Frenchdame

Frenchdame

Well-Known Member
We decided a while ago that it was a mistake to sell our last Disco 2 and that now it was time we purchased another one. Ah, not so simple is it? I went a common route, searching online and using a particular nation-wide vehicle sales web-site. Picking short-lists and then checking out the Landies individually has left me fairly astonished. Our Landies are losing out folks - well, they're certainly losing miles! Last one I checked this morning had a DVLA recording of 165,000 miles but was being advertised by a dealer at 107,000 - this despite the public DVLA record of it's last eight or nine MoTs.
Using the same source I have been astonished how many dealers are selling our Landies as 'stunning' 'superb' 'well looked after' ''first to see will buy' etc when a cursory glance at the same public records will show MoT advisories and failure reasons that demonstrate how owners ran them into the ground, and/or the vehicles were suffering corrosion, and/or the mileage was incorrect (in some cases the vehicle quite simply didn't exist in the DVLA record), and for example: a Disco given an advisory one year that a tyre or two was right on the limit then passed the following year and a further year on the tyres were once again 'on the limit' - this on a vehicle which had allegedly only covered eight thousand miles in that two year period, pretty hard driving to wear tyres out in such a short distance.
Do dealers ever look or take notice of the paperwork available which says more about the (possible) condition of a car than the advert they write? Are dealers generally in lower esteem than politicians now? Where should you look and who should you trust?
And incidentally, when a Landy or any other motor, shows up on records as having lost sixty or seventy thousand miles, should not the DVLA be asking why and how? And making that answer part of the MoT record?
 
I guess that with millions of vehicles on a register it is difficult to drill down into the detail - I should expect an email to Trading Standards would be the next step, but as I know a former TS officer they typically don't have the resources to follow these things up which is why these traders get away with it.
 
Frenchdame said:
Where should you look and who should you trust?
Click to expand...

Trust is earnt, not given away - except in the modern world :rolleyes::(

Trust no one who is selling you a car, unless you know them very well indeed. And, as you are doing, use public records to expose the lost mileage and poor ( usually very poor ) maintenance history of any contenders.

Good vehicles are out there, but they are very few and far between, sadly. Keep looking on the famous site, and flea bay, the tree of gum, and such.... its a proper PITA to find something decent, but worth the effort when you do.

Another possible contender would to re-import one from Japan - no road salt means very little corrosion, and their maintenance requirements are extreme. Quite a few companies do this, but the one I know if is Algys autos in bristol. ( no affiliation - your favourite search engine will find their website )

Good luck :)
 
As others have said, they are out there.

I was looking for some time and the MOT history checker is your friend!

I was lucky to find (after much searching) a car which had only ever failed one MOT throughout its life on a track rod end.

You'll find one, just plenty of patience and searching!
 
You have my sympathy - when some berk crashed into my old Disco and wrote it off we were left to look for another as good as that one had been, and an utter b*ll ache it was too. I couldn't believe dealers were still using phrases like 'first to see will buy', I think what they meant was 'first to see (and most everyone else) will say goodbye'. It wasn't so bad if you hadn't travelled far, but some cars were several hours away and were awful when we got there.
However, patience is your friend - as said above, they are out there, and we did find one eventually. Just don't rush into it and feel like you have to buy something as you'll only regret it later, and your big advantage is that you've already had one, so you know what you're looking at. We were incredibly lucky with our first one, the only downside to that was it left the bar rather high when we went looking for its replacement!
Good luck in you search, and post a pic or two when you find it!
 
Spong said:
You have my sympathy - when some berk crashed into my old Disco and wrote it off we were left to look for another as good as that one had been, and an utter b*ll ache it was too. I couldn't believe dealers were still using phrases like 'first to see will buy', I think what they meant was 'first to see (and most everyone else) will say goodbye'. It wasn't so bad if you hadn't travelled far, but some cars were several hours away and were awful when we got there.
However, patience is your friend - as said above, they are out there, and we did find one eventually. Just don't rush into it and feel like you have to buy something as you'll only regret it later, and your big advantage is that you've already had one, so you know what you're looking at. We were incredibly lucky with our first one, the only downside to that was it left the bar rather high when we went looking for its replacement!
Good luck in you search, and post a pic or two when you find it!
Click to expand...

That just about sums up what we are going through and how we feel. My current Disco I has over 300,00 up, is just getting a new head and after twenty years is still a reliable run about: but we want to replace the Disco 2 and have you seen how much sh..t is out there and the prices being asked? These dealers must think we are stupid. (I have my moments too though).
Check out Charles Hurst for a high price Disco with a history of corrosion and bad owners! Grrrr.......
 
