Thread: How many km's is too many (Discovery)?

Having refurbished two 1999 TD5's, I can say you must walk away from any car that does not have solid documentation regarding when various fluids were changed(engine, diffs, tx case, gearbox, coolant, brake fluid,ACE, Power steering), and what parts have been changed in the last 2 years.
A TD5 requires preventative maintenance and problem parts changed out.

It doesnt matter what accessories it has or what colour it is - do not buy unless there is a solid maintenance record with documentation to prove what has been done. If you don't do that then you are potentially up for some big bills.

Any strange vibrations, noises, harsh gear changes - if anything seems "odd" - walk away unless you know how to work on these vehicles or willing to learn.

The worst cars are the second and third owner cars who have purchased a good car with a maintenance record and then let it run downhill avoiding maintenance where possible. You can tell by asking for documentation.

All of my 5 vehicles have clearly laid out historical record of their maintenance.

I have a Disco 1, Two TD5's(one with 375,000km) and a P38. All are brilliant and epic vehicles - but I do look after them.

Good Luck.

Not sure if I totally agree..........

Yes documentation is good if its there.

However how many people on this forum who do their own maintenance. Not keeping a log book as such. Just changing fluids etc as needed.

Then there is the owners/dealers who get their mechanics etc to stamp blanks spots.

If you buy a vehicle, I think you should budget to change all fluids then you know where your starting from.

For me the most important is to talk to the owner, look the vehicle the over etc. You will then get a feel for the vehicle most times.

Just because there is some documentation that the vehicle may have been maintained doesn't mean it has been.

Originally Posted by wade1980

Hi all,

First time Landrover buyer here. My parter and I are looking at getting a Discovery, something from around 2002-2005, with a budget of up to 15000. We have found a couple of what look like decent vehicles on carsales.com.au (in South Australia), but my partner is worried that they have too many km's on the clock. Each vehicle has done no more than 200 000km (no more than 170 000 in most cases), but she fears that this is on the high side. Having only had experience to date with sedans, I have no way of knowing whether this range of km readings is good or bad for a Landrover Discovery. Can you help me get to grips on what sort of range is good for a vehicle of the age we're looking at (2002-2005) and the above budget?

Thanks so much,

Wade

Purchased my 1999 TD5 for $9,000. 395,000,km's at the moment. The only advice I can give is, Buy the RAVE dvd, study it, understand your vehicle, do as much maintenance as you are capable yourself. Yes, service history is King. Do your homework, you wont be sorry.

Originally Posted by ntguy

Not sure if I totally agree..........

Yes documentation is good if its there.

However how many people on this forum who do their own maintenance. Not keeping a log book as such. Just changing fluids etc as needed.

Then there is the owners/dealers who get their mechanics etc to stamp blanks spots.

If you buy a vehicle, I think you should budget to change all fluids then you know where your starting from.


Totally agreed.

For me the most important is to talk to the owner, look the vehicle the over etc. You will then get a feel for the vehicle most times.

Just because there is some documentation that the vehicle may have been maintained doesn't mean it has been.

Hang on a minute there, NYGuy!

Are you not the guy who recently bought a vehicle, and then regaled us with all the problems that you had, just getting it home????


I'm thinking that I would rather put my money on Peter51.


AndrewMilne

Well I personally do all my own work but I document everything, and am able to show a buyer a complete service record.

I have to say that if someone is too lazy to pick up a biro after servicing his car , then I don't trust him to have done the service.

The buyer of my RRC was given a folder with all receipts in it and a workshop manual with pages and pages of servicing and replacements for 8 years.

On the question of ks, I always go for the lowest ks I can get and am willing to compromise on spec and colour. My disco 2 was a second owner car in the same family for 10 years with 134KK , although handed down to the son, who got the local Lube mobile to service. It has flying fox **** marks all over it as it came from Townsville.

I still had to do stuff like replace the shocks and springs, do the oil pump bolt, and it did break down on the way home due to a bad battery terminal which the poor PO had paid $650 to a workshop who didn't work it out! This alternator died soon after and that was because the cam plug leaked oil into the brushes. BUT it has now done 174KK with hardly a problem except for the fuel manifold on the GRR.

BUT an under 160KK car will always have more life than a 360KK car and it will take 10 years to catch up in wear at the least. A 360Kk car is in the twilight of its life and anything can happen and is likely to happen.
I must admit however that under 160Kk D2 TD5s are like hens teeth.
Regards Philip A

I agree with your comments Phillip A, except "A 360K car is in the twilight of it's life and anything can happen and is likely to happen."?? My 2001 D2 I have owned for 10 years and it now has done 442K and goes better than when I brought it 250K's ago. It burns no oil probably thanks to a Turner Head 60K ago, regular preventative maintenance and a spare vehicle for occasional parts. I think once you really get to know your D2 you can anticipate problems before they become major. Like Phillip A and others I document everything and still look forward to getting behind the wheel, I guess that's what true love is!

