need some advice

[muddymud]

Hi, im 17 and im looking to get a new car as my mk3 fiesta is dieing.

 i was looking to spend bout £2000 on a new car but now i am think why don't i just use that money on insuring my discovery which i have. its a H reg 200tdi with 216000 miles on the clock it has just gone through an MOT just needed a fuse and some wiper blades all it needs now is a new gearbox an TAX.

im a bit worried that im going to get it sorted and insuring it then fine its going to cost me the earth to run it. i do about 160 miles a week how much do you think its going to cost a week?
also i have a set of BFG all terrains on the truck stock size, but im planing a 2" lift, HD bumpers, winch and maybe a few other things. is this going to affect the MPG a lot?

i know the 200tdi engines are prity bullet proof but mine has done 216000 miles an its done quite a few on chip fat oil.

Cheers,
Nick

[wizard]

Hi Nick

Its good to see a youngster with a healthy interest.

At 17 any insurance company will charge you 2k or more for the 1st few years. If i were you i would buy another small car to run around in. and fix your Disco up to the standard you are looking for.
Addng a 2 inch lift and a set of muds will increase the fuel consumption slightly, but if you dont drive like a loonatic you should do 160 miles on £40 worth of fuel.

Regards
wizard :twisted:

[Budgie]

Don't forget that any modifications you make to the Disco will have to be declared to your insurance company, otherwise you could find that your insurance is void if your involved in an accident.  ;)
Some companies charge extra for mods, some stick on extra excess and others just don't worry about it. But you still need to tell them.

[muddymud]

thaks for that will shop around abit see what the insurance companies think and i will keep you posted on my findings. i did get an inshurance quote the other day for £9,995.95 which i think i will go for ................... or not!!!!

any one know any good landrover insurance or 4x4 insurance companies?

as for reliability my dad says that i shouldn't do it as discoverys are unreliable, i have never had any problems with mine or my friends.

Cheers,
Nick

[carracarra13]

adrian flux

[peasey]

Im a lot older than you but why dont you give loyds tsb a go they were much cheaper than everyone else i tried,failing that just punch in you deatails in one of those websites that search for you,go compare or somthing i think its called.I just get basic third party fire and theft and thats works out about £190.When i was young i was told by my mate(insurance broker)to go for a company you have never heard of for the first year as they dont have large advertising overheads to cover.I did and I think that the insurance cost the same price as the car maybe £250ish mind you  that was 20 years ago.As for reliabilty my land rovers have never let me down but are maintained reguardless of cost by myself and are easy to work on,mind you i enjoy it.So if you want to do no work on her after its fixed maybe you shouldnt drive her and buy a nova or whatever the young folk have these days,with me it was renault 5 gt turbos and cosworths.It sounds like you keen though so i hope you can resurect the old girl and have many happy hours playing with her,best of luck mate.

[GreedyGibson]

I use mine as a daily drive with the muds winch etc on and drive 60 miles a day a full tank of diesel will last me approx 450 miles which was working out at approx 30mpg. It starts 1st flick of the key its lovelly and warm its not the quickest thing on the road but people do tend to get out of your way :) With the muds on it its quite noisey but i just turn the sterio up :)
I have had some minor issues but all i have been able to fix on my drive with a minimum amount of fuss and parts are cheap and plentiful.
If you do use it for pay and play sites as well remember that it might be out of action on a monday morning should you break something  :'(
Just reinsured with Adrian Flux as they are very helpful and used to insuring OFFROAD cars and they beat all the other quotes.

[muddymud]

ok i think it got it as cheep as i can tryed loads of places but the cheapest i can get it is £2407.65 which sounds stupid but its still cheaper than buying a new can as i want something abit different also its almost a dream come true whoop whoop im getting the isco on the road 

[muddymud]

sounds good!

im soooo exited but it still may not happen.

i think its going to be cool apart from i have no money now and i have a huge wish list of things i have to do like gearbox (which i got of ebay for £100 and its perfect ) down to new gear knobs.

i only have one problem if it brakes down my dad is going to kill me so bad because he thinks its a stupid idea as discoverys are realy unreliable hunks of junk, he says i should just get a 1.25 mk4 fiesta.

