994 and it had also rusted through at the back of the the rear door wheel arch, and its just the bracket remaining. So souds like thats a common problem.

Also on mine however, the front diff pan was very very thin and was seaping oil out through invisible holes! so give it a bit of a tap when you go to look at the car. I'm not sure if its a common problem, but worth looking out for.

Regards,

Brother Ted.