Dezzie Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hi everyone. I'm fairly new to Land Rovers to be honest, as I bought my first one, a Freelander 1 Diesel in July 2010. I do like my Freelander, but it has been troublesome, and expensive to put right. I have contemplated getting rid of it, and mentioned it to a mate of mine. Now, this mate of mine has a brother who has a Discovery 1997, 300 TDi, Auto box, 2 door. He's got it up for sale, for around £2000. I have actually seen it, and it is tidy. It has been serviced properly, and looked after well. Not sure on mileage. What am I really going to get to the gallon ? My trip to work and back is a 30 mile round trip. Will I actually get 27 urban / 32 extra urban and 41 mpg on a good run ? I do have my doubts. Also, are they easy to live with ? Will it be a big bag of problems ? Are they simple / cheap to put right? Can you take them anywhere for service / repairs, or will I need a LR specialist. Sorry for all the questions, but thanks for any answers in advance. Cheers ............... Matt (Dezzie) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Will it be a big bag of problems ? Are they simple / cheap to put right? Can you take them anywhere for service / repairs, or will I need a LR specialist. Yes, No, and no need for specialist, but it can help sometimes. Honestly their biggest problem will be defeating the tin worm, it may look smart and together, but look in the right places (anywhere the steel is made from iron) and you'll be surprised how rotten it is I reckon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 What am I really going to get to the gallon ? When I had my '94 Auto I got 23ish round town and 30ish on the motorway. I had the aircon on all the time and never hung about. Cheers Clint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 To add a little to Bowie69's reply - try to get someone who knows Discos to have a look at it - there are some mid 90s Discos out there that are rust free, but they are rare (I have seen one in the last 10 years), and rust repairs are expensive/difficult/time consuming. If it is anything less than a "good one", then someone who knows what they are doing should be able to walk up to it and poke holes in it (or point out where it has been repaired) within 2 minutes, so it's not a big ask. Mechanically, if it has been regularly serviced then there is little to go wrong, the 300tdi engines have a reputation for longevity, and autos are easier on the rest of the transmission than a manual (Check the colour/smell of the auto transmission fluid though). Generally, all the problems you might expect from a 13 year old car can be expected from a Disco of that era, but with extra rust. Hope this helps Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimaquinas Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 hi i had a 300 tdi auto and it was a alcoholic it had to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I've had a couple of Discoveries and can repeat / add as follows: The auto will not be a fuel effecient as a manual. I don't know where you got those figures, but the best I had from my manual 2 door 200TDi was about 28-30mpg mixed motorway/town driving and about 35mpg on a long and gentle run. High 20s was typical average. The engines go on and on and are easy to fix. All gearboxes can give trouble with high (150K +) mileage. The biggest killer will be rust, as mentioned above take an expert and check inner wings, inner and outer sills including body mounts, boot floor, rear door openings and arches, rear cross member and just about everything else steel in the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dezzie Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hiya Guys, thanks for the replies, and thanks for being honest. I'm going with a mate of mine who is a Land Rover nut. He's had loads of Landies in all the different types. So he'll know a good 'un from a bad 'un. As long as I can get "around 30ish" mpg I'll be a happy bunny, as my journey to work and back is a 30 mile round trip, so I can roughly budget on a gallon of diesel a day. It's all fast country lanes averaging 50mph, with not much traffic. I'm fairly light footed to be honest, and have never thrashed any cars I've owned. It'll be a second car anyway, as we have a family car too, which is the main vehicle. Those figures I quoted were from the Auto Trader website. Not sure where they got them from. I'd really like the vehicle, but don't know if I'll be able to afford to run it. My Freelander diesel gives me around 38 - 40 mpg ! But it costs me a small fortune on maintenance, and is hardly ever actually working. Thanks for the help folks, I'll keep ya posted. Cheers ................... Matt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Turner Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Hi, Not to put you off a disco, but my auto averages 22mpg. Best ever was 28 on motorway and 25 on a holiday to Wales. I love my Disco but its a fuel magnet. It also has the performance of a dead snail, but it goes anywhere and is lovely drive, especially on the motorway. After speaking to friends with manual boxes, they get much better consumption and performance. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyd8899 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 if you can get a manuel, i had both and can honestly say there is a noticable difference in fuel consumption. the engines are strong, check for accessive smoke on start up/ heavy accelaration. check inner wings/body mounts in fact anything made of steel as this was the main problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotorat Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 my disco does between 400 and 500 on a tank full and its an auto 200tdi on 195K miles But if your free lander is costing you a fortune in garage bills, forget a disco, you will need to learn how to weld and perform weekly/monthly repairs, like wheel bearings, oil leaks, ect, or you could spend £1000's on garage bills keeping it ship shape. I even had to remove my dashboard to replace the heather unit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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