davewho7

New Member
I went to view a 110 county last week.
Checked under, in, out, all looks really nice.1 previous owner it's an r reg. Went out for about an hour in her on road and motorway, all sounds really rice, no odd noises or clunks. Full service history and 10 monthe m.o.t.
£5000. with 300000 on clock. Some people have said stay away, but others have said just sourse a new engine when the time comes .
Put down £500 deposit . the owners away on hols till end of month.
Have i been hasty in a mad moment of love?
 
I went to view a 110 county last week.
Checked under, in, out, all looks really nice.1 previous owner it's an r reg. Went out for about an hour in her on road and motorway, all sounds really rice, no odd noises or clunks. Full service history and 10 monthe m.o.t.
£5000. with 300000 on clock. Some people have said stay away, but others have said just sourse a new engine when the time comes .
Put down £500 deposit . the owners away on hols till end of month.
Have i been hasty in a mad moment of love?

if it has a FULL service history and oil and filter changes have been done to spec then you should be ok BUT £5k for any vehicle that has done this mileage is way too much.
the best you can do is try to re-negitiate, the worse you can do is loose you £500 deposit. (don't forget it's not just the engine that has done 300000 miles)
 
would think any landy with 300k miles wont have many original parts left (running gear wise) and a new engine/gearbox shouldnt cost too much if the need arises.

£5k was probably a bit over the top but if you like it and think its worth it then thats what matters (as long as you werent buying it to try and make a profit ;) )
 
300 tdi's do go on for a long time - check engine numbers as it might have been changed at some time, or at least check all its history to see if it has been rebuilt, same with gearbox / axles etc. but as you said you gave it a long and varied road test so any nasty noises / smoke / overheating would have shown up by now. Rest assured with proper maintanence the 300 will do stellar mileage ( i look after 1 that is now showing 750k on it - never even had the head lifted off it - very regular maintenance as it travels backwards and forwards to Bulgaria each week towing a 3 ton trailer(aid worker).
all other items - brakes/wheel bearings etc are not that expensive to replace.
 
Here comes the high-mileage myth again! Never ever let mileage put you off a vehicle, especially with a Land Rover because in many cases, it is totally irrelevant. In a lot of cases the mileage is usually only a record of the distance the the chassis its self has covered, and that is if the owner hasn't fiddled with the dial or driven around with it disconnected like I did for the first four months of ownership! The engine may well have had extensive work (in the way of reconditioning) or it may well have been replaced. Then again, if the previous owner has looked after it and serviced it once or twice a year, that engine could be in the same shape as some that have only covered 150,000 miles. It's very likely to have had most of the usual parts replaced such as wheel bearings, half shafts, prop shaft UJ's, swivel housings and the like but I'd strongly suggest that you have a look through the service history and ask to browse any receipts that he has. That way, you'll know exactly what work has been done to the vehicle, when it was done and therefore when it's likely to need doing again. As mentioned earlier, if you're happy with the vehicle and you don't mind paying the price, then by all means go for it and try not to have any regrets. There's no harm in trying to bring the price down a little bit however ;)

Just remember to thoroughly check the chassis and remember that they rot towards the back end first. The bulkhead is also important, so give it a good look over, especially down the inside pillars of the front doors (i.e. with door open). Also look down the top edge of the bulkhead where it meets the windscreen at the corners. If it's rusty here, it'll be rotting away on the inside and it will turn into a very costly job.

You could even get a rough idea as to the condition of the engine too. Let it run up to usual operating temperature and then remove the oil filler cap. Does it bellow oily mist out towards you? If there's a little 'blowing' (blow-by) it's perfectly normal, but if there's a great gush, it's a sign of engine wear in some shape or form. Also, with the engine running, remove the expansion tank / coolant header tank cap and look for bubbles. If there are no bubbles, you know that you haven't got a head gasket leak between a cylinder and a water channel.

Other than that, good luck and post up some pictures!

-Pos
 
300 tdi's do go on for a long time - check engine numbers as it might have been changed at some time, or at least check all its history to see if it has been rebuilt, same with gearbox / axles etc. but as you said you gave it a long and varied road test so any nasty noises / smoke / overheating would have shown up by now. Rest assured with proper maintanence the 300 will do stellar mileage ( i look after 1 that is now showing 750k on it - never even had the head lifted off it - very regular maintenance as it travels backwards and forwards to Bulgaria each week towing a 3 ton trailer(aid worker).
all other items - brakes/wheel bearings etc are not that expensive to replace.
even so why buy one thats been to the moon and started on its way back for average or even low milage money?
 
even so why buy one thats been to the moon and started on its way back for average or even low milage money?
beacuse the op has satisfied himself about the provenance of the vehicle, has done the correct thing by taking it on an extended road test to thoroughly satify himself of its driving characteristics, so in that end he has been pleased with what he has seen for the money - lets face it the alternative is to go into a td5 that would be younger but also might have problems and without the all important service history and low ownership.
 
