Just over a year ago I bought my first Land Rover Discovery td5. My wife had been singing the praises of her much loved Defender that she used to ferry hundreds of children she fostered and minded. Now I spent a long time searching the internet for the best I could afford, one came up in north Wales. It had a perfect MOT history no rust or advisories so off we went. The whole way from Reading to Wales the weather worsened, first heavy rain then horrendous thunderstorms. As we got closer horizontal hailstones gave way to bright sunshine.
The car was not at the address and so we phoned the guy selling and he said he would be with us in a few minutes. Twenty minutes later and round the corner came a lovely looking beast great bodywork, tinted glass fully loaded interior. After my research the first place I looked was under the rear end. My heart sank, the drivers side chassis member was rusted badly to the point it should have failed the new MOT it had. When I declined to buy the car stating what I had found he said that he had taken the car part exchange and was not aware of the rust. I stated quite forcefully that if you buy and sell cars for a living you should at least look at it first. I got my deposit refunded and set off home.
The next car was in Chatham Kent a mere 100 miles away this time. As we set off the weather worsened and as we drew closer to Chatham rain turned to thunder lightning sideways hailstones. We finally located the vehicle and the sun came out as before (deja vu) NEVER BUY A CAR IN THE RAIN. This time the chassis was as seen in the pictures I had requested before committing to buy. I handed over the money and home we drove.
Now if you have read this far don't get disturbed by what I am about to write and read to the end. Unless your already bored. The car had been stored for some 3 years in a location were seagulls live and as such the first time I was able to give it a wash I was horrified to see the clear coat on the roof had been stripped by the resulting gull paint stripper. Also NEVER BUY A CAR IN THE RAIN. Now the car was clean and dry the many scratches and car park dings were evident, made worse by the blind gibbon who had tried touching up the scratches with a cricket bat and a nail through it. Next time out after a night of rain (again with the rain) turning left a surprise shower of water inside the car. First job fix leaking sunroofs. Next the DVD player stops working. No bother I don't sit in the back when driving. Next passenger door window winder breaks, fit new one. Passenger door central locking stops working, (could not go at the same time as the winder) Fit new one. Drivers door lock stops working, fit new one still not working needs new control unit. Not going to happen so I just use the key to unlock drivers door. Weather improves and the AC stops working, fix leak fill with gas all good but the heater will not turn off on drivers side so the AC is only really cool on the passenger side. Clutch cylinders fail, fit new ones. The front right ABS sensor starts playing up, fit a new one. (much hassle and poor design) Both top ball joint rubbers fail, Fit new ones. A month on and the puddle of oil under the engine resembles the Iraq oil fields after they were blown up by the retreating Iraqi soldiers.
Now I don't think I have included everything that went wrong in the first six months of owning a Land Rover so now I will give my review of my first Discovery 2. The foot pedals are too far away from the steering wheel so a portly gent such as myself has to loose a few stone in order to use them. The steering wheel hides some of the instruments, the interior door handles are too far forward and low to reach comfortably. (they look good when open or on the design board but not practical) Who thought the best place to fit the oil filter was behind the turbot and exhaust. You can't get in the rear seats if you have feet. Measure the gap at the bottom of the doors. The turning circle is the worst I have ever encountered. The gearbox is a joke and when on a long drive gets stiff and you can't find the gears.
I think this is my last complaint (I should have made a list) For an off road vehicle the suspension makes even a glass smooth surface feel like mountaineering. You drive over a speed bump at any speed and your kidneys explode.
I have now been driving the beast for over a year and with all its faults and more I will never buy another Land Rover ever again as I love this one so much it has become part of my life and I find myself making up reasons to take it out for a spin. What is it about these cars that gets under your skin so?
More on the design. What are the glass sun roofs for? They neither let the sun in or open wide enough to ventilate the car and if you were to find yourself trapped in a swollen river in need of escape you would have to wait until you had slimmed down to the size of a small child before you could get through the gap. The only thing they could possibly be used for is feeding giraffes and as there aren't many wondering the leafy lanes of Berkshire I can't see the point. The same goes for the rear roof light windows.
The car was not at the address and so we phoned the guy selling and he said he would be with us in a few minutes. Twenty minutes later and round the corner came a lovely looking beast great bodywork, tinted glass fully loaded interior. After my research the first place I looked was under the rear end. My heart sank, the drivers side chassis member was rusted badly to the point it should have failed the new MOT it had. When I declined to buy the car stating what I had found he said that he had taken the car part exchange and was not aware of the rust. I stated quite forcefully that if you buy and sell cars for a living you should at least look at it first. I got my deposit refunded and set off home.
The next car was in Chatham Kent a mere 100 miles away this time. As we set off the weather worsened and as we drew closer to Chatham rain turned to thunder lightning sideways hailstones. We finally located the vehicle and the sun came out as before (deja vu) NEVER BUY A CAR IN THE RAIN. This time the chassis was as seen in the pictures I had requested before committing to buy. I handed over the money and home we drove.
Now if you have read this far don't get disturbed by what I am about to write and read to the end. Unless your already bored. The car had been stored for some 3 years in a location were seagulls live and as such the first time I was able to give it a wash I was horrified to see the clear coat on the roof had been stripped by the resulting gull paint stripper. Also NEVER BUY A CAR IN THE RAIN. Now the car was clean and dry the many scratches and car park dings were evident, made worse by the blind gibbon who had tried touching up the scratches with a cricket bat and a nail through it. Next time out after a night of rain (again with the rain) turning left a surprise shower of water inside the car. First job fix leaking sunroofs. Next the DVD player stops working. No bother I don't sit in the back when driving. Next passenger door window winder breaks, fit new one. Passenger door central locking stops working, (could not go at the same time as the winder) Fit new one. Drivers door lock stops working, fit new one still not working needs new control unit. Not going to happen so I just use the key to unlock drivers door. Weather improves and the AC stops working, fix leak fill with gas all good but the heater will not turn off on drivers side so the AC is only really cool on the passenger side. Clutch cylinders fail, fit new ones. The front right ABS sensor starts playing up, fit a new one. (much hassle and poor design) Both top ball joint rubbers fail, Fit new ones. A month on and the puddle of oil under the engine resembles the Iraq oil fields after they were blown up by the retreating Iraqi soldiers.
Now I don't think I have included everything that went wrong in the first six months of owning a Land Rover so now I will give my review of my first Discovery 2. The foot pedals are too far away from the steering wheel so a portly gent such as myself has to loose a few stone in order to use them. The steering wheel hides some of the instruments, the interior door handles are too far forward and low to reach comfortably. (they look good when open or on the design board but not practical) Who thought the best place to fit the oil filter was behind the turbot and exhaust. You can't get in the rear seats if you have feet. Measure the gap at the bottom of the doors. The turning circle is the worst I have ever encountered. The gearbox is a joke and when on a long drive gets stiff and you can't find the gears.
I think this is my last complaint (I should have made a list) For an off road vehicle the suspension makes even a glass smooth surface feel like mountaineering. You drive over a speed bump at any speed and your kidneys explode.
I have now been driving the beast for over a year and with all its faults and more I will never buy another Land Rover ever again as I love this one so much it has become part of my life and I find myself making up reasons to take it out for a spin. What is it about these cars that gets under your skin so?
More on the design. What are the glass sun roofs for? They neither let the sun in or open wide enough to ventilate the car and if you were to find yourself trapped in a swollen river in need of escape you would have to wait until you had slimmed down to the size of a small child before you could get through the gap. The only thing they could possibly be used for is feeding giraffes and as there aren't many wondering the leafy lanes of Berkshire I can't see the point. The same goes for the rear roof light windows.
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