Disco buying advice

Hi all,
First time here and hoping that some of you might be able to help me.
I bought a '94 Isuzu Trooper 3.1 about 2 1/2 years ago as a fill in for a badly researched Ford Explorer and was so impressed by it I have kept it this long.
However, as these units have, traditionally, very poor chassis when it comes to the brown steel-invader, I am now looking to say goodbye to it and may be in the market for a Disco, but I am at a little bit of a loss for a price guide.
Firstly, has the price of used 4wd's gone up in the last couple of years?
Time was I could buy a V-W plate Trooper for around £1800-2300, which, now I've now started looking again, seem to be around 500 quid (or more) higher!
Has the same happend with Land Rover? I've seen posts on forums from 2008 saying that I could buy a 2000 model TD5 for around £3500, two years later these are in the £4000 bracket.
So, seeing as I need a fair sized unit for my driveway cleaning/maintenance business with excellent caravan towing capacity, what can I really expect to buy in the £3-3500 (absolute top) bracket? Preferaby a manual diesel (don't we all want them though?)
I would really value your opinion
Stu

The prices has gone daft in the last couple of months - I put it down to the weather.

If you can wait a month or two you will get much better value.

For £3500, if you are patient, you should be able to get a very nice TD5 Disco yr 2000-ish, mileage 100,000mls ish with service history. Go for as higher spec as you can find, the satisfaction of having a nice car stays much longer than the worry about what you paid for it .

Thanks for that,
Didn't think anything as short-lived as bad weather would have such an impact, though I did wonder at the amount of 4x4's deliberately unwashed and covered in snow for sale. Yeah, I've got till around June before I need to MOT (then sell) the current beast, so have plenty of time before taking the plunge.
This should give me plenty of time not only to find something suitable, but also to read up on what to look for - I'm assuming I'm going to find plenty on this site, but if anybody has any extras to add I'd appreciate it.
I have looked at one or two P38's but the image has changed so much in the past couple of years, with Land Rover themselves blinging their once-classy units into street machines that I don't think I could do it now.
Oops! off the soap box..
But if anybody has any further ideas about what to look for on Discos I'd be very appreciative,
Thanks again,
Stu

what to look for on Discos?

Rust... there will be loads in many different areas..
Sunroofs leak, floor gets rusty, sills rust, rear cross member rust, inner wings, boot floor....

loads of areas that need to be checked.

4x4 values went up thanks to the recent bad weather. i spent ages looking for a landy after my first deal fell through (was buying trade direct from a dealer which amazingly developed a gearbox problem and was no longer available to me more likely he realised he could get an extra 1-2k on what I was giving him). Every landy I went to see after was a pile of ****e but at full price and anything decent was flying out of the door.

If you have till June then patience is a virtue. When the sun comes out dealers will bring out their summer cars and 4x4s should hopefully come down to reasonable prices again.

Oh, like JP says look out for rust everywhere, disco 2 apparently rust less than disco 1. I would also check the head gasket (emulsion under oil filler, oil in coolant, pressure in hoses after a test drive) and the 3 amigos

A search on here will help you

Thanks all,
Plenty to go on there.
Stu

what about imports heard they no rust due to better weather and no salted roads in winter where they come from, seen them advertised in landrover mags, is there other faults to these that we should look out for

If your talking about the disco 1 (200/300tdi) then imports can be a good deal. They will no doubt have less rust and possibly non at all but then it depends how they have been treated since they came over. They dont come into the country undersealed as Japan have no need for it and if not done you will find the tin worm takes over pretty quickly.

for usual problems have a quick search. There are quite a few buyers guides on here

The Disco 2's are far better value for the money in my view, they are better equipped and have what has proved to be better body preparation inside.

We looked at both 1's and 2' before we bought our 1999 V8 Disco 2, it was actually built in November 1998, and not registered until July 1999.

Rust is the biggest issue with Disco 1's, complexity is the biggest issue with Disco 2's.

Peter

listerdiesel said:

The Disco 2's are far better value for the money in my view, they are better equipped and have what has proved to be better body preparation inside.

We looked at both 1's and 2' before we bought our 1999 V8 Disco 2, it was actually built in November 1998, and not registered until July 1999.

Rust is the biggest issue with Disco 1's, complexity is the biggest issue with Disco 2's.

Peter

Click to expand...

defo...D2's are a diagnostic nightmare at times but rust on my '98 TD5 is non existent..

Evening! I am a comparative newcomer to the Disco world, but for what it's worth, you sould be able to find a mid-range mileage (150k say) sound Disco 300 for about £1,700.
If it's free from rot and in good order, why pay more!

Thanks once again,
Yeah, the diagnostic complexity on the TD5 will have to be treated in my usual scientifically dignified manner with much scratching of the noggin. But if I get one then I'll just have to learn some new stuff; which is fine as I've now forgotten everything I ever knew about vehicle maintenance anyway.
My interest in Landrovers now, however, has been sparked by the worry many other Trooper owners have gone through with the later 3.0TDi engine and I just thought it was funny seeing the attached as a sponsored link on this site:


Trooper 3.0TDi Recall
98>04 Running Problems We Can Help Call The Experts Now !
www.westawaymotors.co.uk

It seems even on a Landrover site I can't get away from it!!!

firstlandy said:

Evening! I am a comparative newcomer to the Disco world, but for what it's worth, you sould be able to find a mid-range mileage (150k say) sound Disco 300 for about £1,700.
If it's free from rot and in good order, why pay more!

Click to expand...

Fair point Firstlandy, and I haven't written off the 300 yet (there remains plenty of test-driving to do) so the jury hasn't even retired yet. I suppose I'm just tempted by getting myself a later looking motor for the sake of vanity, and the higher BHP for towing, but as yet the jury 'aint even started listening to the evidence, so I'll see how it goes.
Thanks for your reply,
Stu

I see a local dealer asking £6,595 for a 2003 model with 128.000 on the clock,,you would have to be barmy to pay that with that mileage.I bought mine a year ago a 2002 model £6,795 with 52,000 miles I reckon that was a good price,and it was from a dealer with 3 months warrenty.