96 Disco 300 Tdi purchase
Discussion
Done the search and nothing forthcoming so apologies in advance all,
going to look at a couple of circa 96 Disco's tomorrow as a spare car
for all the family to drive and at the moment rely on to get about.
Looking for advice please on anything common to look out for.
ETA Have done a search just for 300TDi and got some info there, would still like anything "notorious" though
going to look at a couple of circa 96 Disco's tomorrow as a spare car
for all the family to drive and at the moment rely on to get about.
Looking for advice please on anything common to look out for.
ETA Have done a search just for 300TDi and got some info there, would still like anything "notorious" though
Edited by mdotrutherford on Wednesday 13th January 18:31
Hi,
Some things to look for:-
Check rear boot floor for metal - rust will probably have eaten most of it away due to water leaking in from the sunroofs/alpine windows/gutter seals. Replacement panels are available, but to do the job properly the old one needs to be cut out and a new one welded in. Labour could be pricey.
Check for rust on rear wheel arches around seatbelt mountings - a potential MOT failure. Check for rust around body mounts, particularly around the rear bumper/cross member and ahead/behind wheel arches where mud and crud can build up. Check for rust on the sills behind the plastic facings.
The Disco has an aluminium unstressed outer shell with a steel inner (structure load bearing) shell. It's this steel shell that rots, as above. However where the two metals come together you can get electrolytic corosion as the two metals react together. This will be seen as bubbling and white blistering, particulalrly around the bottom of the doors (or the bottom of the rear panel ahead of the wheel arch on 3dr models). This can eventually rot through.
Mechanically they are pretty tough, but check for head gasket failures and discloration in the coolant tank. Make sure that the timing belt has been replaced recently (should be every 60k). Check that the gearbox on manuals engages sweetly with no vibration when running.
Then there are the build quality issues, but that'll take up a whole screen! Try to buy a low spec model (less to go wrong) for reliability, and try to avoid models with roof bars and sunroofs as they are notorious for water leaks.
But at the end of the day my '95 300 TDi Auto 3dr is a little star, and has been a godsend over the last 3 weeks in this ice and snow. It has never let me down in 10 months of ownership, and with a few mods can hold it's own in the traffic around town. Can't imagine life without it now, however did I survive?
Hope this helps
Some things to look for:-
Check rear boot floor for metal - rust will probably have eaten most of it away due to water leaking in from the sunroofs/alpine windows/gutter seals. Replacement panels are available, but to do the job properly the old one needs to be cut out and a new one welded in. Labour could be pricey.
Check for rust on rear wheel arches around seatbelt mountings - a potential MOT failure. Check for rust around body mounts, particularly around the rear bumper/cross member and ahead/behind wheel arches where mud and crud can build up. Check for rust on the sills behind the plastic facings.
The Disco has an aluminium unstressed outer shell with a steel inner (structure load bearing) shell. It's this steel shell that rots, as above. However where the two metals come together you can get electrolytic corosion as the two metals react together. This will be seen as bubbling and white blistering, particulalrly around the bottom of the doors (or the bottom of the rear panel ahead of the wheel arch on 3dr models). This can eventually rot through.
Mechanically they are pretty tough, but check for head gasket failures and discloration in the coolant tank. Make sure that the timing belt has been replaced recently (should be every 60k). Check that the gearbox on manuals engages sweetly with no vibration when running.
Then there are the build quality issues, but that'll take up a whole screen! Try to buy a low spec model (less to go wrong) for reliability, and try to avoid models with roof bars and sunroofs as they are notorious for water leaks.
But at the end of the day my '95 300 TDi Auto 3dr is a little star, and has been a godsend over the last 3 weeks in this ice and snow. It has never let me down in 10 months of ownership, and with a few mods can hold it's own in the traffic around town. Can't imagine life without it now, however did I survive?
Hope this helps
Andy Sargeant said:
Rust is the big problem, if you can get it up on a lift do so, we have 16 or 17 in our yard for spares sadly due mostly to rust, A good jap import if you can find one would be your best bet.
Andy.
Small world Andy, I bought that P38 from you that had been sat in your yard for ages!!Andy.
The one that was owned by the "rather wealthy" chap!!
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