Frenchdame said:
That just about sums up what we are going through and how we feel. My current Disco I has over 300,00 up, is just getting a new head and after twenty years is still a reliable run about: but we want to replace the Disco 2 and have you seen how much sh..t is out there and the prices being asked? These dealers must think we are stupid. (I have my moments too though).
Check out Charles Hurst for a high price Disco with a history of corrosion and bad owners! Grrrr.......
Click to expand...

Check LC53OAM from Hursts of Hillingdon for e.g.
 
I admit there is a lot of trash about and at silly money. But that is more the price point and age of the vehicles. And is true for any marque or model, not just Land Rover's.

Also remember, dealers and traders are not there to offer you better cars. They are there to make money. They do this by usually offering multiple vehicles for sale, of which you can go look at and legally test drive under their insurance. There are certain legal obligations they must adhere too, most notably they cannot lie or mislead a customer. And while some might be creative with descriptions, they usually don't go beyond this as there are legal ramifications and unhappy customers.

Private sales can side step this issue, but you may pay more this way and obviously have no come back and often no finance options. And you'll only have a choice of 1 vehicle for any given seller. And unless you can provide proof of fully comp insurance the seller may not let you drive the vehicle on the road.

Specifically for D2's, look for V8's. You are far more likely to find a tidy high spec V8 than you are a diesel.

And yes, clocking can be annoying and something to look for. But it isn't illegal, never has been. But there certain things that can or can't be claimed about mileage. If a dealer knows the vehicle has been clocked, then they cannot advertise it as a genuine mileage. But if they don't know, then they don't know... so not really anything they can do about it.

And no, larger dealerships probably spend very little time actually examining the cars they buy and the paperwork they come with. They simply don't have the time to be picky like a private buyer would be. Many vehicles will come from auction or bought as it's there, I'll take 'x' for it. If they thing there is profit in it, they'll have it. And really won't be caring to check all the docs to the last detail.
 
·Here's an example of how to lose 60,000 miles in nine days. I have withheld the dealers details and reg number:


Test date28 September 2012

· Expiry date1 October 2013

· Test ResultPass

· Odometer reading116,319 miles

· MOT test number6558 2227 2294

· Test date19 September 2012

· Test ResultFail

· Odometer reading166,144 miles

· MOT test number7356 1316 2299
 
Frenchdame said:
·Here's an example of how to lose 60,000 miles in nine days. I have withheld the dealers details and reg number:


Test date28 September 2012

· Expiry date1 October 2013

· Test ResultPass

· Odometer reading116,319 miles

· MOT test number6558 2227 2294

· Test date19 September 2012

· Test ResultFail

· Odometer reading166,144 miles

· MOT test number7356 1316 2299
Click to expand...

Oh, I was looking at one like this the other day for a Friend.

The Seller did admit it had been changed, In fact looking at the failure on the MOT it was something to do with the ABS light, so it appears they changed the while instrument panel. In this case it was something they admitted to, even though the mileage shown on the dash was only like 120K. They advertised it as 155K.

cheers
 
As 300BHP says, dealers have overheads we don't often consider, and sometimes it's just easier to pay a bit over the odds for a little extra peace of mind in having some comeback if things aren't as advertised (though not the warranty mind!). And there are good dealers out there - couldn't complain about either of the chaps we bought our Discos from (Sterling Cars in Peterborough and Goudhurst Motor Consultants in Kent - and I have no connection to either!).

As far as the mileage change goes, doesn't this happen if you have to replace a faulty BCU? If so, it could well be genuine, assuming the 'fault' isn't just that the mileage is too high!

Poor old LC53 OAM does seem to have had a troubled past!
 
I had a similar issue when i bought my D2 last week, bought from a private seller. They were very nice folks, nice farm, hospitality and open about everything, theyd owned it for 4 years where the mileage had soared 60k on one Mot then dropped to where youd expect it the following year. This was the first theyd heard of it but theyd owned it past this time so no reason why theyd want to play the miles so mustve been a type error as the garage wasnt bothered. Decent truck and good miles for age but some small problems as they arent mechanically minded and been sitting. Dealers should highlight better trust but i wouldnt expect the honesty or quality of vehicle from an owner that knows and loves their landy, but theyre probably the hardest to find
 
Mine was low mileage for age, but I looked through all of the MOTs, busy first few years then not used much.

I reckon it was a holiday tug for the last owner.
 
It is sometimes the MOT mans fault with mileage I had a Volvo T5 a few years ago and the tester put the wrong figure in.
Not easy to get changed either. But I had proof with the previous MOTs fair certificate and then the certificate when it passed 5 days later.
I was a bit ****ed with them though.
But it does happen and clocks get swapped over as they break but just have to check carefully.
 
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