Here comes the high-mileage myth again! Never ever let mileage put you off a vehicle, especially with a Land Rover because in many cases, it is totally irrelevant. In a lot of cases the mileage is usually only a record of the distance the the chassis its self has covered, and that is if the owner hasn't fiddled with the dial or driven around with it disconnected like I did for the first four months of ownership! The engine may well have had extensive work (in the way of reconditioning) or it may well have been replaced. Then again, if the previous owner has looked after it and serviced it once or twice a year, that engine could be in the same shape as some that have only covered 150,000 miles. It's very likely to have had most of the usual parts replaced such as wheel bearings, half shafts, prop shaft UJ's, swivel housings and the like but I'd strongly suggest that you have a look through the service history and ask to browse any receipts that he has. That way, you'll know exactly what work has been done to the vehicle, when it was done and therefore when it's likely to need doing again. As mentioned earlier, if you're happy with the vehicle and you don't mind paying the price, then by all means go for it and try not to have any regrets. There's no harm in trying to bring the price down a little bit however ;)

Just remember to thoroughly check the chassis and remember that they rot towards the back end first. The bulkhead is also important, so give it a good look over, especially down the inside pillars of the front doors (i.e. with door open). Also look down the top edge of the bulkhead where it meets the windscreen at the corners. If it's rusty here, it'll be rotting away on the inside and it will turn into a very costly job.

You could even get a rough idea as to the condition of the engine too. Let it run up to usual operating temperature and then remove the oil filler cap. Does it bellow oily mist out towards you? If there's a little 'blowing' (blow-by) it's perfectly normal, but if there's a great gush, it's a sign of engine wear in some shape or form. Also, with the engine running, remove the expansion tank / coolant header tank cap and look for bubbles. If there are no bubbles, you know that you haven't got a head gasket leak between a cylinder and a water channel.

Other than that, good luck and post up some pictures!

-Pos

All very true, but even so, high-milage vehicles are supposed to be cheaper than average or low milage vehicles, so I think what he's worried about is that he's paid over the odds and won't be able to get as much money back if he was to sell it.

@ OP - it sounds good to me so far and if you're happy with it and plan on keeping it for a long while, it sounds like a fair deal to me.
 
That's a very good point about the high mileage only relating to the chassis.

I have just bought a 110 because the engine went bang on a Jeep (I know why did I buy it in the first place!) Anyway, just in the process of getting a new / re-con engine fitted so I have been asking for advice on how to advertise it now the engine is no longer original. The chassis has done 47k...god knows how much the new engine has done?

Anyway back to topic, I say £5k is a tad high get him down a grand or at least £500
 
Wow, thanks for all the feedback. Whan i viewed the landy i checked xmember, bulkhead in and out. looked at chassis and everywhere i could think. Sounded really nice driving it, no wobbles or any odd noises as i had a good drive down the m5 doing 70 and stopping and starting it all seemed fine. I intend to use it as our family car, as the current owner has. so i wont be planning to sell her on. Just use and enjoy. I can only try and ask him to reduce price a little.
 
Wow, thanks for all the feedback. Whan i viewed the landy i checked xmember, bulkhead in and out. looked at chassis and everywhere i could think. Sounded really nice driving it, no wobbles or any odd noises as i had a good drive down the m5 doing 70 and stopping and starting it all seemed fine. I intend to use it as our family car, as the current owner has. so i wont be planning to sell her on. Just use and enjoy. I can only try and ask him to reduce price a little.

Well, there must be at least a couple of things on the car which you could point out, pretend you didn't notice before and then use them as bargaining points against him, you might get £500 off if you're lucky.
 
Well, i went to pick my purchase up a few days ago and the 140 mile drive back was lovely. smooth, no clunks wobbles or any other odd noise. All is good. I may havepayed a little over the odds for it but i intend to use her hopefully for a long time to come.
Does anyone think i should try to sourse an engine to keep in the garage for when the time comes to replace, is it something i should think about sooner than later.?
 
wouldnt worry about it for now, just keep it regularly serviced and keep an eye on fluids etc. hopefully it will give you many miles of (relatively ;) ) trouble free motoring.

If you do have concerns then just keep an eye on ebay & the classifieds and wait for a nice cheap low mileage motor to come along. no need to rush into buying the first engine you see :)

oh and congrats on the new purchase
 
Even if it had a service recently it might be worth getting a service and thorough checkover done by someone you trust / have had recommended. I've just done that to the 300 Tdi I just bought (few months ago) and they commented on a few little bits and bobs (bushes mainly) that will need to be replaced in about a year or so but everything else was in great nick.

That and I've already put 7k on the clock in 2 months so felt it could do with a service.
 

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