reliability?

[adscan]

i need a bigger car since i have a baby on the way. i was thinking of getting a 94-95 discovery 2.5 td and wondered how reliable they are on a day to day basis.
i know every car will be different and it will depend on how well it has been maintained but i have not heard great things as a whole. any imput would be appreciated.

[nickosam]

hi there i have just bought a h redge disco and it is a 200tdi i didnt pay a great deal for it and it starts on the button every morning and runs as sweet as a nut it has 122000 on the clock and has no service history i must say the oil was quite clean when i bought it so might have been kept well but i dont know i have only had it 3 months and have no complaints the only thing i have had to replace is the timing belt as i didnt know when it had been changed so was not taking any chances and a propshaft u joint as it banged slightly when changing gear i did this as soon as i bought it and have had no problems since:rolleyes: . the only thing i have heard from ather people is the bodywork problems they have inner wings, sills, back of the rear door arches ect, if oil in gearbox is not changed regularly it doesnt take long before you will get problems so check the gearbox is ok :D

i hope this helps Nick

[bilge rat]

i'd say there generaly ok , you'll be able to pick up a good un id think prices seem to have dropped recently .maybee something to do with all the bad press ?. as said check box, there all a little notchy, look under neath front of engine theres a little wading plug hole behind the crank pulley area. check to see theres any rubber debris round it . the 300 use to suffer cam belt alignment probs ,think most have prob been sorted by now .but can be expensive iff not been done. look under rear of it and look up at floor, boot floors were always a rust area .can be replaced though. inner wings under the bonnet ,check there too. service history would be good but none of mine have had it. any probs theres always people on here that will help. good luck alan......

[mungo]

i need a bigger car since i have a baby on the way. i was thinking of getting a 94-95 discovery 2.5 td and wondered how reliable they are on a day to day basis.
i know every car will be different and it will depend on how well it has been maintained but i have not heard great things as a whole. any imput would be appreciated.


I ran a 95 300tdi for 6 years, only problem it ever had was a sticking thermostat....Brilliant car, towed well, never let us down....Oh nearly forgot the little springs in the door locks had to be replaced too
I now run a 99 300V8, hopefully it will be as reliable.
I have no experience of the "5" series but would recommend the 300.
Cya
Mungo:)

[kevinrbeech]

I bought mine at 141k, it has now done 196k. I have done a lot of work on it over the four years of ownership but then it has been to the Sahara twice. It has never let me down completely, the engines go on forever.

Avoid anything with serious rust underneath, if you can see some there will be more that you can't.

You'll find bargains for around £2000 but you have to know your stuff to find these. You'd be better to spend £3-4000 on a 95-96 model with a complete service history and low miles.

Drive several, you'll soon feel the difference, don't accept the usual "oh they all do that" because a good one won't.
Get under the car with a torch, if the chassis is more brown than black then walk away. There are good one's out there, you'll know it when you see it, then you'll understand what we're saying.
Kevin

[adscan]

thanks for all the advice guys. i know these engines go on for ever but what would be considered as a low mileage disco? all the ones i have looked at have had atleast 100K on the clock.
other than the engine, what are the differences between a 200tdi and a 300tdi? which is the better?

[kevinrbeech]

thanks for all the advice guys. i know these engines go on for ever but what would be considered as a low mileage disco? all the ones i have looked at have had atleast 100K on the clock.
other than the engine, what are the differences between a 200tdi and a 300tdi? which is the better?

Even 100k is low mileage for a diesel but get as close to that as you can for the money. What you don't want is a car that looks good on the outside (they all do) but is a rot box or has not been maintained properly.

Look on Autotrader regularly and you'll see what is around.

Engines: 200 or 300; lots of subtle differences but nothing much to worry about. The importance is that after '94 you'll only get the 300, the 200 was the early one. Obviously you still have the option of the V8 but with a baby you'll not have the money to run the car. LOL.
Kevin

[mungo]

Even 100k is low mileage for a diesel but get as close to that as you can for the money. What you don't want is a car that looks good on the outside (they all do) but is a rot box or has not been maintained properly.

Look on Autotrader regularly and you'll see what is around.

Engines: 200 or 300; lots of subtle differences but nothing much to worry about. The importance is that after '94 you'll only get the 300, the 200 was the early one. Obviously you still have the option of the V8 but with a baby you'll not have the money to run the car. LOL.
Kevin


Or go for the V8 option and gas it..I get the equivelent of 40+mpg thats 19mpg on gas @ +-40ppl:D :D ....Love it
Vya
Mungo:)

[kevinrbeech]

There you are, just found this on Autotrader.


1994 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 300 Tdi 5dr Diesel Station Wagon,
73,000 miles, Green.manual two owners full service history mot feb 2007 tax aug 2006 walnut veneer dash side steps front fogs twin sunroofs full tow pack elec windows central locking very clean vehicle throughout. £3,450
Telephone: 01202 481986 or 07771 874325
Kevin

[Disco69]

Looking round at the prices at the moment you'll get a nice tidy relatively low mileage (80-100k) P or R reg 300tdi disco for 3 - 3500 which in my opinion is a bargain and should easily last another 100k and more.

I had one that had 280k on the clock when I sold it and it was still going strong.
Most major repair I had to do was the head gasket but it was my fault it blew as I went a bit too far when I tweaked the turbo pressure and the fuelling :D .
I think it was probably the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned long term- never let me down.

Beware of the models which were made close to the changeover time between 200 to 300 tdi and also the later 300tdi models just before the td5's were brought out.
I say this because I know several people who owned such vehicles and when they needed parts for them (I forget which bits exactly) they found it difficult to identify them because certain new parts were phased in on the previous models thus making it difficult to identify the exact part required. (very frustrating, with lots of trips to the parts suppliers!)

I've also seen late series 1 disco's that were fitted with td5 engines etc.

Hope this helps and good luck