Thread: Buying Advice

Hey everyone, please let me know if its not appropriate to post here, but I thought I would ask. Is this a reasonable price for a 2002 discovery 2?

2002 Land Rover Discovery Series II Green 5 Speed Manual Wagon | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Wanneroo Area - Wangara | 1318615575

I had a look at the VIN "SALLTGM971A731700" and it seems that it might be a MY 2001 instead of 2002? as it fits closer within that range than that of some of the 02s. Granted it was likely an 02 regardless.

It looks good but keen to hear what owners and experienced members think/offer advice.

Am i correct then to assume it *might* have a CDL housing, just not the connectors?

Many thanks.

I literally went through this very issue not more than 6 months ago.
Scoured the eastern seaboard on multiple trips, and in the end it came down to what was available and whether I was prepared to part with folding stuff.

The problem is, the closer you look, the worse the car will appear.
You absolutely need multiple pairs of eyes going over any prospective land rover purchase and doing so with the knowledge that you're still going to miss something.

And when your second pair of eyes is a licensed mechanic with a bent for land rovers and g60 pootrolls you know they are in your corner.
But even so, you can still find big issues after the fact. It's kind of like the old used-car salesman green banana in the diff to keep a noisy rear end quiet. You'll drive the car for a couple of weeks, smitten with your purchase and nothing will be evident, then all of a sudden one morning you'll head off and the clunk from hell forces you to stop at the end of your driveway and go get the other car.

I bought a d2 about 4 months ago as a 'donor vehicle' (engine) - and it was almost too good to be the sacrificial lamb. It's still going to donate many bits to my old RRC, but right now it makes itself useful as a farm truck and I'm still finding things that need to be attended to to ensure it's fit for purpose as both donor and farm truck.

I'd say that I have seen equivalent vehicles advertised in the 3 major eastern seaboard capitals for 4x what I paid, and the only subtle difference would be how shiny the paint is in areas where the clearcoat hasn't peeled.
I'm simply suggesting here that you need to stop hankering over one - clear out that feeling of dogged desperation to acquire any land rover and simply wait. Yes. wait.


D2's seem to all have pretty good bodyshells compared to d1's, but just about every d2 I have seen has rust in the chassis in places I'd simply prefer to not see. Spring mounts, front and rear body mounts, occasional cowl rust, and front chassis rails.. matters not how severe - the fact it is visibly present means it's always going to be a problem going forward.
the d2 electricals are primitive canbus and that also means lots of unreliable and misdiagnosed canbus messages, and in the case of LR - needing a nanocom just to do a pre purchase inspection to read codes and see all the 'nastiness'. not to mention the monotonous regularity of key fob / alarm and three amigos that come free with every used d2 purchase (even if they have been cleared just prior to you inspecting them)


Not a fan of the td5, but can be sorted for a cost. Longevity? unknown.
this is where the bmw diesel l322 is hands-down a much better vehicle. and every bit as capable as the d2 - but you do have some plastics to bust. and a fancier interior, but better parts access due to brand-sharing. The letdown for 322's are the exterior trim pieces, which are just waiting to fall off or get sunburnt to a crisp.
L322 has much better on-road manners, but it's not a hardcore full-send offroad option unless you have some spare coin for every time you take it out and thrash it. It IS a much better tow vehicle. especially the bmw v8 - but again, you need to do the maintenance that every landrover owner obstinately refuses to do - and you need to understand how German engineers design engines and the definition of "routine service" and "consumables". - like timing chains and guides, and proper regular oil changes with correct flushing techniques and using the correct synthetic oils for the correct systems - and yes, some of those oils like the PAS or air suspension fluids are quite expensive - but if you replace them at the specified intervals and inspect the system at that time, your preventative maintenance will ensure it's absolutely reliable.

I have this theory - if you're doing properly remote stuff, and you really want a land rover, then your absolute limit is really back at 300tdi d1 or forego the creature comfort and buy a defender... and that's going to upset the d2a td5 crew, but it's purely down to the electricals and old air suspension systems that have not been totally overhauled in land rovers always being problematic.
Once you turn the corner and head to BMW's bosch town, the cars actually get more reliable and converseley owners perform less routine maintenance (plain old neglect) and the endless loop of land rover legendary unreliability comes to the fore from previous owner abuse.

And cause you're in Wait Awhile, owning a hilux or a 79 is basically identifying with WA tribal law.. so there's that to contend with.

There is an endearing quality about landrovers that seems to traverse all humankind. But I'd argue that is purely a derivative of the Series landrover and defender, possibly the earliest of range rovers.

There's nothing in a modern landrover product that finds identity across all demographics - no, quite the opposite really. and it's absolutely because the company wants to re-establish it's brand identity with the real housewives of Surrey / beverley hills / toorak / rose bay... and not the Overlander / adventure tourist or hardcore 4 wheeler.

make of that what you will, but just remember that wherever you sink your cash, a used land rover is going to cost you at least 3x that amount during the relatively protracted period you find it serviceable and useful to you. Two thirds of your ownership period the vehicle will be off the road for repairs / maintenance and the other third will be you out and about wondering when / if it's going to let you down. Make sure your roadside assistance covers the full premium care option for that vehicle and you're worry will be somewhat less, but the inconvenience will still remain, and yes, you will remember those times more vividly than the spectacular places you visit and the vehicle was absolutely flawless in operation. Noone here will dissuade you from purchasing one - the key is you have to be absolutely brutally honest with yourself and pragmatic abotu the fact that whatever you buy, it's going to cost you whatever you spent on the purchase, in the first twelve months to get everything 'satisfactory' (i.e. reliable and functioning) so if you can handle that truth (and it's a truth that bears across all brands and not just land rover) then you're going to be fine. If you're not prepared to fix things yourself, the ownership experience is going to be a painfully expensive one and very, very protracted.