D2 v8 Es ready to buy advice

[mousie]

Hi all

Well time has come to come out into the forum and yep, I'm hooked on the disco as my faithful 10/91 D1 manual is ready to retire. I've also had the use of duel fuel in the beast since 95 and learnt from these forums to mod, made and shall be rewarded.

However, I occassionally tow a 1.6 off road camper but in the main the disco comes second to the main salary sacrifice car.

So, looked at jeeps and left that scene and back to D2's and I am to look a D2 2002 Es for sale with 118K to look at this weekend and hopefully 18K sale. Condition is always important and but is 18K within range for 7 seat, all options. Then straight down to LPG and get put on given I am mechanically minded. Read just about everything here and know discos have used prices all over the place so just looking for any quick comments if this is about right for a generally non abused one, view the truck tomorrow, Geoff

[RonMcGr]

Hi Geoff,

It sounds good to me, especially for as ES.

Cheers,
Ron

[simonl8353]

It is a good price, well done, hope it all works out for you. :)

I had a whinge yesterday about poorly advertised LR's, http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/54534-lr-traders-innacurate-ads.html but you seem to know your stuff so wont be pulled in I'm sure.

For some more info on Feb 1999 to Nov 2001 models see this:

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery/50870-please-help-me-buy-disco.html

All the best.

[4X4V8]

Maybe I'm mean with my money (why not, I work hard for it!) but I think that's still a touch high.

I know ES is top of the range and worth more, and it's an 02 (no transfer case internals probably, does that matter to you?) but to give you an idea, here in Sydney I just paid $12,500 for a 1999 D2 V8 manual 7-seat no ACE 88,000km, Mondial 18in alloys and towbar. And while I am happy, I think I probably paid $500-$1000 too much for it. FYI, the buyer knew her $17,500 asking price was wrong - when I bought it, she showed me her insurance policy, which had it insured for $12,800! It didn't really matter to me, I got the car I wanted at a fair price, so I was happy.

It has a scrape on the lower left doors that'll cost me $500 to fix, a broken driver's door mirror that's $330, a dodgy but working spare key and a broken clip to hold a folded third-row seat in place. Other than that and a bit of a clean and polish, it's near perfect, hardly any oil leaks, goes well, a bit of pwr steer shudder but a one-owner car, garaged, with a clearly documented history with Land Rover and most of the service receipts to go with the stamped service book.

I walked away from a 2001 5-seat auto, 77,000km that drove well, had been dealer or LRA optioned with leather and sunroof, and the owner was down to $13,900. It sold, don't know how much, but I think $13k would have got it easily. Drove very well with the HC engine but wet carpet in pass footwell and unsightly dent on bonnet (and patchy service history) put it back in the queue for me.

I have noticed that Discos do not age very well if not looked after, so yes you're right, getting a really good car is important. I'm sure you know abt the cosmetic stuff - paint is not fantastic, will age quickly if not looked after (though an '02 should have lasted okay), headlining will sag, leaks from engine, cracked bits of interior and exterior trim here and there seem common, but if you look you will find one that has been looked after and not have these problems. The few 2002s I have looked at still appear reasonably fresh, though the 2001 above had a split headlight washer nozzle and some plastics were quite faded and weathered.

There are lots of these D2s around, and thirsty V8 4WDs are not popular - it really is a buyer's market. I have already been abused driving my D2 by a woman in an Echo this morning for not using my indicator (one lane opening into two). She certainly looked like she had her share of problems, but I think it was partly the anti-4WD thing...

Car valuations on carsales.com.au and redbook.com.au seem to a be a little out sometimes (sellers will be in a hurry to sell, so do end up selling for less, some buyers will just want a particular car, and pay more) but they still serve as a good general benchmark of what people really pay.

[mousie]

Thanks heaps for the advice and will see how I go tomorrow, and let all know.

Unfortunately in this day with fuel costs, unless I fork out heaps more for diesel for the one trip a year towing, worked out that the landy still shines as the camper is the off road model and somehow cannot see myself in the smaller framless ones. talk tomorrow arvo,

[Grizzly_Adams]

That is a valid point - the 2002 probably won't have a Centre Diff-lock at all. No buttons, no internals, nothing.

I believe these days it can be retrofitted but at a respectable cost.

[4X4V8]

(no transfer case internals probably, does that matter to you?)Oops, what I meant to say being a 2002 it probably won't have a centre-diff lock mechanism or internals. It will still have a working transfer case.

