What Disco to buy

[Pablo011]

Hi Guys

just wondered what are peeps thoughts on what Disco to get I am looking at

[lambert]

either be prepared to look at tonnes of them to find i nice tidy one for that money or be good at welding. they rust on the boot floor, a post bottoms, front inner wings, rear inner wings and seatbelt mounts, sills and leading edge of the roof that is unless you get a rotten one then they rust everywhere else too. i'm not saying avoid them just either take your time to find a good one or be able to fix it yourself. beyond that iether a 200tdi or a 300tdi there is little between them.

[Pablo011]

Thanks Lambert, you paint such a good picture of wanting to buy one, I did say

[lambert]

Don't get me wrong they are both great cars either version. Bear in mind that the newest will now be at the least 14 years and body's have a life span of about 10 years without work. Mechanically they are good for all of 200k miles plus if cared for. So yeah go for it.

[Pablo011]

ok thanks Lambert will have a very close look when I do set about getting one and will check all the places I can think of for rot etc so watch this space

thanks

Paul

[Saffy]

Don't expect that it has full MOT means that it's not major rotten.

[Pablo011]

Ok going to see an R reg disco this week is looks ok in the pics and the ad says its rust and rot free but where are the bad points to look out for on a Disco ??

Thanks

Paul

[lambert]

See my first reply they are the most common places. Usually the actual chassis is ok but look at the back around the tow bar mounts as that is not unheard of for rust. If you can take a pet mechanic or mot testers with you as a second set of eyes and don't be afraid to walk away if it is not up to much.

[Saffy]

bad points for rust ?

My experience for the body...
inner front wings (ABS might be mounted to nothing!) , battery tray, behind and below the headlamps, front foot wells, all sills inner/outer extending into the floor pans, A post, B post, open 2nd row doors and rust on the arch , boot pan, seals around the rear skylight windows. Feel passenger footwell carpet to check for wetness - might be rust hole and road water coming  but also might be leaking coolant from cabin heater which is a major pig to replace and can nuke the engine when coolant runs low. Take a screwdriver and ask if you can removed trim and lift the boot carpet.

Chassis should be spotless and corrosion free.

r reg probably got tired suspension so look for saggy springs and worn bushes and clonking on the A-frame ball joint.

on a tdi...
See if the injection pump has had the antitamper cap has been removed to see if it been fiddled with.
See if the EGR has been blanked or not.
Important to know when timing belt was done.

if it's like an ES model then check all the leccy bits and see what works - defo nice to have the seat functions fully working,  all leccy window wind mech's working - esp check rear door one go both down and up again