Discodevon
Well-Known Member
Take the rear bumper off and vacuum out the rear chassis legs, you would be amazed what would be in there after 18 years
berg450
Well-Known Member
I also do not like underseal on a car which is 17 year old and already corroded. It only hides the problem. I had some rust on mine as well, removed it passivated and painted.I hope not. underseal is a death sentence - traps water and rots steel for fun. The correct products will, of course do a proper job - and a search on here will find "our" recommendations .....
+1 - the rear of the chassis on a D2 is such a known weakness - I'd start there and worry about the rest later - Neilly's checklist, linked to above, contains damn good advice.
Discodevon
Well-Known Member
Very true that is, my old man would nut me if I undersealed my 2005 defender for that reason... John Deere Hygard works wonders at killing rust and keeping it at bay
Well i didnt end up buying it anyway, guy promised to put a 12 month m.o.t on it, then changed his mind.
So went to look at a few more yesterday in manchester/leeds/bradford area, then off to a garage called T&T motors in wakefield had a load but all require a fair amount of chassis work, and they are firm on their price, (guy working there said he never drops more than £200 off the price of any of his cars no matter whats up with them) then went off to see a nice black one, needed watts linkage, brake discs and a few other bits rounding up to a few hundred quid in parts, had it up for 1800 and wouldnt budge on price even with the faults, so its looking like i may have to take a break on looking for one due to wedding coming up soon unless i can find one local to liverpool haha
So went to look at a few more yesterday in manchester/leeds/bradford area, then off to a garage called T&T motors in wakefield had a load but all require a fair amount of chassis work, and they are firm on their price, (guy working there said he never drops more than £200 off the price of any of his cars no matter whats up with them) then went off to see a nice black one, needed watts linkage, brake discs and a few other bits rounding up to a few hundred quid in parts, had it up for 1800 and wouldnt budge on price even with the faults, so its looking like i may have to take a break on looking for one due to wedding coming up soon unless i can find one local to liverpool haha
JUKE179r
Well-Known Member
Off topic but since you mentioned owners not budging on price... Here in the Suffolk area, I've noticed that people selling complete rust bucket Landys for crazy money.
I looked at a 2002 Defender 110 in Bury and the windscreen corner had a massive rust hole and the underside was rotting though the owner stating it was in perfect condition. The owner didn't to budge on the price at all when I showed him all the rust areas so I left.
Big waste of time.
I looked at a 2002 Defender 110 in Bury and the windscreen corner had a massive rust hole and the underside was rotting though the owner stating it was in perfect condition. The owner didn't to budge on the price at all when I showed him all the rust areas so I left.
Big waste of time.
Si Click
Well-Known Member
Take your time. There are lots of dreadful old rust buckets out there, mostly in the hands of dealers in my experience. I took about 4 months and looked at a lot before I found one that was worth buying - and even then I had to compromise on my wish list (swore I would not buy an auto). There are enthusiasts and careful owners out there and you are far more likely to get a sound D2 privately than from a dealer - you just have to persevere.
Si Click
Well-Known Member
"Too much cash" is a difficult thing to judge as prices are very variable. If you do find a really good one that stands out, then you should expect the price to reflect that. D2s are ridiculously undervalued at present and prices are generally very low indeed in comparison to a Defender. You could pay well over the odds, but if you get a really good one then it will still be a bargain. Very happy with the £3800 I paid for mine.
That said, in order to get a baseline in my head of what a good D2 should look like, I went to see one in a dealership for £8500. Looked shiny on top and the electrics all worked, but rusted to hell underneath and with a load of current fault codes on Hawkeye. Price is not a clear guide, but an enthusiast owner who has looked after his D2 will be likely to price accordingly.
Bear in mind that with D2s, buying it is the cheap bit and if you cannot afford to buy a decent one, you probably cannot afford to fix a crap one.
That said, in order to get a baseline in my head of what a good D2 should look like, I went to see one in a dealership for £8500. Looked shiny on top and the electrics all worked, but rusted to hell underneath and with a load of current fault codes on Hawkeye. Price is not a clear guide, but an enthusiast owner who has looked after his D2 will be likely to price accordingly.
Bear in mind that with D2s, buying it is the cheap bit and if you cannot afford to buy a decent one, you probably cannot afford to fix a crap one.
oh yea i deffo get what ur sayin because i know my budget isnt obv the best, 2 grand for a disco is low end really, when i say too much money i mean they have it up for one price then just will not budge when theres a list as long as my arm for repairs that they fail to mention/have no clue about.
All the ones iv been to see all claimed to be good condition, soon as my mate crawls under he spots heap of rust/holes/bits missing that kinda thing, i dont expect a 5 grand disco for 2 grand and im ok with gettting some jobs done, some people are just dreamers on price.
All the ones iv been to see all claimed to be good condition, soon as my mate crawls under he spots heap of rust/holes/bits missing that kinda thing, i dont expect a 5 grand disco for 2 grand and im ok with gettting some jobs done, some people are just dreamers on price.
berg450
Well-Known Member
I know that in UK the D2 prices are much lower than in hungary but if you have only 2000 pounds for a discovery, i do not know, maybe better to look for an other car. I already have my 2nd D2 and i know how easy to spend 2000 pounds just to make it reliable for everyday usage. It is not a simple car, if all the extras are working and the car is not rusty it surely cost more. If you have issues with those extras it could cost a lot.
When i bought my car it was one of the most expensive and best maintaned car available in hungary for about 6000 pounds. In the last 2 years i have spent about 2000 just to make it "perfect" according to my expectations. Now i would not sell it even for 9000.
I know that i am a bit crazy but i love this car, and i use to tell it everyone who wants to buy even mine that it is not a car which needs only fuel and goes. It is a car which needs care but can give much more fun then a modern car.
So i do not want to say that do not buy one but be prepared to spend money on it regularly. Maybe you will be lucky and find a good one for about 2-3000£ (you have much more in the UK) but surely soon you will spend almost the same to keep it in good condition.
Good luck anyway!
When i bought my car it was one of the most expensive and best maintaned car available in hungary for about 6000 pounds. In the last 2 years i have spent about 2000 just to make it "perfect" according to my expectations. Now i would not sell it even for 9000.
I know that i am a bit crazy but i love this car, and i use to tell it everyone who wants to buy even mine that it is not a car which needs only fuel and goes. It is a car which needs care but can give much more fun then a modern car.
So i do not want to say that do not buy one but be prepared to spend money on it regularly. Maybe you will be lucky and find a good one for about 2-3000£ (you have much more in the UK) but surely soon you will spend almost the same to keep it in good condition.
Good luck anyway!
AdamD1
Well-Known Member
I don’t want to think about what I’ve spent on mine, quite a bit of it was things I wanted to do like new suspension etc but there’s plenty that needed doing. Everything important was fine when I bought it too! Still plenty left to do to get to where I want it to be, I am hoping it’ll settle down for a while soon!
