To buy or not to buy?

Hi all on the forum. I am thinking of buying a 2.3TD Frontera and know nothing about them. I know you will all be enthusiasts but hopefully I will get a candid answer. It belongs to a mate and seems relatively straight considering it is an M reg.
Thanks

Good evening mate,
I have owned my 2.3 for nearly a year now and I wouldn't be without her. First thing to say is she will not win any drag races but stick something on her towbar and she will pull it all day long with little fuss. She will smoke like hell every morning but that is just to let you know that she has woken up. She will sound like an old tractor but she is also the nearest thing to one on the road. They are the easiest vehicle I have owned to fix things on as she can be stripped down to the chassis with a cheap halfrauds tool kit (I have pretty much done this). I would recommend servicing her every 5000 miles, it really does make a difference and is bloody easy to do and costs about £50 and a mornings work (which is more fun than doing the jobs the other half has ready for us). So as long as the price is right I would snap his hand off!

I have had my 2.3 for three and a half years before a friend crashed it.I was devastated as I was ridicolously attached to it.I really liked it.and its stilll sitting in my yard awitng repairs. Meanwhile I have been running a 2.5.I wanted another 2.3 but couldn't get one at the time but like the 2.5 now as well.
If its a good price I would get it the 2.3 is not the quickest and the heaters hopeless but I liked mine a lot and was planning to keep for as long as I could and i stll might. You could read the 2.3 section on this site and also check to see how long your friend has had his and see if there have been any problems and see if he knows the mpg.

Hi i own a 2.3 and i have to say its the best car i have ever owned, its not fast but its fun really fun. I got mine from a friend of the familly who owned it from new and its only done 85000, As these are getting on now, parts are really cheap [£3.19 fram oil filter 2 front delphi shocks £39.00 delivered.] You really cant go wrong, I had a old discovery Which was a pig to work on threw all its oil all over the place and drove down the road like a boat o and the boot fell out with rust, My frontera has none of these problems and drives like a dream it handels brilliantly considering what it is. they seem to have a bit of a problem with low oil pressure at idle. but ive learnt on here over the last few days that as long as the pressure warning light is not on and the guage goes up when the engine is reved then there is nothing to worry about. I have to admit im a bit biased because i do love my car but with very good reason, all i can say is go for it...

Also own a 2.3td, J Reg, Just gone past 170K.

As long as you look after them, they will look after you. Pretty robust cars.

Thanks for all the replies guys. Very helpful. My mate hasn't had it long, but knows the previous owner of 10 years and that it has also been serviced. It does even seem to have a reasonable mpg of around 35, I think he said. And yes the price is right. Mechanicals seem straight forward and I hear the engines are generally bullet proof.

Go for it mate ! I've had mine four years and not had many problems..Agree with many of the other comments ,keep it serviced and they go on forever!