Title goes here.

[azekeil]

I appear to have bought - in all but deed - a car that I haven't seen or driven any version of, from someone I only know through reputation and chatting to twice. It's a Lexus LS400 with LPG conversion. I haven't even worked out exactly how or when I'm going to pick it up.

I think I'll just go and have a little lie-down now.

Comments

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I'm probably going to be buying a car I've never driven before (although I have seen a fair few), but as it'll be my first car (currently learning to drive at the tender age of 31) I suppose that's not that unusual.

What is somewhat odd for a first car is that I'm fairly sure it's going to be a Land Rover Discovery (but might be a Range Rover if I happen to find a relatively decent one in my price range), purely on the basis that I can insure it for £200 less than anything else with roughly equivalent capacity for people and stuff).

Good luck with your Lexus - I looked at a few online (not very seriously, I admit) but couldn't find insurance for under a eleven hundred quid.

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

Do yourself a great big favour if it's a Discovery and get a 200 or 300TDI - the V8s are horrendously thirsty and there's a 4 year production run of them where the engines have a nasty design flaw and not all of them have been fixed or died yet.

Also - avoid the Discovery MPi like the plague - it's underpowered for what it is.

Also - avoid the VM engined Diesel Range Rovers - they're too easy to have been badly maintained and the engine is *expensive* to repair from a maintenance induced failure.

Disco's far better for stuffing people in than the Rangie - most of the early ones will seat 7 people (2 in the boot - small people) where the Rangie tends to be limited to 5.

If you want the best bang for the buck - see if you can find a Land Rover 110 County Station Wagon - they seat 12 people :)

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I'd decided on a 200 or 300tdi for precisely the reasons you mention, though I had been considering the possibility of a V8 with an LPG conversion (though only if I can find one with underslung tanks, as I need boot space far more than serious off road capability).

To put my decision into perspective, I need a vehicle that'll carry me (6'2" tall and almost as broad :-)) and the family, plus assorted stuff (and one two year old generates rather a lot of assorted stuff) on long distance journeys, but more importantly, will cope with my new career as a yacht surveyor. (Long distance travel with a fair bit of equipment, potentially followed by some light off roading to get to wherever the boat I'm looking at is located - they have a tendency to end up stored in barns in the middle of nowhere, or need to be surveyed on a drying mooring at low tide, etc.)

[rik.livejournal.com]

You can drop your insurance price by taking the IAM course after you've passed your test. Once you're comfortable driving around and don't think too much, do the IAM course and learn thge good habits before you get into not doing them, and before you get into bad habits.

Since you're a relatively new driver, it'll affect your insurance premiums in the direction you'd like. You'll get to ring your insurance company and say "hey, I just did my IAM course and passed the test. What has that done to this year's premium", and they'll send you a cheque.

I shall be doing mine, when I'm back in the UK, although it won't affect my insurance. I suspect it's probably a good thing for my driving anyway. (Although, someone at work pointed out that if I think that way, then chances are tha I need it less than someone who doesn't think that way. Self-selecting group, and all that).

My first car was going to be a Landie also - a Defender 110, but I never got around to buying one.

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I've already got a copy of Roadcraft, and I'm trying to learn good habits right from the start (though at this stage I'm more interested in driving safely than the intricacies of avoiding brake/gear overlap at nearly all cost). The IAM test is definitely something I'm interested in doing both for my own interest and for insurance savings. :-)

[rik.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much the same as I'm at then, except that the test will benefit your insurance prices more than mine :)

[edwards.livejournal.com]

You need a Delica, seriously. 2.8TD does 85mph cruise all day comfortably, 28mpg at that if it's in good health, has a tough four-cylinder diesel, and in LWB form will seat 8 AND carry their luggage. Given the choice between a Disco or Delica for a long motorway drive I'd take the Delica every time, ironically I think the Disco is better in cities...

My dad had a 110 County before I could drive (got rid of it when I passed my test...) and I had a 109" hardtop 2.25 petrol. I have driven Countys since, and you couldn't pay me enough to drive one on a motorway unless it were purely for the purposes of getting the Landie somewhere else - they're fantastic off-road (though I'd want a 90 for that), but without any prejudice to the 60 year old design, they are not good at long motorway drives.

Delica seating is arranged either as 2 2 3 or 2 3 3; the 2 3 3 arrangement has a bench that rotates 360 degrees with sliding fore-aft and an occasional "jump seat" that folds out of the side; the 2 2 3 has two 360 degree rotating Captain's Chairs which slide individually and have the benefit of being able to be placed back to back with the front seats with the cushions up, increasing useful loadspace when you don't need seats. The rear row folds flat and up against the side of the car.

All models provide the facility for the seats to fold flat and form a bed, most have curtains in the back (some electric). The load floor is flat and the cab on the L400 model is walk-through with a column shift for the autobox (manuals have floor or column, but I've never seen the latter).

The Delica's driving position is considerably higher than a Disco and they're very spacious.

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I've just had a quick look on autotrader and the Delica does indeed look interesting, however they appear to be a bit more expensive to buy than a Disco and the cheapest quote I could find (quickly, from one comparison site) for insurance was over £930 TPF&T against £655 for the Disco (the next cheapest for the Delica was over £3000, lol).

I think maybe a Delica will have to wait a year or two, 'till I'm earning a bit more (then again, most of the yacht surveyors I've met seem to do well enough to drive fairly expensive vehicles - at the last meeting I went to there were a few big Audis and a newish Daimler Sovereign in the car park, just to mention the ones that I noticed).

I know I said long distance, but to be honest that's likely to be more single carriageway A roads than motorways, as one of the quirks of the job is that it tends to involve going a long way from major population centres, and where I live at the moment has hardly any motorways within 50 miles (apart from the little bit going through the centre of Newcastle). I know one of my old flatmates at Uni used to enjoy thrashing his dad's Disco from Solihull to Cardiff at speeds I'd never contemplate on a British road (he used to have to wait 40 minutes after he got back before he 'phoned home to let them know he'd arrived safely). I was never a passenger with him so can't comment personally on the ride, but he certainly didn't have any issues with it.

My folks used to have a Land Rover too (a Series I or II I think), but got rid of it shortly after I was born in favour of a 2CV :-(.

[edwards.livejournal.com]

Are there any MPi Discoveries left? I thought they (mercifully) killed that thing off quite quickly...

[edwards.livejournal.com]

Have you considered a Mitsubishi Delica if you want carrying capacity and 4x4?

Not sure how they stack up for insurance as imports, but they're rather nicer to drive than Discoveries and exceptionally capable off-road (bodywork is a worry, but it is on a Disco too); less issues with the transfer case and slightly better interior build quality. 7 or 8 seats, aircon (dual), very good driving position, 2.8TD engine.

There are two types of Delica - L300 and L400 - commonly found in the UK. The former has part-time 4WD, is semi-forward control (engine is under seats, pretty much) and looks mad - but also has the slightly more troublesome 2.5TD engine. The L400 has SS4 4WD with full-time 4WD, locking centre diff, low-range, shift on the fly (it's 2WD too so slightly better economy if you want it). Manuals are few and far between, sadly, but they are available.

L400s look more "modern" with a sort of MPV-body and both models are available with glass roof panels.

Not saying the Discovery is a bad car, or the Delica is a better choice, just wondering if you were aware of them since as a 7 seater, they're rather better than the Disco with side-facing rearmost seats. The Delica's worst problem is the 2.1m height, but the Disco isn't far off that IIRC.

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I'll take a look at the Delica, thanks.

Got to rush, got a driving lesson in 20 minutes and I haven't managed breakfast yet. :-)