Buying a 2000 Discovery TD5

[Ballas]

One of my mate's is interested in buying a 2000 TD5 Discovery (manual). THis is his first 4x4 and he's looking at them because of the ability of the car, the price and the after market mod's to make it tough. The car is located in coastal Qld. A few questions:

What kind of price range would these Dicovery's command now?
What issues should he look out for on the car - oil leaks (engine/ gearbox/ diffs), timing chain replacement, rust (and if so, where?), wear and tear (where inside and out), excessive 4x4 use (if so, where)?
What are the Qld coastal specific issues to look for?
Are these manual geearboxes good?
If anyone has any adiitonal points that he should be looking for, please let me know. The car doesn't have any lift currently and is generally unmodified (except for a bullbar).

Thanks, Ballas.

[jmkoffice]

Ballas, lots of info in this forum - the search facility isn't too bad.

Even after all the research, the vehicle should be throughly checked by someone who knows and works on diesel Discovery's before committing to a purchase. Age, distance travelled and overall condition should be considered when determining a value for the vehicle.

[waz]

First thing he should look at is service history,
-then get a mechanic to check for oil in the wiring harness.
-make sure the three amigos are on with the ignition and then turn off when you start the car. (I have heard of people disconnecting the lights to diguise a stuffed ABS module)
-price depends on kms and condition. but around $18k.
-Don't rule out the auto as an option, it's a fantastic transmission.
-Unmodified is not a bad thing because it may have never left the bitumen.

[ramblingboy42]

Ballas, I purchased a 2000 td5 with nearly 150,000 0n it. I have had to replace starter motor and fuel pump(bugger of a task for a simple job) check to see if either of these items has been replaced as it appears from this forum and everyone I talk to its about the life expectancy of those items......otherwise the engine trans diffs are perfect, no leaks no problems, excellent vehicle all round .....expect about 11ltrs/100km

[hoadie72]

I saw a TD5 today with about 235,000km on it at a Nissan dealer for $11,500. Hoodlining was starting to sag but otherwise looked like a decent vehicle.