[mousie]

Okay on that and I saw a pick of what to look for (i.e the nut in the top) but I suspect I'll look for the transfer case serial and it appear to be 3/02.

Must admit, that does worry a tad given the lock was the item of choice and last resort. I take it landrover used the electornics to cater for the lack of ie apply braking force to the spinning one or two.

I also see over in us the 03 model got the 4.6 block and pitty we didn't this.

[Grizzly_Adams]

Land Rover believed that the traction control would be more than sufficient so the Centre Diff Lock was no longer necessary. Hence in late 2000 they started removing the buttons but not the internals and in 2002 they removed the internals.

After some near fatal incidents where the traction control just can't handle it in very specific circumstances (I believe it's reversing backwards down a hill at sharp angles?) Land Rover rapidly put everything back in place (internals AND buttons) for the 2003 model.

If you're just going to use it for towing then you should be fine. If you plan on doing any sort of 4wd'ing then I would recommend purchasing one that either has the Centre Diff Lock or else getting it retro-fitted.

[simonl8353]

Don’t make the lack of CDL a big differentiator.

Its is a damn good device and a must have ASAP, but the Disco 2 will out gun all other std 4x4's even without. But get a CDL if you can, but later.

Take a note of the serial no. stuff these dudes are talking about.

Basically;

Option 1. The 1999 to early 2002 models were with Transfer case spigot but without internal driver locking mechanism. But can be be fixed for approx $25 to $700 depending on a manual lever operated from outside the car to a retro fitted Hi/Lo CDL lever inside the car.

or

Option 2. The later 2002 models had the internal CDL working removed at the factory. So, Option 1 plus another $250 for the transfer case internal workings.

2003 models had the whole CDL thing re-introduced.

So don’t let the CDL spoil a good price on an ES D2;).

Anything can be achieved here.

If the ES you mention is in good nick, (and it is an ES!, not a basic model with the 6/7 seats) I reckon its $5k to $8k under priced so go for it. IMHO

:):)


Sorry to 4X4V8, with all respect, I know you're offering the best advice, and this web site is all about both opinion and knowledge, but I think you're way off the mark. I spent months looking explicitly for an ES model, that's why I can confidently back up my stuff/knowledge here. ;)

Seriously. :whistling:

[simonl8353]

FYI, the buyer knew her $17,500 asking price was wrong - when I bought it, she showed me her insurance policy, which had it insured for $12,800! It didn't really matter to me, I got the car I wanted at a fair price, so I was happy.

.


Just for info,

My insurance covers me for a market value of $17,800 for my '99 model ES.

[4X4V8]

'mousie' - mate I hope I didn't confuse the issue with my comments and all the best finding a good car.




.

[mousie]

Hey, not confused at all folks as all good oil. Well I'm back from the test drive and nothing like being given a sales pitch. Its the 2002 ES and all options generally in the Trading post for 18.5K at obi obi on the Sunshine Coast with $18.500 advertised. Actually, its been on sale since October 07 from the roadworthy docs and I was confronted with the sagging roof line, actually more sagging than holding. Minor rear panel damage with overspray present, appears to have had right front guard replaced and suspect accident repair with a lot of small plastic parts broken and the airbox! cracked and broken away with straight air into inlet from the opening above the filter!!!. Dipstick revealed 6 inchs of what appeared to be either gasket rubbish mixed with dirt and no it didn't look pretty. Here is the interesting part, once I stopped the test drive, straight away opened the hood and on left bank rocker, oil coming out of the rocker gasket (normal for discos), but! under pressure through the nuts and gasket. Hmm me thinks the motor is slightly worn. Okay so you can see I am a picky bugger but I've seen far more in better nick that have been used off the road so I guess it will stay for sale for a while. Or until front the windscreen is replaced from the wiper arm channel work. I uploaded a pic from the trading post and see if this pic is the same as described. On a good note, it was a 1/2002 so a good chance of cdl and the ACE, well coming from the first disco with no sway bars (or no options really) I loved the roundabouts and the faster in turn the better it works, actually is very impressive, so for now I'll keep looking. If I only am goin to use for a second vehicle with less than 5K a year but to tow, I can wait for that retiree one. Thanks for all your help, it did make the difference and especially the airbox comment, as I was amazed at what I found. At least I learnt that pictures really make discos look even better. Actually I have no problem with past off road use, given you can tell the difference from those who look after and the other crowd that don't. Cheers

