Newbie looking for advice

[willsby]

Good evening all,

Having grown bored of driving big saloon cars i've decided to try 4x4's, I have my heart set on a disco but have little knowledge of them, so i thought i'd ask a few questions before i throw money at one,

We've been looking at spending about £5000-£5500 on one, so my questions are:-

1. For around this money were lookng at 1999-2001 models, were these good years for discos

2. Is a 100000+ ok on a disco?

3. Obvious signs on a car before buying, i know what to look for but what should i look for on a disco?

4. Thanks for the advice and hello everbody.:)

[thebiglad]

Good evening all,

Having grown bored of driving big saloon cars i've decided to try 4x4's, I have my heart set on a disco but have little knowledge of them, so i thought i'd ask a few questions before i throw money at one,

We've been looking at spending about £5000-£5500 on one, so my questions are:-

1. For around this money were lookng at 1999-2001 models, were these good years for discos

2. Is a 100000+ ok on a disco?

3. Obvious signs on a car before buying, i know what to look for but what should i look for on a disco?

4. Thanks for the advice and hello everbody.:)

The first and most important piece of advice I would offer is to make sure that you test drive several different models before deciding that a Disco will be the one for you.

They DO NOT drive like a car, so make sure that you are fully happy with the feel of them before you commit.

Try both petrol & diesel, manual and auto, to ensure you get a good cross-section of experience.

Good luck and welcome

Dave

[Fettler]

The first and most important piece of advice I would offer is to make sure that you test drive several different models before deciding that a Disco will be the one for you.

They DO NOT drive like a car, so make sure that you are fully happy with the feel of them before you commit.

Try both petrol & diesel, manual and auto, to ensure you get a good cross-section of experience.

Good luck and welcome

Dave

see you on a greenlane soooon..................you know you wanna

[willsby]

I've driven a couple of 4x4s before, from a practical point and aesthetically i do really like the disco, the jap stuff i'm not really that keen on.As for handling, i drive an artic all week so its not really an issue, Diesel is the only option for me to be honest i'm taking a step down from a twin turbo audi so a 4ltr V8 wouldn't wash with the wife....
Manual all the way aswell. As for greeenlane oh yes i can't wait.......

[ROWSI]

Surely for that kind of money you could get a lower mileage car. We are in a recession don't you know...

[andymach23]

Hi there

I've got a year 2000 TD5. I've had it 6 months. I got it as I needed a 4x4 to tow my new boat. I bought mine with little service history and 118K miles on the clock. It was 3950 quid.

So far I've done the following..

Fitted fuel pressure regulator to fix diesel leak, common issue, very fiddly to fit so got independant to do it - 1 hrs labour + part = 130 quid

New rear door latch 2nd hand, common problem, easy DIY =30 quid

New bias plate to fix gear selection problem, common problem, easy enough DIY fix =5 quid

Replaced plunger and contacts on starter motor solenoid. Common problem. Easy but fiddly DIY fix = 12 quid.

Cleaned out MAF sensor on manifold, and found car was way down on power, simple DIY fix. No cost.

Sticking turbo wategate, simple DIY fix, no cost upped power a bit.

I've just had my new injector harness and rocker gasket delivered to fix the oil getting to the ECU - Common problem, easy DIY fix = 35 quid.

Steering box is leaking. May need a reconditioned one or seals, common issue = 150 quid for a recon box.

Found out recently that AC drains were blocked. Very easy to clear but the carpets in the car are now soaking and starting to smell so I'm in the middle of removing them to get them dried properly. No big deal!
The sun roof leaks. It's an ultra common problem. I put some insulating tape around where the frame meets the roof and that seems to have fixed it.

I've also serviced all the main items myself which was a piece of cake.

That's quite a list but there is a fair chance if you get an early car alot of these things may have been done already if you shop around. These issues crop up all the time.

I've been lucky so far that my issues have been cheap and easy to fix. 2nd hand parts are plentiful so even more expensive items can be picked up on ebay. There is also huge amounts of info on the web.

I'm not trying to put you off, but just letting you konw that if you get a TD5 (or 300tdi) it's likely that there will be a few things that will need doing to it.

