Land Rover Discovery 2, 200,000km, no service history
Discussion
This is actually a car I might buy. 2000 Land Rover Discovery 2. It's representative of a lot of cars here in Hong Kong. They are mostly garaged and maintained in back street garages, and very few cars have any service history. This one was owned by the same person for the past three years and he says his brother has a small garage, but for some unfathomable reason they didn't keep any of the bills. He has the service book with the supplying dealer stamp and correct VIN, but they didn't even put in a stamp for the first free service. I have no idea if it's had any of the recalls done, but LR HK might be able to help there.
I have a one owner 1997 Toyota Hilux Surf that is in similar condition, 100,000km, but it didn't come with one receipt. I looked at a 2010 Land Cruiser Prado; no service history.
I've got no idea about Land Rovers so thought I'd put it up here to see what the reaction is. I'm happy doing a bit of spannering and appreciate this could give me a lot of trouble. I love my Toyota but it has a gearbox problem that I think might be terminal. Rather than source a new box here I might send it to the UK and buy something else.
4.0 V8, sounds fairly sweet, starts up easily, there is a faint ticking but it pulls well. The exhaust gas is a bit warm but no smoke on start up and the temperature gauge is steady just past the halfway mark. It's an auto; all gears engage without any fuss, including low range.
This is what is amazing about cars here. The chassis on the Disco 2 is apparently known to rot, but after 19 years and 200,000km (none off-road apparently), this has no rust anywhere. Air shocks at the back appear to be in decent condition.
Front suspension. It rides quite well and is quiet inside. I just had a ride in it and was very impressed with the refinement. Much better than my Hilux Surf, which despite having new suspension all round seems to crash about on the road more than this.
Standard apart from the ladder. The car was supplied new in Hong Kong, the rear wheel cover is from a Land Rover dealer in South Carolina.
All of the wheels are in excellent condition. Tyres are from 2013 all round so probably need replacing, but they have plenty of tread left. I drove it and although slow it did have a nice driving position and felt pretty luxurious. It had what I think is a typical 90s car smell. I can't define it but I know when I smell it.
I assume this is the pump for the rear levelling suspension
And these are the sensor arms
There's a decent amount of bare wiring in the engine bay so it's probably had its fair share of LR electrical problems. The owner admitted as such but said his brother maintained it for him regardless of cost. Still no receipts though.
The exhaust looks like it's been hacked at some point. Is that stainless?
There is barely any rust on the thing.
There was definitely some ticking on this side of the engine, but it was light and didn't sound serious. Oil looked clean and no sign of coolant in there.
Coolant reservoir.
Other side of the engine bay. No unusual noises from here. I couldn't see any of the usual signs of head gasket failure - coolant/oil mix, white smoke, overheating, etc.
This tensioner had a good 3-5mm of play when the engine was running and was always moving. No record of a timing belt change so I'd probably have that done straight away.
I don't know what it is, but the liquid in the reservoir on the left leaped about when the engine was running but the car was still. Is it suspension fluid?
I didn't get any photos inside but it had clean leather interior with electric seats, dual electric sunroofs, seven seats and I think tinted glass. Working A/C. The green colour was a few shades lighter than the Forest Green on a 1997 Jeep Cherokee that I had a few years ago in London.
Strangely, some of the exterior trim bits were a bit loose, like the grill, some plastic trim on the A pillar, and rear corners of the rain gutters.
Honestly, I didn't like it as much as my Hilux Surf, and I know it's a terrible idea to buy anything without service history, but most cars here don't have any. I can't get my head around why people don't keep bills for work done. It's up for GBP3.5k but I can probably get it for less. It has a year's road tax, which costs about GBP1,000 per year. I wouldn't mind if I bought it and then had to spend another GBP2,000 fixing it up, but if it's something that is liable to regularly not start or leave me stranded at the side of the road I'll persevere with my Toyota.
I'm interested to hear what the feedback is and then will make a decision.
