Which Disco?

[smacsor]

Hello,

I've just popped over from the defender forum with a slightly odd Disco question.

I'm a Director for a national charity supporting people with learning disabilities.

At one of our services, we have a coffee trailer unit which is run as a social enterprise and has been towed by a ford Galaxy. Unsurprisingly the clutch keeps burning out as the galaxy only has a towing capacity of 2 tons and the trailer unit is 2.3 tons.

I've have been asked to procure either a Freelander, Discovery, Defender or Range Rover to replace the Galaxy (I have responsibility for the companies vehicle fleet). We usually buy new or nearly new but this is a one-off and we need something cheap (£3-4K).

I have suggested a Discovery 300 tdi on the basis that's its the best balance between price, power and economy and RR is too big, Defender too expensive and Freelander too....pants.

Do you agree with my vehicle choice and will I get something half-tidy in this price range??

Thanks,

simon

[Mark]

Simon,

Check the freelanders towing capacity... i think that will probably rule it out to start with...

In your position I would see if you can aquire a japanese import discovery. They tend to be a lot less rusty, lower mileage and automatic, which would be ideal for dragging a heavy trailer around. They do however tend to be dearer to purchase straight off though.

alternately, early td5 disco 2's may be in your price range too.

just my 2p

Mark

[keithjh]

Hello,

I've just popped over from the defender forum with a slightly odd Disco question.

I'm a Director for a national charity supporting people with learning disabilities.

At one of our services, we have a coffee trailer unit which is run as a social enterprise and has been towed by a ford Galaxy. Unsurprisingly the clutch keeps burning out as the galaxy only has a towing capacity of 2 tons and the trailer unit is 2.3 tons.

I've have been asked to procure either a Freelander, Discovery, Defender or Range Rover to replace the Galaxy (I have responsibility for the companies vehicle fleet). We usually buy new or nearly new but this is a one-off and we need something cheap (£3-4K).

I have suggested a Discovery 300 tdi on the basis that's its the best balance between price, power and economy and RR is too big, Defender too expensive and Freelander too....pants.

Do you agree with my vehicle choice and will I get something half-tidy in this price range??

300TDI Disco Auto, i use one of these to tow 3.5 ton trailers fully loaded across europe to Bosnia twice a year, excellent towing vehicles, and well within your budget.

Reagrds

Keith

Thanks,

simon

[freeagent]

I'd go for an early 300Tdi ('M' or 'N' reg) as they don't have EDC (Electronic Diesel Control, can be prone to going wrong)

A 3-door might be cheaper than a 5-door...

in the current market 4k will get you a realy nice Disco if you look around....

[sotal]

You'll get a TD5 in that budget which will last much longer, just make sure the usual areas aren't rotting away.

A friend just bought a very very tidy 1999 TD5 for £3800, it was only a mid spec model so no electric sunroofs, no aircon etc but the condition it's in is absolutely mint. That was from a small garage with a few months warranty

[BogMonster]

I think I would rather have a very late mint condition 300Tdi than a very early Td5.

[Les Henson]

I would suggest the 300TDi Disco as well. Some friends of mine recently bought a slightly older model for £2250, and it's in excellent condition. Before buying one, I'd suggest you get it inspected by someone that's familiar with Land Rovers.

Service history would a bonus.

There are various tricks to concealing horrors on these vehicles, such as gluing the carpets down, shoving wire wool up the exhaust pipe, and blatant lying. Corrosion in quite a few places is a grey area as far as the MOT is concerned, so a years ticket isn't worth as much as you might expect.

Les.

[JimAttrill]

And I wouldn't try to tow something that heavy with an auto. The Disco auto boxes regularly fail if used to tow horseboxes and other heavy stuff. If you must tow, change to a fully synthetic ATF as it has much better heat resistance.

[smacsor]

Many thanks for all your advice. It looks like the Disco 300 dti is the way to go!

Life is sweet sometimes - being paid to go and buy a Land Rover!!

Simon

[sotal]

Having now seen a few Td5's they just don't seem to rot as much as the 300's I know they're a few years younger but to me they still don't seem to rot as much, then you've got extra power - which has got to be handy for towing. You've also got extra refinement (ie it doesn't sound like a tractor)

People say they're so much harder to fix but are they? Get yourself a nanocom for a couple of hundred quid and it's probably easier to diagnose

[Dunc]

On tuesday there were 2 import 300 Tdi's that went through the auctions, both very low miles and mint bodywork.

Neither of them broke £1,200.

[JimAttrill]

Personally I wouldn't touch a TD5 as I spend all my time trying to fix them at great expense to the owners. The Tdi will cost a lot less in the short run as they are much better on fuel and certainly in the long run. Just investigate the cost of rebuilding both engines and you are into a no brainer.

And the Tdi doesn't have a flywheel that falls to bits either. If you want a complete list of what falls apart on a TD5, just ask the average owner.

[Guest DiscoTD4]

I have an import 1997 TDi300 auto on 44k and can vouch for the lack of rust. The only negative is the paints suffered from excessive heat/UV in that the metallic paint has bloomed under the lacquer in places, particularly on the roof.

Still has the original cad plating on most of the nuts/bolts under the bonnet and no rust what so ever, it's amazingly clean and tidy condition underneath.

When I bought it earlier in the year I didn't realise the imports had such a good rep, I just happened to come across it, but now I can see why the reputation is deserved.

Good hunting