If you have anything heavy to tow it's amazingly effective. It's also ok on diesel for such a heavy car. The kids love it and it's the only cheap 4x4 I've seen that has 3 proper seat belts in the back. It's a cracking car for passenger and load space. It feels really solid and is nice to drive.
Despite the issues I like mine so far and enjoy working on it (usually!).

Hope this helps and good luck with your decision.

Cheers

Andy

[willsby]

Thank you all for the info, I have found a couple of lower mileage ones and am going to be looking at them today some time, a late 2000 x with 62000 on the clock going for £5000, and an early 2001 model same price again, i undertand what your saying about buying it and then needing to get things done on it, but this could happen on any car we buy? . i myself have very little knowledge of mechanical workings on cars but my dad is a dab hand at it, and like you say parts can be sourced from the the unlikeliest of places at a reasonable price. One thing that has surprised me though was the fact when my wife rang to get a quote for the insurance it was actually only £20 cheaper than our a6 and that is a group 18????

[andymach23]

Thank you all for the info, I have found a couple of lower mileage ones and am going to be looking at them today some time, a late 2000 x with 62000 on the clock going for £5000, and an early 2001 model same price again, i undertand what your saying about buying it and then needing to get things done on it, but this could happen on any car we buy? . i myself have very little knowledge of mechanical workings on cars but my dad is a dab hand at it, and like you say parts can be sourced from the the unlikeliest of places at a reasonable price. One thing that has surprised me though was the fact when my wife rang to get a quote for the insurance it was actually only £20 cheaper than our a6 and that is a group 18????

I think 31 March 2001 is the cut off for the road tax hike. Cars registered after this date will be 480 quid per yer road tax after 2009, or whatever. That's if you pay 12 months in 1 go. If you pay for 6 months you will end up paying 500 per year.

Cars before the cut off are unaffected by the hike and will continue to be 180 odd per year.

The low milage sounds brilliant. If you buy a decent one with history you can always flog it again if you don't like it.

If you have someone to do the work then great. A Nanocom diagnostic tool for 200 quid would be a big help for troubleshooting and resetting faults etc. This could be sold on ebay down the line.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Andy

[willsby]

Well i've made the leap and we picked the disco up today, a late 2000 model td5 gs 7 seater, 62000 miles service history, looks in very good condition, checked the regualr things, tailgate hinges, dints and dents underneath, leaks on windows/sunroofs, all lights and switches work, no fault lights yet ( fingers crossed) stearing , gears , suspension, and pretty much went over it with a fine tooth comb, one thing that has annoyed me is the original Alpine Stereo cd changer has been replaced with a crap Carion tape player, although all the leads are still under the drivers seat , so i presume if i can find a replacement on i should be okay to fit it back in?


All in a good day, and the kids love it and have named it "Monster Car"..... Looking forward to having a crack at taking it off road and not just using to potter around in on that tarmac stuff:D

[andymach23]

Well i've made the leap and we picked the disco up today, a late 2000 model td5 gs 7 seater, 62000 miles service history, looks in very good condition, checked the regualr things, tailgate hinges, dints and dents underneath, leaks on windows/sunroofs, all lights and switches work, no fault lights yet ( fingers crossed) stearing , gears , suspension, and pretty much went over it with a fine tooth comb, one thing that has annoyed me is the original Alpine Stereo cd changer has been replaced with a crap Carion tape player, although all the leads are still under the drivers seat , so i presume if i can find a replacement on i should be okay to fit it back in?


All in a good day, and the kids love it and have named it "Monster Car"..... Looking forward to having a crack at taking it off road and not just using to potter around in on that tarmac stuff:D

Well done! If it's a GS you'll have the power fold door mirrors. My favourite feature!

Cheers

Andy

[willsby]

I'm well chuffed with it, when i've sold the Audi i'll be make a list of things i need to buy for the disco, light bars big fog lights, whinches, roof bars, cb , snorkel, :D:Detc.etc . then its onwards and upwards,and hopefully right way up on all 4 wheels ;)