Personally I'd never buy a LR of that vintage in any country other than the UK unless it was to be a project rather than a daily. Of all the countries I've lived in recently (australia, NZ, canada), common LR ownership seems to only be a fairly recent thing, and parts supply for those older ones is non-existent, making any problems that might arise a pretty expensive and troublesome prospect. By the same token, pretty much any Toyota, including the Hilux, is regarded as a pretty robust machine (eg leaf springs on the rear rather than self-levelling air suspension, hence the crashy but reliable ride on the hilux), and common as muck with cheap parts easy to get hold of. I'd wager Hong Kong is the same, no? This being the case, the smart thing to do would be get the Hilux's gearbox repaired and keep driving it, especially as it has half the miles on it that the LR does.
So the real question is - head or heart? Is it a daily, or does it not matter and you can afford to have it sitting waiting for parts for potentially weeks at a time?
The other question is.... seeing as Hong Kong is one of the manufacturing centres of the world, are parts actually easier to come by than I think they are?!
So the real question is - head or heart? Is it a daily, or does it not matter and you can afford to have it sitting waiting for parts for potentially weeks at a time?
The other question is.... seeing as Hong Kong is one of the manufacturing centres of the world, are parts actually easier to come by than I think they are?!
If it's done 200,000km in its life so far, the car hasn't spent too much time broken down has it? 
My V8 D1 only ever let me down mechanically twice, a fuel pump and a distributor, both easy fixes. I had a D2 but a TD5 and that came with more electrical gremlins but nothing that couldn't be sorted. The reservoir is for the suspension, if it's sloshing about in there then the pump is working. Most cars of that age would have had the airbags whipped out and replaced with normal suspension but when its working, the air kit is great.
No idea about car prices in HK but a decent rust free D2 for the equivalent of £3k can't be a bad shout especially If as you suggest, the £1k tax for the year has already been paid.
Loads of D2 online resources about with a huge following and all bits are available if needed.
My V8 D1 only ever let me down mechanically twice, a fuel pump and a distributor, both easy fixes. I had a D2 but a TD5 and that came with more electrical gremlins but nothing that couldn't be sorted. The reservoir is for the suspension, if it's sloshing about in there then the pump is working. Most cars of that age would have had the airbags whipped out and replaced with normal suspension but when its working, the air kit is great.
No idea about car prices in HK but a decent rust free D2 for the equivalent of £3k can't be a bad shout especially If as you suggest, the £1k tax for the year has already been paid.
Loads of D2 online resources about with a huge following and all bits are available if needed.
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I don't know what it is, but the liquid in the reservoir on the left leaped about when the engine was running but the car was still. Is it suspension fluid?
I'm interested to hear what the feedback is and then will make a decision.
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Yes the reservoir on the left is for the suspension pump fluid. It’s very common to have the air suspension removed and replaced with coils. I bought a disco 2 with ~140k miles on the clock with the air suspension removed. When they had removed it, they left the existing reservoir in place. Eventually that reservoir developed a leak and ran dry, and the belt that runs that pump also runs the water pump - so when it seized the belt snapped and I was left on the roadside for ten hours... with my mother in law!
They are great fun to own when they are working, and yours looks in better condition than the one I bought... but nevertheless you are pretty much guaranteeing yourself some ligh-to-medium duty spanner work in the coming months if you buy.
Tubes63 said:
Yes the reservoir on the left is for the suspension pump fluid. It’s very common to have the air suspension removed and replaced with coils. I bought a disco 2 with ~140k miles on the clock with the air suspension removed. When they had removed it, they left the existing reservoir in place. Eventually that reservoir developed a leak and ran dry, and the belt that runs that pump also runs the water pump - so when it seized the belt snapped and I was left on the roadside for ten hours... with my mother in law!
They are great fun to own when they are working, and yours looks in better condition than the one I bought... but nevertheless you are pretty much guaranteeing yourself some ligh-to-medium duty spanner work in the coming months if you buy.
Not quite.They are great fun to own when they are working, and yours looks in better condition than the one I bought... but nevertheless you are pretty much guaranteeing yourself some ligh-to-medium duty spanner work in the coming months if you buy.
The rear suspension is on air.
That fluid is for the "active anti roll bars".
