When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Excited to be looking at buying my first Land Rover. I have read through the forums for a while now and had a question about one I’m looking at in specific. Is there anything I should explicitly check for? Any maintanence I should do immediately that hasn’t been done? Thanks for your time!
Do not buy that truck if it spent even one winter in Ohio - the frame will be rusted beyond repair. You need to get a Southern truck and pre-treat the frame if you are going to drive it in Ohio. Possible exception to this rule if someone actually pre-treated it before you but I am very skeptical.
You can check the VIN using mycarfax.com, or take a look at the frame rails under the back behind the rear wheels, and next to the cat converters on the inside. I have owned 9 Disco's and the one that ever were north of TN have been problems with that.
Check all the lights come on in the dash when you turn the key on. When you test drive it make sure to start it at least 3 or 4 times - some engine codes need three drive cycles to come on.
Make sure it runs for at least 20 min without overheating, look at the hoses and make sure they don't balloon. I would remove the expansion tank cap and look for excessive bubbling (a sign of blown head gaskets). You might even want to order a test kit and test the coolant for exhaust gas (about $20 from amazon).
It takes a little extra effort, but I always brought a mechanical oil pressure gauge with me and would thread it in to the oil filter housing to check the oil pressure. One bolt, and it can be reached from the top or bottom. You need to do the setup before you go. I learned my lesson the hard way when I bought a low mile Disco that had low oil pressure and nothing would bring it up, not thick oil, not a new oil pump, nothing. It was either slipped bearings or bad bearings.
Excited to be looking at buying my first Land Rover. I have read through the forums for a while now and had a question about one I’m looking at in specific. Is there anything I should explicitly check for? Any maintanence I should do immediately that hasn’t been done? Thanks for your time!
The two areas of weakness are the front driveshaft and cooling system. The Tom Woods drive shaft is serviceable and takes care of that. Ask the age of the thermostat, and inspect the cooling system closely. Ask if it has overheated. If it has, that is very bad. Make sure the thermostat is Grey which makes it Genuine. Get yourself an Ultragauge and plug it in to make sure there are no pending codes. If there is a good one near you take it to an independent Land Rover dealer and have them do an inspection. Check brake life, tire life. Try all the windows, wipers and motors. Make sure all windows go up and down.
From the ad it seems the guy or gal knows what he’s about so from a distance could be a good buy. Also, keep in mind for 12k you could get a DII with bad engine and have Trailhead drop in an LS or you could put in a sleeved long block for Turner Engineering. The original engines aren’t the greatest.
12K? Wow, well some people want more than that. Around my area, a good running disco is about 4-6k and you just have to continue the maintenance. If they know their discos in great shape, they usually price it high. Some treat it as a regular car, maintain it the proper way with all service records and just let go and buy a new truck. Recently I got a 2000 D2 for $500.00 with all receipts since 2000 from dealer and moved to NY. Sold it coz she does not want to pay ny parking fees anymore. Cheers
In looking thru the photos, I can see where it looks like there is some very fresh black paint on the frame. Truck has massive rust spots that have been freshly painted over. Starting with picture 14 of 21, look at the rust blisters under the fresh paint! Same on pictures 15 and 16. Rust or road salt on the cat in picture 15.Anybody trying to sell this as rust free is full of horse merde!! Run now run fast and far away from this. If you are going to lie about rust, what else are the pulling your leg about?
There is an old saying on Wall Street that also applies to used cars:
DON'T BS A BS'ER!!
02-21-2018 | 04:03 PM
Looking to Get In the Game