[Grizzly_Adams]

Pity, looks shiny (as you said). However parking in a big puddle under the front drivers wheel is hardly flattering :cool:

[disco dan]

hi guys

i just recently bought my D2 2002 ES V8 fully optioned for $21000. i looked everywhere and found this one in melbourne. im on the gold coast and was just looking for fun when this baby poped up.

it doesnt have CDL and i havent yet tested it off road on some good stuff.

so far had no probs with it and compared to the other 4wds is head of the class in all aspects.

why did you look at a JEEP:thumbsdown::thumbsdown:

dan

[mousie]

Well, the Jeeps in Grand Cherokee suffer the same as landy's if not more in price drop and I was concentrating on Nm for towing. I was hooked on one particular one, actually still advertised in trading post, 2002 Grand with 49K in Brisbane for 25.5K and is still up on site. This retiree had purchased new and went to pains to only drive on highway up to Rocky, and inland highway black roads and back. I could only find two marks on a door handle! It drives as brand new so it was a good one with paint, rust, window, leather protection so you can imagine the condition. Well it went for 24.5K but once I drove it, it was just the HP of the motor mainly and the goodies. However, they pitch and roll and don't have the full chassis (correct me if I'm wrong here) and also the only LPG option appears to be direct injected type. Furthermore, they get a bit of bagging for suspension design and a good forum was aussie jeeps offroad. Jeeps owners are far less likely to talk like landy owners and it comes back to basics. With land drovers you can fix them, modify add to suit needs, add parts and yes they are full size deals. Yep they can be a pain to, but I can gloat of driving along the highway with the drivers window just deciding to fall down into the door (only land drover owners can laugh)! I learnt to split my vacume advance units and rebuild with a mix of gasket compounds, rebuild burnt switch gear, modify alternators to bosch brands, chev radiators, make backup t-sections for the bottom radiator hoses,.... sorry where was I.

At the end of the day, if its a jeep I would be still keen only now on a 2002-3 2.7 diesel given a merc drive train but unfortunately very few around. So back to the popular land drover and by the way, cannot part with the first one so I will end up with two plus salary sacrife car. Jeep owners don't keep two either I suspect. I will keep looking though and should up the budget for a diesel given the experiences thus far. Its just that I see so many high milage ones and just a bit to fussy given the cost if someting goes wrong in the engine area.

And the range, they advertise TD5's from 40K to 20K in similar conditions sometimes.

[mrapocalypse]

I have a D2 that had NO CDL internals. MR got it all going for $1300 with a few extra mods thrown in.... I found that TC tends to overheat so a CDL is handy!. Especially when draggin Hiluxs out of the sand at Straddie!

[shouldownacruiser]

I totally agree - at that price you are below market prices. I have a 2002 ES and also spent some time hunting around (albeit at the moment it is parked up at the shop getting new heads - see my post on this). As for towing it is absolutely brilliant (providing you don't mind the fuel bill) and the ACE is also really worth having. I've used it to tow a 20 foot caravan and it had little worries staying at the speed limit - and pretty close to it even up hills. Just keep the rear tyres nice and hard (40-42) if you have the low profile ones fitted.

[4X4V8]

A 2000 model ES had one bid at Pickles auctions here in Sydney... for $12,000 I thought it looked pretty good, but I am no expert, obviously. A guy on eBay is trying to sell a 1999 ES and bids are up at around $10k, but I guess that's because maybe there is something wrong with it. He gave up on a buy it now price of $13,500 last week. Do the ES V8 models depreciate that much once they reach 9-10 years old? I am amazed that the 1999-2001 models I looked at (that were not ES) are that much cheaper. I was happy to live without leather and ACE but it's interesting to see how much the market values such things

[simonl8353]

The price of ES's, especially V8's is pretty inconsistent.

Petrol priced are scaring the poo outa alotta people right now.

As mentioned on an earlier post, if you've gotta sell then be prepared to almost give it away. But, if you can hold out, you'll eventually find a genuine enthusiastic buyer who's prepared to pay whatever it takes.

It's all in the timing.

Last November, I found ES's (1999's) advertised anywhere from $13,000 to $27,000 with little difference in mileage! Go figure!

I will tell you one thing about the leather in an ES, Its really easy to get 1 wk old chocolate milk drink out of it. Wouldnt want to try that on cloth. :no2: