I am considering amalgamating 2 of my cars - a 1983 110 3.5 V8 CSW LPG and a
2003 Mazda MX-5 1.8i. I still need something pretty big and good for towing, but I need a little more comfort than I get from the 110. I am thinking of a Discovery. I reckon I might get 12000 for the 2 cars, and don't want to add too much extra to that, so what sort of Discovery will I get for my money? Any models to particularly look for/avoid? Having spent quite some time working on the 110, I would like something that needs a little less work, so nothing too old!
In message , snipped-for-privacy@neilkath.co.uk writes
My thoughts are probably irrelevant, but I feel I ought to post something where I don't just ask a question. I'm at the first stage of swapping a 2002 petrol Omega estate and a 1992 200TDi Defender 110 hardtop for some sort of Disco plus something that will run forever on a thimble of diesel, but carry lots of junk.
The 110 has now gone (SWMBO hated the colour and daughter kept asking if her door was closed on the motorway etc etc) and because of a sudden financial downturn has been replaced by a 1997 300TDi auto rather than the TD5's I'd started to look at. I had 3 locals tell me to avoid early TD5's unless I was very sure of the condition.
Family wouldn't let me try the 110 on ebay or via local ad, so it was traded in for just under half what I hoped it was worth. I already miss the load space of the 110 and the feeling of not caring about a small dent or two. I also miss the ability to climb up it to prune the trees, climb onto the boat and so on, and I may have to carry some sort of saw bench instead of using the bumpers and open back door as a working area.
The auto box on the Disco is very different from that on the Omega, but seems OK and I am quite happy so far. The noise level is higher than I expected in queuing traffic, but reasonably OK when rolling along. Seems much noisier than the equivalent age V8 I've occasionally ridden. There is some rust, but mainly in non-essential areas and it has been Waxoyled. Certainly feels as though I might get part of my life back that used to be spent worrying about and staring and poking at the 110's chassis. I've been shown replacement dampers and springs for if the suspension turns out to be too soft when I do my rather fraught occasional towing. My adjustable pin + ball + steps tow hitch was swapped over as part of the trade in, but I think some welding had to be done. The steps get in the way, but have already been useful. I swapped the radio over. In the Disco I can hear it, in the 110 it was a waste of space. The Disco is only slightly better than the 110 for manoeuvrability, partly because it's more difficult to guess where the corners are, and not as good as the Omega. I expect I'll get used to it.
The thing that surprised me was the insurance. For 3rd party only, it's almost double the insurance for the 110, both with the NFU. Have to shop around next year.
I reckon I'll get under 4k for the Omega (was a great buyer's car when I bought it, and still appears to be), and having looked at the price of awful little cars, might make the overlap run for quite a time.
A Disco II V8 with LPG could be just the job, cheap to buy as everyone wants the TD5 so you could probably get a late model with full leather etc and still have money for a quality LPG conversion. Very reliable too generally apart from odd issues with ABS wheel sensors etc. Alternative is a TD5, but go for the auto if you do as the manual is hard work.
If you are brave their are a few D3's coming through from the Highways Agency at around the £12-13K price tag. High mileage though (200k+) but warranted and with FSH and a generally easy life trawling up and down the M-Ways at 56mph :-)
I found the auto much harder work, if only because the engine struggles with the combination of mass and energy-sapping autobox. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I seem to "assist" the engine of any vehicle I drive/ride. At the end of any given journey, I fel as if I have contributed at least 50% of the effort. If the engine's had an easy time of it, so have I. If it has struggled, I feel exhausted. Hence finding the Td5 auto a bit like hard work, and why I like big, lazy engines.
The long term (3 years+) on my TD5 manual is 29.5, best tankfull has been
32 (probably all motorway cruise on at 60mph).
Yep, I test drove an auto before buying a manual. The moment you pressed the go pedal it would kick down and seemed to hold down for rather longer than I would like. I wonder what a D3 TDV6 auto is like, got a manual one ATM as my DII is having 1800 squids worth (inc labour & VAT) of worn out bits replaced. B-( The D3 drives very well, trundles along doing 1500rpm at 50mph in 5th, 50mph is to slow for 6th. It's certainly got more get up and go than my DII but then my DII is an ES all the bells and weights, this D3 is base model, no bells no weights. How much power does the TDV6 produce?
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