Thread: Assist on whether car is worth purchasing

IMHO he is not likely to find a better one for that money.

There is a Unicorn on Facebook marketplace in Sydney at the moment but the bloke wants 20K.

After a lot of looking he could possibly get a better one for say 8K , but they are all very old now and not really a proposition unless the buyer can do most of his own work on the car.

My initial reaction after reading the OP is that if he has to ask then the D2 is not for him. Or maybe any D2 is not for him at their advanced age.

If the OP can do most things himself down to head gasket , injector reseal etc etc then Ok.

An acquaintance recently bought one to flip for $2K and it was OK after an ECU change which I helped diagnose and code , but several mechanics had given up on it.

Even My car when I bought it had reported failed Power steering and all lights on dash by PO ( $12.5K 8 years ago with 134KK) , and a mechanic had charged $650 and only changed the idler. It was a loose battery terminal.! LOL. But the alternator gave up soon as the brushes were full of oil from the camshaft plug.
Regards PhilipA

I purchased a D2 in May because I nearly brought a new-ish one years ago and because I wanted a semi project to tinker on and, well, Land Rover has a great reputation from a tinkerer's perspective. Car wasn't in bad shape but was far from perfect, and I've been tinkering with cars for enough years that I can fix just about anything myself. I do like to fix things so they stay fixed, though, and so far this is a summary of the costs post purchase:

Servicing: 650
Repairs (parts only): 1500

Special tools and bolt on mods have cost about the same again. I'd estimate the labour for the repairs to date would likely be around twice that of the parts if paying someone to do it, and I'm not done yet. The moral to the story is if you need to pay someone to fix your car, buying cheap is the wrong strategy. You're better off putting the cost of repairs into the purchase price and getting something needing little to no fixing.

After 17 years and nearly 300,000K's without a detailed service history this D2a is a pig in a poke.
My D2a is the same vintage and mileage BUT I know Exactly what has been reconditioned/replaced ( most of it) so I know for a fact that it is still in good shape.

Originally Posted by trout1105

.....
My D2a is the same vintage and mileage BUT I know Exactly what has been reconditioned/replaced ( most of it) so I know for a fact that it is still in good shape.

But this section of your reply is exactly why I replied to get the cheapest one(in good bodily condition) and spend the $s on getting it up to scratch.
From what I can gather(just an assumption) is that you are careful and meticulous with your servicing regime .. whether you do it yourself or get others too.

But even so! .. you still reconditioned "most of it".

Hence .. service history as a form of security of vehicle purchasing ends up becoming meaningless records of past endeavours ... not some form of guarantee that it will make the vehicle any more reliable.

Really, the only item of note to be mindful of is rust!(and body dings and trim condition). These are the obvious things that only the byuer can assess whether that specific vehicle is worth the effort.
D2's have a bit of a habit of leaking from the plenum scuttle into the interior. Assume that this one would be no different, so lifting the passengers carpet to check for how bad the rust is, would be prudent.
Also check the A pillar for rust on the same side if there is a lot of rust in the passengers floor area.

Mechanically, just expect that you need to replace 'most of it' so try to get the lowest price .. and spend the time to 'restore' it back into good shape.

If the OP is near by, I don't mind assisting in viewing the vehicle, when current situation down here allows.
OP has mentioned that they are willing to do some of the work, and with the right assistance a lot of the work that will be needed shouldn't be too hard to work out.

Originally Posted by AK83

But this section of your reply is exactly why I replied to get the cheapest one(in good bodily condition) and spend the $s on getting it up to scratch.
From what I can gather(just an assumption) is that you are careful and meticulous with your servicing regime .. whether you do it yourself or get others too.

But even so! .. you still reconditioned "most of it".

Hence .. service history as a form of security of vehicle purchasing ends up becoming meaningless records of past endeavours ... not some form of guarantee that it will make the vehicle any more reliable.

Really, the only item of note to be mindful of is rust!(and body dings and trim condition). These are the obvious things that only the byuer can assess whether that specific vehicle is worth the effort.
D2's have a bit of a habit of leaking from the plenum scuttle into the interior. Assume that this one would be no different, so lifting the passengers carpet to check for how bad the rust is, would be prudent.
Also check the A pillar for rust on the same side if there is a lot of rust in the passengers floor area.

Mechanically, just expect that you need to replace 'most of it' so try to get the lowest price .. and spend the time to 'restore' it back into good shape.

If the OP is near by, I don't mind assisting in viewing the vehicle, when current situation down here allows.
OP has mentioned that they are willing to do some of the work, and with the right assistance a lot of the work that will be needed shouldn't be too hard to work out.

Not much change out of $20,000 over the last 6 years for my D2a, I doubt that the OP is interested in that sort of investment .