Lr Discovery 2's, Shogun, Range Rover - Any Experts?

[Andy Spencer]

Hi all

Thinking of selling our fab 2010 Santa Fe (still with 2.5 years warranty) to release some capital towards an extension on the house.

Need a fairly dependable 4x4 that can tow a twin axle van and get up our steepish drive and in / out of the village when snowy, get 3 child seats across the back and a buggy, dog and the rest in the boot. 7 seats as we have now a bonus.

Got it down to a 2004 ish Mitsi Shogun or a Disco 2 - the D2 appeals in so many ways more than the Mitsi but are they as bad as their reptation makes out? Seems like all 4x4's of that era have their issues and at least with the Disco you can work on them at home, there's also a wealth of specialists on every corner that know them inside out. Looked at a few, varying condition, frightening amount of chassis rot for 8/9 year old cars.

Am also tempted with a 2004 one owner, FLRSH 99k mile Range Rover TD6 for £9.5k in Derby - heart says yes, head says no! Renowned for gearbox, front diff and steering rack issues.

Any advice / experience appreciated.

Cheers

Andy

[Guest MarkB]

Had the Td5 disco 2, besides a remap and a clutch it never faulted 80k on the clock,range rover sport, egrs had to Be blanked off, one side seized, engine has to virtually come out to reach one of the 3 bolts so decided on the blanking kit @ 45 quid, 2 shockers died on the nsr, half a dozen sets of anti roll bar d bushes. .... Over a 6 year period and 110k miles

[Guest Getting There]

Hi

 

The Range Rovers at that age are renowned for electrical faults, and are usually expensive to fix. A friend of mine has had 4 and not one of them hasn't needed a fairly hefty repair for something simple. The heat controls on the matrix are renowned and cheap but the entire car thas to come to bits. There have also been major engine / gearbox / torque convertors traumas as well, drive before you buy because they aint got as much pulling power as you would have thought. A few friends now have landcruisers, more expensive but they never fail and can pull a house down!!

 

HTH

 

Chris

[Landie71]

Got a Td5 Disco II Auto 7-seat ES with 112000 on the clock - had it for nearly four years now & it's been very reliable. I've put General Grabber AT2 tyres on it - they really came into their own when the snow came down a couple of years ago & they're no more noisey than standard road tyres used every day. We've got three kids (& a dog which goes in a dog box in the boot) & they all have a proper 3-point seat belt in the back - the youngest has a full baby seat (she's 2) & the boys (8&9) have booster seats and they all fit in just fine. The seats in the boot a good for kids to use (with boosters ifneeded) & have 3-point seat belts, but there's not really enought leg room for an adult to use as there's no foot well as it's the flat boot floor.

I've had it serviced regulaly, I changed the rear air spings when I got it (had a Range Rover before that popped one & caused the compressor to burn out) so for the price & peace of mind thought it worth it.

Its stood up to the kids over the years well & with a good valet comes up like new.

 

You might guess I'm a bit of a Land Rover fan, but this isn't a rose-tinted view of the Disco II - honest!

Marcus

[Guest shaggy]

I've had a 95 Pajero for bout 3 years now, reliable as chips and with only 7 years worth of road salt (Jap import after 10 years in Japan).

Si

[Shaft]

Disco 2 is a cracking motor, especially the TD5, but no where near as powerfull as the Shotgun DiD stuff or, funnily enough, as economical.

Jap parts can be dear, but Milner at Darley Dale are about the best you'll find.

Landrover parts are cheap as chips.

Avoid RangeRovers unless New with a warranty.... 'Kin expensive to fix and you need

a degree in electronics to solve anything.

 

I'd go Landrover all day, but I'm massively biast having had just about every model made

at some point!