Cheers,
Nick

[lambert]

whilst i'm new to disco ownership in general terms it seems that if you or a good mate are handy with the spaners then they are cheap to keep going, however as with most things if you uprate one thing then be prepared to either uprate lots of other things or be constantly breaking stuff. e.g. big lumpy tyres will eat diffs and diesel, stronger diffs eat halfshafts, which in turn eat gearboxes. now this does all depend on how extreme you modify and also how well you drive, but it is the major factor in terms of relability after keeping on top of maintaining the routine servicing.

[L90OOK]

Did you try the NFU for insurance?
There are plenty of cheap bits for Disco's floating around various websites.
If you are unsure on how to do a job ask first!
Happy motoring  :dance:

[muddymud]

well i have gone through one diff already the first time i took it out offroading oops. but its going to stay almost standard until i get everything sorted, then i have some big plans for it.

i got my gearbox today all seems good, and i didn't have to pay the £60 p&p as he lives just down the road which helped, an he is a bit of a wizzzz with landrovers. but he said it needs a new clutch which isn't a problem but does any one know where i can get a clutch for reasonable money or are they all about £65.

the gearbox
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270324737110

Cheers,
Nick

[90sam]

Hey,
I'm 17 and was insured on our 300tdi auto disco 1997 argyll 5 dooor With quinn direct under my parents who have no no claims bonus for £1600 third party fire and theft
Not many others would insure it!
Hope this helps!

[muddymud]

ye that sounds like a plan, just insure it under my mum an i would be a named driver.

i found i can save a massive £400 on confused.com all i have to do is take the 2 dummy seats out the boot and make it a 5 seater insted of 7 :D

Cheers,
Nick

[L90OOK]

You'll have to re-register it as a five seater on the V5 which could be allot more hassle than it's worth  :roll:  Just because you have taken the seats out doesn't mean you can't put them in again.  You may have to weld up/remove mountings & get SVA to re-register as a 5 seater  :roll:

[300TDi Disco]

When i was 18 i tried to insure a 200tdi discovery and they wanted a furtune, so i waited a few years and i now pay £296 comp @ 23.

[wrecker]

I'm 22 and have a 200tdi disco for play thing and daily driver,

its awesome mate,as you say the insurance is steep,i pay over £1800,but when i walk up to it in the morning and drive it its worth every penny,i got 2in lift,31Mt's,snorkel,light bar,bull bar,diff guards,dog,guard,and loads of lights and get 33mpg with a steady foot,i keep to about 60,65 and its fine,

touch wood its been fine,starts fine what ever the weather and and has never let me down,

so happy motring mate,just keep up with small checks every week and it will do you proud :D

[mayhem16uk]

im 21 with a 200tdi k reg disco and i pay £1400 to insure it through lancaster insurance. got 6 points mind, for a silly thing i did a while ago :(
if you drive it sensibly youll get an alright mpg from it. ive got a set of 285/75/16 bfg muds on mine winch bumper steering guard and a few other bits. havent really noticed a difference in fuel....then again i tuned the pump so prolly not getting the best mpg.
mines only done 106000 so quite young for it.. still its going fine. in the 4 months ive had the disco ive changed the rear axle(ripped mine off being silly), done the front swivel bearings and wheel bearings and an alternator. the parts didnt cost much, alternator was £60, bearings come to bout £30 for the lot and an axle casing was 60 second hand. so parts arent too much.

just keep a check on things and drive it sensibly on the road and itll last.

[muddymud]

well i got my insurance sorted going to be a pinch but i think its going to be worth it an i am still saving money, by not having to buy a new car.

and it sound like i just need to keep an eye on things, i have loads of parts as all my friends have landrovers.

was just working out how much my truck would cost me to run per week, if the fuel was £1 a liter and if my truck did 25 mpg. it looks a bit weird as its about the same as i am spending on my 1.1 fiesta? can you have a look!

Home to work         = 15 miles X 8 = 120 miles
Home to collage      = 10 miles X 2 = 20 miles
Weekend                = 60 miles X 1 = 60 miles
                                                       = 200 miles per week

Fuel = 100p per litres
      450p per gallon

Truck does 25 miles per gallon so every 25 miles will cost 450p.

200miles / 25 = 8

450p X 8 = 3600p

           = £36.00 per week

Cheers,
Nick

p.s my central locking does not work and i have no idea where to start?