Old Disco, is there an alternative?

[andyjcox1]

hi all, I am looking to buy a cheap (£3k) tow vehicle which will be used to launch a Ribeye 600 at a slipway close to my home. It will also need to have rear seats capable of housing 2 kiddy seats, and a boot for the dog. It will only be doing local journeys outside of towing.

It seems the logical answer is a Disco TD5 2.5, around the 2000 year and 100k odd miles.

However, most reviews slate them, are they really as bad as the reviews? and if so, what else would you consider?

Cheers, Andy

[C2 RIBS]

The ribeye 600 is light enough for any reasonable car and a disco is over the top unless slipway is awful gravel or similar

[Ovey]

I had a 2002 2L petrol Honda CRV and it pulled my Ribeye A600 around easily - although it was never tried on any slipway other than a concrete one. It did get quite slippery at low tide, and the 4 wheel drive kicked in to get it up the hill. The only thing that I found was that the car tended to "nod" a couple of times as it went over bumps, which it doesn't do so much with my new car. But you'll be surprised at the space inside (on the older one, not sure about the newer ones) and it wasn't bad economically either. Certainly worth considering if you do stray away from a Disco.

I've recently swapped the CRV for a 2005 2.7 V6 diesel Disco3 for various reasons and I absolutely love it for an all-round car. I wouldn't consider anything else to tow the boat now. Can't speak for the older Disco's though.

[Maximus]

I just used a Diesel Jeep Cherikee CRD Sport 5 dr estate...2.8 Diesel Six speed manual 2006 80k ( which I took in PX) to tow a two tonne Boat over 1100 miles and I must say it never missed a beat! And performed faultlessly.
A little Agricultural compared to some maybe..but loads of torque, great on fuel,and a few toys too..air con traction control abs ect.
For the money (I have someone interested in mine at 3.5k)...they represent Good Value and may well be worth a look.

[Landlockedpirate]

I had one when new, absolutely loved it.

Car is much nicer in ES guise with auto. Only 2 issues during ownership, a plug came loose on the top of the engine and stuck it in limp home mode and the it needed a new engine at 4k miles (It was actually damaged while off road but unbelievably LR covered it under warranty )

But if you are going to buy one now its important you are either handy with the spanners or freindly with a competant independant garage. You also need to be on 2 or 3 Landy forums, cos it doesnt matter what problem you have , someone else has already fixed it.

It wasnt a bad tow tug either, including 3 round trips to Menorca.

[Ovey]

Incidentally, my Ribeye A600 was on an 1100Kg rated trailer - the total weight with trailer, boat, a Yammy F115 AETL, small anchor plus warp, a few mooring ropes, and a couple of paddles weighed in at 1220kg on the weighbridge - so make sure you have a car that is rated for around 1500kg towing weight at least.

(And yes, a new trailer is on its way)!!

[beerbelly]

be careful with old disco,s as the tinworm loves them they corrode quite badly under the boot area and the bulkhead behind the wings theres not many that haven't needed the attention of a welder.2.8 pajero make a cracking tow truck but there heavy on fuel 22mpg ish and the head gaskets go and crack the heads but a good one will go anywhere. freelander td4 has a bullet proof bmw engine and will do 40mpg on a run and 30 around town but the viscous coupling can seize and cause the transfer box to explode but buy a decent freelander td4 for £2k and spend £500 having a reconditiond viscous coupling and carrier bearings fitted and you will have a decent tow car that wont break the bank in running costs

[Rokraider]

If you are just using it for short runs to the local slip and nothing much else, then fuel economy is not such an issue. You could pick up a late 4.0 ltr Jeep Cherokee XJ for under £3k. They are a reasonable wagon, comfortable, go well and are reliable, not too big either. 2750 KG towing capacity.Avoid the VM diesel 2.5. Another option is its big brother WJ Grand Cherokee with the 4.7 V8. Will pull the back legs off a donkey, reliable, comfortable and fast, but thirsty. It has All the whistles and bells, can tow 3500KG and can be bought for less than 3K. The 2.7 CRD is not bad, economical and nippy. Merc engine is ok , but can suffer with blowing injectors. The 3.1 version has a crap VM engine that is trouble. There isn't a Land Rover model worth buying at 3K.