[Guest peter2b2002]

i'm on my 4th land rover , 1st a 2A 2ltr lasted 5 years never let me down sold it on to get a 3.5 RR c reg (55k miles), 5 speed gear box sold in on @265kmiles 10 years later px to get a dico van p reg(65k miles) sold that on 8 years later as it was getting very tired, rust/gear box starting to show thier age but still got a mot @ 208k miles, apart from a bit of welding at the rear never let me down now running a 3.9 h reg RR auto 135k of ebay £750 heater fan only works on no 3 as does the air con, needed a lot of plating in all the usual RR places, but been through it's last 4 mot's with no problems ,pulls like a train with 4 cattle in a trailer , bit thirsty though being an h reg not too many electrical bits to go wrong, my wife had a shogun, nice drive like a car pulled her horse box without any problems but spares were very expensive rut being a problem

peter2b

[Andy Spencer]

Thanks all, very useful. Range Rover out, now down to Disco 2 (likely candidate) or Shogun.

 

Then onto the Hood replacement at some point (maybe after knocking garage down and rebuilding with bedroom above!)

 

Cheers

[kevin the chicken]

I think you have come to the right conclusion! We bought a S2 Disco as spares or repairs with gearbox fault as it wouldnt change up. Turned out it was a stuck wastegate so a couple of squirts of WD40 sorted that out. Head gasket failed but then there were no more problems until just before we sold it when it developed an oil leak from the gearbox. We once used it to recover a six ton aircraft tug (on a private road) which it did no problem. If you are going to tow with it you will need an auto as there is no power until you have some revs on it (assuming you are thinking of the tdi) which makes starting off with a heavy load a pain, especially in traffic. Bit thirsty too but it will do what you want it to. We kept ours for two years and then sold it for £1000 more than we paid for it, that doesnt happen very often.

[brumster]

Have you considered a Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD (post 05 - WK model)? Can be got very cheap these days (as with all 4x4s), well specced, Merc underpinnings are ultra-reliable and they pull like a train. Sophisticated 4x4 system. Built in Austria and well put-together. Downsides? Well, MPG is in the mid-20's (but then no-one buys a 4x4 for economy do they!?), interior design is a bit naff, and gearbox isn't the smartest on the block... but all things you can possibly live with.

 

Neighbour had soooo many issues with his Disco (his new RR Sport a little better) I vowed I'd never buy a LR again (and yes, I did used to own a Disco 1!)....

[Andy Spencer]

Thanks - if its a Disco 2 will be a Td5 auto, and will probably get it properly ECU remapped by Td5 Alive or Dynachip, very good write ups on the LR forums. Just got to find one that hasn't got a rotten chassis now - a 2003 80k miler last weekend had finger sized holes in the rear outriggers and under boot floor. A proper professional Waxoyl treatment probably a good investment as well.

Shoguns £1-2k cheaper the Disco's but just don't seem to have the appeal and following and spare parts / repair network.

 

Cherokee probably worth a look. They don't do 7 seaters but have only used them a couple of times in the Santa Fe - useful as the kids grow up and ferrying friends about though.

 

Cheers all

[brumster]

No, true, they're 5 seat only. If you're feeling really flush, they did a 5.7 V8 before it got dropped in the UK after a few years

 

Ours is over 7 years old now and bar regular servicing has only cost 1 set of tyres, 2 wheel speed sensors, an exhaust sensor and a new set of brake pads and front discs (it does tow a lot, so I don't begrudge it that).

[Shaft]

Just be wary of the 02 - 03 era Disco 2's with a TD5. There where a large batch on recall

for the oil pump drive gear retaining bolt. Loads where built without threadlock which

leads to it unscrewing itself and the gear drops off!

Ask me how I know! :'(

[Andy Spencer]

Well went for a late 2003 Disco 2 ES Td5 7 seat Auto with 68k miles. Seems well looked after with a pile of service receipts, all old MOT's and a LR main dealer or specialist stamp in the book every year and lots of 'common fault' work done in recent times, including the rear suspension airbags and leaky sunroofs. No towbar fitted so should not have had too hard a life and rear chassis isn't too rotten like most seem to be with just a surface coating.

Looks nice in black with the beige leather. Fingers crossed all goes well walking away from a 2 year old to a 9 year old car! At least you can still fix most things on them with a spanner (having tinkeritis withdrawal symptoms since the Hood went) and lots of specialists around if it does go pear shaped.

Thanks to all for the advice.

[Landie71]

Looks good - hope you enjoy it

Cheers

Marcus