ReadySalted
Active Member
Hi all...
I've been on this site for a little while now, and up until a week ago I was driving a 1998 Discovery 300tdi. My first 4x4, a very tidy, and particularly solid specimen. I previously owned a classic mini and I've always felt that the disco just lacked character. A great and obviously capable vehicle, but it didn't put a smile on my face to drive like I hoped it would. I took it greenlaning about twice, but it was too tidy to be thrashing around and getting scratched, so I decided that trashing a decent vehicle was a silly idea, and I should get something that I would enjoy driving both on and off road, and that I wouldn't mind knocking about a bit. I wanted something with a bit more character, and something I could do the odd job on, bolt bits onto etc.
I've spent the past 2 or 3 months scouring the internet and newspapers, trying to decide between a 90, or a Series. I decided a series would deliver more smiles per mile, and defenders are priced too highly for my budget. I went to view a good number of Series IIIs to get an up close idea of what my money would get me. After the initial shock of what state they all seem to be in, learning that all the rust and nicks are okay because, "It's a Landrover!" I was both horrified, and hooked. In the end I drove to cornwall and got myself a tidy series III which after a week I decided wasn't for me, I sold it on soon after to John Brown Landrovers, who it appears made a tidy profit on it quite soon after. I recently purchased another series III that I think I'll be sticking with.
I insured the old girl last wednesday, and been driving her around since. Until today I've had a mixture of feelings, both good and bad. I enjoy it's drive (most of the time), it's bumpiness, and engine noise (minus the whine). It's character & charms and my girlfriend has already named it.
Having said that, the leaks, the endless niggles, and the fact I break into a sweat just parallel-parking it every night, have all been making me somewhat dubious about making the decision to replace the discovery with it.
The other night I came home after my first night-time drive, and parked her up, only to see my Father on the opposite side of the road wearing a hi-vis coat, explaining to me that all the electrics had appeared to have packed up on his L322. The drama of the AA man trying to fix the menagerie of wiring and magic that somehow make his heated seats, parking sensor, and built in satnav work, brought an air of relief and joy to my face. It reminded me of one of the important benefits of owning a Series.
Having almost made my decision in favour of the series, I took her out for her first green lane today. Like an idiot I left far too late, and the lane I intended to drive which is about half an hour away, was already in twighlight by the time I'd got there. It seemed a great shame to just not have a bit of a play, so I drove the first 500 metres of it, and it was the most enjoyable 500 metres I've ever driven in a land rover. I felt the terrain under her leaf springs much more positively, the steering was somehow easier, and bringing her into and out of Low Range was like pulling a lever which should have been labelled "Go Anywhere". It was a much more involved drive, far from the feeling I got in the bouncy discovery which seemed to steamroll over the terrain instead of bounce from bump to bump. I drove back up the way I had come, stopped on a grassed area, and made some bacon sandwhiches on the tailgate of the landy. I packed up, and drove home, deafened by the almost unbelievable noise of the landys 60mph screams, but with a big, fat smile on my face.
...Tommorow the disco's going on ebay.
I've been on this site for a little while now, and up until a week ago I was driving a 1998 Discovery 300tdi. My first 4x4, a very tidy, and particularly solid specimen. I previously owned a classic mini and I've always felt that the disco just lacked character. A great and obviously capable vehicle, but it didn't put a smile on my face to drive like I hoped it would. I took it greenlaning about twice, but it was too tidy to be thrashing around and getting scratched, so I decided that trashing a decent vehicle was a silly idea, and I should get something that I would enjoy driving both on and off road, and that I wouldn't mind knocking about a bit. I wanted something with a bit more character, and something I could do the odd job on, bolt bits onto etc.
I've spent the past 2 or 3 months scouring the internet and newspapers, trying to decide between a 90, or a Series. I decided a series would deliver more smiles per mile, and defenders are priced too highly for my budget. I went to view a good number of Series IIIs to get an up close idea of what my money would get me. After the initial shock of what state they all seem to be in, learning that all the rust and nicks are okay because, "It's a Landrover!" I was both horrified, and hooked. In the end I drove to cornwall and got myself a tidy series III which after a week I decided wasn't for me, I sold it on soon after to John Brown Landrovers, who it appears made a tidy profit on it quite soon after. I recently purchased another series III that I think I'll be sticking with.
I insured the old girl last wednesday, and been driving her around since. Until today I've had a mixture of feelings, both good and bad. I enjoy it's drive (most of the time), it's bumpiness, and engine noise (minus the whine). It's character & charms and my girlfriend has already named it.
Having said that, the leaks, the endless niggles, and the fact I break into a sweat just parallel-parking it every night, have all been making me somewhat dubious about making the decision to replace the discovery with it.
The other night I came home after my first night-time drive, and parked her up, only to see my Father on the opposite side of the road wearing a hi-vis coat, explaining to me that all the electrics had appeared to have packed up on his L322. The drama of the AA man trying to fix the menagerie of wiring and magic that somehow make his heated seats, parking sensor, and built in satnav work, brought an air of relief and joy to my face. It reminded me of one of the important benefits of owning a Series.
Having almost made my decision in favour of the series, I took her out for her first green lane today. Like an idiot I left far too late, and the lane I intended to drive which is about half an hour away, was already in twighlight by the time I'd got there. It seemed a great shame to just not have a bit of a play, so I drove the first 500 metres of it, and it was the most enjoyable 500 metres I've ever driven in a land rover. I felt the terrain under her leaf springs much more positively, the steering was somehow easier, and bringing her into and out of Low Range was like pulling a lever which should have been labelled "Go Anywhere". It was a much more involved drive, far from the feeling I got in the bouncy discovery which seemed to steamroll over the terrain instead of bounce from bump to bump. I drove back up the way I had come, stopped on a grassed area, and made some bacon sandwhiches on the tailgate of the landy. I packed up, and drove home, deafened by the almost unbelievable noise of the landys 60mph screams, but with a big, fat smile on my face.
...Tommorow the disco's going on ebay.