[John Kennett]

A 2 litre petrol Grand Vitara should do the job cheaply and reliably. You'd have about £1000 change to put towards petrol for the boat too

[kerny]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

A 2 litre petrol Grand Vitara should do the job cheaply and reliably. You'd have about £1000 change to put towards petrol for the boat too

Very underestimated vehicles

[whisper]

I've had a Disco 1, 2 & 3 and the best value for money is a Disco 2.

My D1 suffered so much rust is was untrue, however the D2 was awesome, the TD5 engine never missed a beat and was still going strong when I sold it with 190,000 miles.

Although the D2 didn't have any rust it did have a few fluid leaks (it's a land rover) not from the engine, but the transfer box and axles etc. None of these cost a lot to fix and servicing was cheap too.

The difference between each model is massive it terms of the drive, so I would say look at the D2 and look as many as you can to find the right one. They are easy to drive and parts are cheep

You can even join the D2 boys club forum which I found very helpful

[A1an]

I use the wife's Rav4.

Cracking little tool, 36mpg towing and 51mpg round the doors. Good for full time 4wd



Earlier models will be in your price range, we sold the previous one for £3k with 100k on it.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Maximus

I just used a Diesel Jeep Cherikee CRD Sport 5 dr estate...2.8 Diesel Six speed manual 2006 80k ( which I took in PX) to tow a two tonne Boat over 1100 miles and I must say it never missed a beat! And performed faultlessly.
A little Agricultural compared to some maybe..but loads of torque, great on fuel,and a few toys too..air con traction control abs ect.
For the money (I have someone interested in mine at 3.5k)...they represent Good Value and may well be worth a look.

Yeh but it wouldn't go up that grass slope would it

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by mick

Yeh but it wouldn't go up that grass slope would it

Reeeeaaalllyyy, no one mentioned that

[Daniel]

TD5 is an excellent disco, none of the rot problems of the disco 1, and a fantastic engine. Not bad on fuel even stop start round town 25mpg, 28/30 on a run but can still sit at 100mph+ if needed.

We've had one for 3+ yrs, and I had 2 at one point as we were doing a but of towing for work. They were both the ES model which makes it pretty much range rover standard inside and for toys even the sat nav.

£3000 probably won't buy you a good ES, but I would look for an auto. I'd even say on a budget probably DONT look for a model with the toys, get a cleaner / lower mileage base model. They claim the manual is a bit better on fuel but it's such a lovey car in an auto.

[whisper]

Originally Posted by Daniel

DONT look for a model with the toys, get a cleaner / lower mileage base model.

[Daniel]

We were considering selling ours as it happens but I'm hoping its still worth £5k - got an option on a disco 3.

Even cleaned & photographed it for ebay but started reading up online about D3 horror stories...now not sure!!! Insurance renews end of June so need to make up my mind, I always reckon it's more competitive to change vehicles at same time as insurance renewal.

[Ovey]

Originally Posted by Daniel

but started reading up online about D3 horror stories...now not sure!!!

What horror stories have you heard? I'd be interested to know as I've got a Disco 3 and absolutely love it. The only problem I've had was the rear door refusing to open, but it is a common problem and there was enough about it online for me to get parts and fix it at much less than dealer prices.

[kubcat]

I have a 1996 Disco 300tdi and a 1996 XJ Jeep Cherokee 4.0. Purchased for towing my trailers around, boats and food caravans.

They have both been ultra reliable for me but are always maintained as required.

The Disco is perfect for the bigger trailers as it has much more capacity. It is extremely slow for trailers at its top end (4000kg) as it is low range only to get started but it doesn't get thrown around as much as expected. It is also super economical compared to the petrol Jeep which is important only if you do lots of kilometres.

The Jeep has a much better turning circle, is more compact and perfect for tight ramps and trailers under about 1500kgs.

Parts are cheap for both in Australia.

[Rokraider]

Another good vehicle is the Nissan Patrol (later models) not as nippy as the Land Cruiser but a good solid vehicle, often seen towing diggers and plant equipment on trailers.