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I go through roughly a car each year (usually about 8-10 years old) over 2 miles of farm track to get on to main road. Always exhaust, bearings, shocks, suspension, cv joints, track rod ends. Not worth repair. Should I bite the bullet and shell out for off roader - I'm thinking it will be cheaper in the end if these things dont go on it. I can get a friends discovery 2 years old for 7750 with 18000 on clock. i really preferred idea of a suzuki jimny. Would either of these stand up to my track though or would i now be paying for a new car AND everything else!
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If you want buy any off roader EXCEPT the discovery, unless your pockets are as deep as the potholes on your farm track.
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7750 for a 2 year old disco sounds like a bargain or is it just me!
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If you want buy any off roader EXCEPT the discovery, unless your pockets are as deep as the potholes on your farm track.
I'm inclined to disagree RF ;)
The Discoveries don't like shoddy servicing, especially in their formative years. Poorly maintained ones tend to bite back in later life. In addition the early ones up to L reg were not good for corrosion.
Yu don't necessarily need to spend that sort of money on an offroader. Depending on what you want you can decent multi purpose vehicles for a few grand or less.
My K reg 200TDi has had a full service history up to 2004, whereupon I changed all the fluids and oils etc when I bought it. Mechanically at 103000 miles it is sound. The only problem I have is with the bodywork.
MM, another member, did advise me on what to look for when buying the Disco. One of the main indicators of bodywork condition is the rear boot panel. You need to take a screwdriver and remove the trim and look under the carpet. If ther floor is rotten underneath, you are probably looking at an MOT failure.
Check out the Bodywork, chassis members you can see, and the SH for the car, especially for the disco.
When you do buy the car, blow £150 or so on a half day Land Rover Experiance beginners coff roading course. They will tell you how to treat the vehicle and the countryside well. You'll get the money back several times over in reduced wear and tear and you'll have a great time and get addicted to off roading!
The only 4 x 4 I would be wary of is perhaps the early Vauxhall Fonteras.
H
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A tractor...:-))
Will concur with the advice to go on an off-roading course - it really is great fun and there's a lot more to learn than you might appreciate.
You'll also be astonished just what a genuine off-road vehicle can achieve in what appear to be insurmountable conditions.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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really appreciate your advice - another possibility for me is a 2 year old freelander 1.8 but ive read poor reports on these - any opinion?
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another option might be to get a decent car for road use and buy a £30 scrapper to use for the 2 mile track. Obviously this would only work if you could safely leave the decent car at the end of the track overnight. When I used to live in the country I had a good couple of years of off road motoring out of £30 bangers- no tax/mot/ insurance to worry about either.
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Since you currently use a car for the trek, it sounds to me like you don't need 4 wheel drive and mountain climbing ability, just a more durable vehicle with some extra ground clearance and the first one to pop into mind is a pick-up. One thats rear wheel drive (or 4wheel drive), solid rear axle (no CV joints), leaf spring suspension etc etc. My old GMC Sierra would have been perfect except that those aren't too common around here and the fuel economy would make what you spend on the yearly cars seem cheap. Next best thing would be a pick-up available domestically.
Toyota Hilux
Ford Ranger (even an older Transit)
Mitsubishi L200
Bedford Brava
Nissan
Isuzu
Vauxhall
All these can be had for much less than the disco, should be cheaper to run, and could be fitted with larger wheels if the ground clearance was still lacking.
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An old Subaru Forester. About 2" higher than most cars, and designed for a bit of off road work.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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these are the kind of things I need to know eg about suspension - leaf spring! . Like the sound of these alternatives and had thought of pickups but was advised i needed a vehicle with a chassis. maybe these vehicles do? Can you direct me to a site or car mag where i can look for more info on your siggestions, for instance you say vauxhall - vauxhall pickup?
Quite right - don't really want the singing dancing off roader if a practical alternative.
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good thinking - thought of this but the track is not mine but farmer's and nowhere to leave my banger to swap to better car at end of track. So thought of cost to insure , mot etc an old car and keep it for daily run to work and better car for w/e trips (public transport minimal) - works out about the same as buying new/ish off roader!
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I haven't come across a pick-up that had a uni-body (no proper chassis frame), but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. I imagine the light duty car based ones would have a uni-body chassis. Leaf springs are ancient technology which means they are not the most comfortable, but will last ages and can take quite a bit of abuse.
I meant a Vauxhall pick-up, I have seen them before, but don't know the model name (if they even have one). Looked to me like an Isuzu pick-up clone.
Jump on autotrader online and do a search for pick-ups. For half your Discovery budget, I bet you could find a very sturdy, capable pick-up that also offered a decent amount of creature comfort such that you would be fine using it as everyday, on road transport.
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I meant a Vauxhall pick-up, I have seen them before, but don't know the model name (if they even have one). Looked to me like an Isuzu pick-up clone.
They're called a Brava.
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