The Search - part 3

[davidjmiller]

Yesterday, I started looking for my third land rover - this time a Disco - and your help would be great.

My background is that I've owned 2 110's, a TD which as my first was of course a pile of rust, I spent on it and moved it on. A mate from the club had decided to sell his modded 110 V8 LPG (see avatar) which was great for a couple of years but then started costing too much.

It's gone now and I've had a couple of months car-less to let things settle. So, which much thought I'm now after a Disco. At a real push I could spend up to 5K. I want a vehicle that is comfortable, carries 7 people and when I've lifted it and added BFG's will be fine on any driveable green lane.

So, I've passed on another V8. I'll go for a diesel, and everytime I hear it and think of my old v8 I'll listen again and think "that's the sound of reliability, economy and a vehicle that can ford" !!!

Here's my quandry. I don't know what engine to go for - which has knock on's because te earlier the engine the more corrosion and usually the lower cost.

Yesterday I travelled some distance to test drive a 98 300TDi with 80K miles on the clock. The guy told me it was one of the sweetest he'd driven. Yeah, yeah, I thought, but he was right, it was lovely. The car looked great from a distance but there was significant and destructive rot in the wheelarches (rear) and crossmember. At £5K I passed.

Later in the day I spoke to a trusted member of the club who suggested skipping the 300 and going for a scruffy Td5. Autotrader suggested that they would be very scruffy so SWMBO and I thought about going to 6K. Today I tested a 2000 Td5 with 68,000 miles on it (£6K). Whilst the chassis was solid it had more surface rust than the 21 yr old 110 I'd just got rid of. Also, the engine did not seem as smooth as the 300 Tdi I tested the day before. Guess what, I made a retreat.

I also read on here that that the Td5 might not give as good mpg as the 300. Whilst some members report similar for both engines (28 around town) some Td5 users suggest less (22 mpg).

So come on which is best 300tdi or Td5 - who'se owned both????

Thanks,

David

p.s. I'll keep you all up-dated wiht what I get - if I have n't bored you all to death !!!

[J B]

though i cant vouch for  the td5, the 2 300 tdi's ive owned have been great

but you wont find a 300 tdi disco now without some amount of rot

im currently doing the boot floor and patching up about 10 holes in my '94 M reg 300tdi, its worth repairing because of how useable the car is and because how little it would be worth as a mot'less rust bucket

if you want a newish( less rusty ) D2 then your gonna be in for about 9 - 10 k

if you want a 300 tdi then spend about 3k and get it welded up, and enjoy a good 5 years out of it, providing the engine is sound and well maintained

it all depends how handy you are around the oily bits and mig welding  :?:  :?:

[Staffy]

When we decided to get rid of our RR p38 earlier this year we decided to go for a  Disco, value for money compared to the Defenders.

Test drove and looked at well over 20 Disco's from 200tdi's to td5's.

In the end decided on a 300tdi less to go wrong etc... Looked at something like 18 and most had problems of varying sorts. So after getting fed up at looking at so called mint cars. That drive really well, according to the owners I bought one that needed work it had most of the faults of the others but was a third the price, looked as rough as a bear backside.

Ended up getting drawn back into the v8 and sold the tdi to my dad. After having alot of work done to it. But it still didn't cost anywhere near the price of some of the others and is a far better car.

Cheers
Phil

[Yoshi]

As previously said, get a mid 300tdi (n,p,r) then get it welded up, would come to well under the £5000 budget thus leaving money for toys :D

Rough idea of things:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LANDROVER-DISCOVERY-300TDI-1994-M-REG-FSH-7-SEATER_W0QQitemZ300162766893QQihZ020QQcategoryZ29748QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thats £2295, then spend out some money if it needs it on replacement boot floor and sills and things, a garage will know whats going to be needed over the next few years and get it sorted.  The mileage is pretty good for the age of vehicle and the service history looks promising.

I have nowt to do with this vehicle i might add, i just wanted to show what could be gotten and done for alot less than your £5000 budget :D

[peasey]

as far as engines go i would go for the 300 tdi as long as its well maintained.as far as rot goes you know where to look but make sure its perfect,(boot floor, rear arches,blah blah blah)they are still around!!mine is perfect although its a v8.the one thing i really wished i had waited for apart from a diesel is one with  leather if your carting kiddes around the wipe clean seats are tops,and its easy to get mud of em as well.what i looked for was one with no or little rot i didnt mind one with clattery suspension as i was going to polybush her and fit new shocks anyway.i know this is not an easy task mate but hang in there!in my current postion 5 grand is a lot off money so you want the motor to reflect that and you will have to look hard best of luck mate keep us posted

[thermidorthelobster]

I looked at both and bought a TD5 because I thought it was a better vehicle - more refined, nicer to drive, and it looks good too.

However, having run one now and seen the bills, I'd definitely say a 300tdi will probably cost you less to maintain - they're pretty reliable lumps.

Given the same choice again, I'd still go for the TD5, but if money is a concern to you then a 300tdi may be a better bet.

[auf_wiedersehen_pet]

but you wont find a 300 tdi disco now without some amount of rot

I found an N Reg 48K Jap Import Disco for £4 Grand without any signs of rust whatsoverer.

Working my way through with Waxoyl to keep it that way.

Lots of companies specialise in Jap imports but you pay the price. Mine had been taken in part ex at a local garage. Quids in.  :D

[JumboBeef]

So, I've passed on another V8. I'll go for a diesel, and everytime I hear it and think of my old v8 I'll listen again and think "that's the sound of reliability, economy and a vehicle that can ford" !!!

You've been unlucky with your V8s by the sounds of it.

In the last five years, I've owned a Disco V8 (on LPG), 110 V8, RRC LSE V8 and a SIIa V8..................all of which have given me no engine problems what so ever.

I do currently also own a 110 200Tdi, but this is for business and I spend a lot of time in very rural areas away from LPG stations, otherwise it would have been another V8 (on LPG).

We have had our 110 V8 (which is not gassed) for nearly three years now, and it just never goes wrong!

If you have LPG stations around where you live/work, I would go for a good Disco V8 LPG everytime.

[Guardian.]

ive had both td5 and tdi, there is no question the td5 is a better engine as in refinement, but there is very little in it.
my only sway towards the tdi would only be due to no electronics or brain issues, as they do go wrong and cost a fair bit to put right, a tdi, as long as theres fuel and a battery its gonna go!
discos as a rule are rotten i often see the very late td5s rotten, look nice till you have a good root about, but thats just discos.

[muddymart]

I have had my Disco 300 tdi, 'm' plate since february, i paid around £1200 , from a small 4x4 garage near us, i had a new clutch put in, and the timing belt changed, after 9 months its still going strong, just had a wheel bearing changed, i had changed my mind to sell it for something else, but i just cannot part with it, its never ever let me down, and i pull the caravan with it too nearly every other weekend,
the only problem i have is its not a 5 door, but id prefer reliability over anything else.

Ive heard that the td5's injectors can be costly to sort out, but i may be wrong here,

[davidjmiller]

but you wont find a 300 tdi disco now without some amount of rot

I found an N Reg 48K Jap Import Disco for £4 Grand without any signs of rust whatsoverer.

  :D

Coincidently, I've just found on t'interweb an imported 300 Tdi 1996 N with under 60000 miles on it within my budget. The company concerned are reputable and claim it is "rust free" so it's probably worth a good look.

It's not perfect as it's an automatic and looks to be turquiose ??????

Is there any issue with imported vehicles??

D