Disco 1 or 2?

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G

gongon

Member
Posts
12
Retiring soon, had company car for last 22 yrs, now looking for a Discovery.
I trained as an HGV mechanic and enjoy repairing anything on bikes and cars so whichever car I have must be a DIY proposition.
Car will be going with us to Oz next year (emigrating) to be used for towing a caravan around Oz.
Do I go for the simplicity of the Disco 1 with 300TDi or the sophistication of the Disco 2 TD5 (Manual ES in both cases)
Electronics don't phase me but how available is the diagnostic kit?
thanks
 
MAY be cheaper but current searches on flebay Western Australia flagged up just one 1997 Disco over the last month @ a price of £6K
So thought would get a newer one in UK (with much more choice) for less, still have money for shipping.
There is a thriving Land Rover forum over there so bits should be OK.
Thanks for the advice anyway, may change my mind yet!
 
Err 1999 110 in Oz £16,000!
So guess same line of thought, buy in UK and export.
Missus still wants a Disco though!
 
My mate has just moved to Alice Springs and has taken his 300tdi Disco Commercial with him.
I'd go 300TDI (with aircon) as you can get the nits alright, again make sure that you have loadsa union jacks or similar!
 
Toyota Landcruisers seem to be the thing out there. The old Aussie saying is: "If you want to go into the bush, take a Land Rover. If you want to come back, take a Toyota."

My thoughts are that's likely got a smidgen of whingeing in that towards the mother country and a Disco or a Defender will be at least as good as a Toyota, with different strong points of course.

As I heard said during the Olympics, "The organisers have solved the problem of the empty seats. They were reserved for Australian gold medal winners."

After alienating any Aussies on here (only joking really folks...) I guess it comes down to cost. It appears any Land Rover over there costs significantly more than here. But what would be the cost of transporting one? And are there any high costs to registering one there?
 
disco 1 very popular car in oz and like you say very simple you will shurley have problems with the td5
 
the disco 300tdi is good and easy to work on as i have had the 300 series and td5 i would go td5 as the disco 1 is knocking on abit now and would probably start to need abit more care and the td5 is alot more refined but it maybe a thought to think about weather it might be better to have springs instead of air suspension less maintenance and cost. i still have air suspension on mine but it would depend on cost of replacing parts out there just try and do some traveling with it before you take it out there. good luck with the move
 
Disco 1's are old now. They're supposed to be a bit better off road, but you've got to live with Austin Allegro switchgear, door handles etc. Disco 2's are more refined but can cause a few more mechanical problems. They both suffer from rust but in different areas. Each car has their followers and they will "diss" the other.

The bottom line? The fact that you're asking means that you wouldn't mind either. My advice would be to look long and hard at as many discos as time allows and choose the best preserved example, whatever model.
 
+1
find the best car you car
you will get a nice td5 for not a lot of money at the moment
but a 300 will be simpler to fix when goes wrong :)
 
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