Newbie needing an advice for Disco I

[celsius]

Newbie needing an advice for Disco I 1999 Tdi diesel

Hello everybody,
I am in East Timor and here we need 4x4 because the roads are very bad
and once out of the city,they get worse, it is the bush. I never had such a car, I am totally new in this

I found a nice opportunity for a LR Discovery I, 1999, TDi 2.5 lltr diesel (automatic). I saw it and everything seems fine and the owner seems a passionate, he has 2 Disco II. The car has about 79000 km. It was imported from Japan. The disco was essentially in
the city according to the owner and the car is very clean. Oil has been
changed on a regular basis (every 5000 km).
To be honest, I am tempted, as I feel the car is in good shape. Nothing seems to leak, no weird noise and it seems robust and very confortable. I will still take it for a real test drive in some trails.

I will use it as a daily car in the city and only
during week end and holidays we will take it for some expedition to
explore the country (outside of the city, roads are rough and in the city too ).

Here is the link for the add:
http://www.expatdili.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=79
Is it a 200 or 300 Tdi? What is the difference?

Do you have any advices as I have heard and read many stories about this car What should I ask the mechanic to check? What are the things I should particularly look at when test driving it? What should I be aware of as I never owned any land rover or 4X4?

Thank you in advance for sharing your advices and knowledge.

 

[celsius]

Well here are some pix from the engine and other parts. I would like to know if she looks ok or what can of work should be urgently done? This in order to estimate what she is worth....and knowing what I am getting into.

I believe no service was ever done besides oil changes.....she drives good and no weird noise...the back windows don't work though.

Thank you very much.

 

[celsius]

Here are some more...
Thanks.

 

[celsius]

Common people, please give me a advice or share your knowledge!

Thanks

 

[celsius]

Please, I really need your help on this. Take some little time to share your knowledge.

Cheers.

 

[celsius]

Please, I really need your help on this . Take some little time to share your knowledge.

Cheers.

 

[Disco Mike]

You need to find find a local Rover mechanic and pay him for a complete inspection or you may buy a number of surprises.

 

[celsius]

Thank you Disco Mike and this is what I just did. However, there is no really Rover specialist, but mechanics that have worked with them...in other words it was not a really full check unfortunately but the best I managed so far.
Well, he mentioned that the engine seems fine but they advised to change the timing belt. The oil that is leaking could be taken care by replacing a joint. Besides this it seems that all the joint or seal - well the caoutchouc part (not sure about the correct term) need to be replaced as they are wearing off. Also the back brakes needs some change. It was quite difficult, because the guys that looked at it did not speak English so they pointed to me what should be replaced and I took pictures with the cell phone. ..I also noticed that with the A/C on the engine became hot very quickly the indicator came a little bit up than the middle....

Well is this complicated to do? It doesn't seems so, and where could I order them? I know someone here that order in the US and it comes through DHL....As I mentioned they cannot be found here in Timor....or do you think I should just let it go?

Thank you.

 

[celsius]

Thank you Disco Mike, well I just got back from the mechanic for a more in depth check. The engine seems fine but they advised to change the timing belt. The oil that is leaking could be taken care by replacing a joint near the oil filter. Besides this it seems that all the joint or seal - well the rubber parts (not sure about the correct term) need to be replaced as they are wearing off. Also the rear brakes need to be replaced. It was quite difficult, because the guys that looked at it did not speak English so they pointed to me what should be replaced and I took pictures with the cell phone.
Well is this complicated to do? It doesn't seems so, and where could I order them? I know someone here that order in the US and it comes through DHL....what about in Australia, UK? What do you think?

Thank you

 

[celsius]

Here are more photos...