How stupid would it be? (older Land Rover)

One More Solo

One More Solo

One More Solo

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We are in need of a 4x4 for farm/towing duties and tossing up between a pickup of some description or a 4x4. Budget is up to £15k. It will get fairly limited use.

It has crossed my mind to buy an older Discovery for c£5-7.5k and save the rest for an inevitable bill. We might get lucky, we might not. We'd be looking at something c20 years old and with 100k miles on the clock for that sort of budget.

How bad an idea is this?
 
One More Solo said:
We are in need of a 4x4 for farm/towing duties and tossing up between a pickup of some description or a 4x4. Budget is up to £15k. It will get fairly limited use.

It has crossed my mind to buy an older Discovery for c£5-7.5k and save the rest for an inevitable bill. We might get lucky, we might not. We'd be looking at something c20 years old and with 100k miles on the clock for that sort of budget.

How bad an idea is this?
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The disco be fine, the td5 is pretty reliable, really you'll only be paying for chassis welding and general service items.

There is so much available on the aftermarket for these and so many specialists they are relatively cheap to run.
 
If you want a landrover, then get a landrover. one life. live it. Sure there are other brands and makes that are probably more reliable etc etc ... but to me they are dull as dishwasher and lack character.

Of the bunch, I see the Td5 discovery, manual, non air suspension, non ACE as being the changing point between old school basic mechanical and newer style modern(ish). Earlier 200/300Tdi really are old and clunky these days.

other options exist though.

Series ... too old, wouldn't like to tow.
Defenders ... mechanically the same a disco, but less comfy, and crazy money. You'd get more overall from a disco or l322
Classic Range Rover ... really not very realiable ... its a classic car now rather than a daily I'd say.
Range Roverv Mk2 (P38A) - cheap as chips, tows well. V8 thirsty. Diesel gutless. Feels old now.
Range Rover Mk3 (L322) - Well within your budget, even the lower part. Nice inside, but can take a beating. actually not that hard to fix, parts easily available. Petrols thirsty, but nice, and might suit your low mileage more than a diesel. Early Td6 diesel as little low on power and mated to a weak gearbox. later Tdv8 engines pretty good. Body work can rust around the rear wheel arches at this age though.
Range Rover Mk4 (L405) - again, actually within your budget ... a step up again from the L322, but similar thoughts around the engines ( tdv6 has a lower reputation compared to the others) , reliability and fixability.

To me, a Land Rover's perceived cost comes a lot from whether you are paying someone to fix it, or prepared to do your own work ... if the latter, then they are a lot cheaper to run.

There are a load of forums out there which can offer advice and help around them.
 
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Thanks all for thoughts so far.
Maundie said:
Is it just for using on the farm or does it need to be road worthy?
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It does need to be road worthy.
radderfire said:
Discoveries are not known for their reliability.

What about a Toyota or Mitsubishi instead?
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My initial thought was to get something dull and reliable but LRs are undeniably nicer cars and feel like it would be a laugh to own and have a lot more character. As I say, it will have quite limited use so I'm hoping that would contribute to longevity. We are also lucky to have a 4x4 specialist about a mile down the road who I imagine are all over this sort of thing.
 
make sure you get one that is not rotting, my brother has had two sub £10K discoveries in a row and both needed quite a lot of welding after MOT fails.

get under them with a torch and have a good look or even better ask if you can take it to a garage to have it inspected on a ramp before you hand over the cash.
 
One More Solo said:
Thanks all for thoughts so far.

It does need to be road worthy.

My initial thought was to get something dull and reliable but LRs are undeniably nicer cars and feel like it would be a laugh to own and have a lot more character. As I say, it will have quite limited use so I'm hoping that would contribute to longevity. We are also lucky to have a 4x4 specialist about a mile down the road who I imagine are all over this sort of thing.
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If you have a specialist down the road, it would maybe a good idea to engage with them for recommendations etc.
 
Yeah that video sums up everyone i know with a landrover for sure!

A mate came round to see me last summer with his discovery, i went to wave him off and saw it didn't have a dashboard in it as he was chasing some issue in it. He didn't seem phased, just seemed to be pretty standard landrover problems...

I'd quite fancy a series landrover but as a fair weather classic, not as something i'd ever have to rely on.
 
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At about 20 years old you are talking early Disco 3 territory,

A wise man once said "buy a cheap broken Land Rover and spend money fixing it, rather than buying an expensive immaculate one then spend the same money fixing it because it will break" :D

As it happens I have a 2006 Disco 3 2.7 HSE that I bought off eBay for £1600 as a stop gap car, and it has taught me a few things about them,

  • Dead TDv6s litter the hills here (Cotswolds), they do commonly snap cranks. Early 2.7s are gutless but less prone to explode, the latest SDv6 in the D4 is more likely (all anecdotal), frequent oil changes help a lot. Buy an imported Petrol V8 if you don't want to always worry that "it might explode today".
  • Sealed for life gearboxes eat themselves and shudder/bang - budget a filter & fluid change for any disco you buy, even if it drives great.
  • VSC/Traction light on cornering under throttle means the steering angle sensor needs gluing back to the steering column
  • EGR valves fail and cause smoke and performance concerns, they are a pain to change.
  • Turbo actuator sticks and is tough to get to and work loose.
  • Drivetrain vibrations are often caused by worn prop bearing carriers
  • Drive any prospective purchase for at least 30 minutes, many air suspension faults only trip after the computer realises its using the air pump too much over time.
  • Rear air-conditioning is a liability as the pipes corrode out at the back end empty the whole system.
  • Rough idle and hard starting can mean low-pressure in tank fuel pump is dying.
  • Wet carpets mean sunroof drains, nearside front is an pain to change.
To echo those above, you may well fall in love - and if you do, you are in trouble.
I personally wouldn't own LR products if I didn't do my own work, you would spend half your money on labour rates - but parts aren't too expensive.

I have done EGR Blanks, Engine & Gearbox service, Sunroof Drains, Centre Prop, Aux Heater & New Wheels & Tyres for <£1500.

My OH has a Freelander 2, its much more reliable and fancy inside and a lot quicker and more pleasant - but only tows 2t.

On an entirely unrelated note, I have a D3 for sale when my new company car arrives ;):rolleyes::D:D:D
 
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I think that sums it up, if you're handy with the spanners and you love them then it's not a terrible idea but if you're going to have to pay someone else to do all the work it quickly becomes a bad idea.

I had the same kind of experience when i had my old Subaru Impreza doing lots of track days, it was only worth it as i could do all the work myself. If i was having to book into a garage to change the brakes for me every couple of months, change suspension, fix random issues like fuel pumps and O2 sensors etc it'd have been ruinous pretty quickly.
 
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