I am looking to buy a 2004 disco 2 with 135xxx on the clock. it is being sold by a dealer in KY specializing in rovers. it looks very clean and its getting head gaskets done now. I am looking for a car for our family it will mostly be driven by me 38 male and the wife here and there. We need something that will stand up to DD use. I have owned a 66 t bird , 82 built jeep, a few miltary trucks one which i chopped up and restored almost 100 percent on my own. I just sold out 78 bj40 Landcuiser that we toured Costa rica with. I am not a professional mechanic but can do most minor repairs myself. I just have only eough cash to buy one vehicle now and need to pick right. We have been lost on tour around the world for almost a year now and are coming back to the usa in a month. i am trying to have a vehicle lined up before wee get home, so inpecting and driving 10 trucks is out of the question. i am loooking at a 1996 80 series land cruiser but i saw a ton of disco 2's in costa rica. i bieleive the dealer is active on this forum or another and he mostly serves the land rover customer. he says the truck is in very nice shape with only a sagging head liner and cracked bumper. i will try to attach a few pics he sent me.

 

more pictures. I know these trucks are picky and the parts are a bit more than most but i also know they perform well when taken care of. any advice to for a buyer from a distance is appreciated . Thanks Matt, with any luck i will be here in a month or two trying figuire out my 3 amigoes issues

 

Are you talking about buying it sight unseen? Other than the pictures?

I would not do that in a million years. sure new HG's are nice, but too many things could be hidden or not addressed. Things you should not trust a dealer who is not a family member to tell you about.

Maybe have him hold it for you to inspect in person when you get there but don't sign on any line until you have given it a full inspection and at least an hour of test drive in as many conditions as possible... with a code reader plugged in at the time...

There are several threads on here and on other forums about what to look for when buying one of these... use the search button and learn up.

What kind of price is he quoting you?

 

I assume thats platinum motorsports? Nathan is an upright guy he wouldnt purposely rip you off. Bough mine their 4 years ago.

 

You'll dump 10K to 15K into the Discovery 2 fixing it.

Instead, get one of these

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...#q=2013+glk250

Diesel.
4 Cyl.
32 MPG to boot

 

Sorry a g wagon is out of the question! There is a 1988 hard top military version for sale about 4 hours from me but it too expensive to import from Poland to the USA. The price I was quoted was somewhere between 4000-4500 all said and done. And yes it is platinum motor sports. I was hoping some one here has dealt with him and had good reviews. jfall 10-15 seriously? Please elaborate. Thanks.

 

10K to 15K is pretty much the worst case scenario, and in my humble opinion is probably not realistic in the GREAT MAJORITY of cases. You could say something like that about any used car. It sounds to me like you have some mechanical know-how, if that is true I wouldn't be afraid of a Disco 2. Atlantic British is putting some excellent DIY videos on YouTube these days, actually a smart business model as they also sell the parts. This forum (and others, too) can be of great assistance. The only wild card in your plan is that you don't mention how much they are asking for the unit, you can pick these up pretty reasonably if you shop around.
Ask them about the front driveshaft, has it been replaced with a greaseable and maintainable unit?

 

i asked and he said it heavy duty greaseable DS.

 

totally unrealated but these are the vehicles i have owned in the last 7 years!! the last one was the Land Cruiser i bought in Costa Rica i just sold that a few days ago!! the old duece and a half i built over 6 months in my spare time.

 

Like I said, it looks like you could handle most of the work that would come with a D2, but I do think it is probably realistic to plan on spending a few bucks on this one. If you can access a Hawkeye or Nanocom, read the OBD codes on it and see where you stand. If there are no reliable records, plan on doing a complete service, change engine oil, T/C and diff oils, flush and fill the cooling system, not sure which tranny it has but plan on changing that fluid, too. Grease the prop shaft, do a 'turkey baster' fluid change on the power steering and ACE system. Check or just change the belt. Do all this and you start with a clean slate! There are guys on this forum that know a lot more than me, just start reading through the posts.
Then, enjoy the car!