hello - Looking at getting a disco - spec me up!

[Cartoon]

Hay guys,

Im getting a little older and considering selling the race car and getting a Disco3. Just having a baby I would like to be able to explore the out doors as she get older and a few buddies are into the 4WDing thing also.

I have been reading a looking but still dont know whats the best one for me, Im looking at a budget of 30k after I sell the race car and will not waste the time of sellers looking till i have the cash. I am how ever wanting to learn what I can about the model that best suits what I want.

Working on cars is not to much of an issue, while i have never built a motor have stripped my honda to a rolling shell and dropped a larger motor with a full upgrade of just about every nut and bolt. Yes being a honda fan im use to reliable cars, even the race car is yet to leave me on the side of the track,

Now about the Disco!

Will i be towing stuff - nothing heavy, possibly a Kart trailer as i still need my racing fix.
Will I take it off road - Dam hope so! dont want a 4wd to look like a soccer mum. I actually hope to go camping a lot more as the baby grows up and the boys are planing a cape trip in 12 months time.
Auto v manual - Not fussed at all to be honest
petrol v diesel - im only leaning towards the diesel for touring/off roading. Plus a close friend has a RR and its shocking on fuel (may not compare to a disco)

Now my wife has a euro accord that I love the luxury of, my race car is street registered and not comfortable at all but fun. I would not mind the comfort luxuries of an up spec'ed Disco but not absolute deal beaker.

The things i dont know,
Locked diff's - how important are they for a standard elec item or is an ARB air kit just as good.
Air bags - Are they honestly that good off road?
Home mech works - Not ever owning a diesel so i not even be attempting any work on this thing? I do have close friends who are diesel mech's but i keep hearing visiting a LR mech is a must.
reliability - first up im sick of every one who knows nothing about LR telling me there crap, un reliable etc. frankly I dont dig it and seeing 3 toyotas do alternators on a tassi trip makes me think a disco cant be any worse. am i wrong here?

So is my 30k budget realistic for a good, looked after Disco3 with service history? car sales says so but i have not inspected. What do I get, S, SE, HSE, V8, turbo diesel 6?

Oh yes and talking about car sales, i see a few turbo diesel's with "motor replaced 6 months ago", should i be running scared from this?? if it was a honda I would not care and I can fix it easily! with a Disco, i have lots to learn.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance. hoping some one here has simiar needs/wants as I do and can give very good feed back and hope to do some touring with a disco in the future and meet like minded people :)

[Bluepippa]

Its all down to budget.

D4 over D3 if you can afford it
Diesel over petrol... More fuel efficient
Auto over manual... No choice here auto only
Air lockers.. Not needed
Air suspension.. Great invest in Llams as an add on
DIY mechanic.. Not really unless very dedicated
Reliable.. Same as any other car but can be expensive to fix
Gearbox flush every 100k kms
Timing belts every 160k kms
TDV6 is a great engine

You fill not regret it if you buy a Disco !!!
A free permagrin comes with every one.

Daryl

[Cartoon]

Thanks Daryl,

Yes I would love a 4 but simply can't afford it! I have been reading many things about the steel trans pan mod and decided it's an worth while investment.

One concern is amont of people who state how hard it is to work on especially for belts and such. I'm not a small guy and nor are my hands. Is the oil changes and such honestly that tricky? On the current car I do more oil changes and fluid changes than km due to track abuse so the task is no drama. The working room may be from my research.

[Bluepippa]

Oil change is easy enough, but thats about it..
I have rebuilt loads of engines over the years, but with the D4 i have a local mechanic i call on.. Perhaps im just getting old...
I did do my own pads last weekend with no dramas.. :-)

[Epic pooh]

Look at a HSE spec D3 V8 - very easy to work on, bulletproof motor and luxurious in a practical way. They are complex beasts but once you get your head around them they're pretty easy. The V8 has none of the additional complexity of the turbo smokers and has a lot more engine compartment room and no body off repairs. HTH and good luck.

[joel0407]

Working on cars is not to much of an issue

I can't tell you much about the D3 as I have only had a D2.

One thing I can tell you is forget everything you know, you know nothing about working on cars.

I thought I knew a fair amount. I've rebuilt a couple of motors. I thought I done most things to one car or another and what I hadn't done, well I thought I could work it out.

Land Rover just seem to do thing differently. I think the TD5 in the D2 was a bit ahead of it's time. For instance near every other diesel of it's time used diesel engine oil which was 20w-50 weight. Well if you use that in a TD5 you'd probably blown the turbo becasue it's too thick. Near every other motor I have worked on, I'd use Nulon Green coolant, not the TD5, if you don't use red, it'll eat the alloy. If someone has used green and then you go back to red, it'll leak.

So many knacks to a LR.

Good Luck

Happy Days.

[Epic pooh]

I don't know anything much about smokey engines, they're not my thing. But I do know that the petrol D3 V8 uses an adapted version of the well known Jaguar AJ-V8. There is nothing particularly "special" about the motor - just read the manual (entire service manual is easily obtained online) and follow the specs.

I've had all kinds of cars and to me the main point of difference with the D3 is the complexity of the electrical / software systems. These have been very robust in mine and my issues over the years have been solely mechanical (and mostly fair wear and tear / age / overweight related).

[joel0407]

I can't tell you much about the D3 as I have only had a D2.

One thing I can tell you is forget everything you know, you know nothing about working on cars.

I thought I knew a fair amount. I've rebuilt a couple of motors. I thought I done most things to one car or another and what I hadn't done, well I thought I could work it out.

Land Rover just seem to do thing differently. I think the TD5 in the D2 was a bit ahead of it's time. For instance near every other diesel of it's time used diesel engine oil which was 20w-50 weight. Well if you use that in a TD5 you'd probably blown the turbo becasue it's too thick. Near every other motor I have worked on, I'd use Nulon Green coolant, not the TD5, if you don't use red, it'll eat the alloy. If someone has used green and then you go back to red, it'll leak.

So many knacks to a LR.

Good Luck

Happy Days.

Just to further what I have said:

I have just been schooled on how the cooling system works on a TD5.

Every other vehicle I have worked on, when the thermostate is closed, no water flows through the engine which enables it to warm up quicker. The TD5 has some sort of pressure bypass system which allows the water to circulate the engine and heater system until the thermostate opens and 90% of the water flows through the radiator. Just different.

Happy Days