They stiffen up if you are driving in a "spirited" manner, and disconnect completely if you are off road.
Quite often they are removed as they are a pain in the arse, as are the rear airbags, that said, my D2 had both and I didn't have an issue with either.
My Disco 2 (TD5 Manual) was pretty much impeccably reliable. Early on it used to flatten its battery from time to time, but I tracked that down to the air suspension pump running randomly (it was on springs) - once I removed it, no further problems. It also had a steering lock fail, and I sold it I reckon a year or so before it started rotting which doesn’t seem to be a problem with this one. Took us to and from Bordeaux, up to the Lakes and hauled unending loads to the tip. Great car.
I definitely buy cars with my heart. I only drive at the weekends and probably only do about 3,000 miles a year.
Tools are easy enough to find but nearly all parts have to be delivered from overseas, even though a lot of them will be made just across the border in China, or Taiwan. There's no import duty and most things get here inside a week. I've had a front driveshaft delivered from Australia, strut assemblies from America, an ECU from the UAE.
I'll find out what's happening with my Hilux in a few days. If that's done I'll look closer at the Land Rover.
Tools are easy enough to find but nearly all parts have to be delivered from overseas, even though a lot of them will be made just across the border in China, or Taiwan. There's no import duty and most things get here inside a week. I've had a front driveshaft delivered from Australia, strut assemblies from America, an ECU from the UAE.
I'll find out what's happening with my Hilux in a few days. If that's done I'll look closer at the Land Rover.
i had a newish v8 for a few months. It was comical over rough roads very jumpy. 190 bhp of V8 gave lots of great noise but little go. Did 600 mile trip in a day, pretty relaxing, averaged 18mpg on motorways.
it is a interesting car and and suited to off roading or smooth roads. Mine had cream leather.
Yours looks pretty good, green is a nice colour.
it is a interesting car and and suited to off roading or smooth roads. Mine had cream leather.
Yours looks pretty good, green is a nice colour.
HK$35k, a little steep maybe? Not sure of that end of the Market (I live here in HK too) but I managed to find a 4 Owner Audi TT MK1 with 62k for HK$18k - manual which helps to keep the price down though. The Road Tax for a 4.0l is annoying though here! I totally understand about the lack of stamps, the history with the TT is a little better but I managed to find an ad from a previous owner online and Whatsapp them to get more details!!
I'm sure you know that one of the main issues here is the heat damaging the interior and engine bay plastics, on both my 'old cars' - a 1997 E36 and the TT I have had issues with the plastics being brittle and cracking, I assume you may have the same issues? The underside looks the same as my cars, clean as a whistle - I have found the garage I use is very happy to fit items I bring him from the UK - so its Ebay/Amazon/online UK and collect from the UK whenever I go back!
Good luck with it, not too many Disco's about, I'll keep an eye out!!
I'm sure you know that one of the main issues here is the heat damaging the interior and engine bay plastics, on both my 'old cars' - a 1997 E36 and the TT I have had issues with the plastics being brittle and cracking, I assume you may have the same issues? The underside looks the same as my cars, clean as a whistle - I have found the garage I use is very happy to fit items I bring him from the UK - so its Ebay/Amazon/online UK and collect from the UK whenever I go back!
Good luck with it, not too many Disco's about, I'll keep an eye out!!
My Boss has a much loved Disco 2.
I doubt any disco will have had a easier life than his. Great looking thing.
It is an absolute nightmare now its old always something wrong though.
That res for the self leveling suspension stuff recently went wrong in his ( useless really car never goes off road) was not a cheap fix nor was the delete kit for it so stuffed either way.
Some parts are eye watering now they are getting long in the tooth.
Wouldn't consider one unless you are a wizard with spanners.
I doubt any disco will have had a easier life than his. Great looking thing.
It is an absolute nightmare now its old always something wrong though.
That res for the self leveling suspension stuff recently went wrong in his ( useless really car never goes off road) was not a cheap fix nor was the delete kit for it so stuffed either way.
Some parts are eye watering now they are getting long in the tooth.
Wouldn't consider one unless you are a wizard with spanners.
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