Land Rover Discovery TD5. 2003. Mad to buy?
Discussion
My boss is selling his Land Rover Discovery TD5, 2003. He purchased it around 3 years ago and has spent around 5k in repairs in that time. Its finally working with no lights on the dash or any other faults. He has decided to sell it on while its in its current working state, scared what the next bill might be.
I want it! Always liked it ever since he first got it. Would it be a mad thing to buy or take the risk considering the money already spent on it? It currently starts, stops and drives with no problem! 120k on the clock and a good price.
Thoughts?
I want it! Always liked it ever since he first got it. Would it be a mad thing to buy or take the risk considering the money already spent on it? It currently starts, stops and drives with no problem! 120k on the clock and a good price.
Thoughts?
largespiced said:
My boss is selling his Land Rover Discovery TD5, 2003. He purchased it around 3 years ago and has spent around 5k in repairs in that time. Its finally working with no lights on the dash or any other faults. He has decided to sell it on while its in its current working state, scared what the next bill might be.
I want it! Always liked it ever since he first got it. Would it be a mad thing to buy or take the risk considering the money already spent on it? It currently starts, stops and drives with no problem! 120k on the clock and a good price.
Thoughts?
The final sentence in your first paragraph should give you the answer you need!I want it! Always liked it ever since he first got it. Would it be a mad thing to buy or take the risk considering the money already spent on it? It currently starts, stops and drives with no problem! 120k on the clock and a good price.
Thoughts?
If it doesn't - IMO, then yes, mad to buy
Tough one. It would be perfect for family duties. We used to have a 300TDI disco and it was faultless but the TD5 era is known for its problems, but a 5k spend since he had it should have fixed many of the issues you would hope!
We are going to borrow it for a few days and see how we get on. Working they are amazing things and he has been all over Europe in it, but he has also been recovered a fair few times home for various problems.
We are going to borrow it for a few days and see how we get on. Working they are amazing things and he has been all over Europe in it, but he has also been recovered a fair few times home for various problems.
Ask yourself what your relationship with the boss will be when if blows up 5 mins after paying him the money.
I have learnt to never buy/sell cars from friends or relatives, unless you are happy to deal with the worst outcome with no redress.
Is that £5k indy or AD repairs? I expect there is a big difference in what work would be undertaken by the later.
I have learnt to never buy/sell cars from friends or relatives, unless you are happy to deal with the worst outcome with no redress.
Is that £5k indy or AD repairs? I expect there is a big difference in what work would be undertaken by the later.
Mad? No. Cautious? Yes.
With these you either get a good one or a bad one - my one is currently ambivalent as to which camp it falls into! A good one will be all the vehicle you could ever need for load lugging, people-moving, trailering, etc. A bad one will drive you up the wall and make you swear never to buy a Landy ever again.
It would be worth having a flick through the receipts of the 5K repair bills it has accrued. If for example that 5K includes a recent clutch/DMF change - then that's a 1K+ bill you won't have to worry about for the next couple of years. If it includes head gasket being done - then that's another couple of hundred you won't have to shell out and if fixed properly solves one of the major weaknesses of the TD5. Same goes for the front propshaft being rebuilt (carden joints go bad), air suspension, steering knuckle joints, injector seals or ACE pipework. These are common issues with the D2 and once fixed/attended to - it's rare that those things need redoing again in the next couple of years.
On the other hand, if the bills tend to repeat themselves (indicating recurring faults that are not solved) and/or be all sorts of things which don't fall under the 'they all do that at some point' category - then move on. There are plenty of Disco 2s around to choose from and you can be picky.
With these you either get a good one or a bad one - my one is currently ambivalent as to which camp it falls into! A good one will be all the vehicle you could ever need for load lugging, people-moving, trailering, etc. A bad one will drive you up the wall and make you swear never to buy a Landy ever again.
It would be worth having a flick through the receipts of the 5K repair bills it has accrued. If for example that 5K includes a recent clutch/DMF change - then that's a 1K+ bill you won't have to worry about for the next couple of years. If it includes head gasket being done - then that's another couple of hundred you won't have to shell out and if fixed properly solves one of the major weaknesses of the TD5. Same goes for the front propshaft being rebuilt (carden joints go bad), air suspension, steering knuckle joints, injector seals or ACE pipework. These are common issues with the D2 and once fixed/attended to - it's rare that those things need redoing again in the next couple of years.
On the other hand, if the bills tend to repeat themselves (indicating recurring faults that are not solved) and/or be all sorts of things which don't fall under the 'they all do that at some point' category - then move on. There are plenty of Disco 2s around to choose from and you can be picky.
LandRoverManiac said:
Mad? No. Cautious? Yes.
With these you either get a good one or a bad one - my one is currently ambivalent as to which camp it falls into! A good one will be all the vehicle you could ever need for load lugging, people-moving, trailering, etc. A bad one will drive you up the wall and make you swear never to buy a Landy ever again.
It would be worth having a flick through the receipts of the 5K repair bills it has accrued. If for example that 5K includes a recent clutch/DMF change - then that's a 1K+ bill you won't have to worry about for the next couple of years. If it includes head gasket being done - then that's another couple of hundred you won't have to shell out and if fixed properly solves one of the major weaknesses of the TD5. Same goes for the front propshaft being rebuilt (carden joints go bad), air suspension, steering knuckle joints, injector seals or ACE pipework. These are common issues with the D2 and once fixed/attended to - it's rare that those things need redoing again in the next couple of years.
On the other hand, if the bills tend to repeat themselves (indicating recurring faults that are not solved) and/or be all sorts of things which don't fall under the 'they all do that at some point' category - then move on. There are plenty of Disco 2s around to choose from and you can be picky.
Thanks for that reply mate. He is asking £2500 for it. He has just spent 1k on something (im not sure what till I see him next) and not used it since. Think he is a tad scared of it. Maybe it Is a bad one! I am going to think about it, as much as I like the idea of it, I don't want a headache!With these you either get a good one or a bad one - my one is currently ambivalent as to which camp it falls into! A good one will be all the vehicle you could ever need for load lugging, people-moving, trailering, etc. A bad one will drive you up the wall and make you swear never to buy a Landy ever again.
It would be worth having a flick through the receipts of the 5K repair bills it has accrued. If for example that 5K includes a recent clutch/DMF change - then that's a 1K+ bill you won't have to worry about for the next couple of years. If it includes head gasket being done - then that's another couple of hundred you won't have to shell out and if fixed properly solves one of the major weaknesses of the TD5. Same goes for the front propshaft being rebuilt (carden joints go bad), air suspension, steering knuckle joints, injector seals or ACE pipework. These are common issues with the D2 and once fixed/attended to - it's rare that those things need redoing again in the next couple of years.
On the other hand, if the bills tend to repeat themselves (indicating recurring faults that are not solved) and/or be all sorts of things which don't fall under the 'they all do that at some point' category - then move on. There are plenty of Disco 2s around to choose from and you can be picky.
I reckon a Land Rover should be on anyone's bucket list to own and if this one is a good price (is it down to shed money?) and you know its recent history and what's been fixed, it seems a lot less risky than buying one off Autotrader.
Might still throw big bills, but if it becomes uneconomical to repair, at least there'll always be a market for turning it into spares and repairs
Chris
Might still throw big bills, but if it becomes uneconomical to repair, at least there'll always be a market for turning it into spares and repairs
Chris
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