What to look for when buying a Disco?

I'm planning to get a Discovery soon from a private seller and wanted to know if there's anything in particular I should look out for.

My budget is £5k.

If anybody here is selling or knows somebody who is selling in the south of England, then I am interested.

Many thanks.

Rob

A few little pointers for you.... check for:

a full service history + all the recalls done.

Scratches the length of the car are a sign of it brushing through bushes and tree's off road. Question how much off road work it has done if these are there.

make sure you test the low range gears, if it is stiff going into low and difflock, this just maybe a good sign as it indicates it's not been used that often... but check it all workes. WD40 will loosen it up!

try to find someone who ownes a disco to go with you when you look.

All sunroofs leak, that's part of owning a disco. waterstains in the headlining around the A pillar are a givaway.

Check that all the tyres are the same size, preferably the same brand and type. Different tyres on the same axle are frowned upon on 4x4's. It is also a good indicator of how much money the owner has been prepaired to throw at it in the past.

the handbrake is on the transmission, so it may be strange unless you are aware.

there are plenty in the 5k bracket, so take your time choosing. Get a mum's taxi, chelsea tractor with LR-FSH.

Inner wings, boot floor and sills all have a tendancy to rust away if not looked after, also check the body mounts on the chassis to make sure there not shot.

Gearboxes can be a bit of a novelty, 1st to 2nd is normally where they show problems although tons of people say this is easily lived with by being a bit more careful on shifting, obviously any strange clunks or if its excessively noisy in a particular gear indicates problems. The good thing about discos is you can get spares for them pretty cheap if you stay away from stealerships.

As was said above get yourself a nice low mileage one with LR FSH youll get a minter around the 5k id imagine youll be looking for a TD5 with 5k to spend or maybe a very late 300TDI in a high spec. I payed £3495 for my 98 R 300 TDI with full service history (most of it LR or LR specialists)

Good luck with your search, if you have any problems the guys on here are top notch with advice and are happy to help!

I'm referring to the 300tdi as I have experience of this model.

Make sure the rear box section at the very rear of the chassis and below the back door is solid - a real job to replace. Also go over the chassis with a fine tooth comb (or torch and small chipping hammer - listen for dull sounds) very important especially to the rear of the transfer box back. Sills can rust badly under their plastic water retaining covers. Put the rear seats up and remove the floor carpet and mat - again a great water trap and look at the floor metal. Particularly on 4 door models check for rust bubbles and/or bad repairs where the arch continues to the rear of the back doors and the area near the door strikers (MOT fail as near seatbelt mounts). Another rot spot is on the rear door offside bottom corner. Feel the footwell carpets - are they damp? If you are allowed to, unscrew the carpet retaining strips at the door opening and look at floor under carpet, if you're not allowed to, walk away.

Open the bonnet and check the inner wings, battery holder and headlamp mounts for corrosion, all that kind of metal is quite thin and easily neglected.

On 300tdi models make sure the engine timing belt pullies have been fixed - there was a design fault in earlier ones where they were out of line and the belt would keep snapping and also the gearbox was missing some important lubrication (you'll find threads on these problems elsewhere). There is also an issue with the immobiliser spider unit (again see other treads or just ask, in a bit of a hurry just now).

Ensure brake discs are shiney across all surfaces and not thin as a bigger job to replace than on an ordinary car. On test drive make sure braking is firm and straight.

Also check the radiator has nice healthy fins - same with intercooler.

Best of luck and remember to take your time, there are lots to choose from so don't get over-excited about the first couple you see. You can avoid the sunroof problem by looking for one without any sunroofs - again, there are a lot about.