Nick

With a ten year plus old car it is difficult to ensure that you will get a car that is not going to give you some costly repairs. A service history is great however they can be difficult to get to the level of detail some on here want to see. I get my car serviced by one of my city's well known Land Rover independent mechanics. I don't balk at his servicing costs and when he says something needs doing I give him the go ahead. So I'd say my vehicle is well maintained, do I keep all the receipts, hell no. I have better things to do with my life than to keep meticulous records on my vehicles servicing history. I doubt the asking price will change that much just because you have a box of receipts. If you want that you can go see my mechanic, he has filing cabinets with his clients records.

When cars have a few years on them mileage is a good measure of wear but so is the general condition. The interior and how clean it is, the carpets etc. all help you determine how well the vehicle has been looked after. I'd struggle parting with good money for something with much more than 200k km. Less is better but it should be consistent with the rest of the condition of the vehicle.

I went through the exercise of looking at D2 Td5s in the last year. The better vehicles were in the $15k asking price. It would s difficult to do it all from the Internet, you have to get out there and eyeball the vehicles and drive them. As others have said odd sounds and klunks are not good indicators. I'd look out for transmission noises and poor changes, a cooling system in good condition from the coolant to a serviceable thermo fan. Try and get the 2a (03-04) model, a few of earlier issues have been sorted by the time they do the update model. Have a look on the engine side of the air filter, a few people have had engines that have been dusted as a result of ham fisted mechanics not seating the filter and cover properly, some even manage to break the air filter housing. If there is dust in the engine side of the filter I'd want to have a compression test done.

Good luck.

I'm not completely sure I agree with you guys and having all the service history.


I did a little research before I bought my D2 and knew at least to ensure all the regular servicing had been done. I knew to look for a centre diff even if it didn't have the leaver, I knew about SLS and ACE. I bought my D2 with a stack of paperwork ensuring all the recommended servicing had been done.


Mine had all the service work completed by LR services centres in the Brisbane area. Most of the work was done by 2, it seemed the previous owner had changed services centres for an unknown reason.


Now I have over my life become more and more paranoid about Mechanic. I won't go into details in this thread but my D2 was a prime example.


I looked at it and it was obvious it had a few issues but I didn't think it was too bad. I know now that unless you think it's perfect, don't touch it. The majority of my problems I have had with my D2 have been from poor maintenance or poor modification.


A service centre will stamp a service book for just changing the oil. It doesn't mean they did everything that was required.


A large stack of invoices doesn't always mean they have done proper maintenance. Maybe they have had a lot of work done due to improper maintenance.


I keep very little paperwork for the work I do on my D2 but I have invested so much money in it know that I have resigned to the fact I need to keep it until it dies completely and then sell it for scrap. I don't keep recepts but I could probably dig them up if needed. I order most stuff online so I have records. I use premium what ever I can. I know not to use Britpart parts in certain places. A Britpart centre muffler delete pipe is fine but a Britpart watts link bush is not. Many will just get their vehicles serviced where it is cheapest. As my labour is free, I can afford to pay more for the oils, filters etc.


If for some silly reason I did sell my D2, I would be happy to lie on the ground under the vehicle and point out how well it is maintained. Things like the blue super pro bushes. The oil pump bolt I keep in the glove box to prove it has been replaced. The rebuilt prop shaft. Come into my shed and check out my Warren and Brown torque wrenches that are used on every bolt. Look at the wiring and see that every added connection to driving lights and what not are all crimped, soldered wrapped with heat shrink. Measure the wear on my tyres to see they are frequently rotated and even across the tread for wheel alignment.


Paper work doesn't always mean its been kept well. Sometimes some time spent with the owner and the vehicle will tell you a far better story. Sure get you compression tests done, do a stall test on the gearbox but if the owner can't tell you of the top of his head whether the oil pump bolt has been replaced or the brand and type of oil used to change the gearbox oil. These are kinds of thing I know about both my cars. If someone doesn't know when or if the shock absorbers have been changed and what brand they are then they are likely the kind of person who just fitted what ever was cheapest and they likely only changed them because someone told them they needed to be changed whether it be for rego or just mechanics advice. Things like this can indicate other things maybe problems later in ownership. Like brakes for example.


Happy Days