Went to see a 110 CSW yesterday

[Madcowz]

I went to see an M reg 300Tdi Defender 110 CSW yesterday which was advertised on Ebay and the guy selling it for the owner said he would pull the auction for £3,850.

Now I know nothing about landrovers apart from what I have read from forums and gleaned from magazines and the idea was I would go along, check it out first and if I thought it was ok, a mechanic friend would go along on Saturday to check it over for me.

I spent two hours crawling under and over the thing, taking photos, and at the end of it, thought it was a good landy (but what do I know)?

It had the following minor points wrong:

1) leaking seering box

2) Footwells both rusted through (should this have not failed the last MOT, 3 months ago?)

3) Hazards didn't work (prob fuse as relay wasn't ticking)

4) Rear wiper didn't work

5) Rear offside door didn't lock/shut very well and usual assorted keys for assorted doors situation.

6) Door bottoms rusted

7) Middle seat offside catch was loose so seats wouldn't lock in place (needed two rivets put in)

8) One middle seat belt would need replacing as it was frayed

9) Slight clonk when taking up drive

10) No Service History available as it was at the owners accountant.

11) Viscous fan didn't rotate freely and turned with the engine even when cold

The engine started first time, no smoke on start, no smoke on full throttle and no smoke on over run. Hi/Lo worked but no idea about lock.

I had no idea if the clunk was good or bad, it was fairly quiet and only seemed to be in the low gears, 4th and 5th seemed ok (but I may not have noticed because I was driving a HUGE truck down little roads and trying to concentrate).

No crunching of gears and clutch was fine (handbrake on and pulling away made the engine stall).

No whines, crunches, groans or anything else when driving.

Chassis seemed ok, everything sounded good when tapped. There was a beam that was fairly rusty which goes accross the chassis just in front of and above the rear wheels (see picture 15).

No rust in boxes under front seats.

Front swivel hubs shiny and not pitted.

All in all, I thought it was a good buy so phoned the friend and arranged for him to come on Saturday.

I left thinking that I may have a landy after all these months until I got 3/4 of the way home and the guy phoned to say that a bloke who had arrived after me to view it, spent 10 minutes underneath, drove it and bought it.

Now, this isn't supposed to be a sob story, although I was crying into my tea when I got home, but I was wondering if my opinion of the vehicle was right and how I could better tell what is a good purchase or not. What should a good landy sound like when driving?

I have uploaded some pictures to here: http://digitalessence.net/gallery/gallery.html

Would welcome your opinions. And while I am upset at what could have been a good landy, I would prefer to miss 20 rubbish ones than buy a complete wreck and the time was definately not wasted as I have a much better idea of what bits are where and what they look like.

thanks,

/mad

[LCJ]

Hmm, I think someone may have done you a favour there mate. Some of the corrosion in those pics doesn't look too pretty. I think you could have spent a fair bit more time and money fitting that one up and just preventing further rot.

I'm not an expert but was in a similar position to a short while back. I think if you keep looking you'll find something in a happier condition than that one.

If you ever want some more eyes to look over one I'm happy to help and I have a friend is infinitely more knowledgeable than me who I'm sure would be happy to help too. (We're both based in your neck of the woods by the way - Dorking/Epsom).

Good luck with the hunt!

[disco_al]

i'll agree with that comment, way over priced IMHO considering the amount of work required on it.

as well as the £££'s required welding the floors etc back together, you would have possibly been looking at £120 + vat for a steering box, unless it was just seals.

[western]

Looks to be a well used & unlooked after 110, I think you better off without it, there's plenty out there in much better condition.

[BigSi110]

It's not a County, but £3850 still seems awfully low for a 110 300Tdi SW.

I think you did well to miss that one.

[FridgeFreezer]

What they all said, seems way over the odds considering how crusty it was. Bet there were more horrors hiding too.

[Madcowz]

Thanks for your replies. Don't feel so bad now!

Silly question, but what is the difference between a CSW and a SW apart from the stickers.

Now I thought (incorrectly) that this was in quite good condition. A couple of repair panels in the footwells (I can weld), steering box seals (hopefully) and bolt the seat catch down and apart from some minor leccy troubles it was ok?

Which items are putting you guys off?

Engine sounded ok

Bulkhead didn't have rust in the corners (leaving the footwells out)

Chassis was solid

Doors are rusty, but don't they all do that?

I really need to learn more and quickly if I am to avoid a costly mistake and reading magazines is just not doing the job. Maybe I should pop down to Reids Dealers to get an idea of a poorly maintained vehicle.

@LCJ appreciate your offer and I will be taking you and your friend up on it. I am in Ockley just south of Dorking so close enough to pester you :-)

thanks.

/mad

[Phil]

I wouldn't pay that price for that vehicle, the main concern I'd have is (as said earlier) I'd judge it's not been well looked after. Don't fret, another better vehicle will turn up for less money, I've found it pays to be patient!

Best of luck with your search!

Phil.

Thanks for your replies. Don't feel so bad now!

Silly question, but what is the difference between a CSW and a SW apart from the stickers.

Now I thought (incorrectly) that this was in quite good condition. A couple of repair panels in the footwells (I can weld), steering box seals (hopefully) and bolt the seat catch down and apart from some minor leccy troubles it was ok?

Which items are putting you guys off?

Engine sounded ok

Bulkhead didn't have rust in the corners (leaving the footwells out)

Chassis was solid

Doors are rusty, but don't they all do that?

I really need to learn more and quickly if I am to avoid a costly mistake and reading magazines is just not doing the job. Maybe I should pop down to Reids Dealers to get an idea of a poorly maintained vehicle.

@LCJ appreciate your offer and I will be taking you and your friend up on it. I am in Ockley just south of Dorking so close enough to pester you :-)

thanks.

/mad

[western]

CSW has glass sunroof, carpets, cloth seats, tinted glass in front screen & all other windows.

SW has vinly seats,rubber mats, clear [non tinted windows] solid roof

[Mark90]

As already said, it looks like neglected work horse, not something to be spending much money on IMHO.

I sold an H plate 110 CSW that was in way better condition than that.

[headhunter]

MOT might have been suspect!

Frayed seat-belt is a fail as is the loose seat mounting.

If little things are overlooked at the MOT you wonder what else passed through on the nod.

Replacement doors are expensive even second hand.

You are fortunate I suspect to have missed it.

Try to ensure you get a good chassis and body first.

It's easier to replace/repair the engine than to get into extensive body/chassis repairs.

Try to go for a well cared for one even if it's a little more expensive, but don't necessarily trust LR Specialist Dealers either.

I would always go for an AA or similar pre-purchase check and use the report as a bargaining chip.

John

[FridgeFreezer]

What put me off is that's a relatively young 110 and it's riddled with rust - where you can see a hole you can guarantee there's at least 5x as much again you can't see that needs doing. Doors are expensive and a PITA. Footwells / bulkhead would probably turn into a bulkhead replacement job - not huge expense but huge hassle. Price tag was hardly a bargain, if it was half that price I would say it'd be worth a punt as a fixer-upper.

For £4k you're into the sort of range where you could build one from scratch for not a lot more.

[Dave78]

You sound like your in a similar position to me, looking for a good 110 300tdi SW or CSW for sensible money, but although having knowledge from mags/forums no real hands no experience.

Oh well keep looking and as others had said someday the right one will turn up

That said anyone looking at getting rid of a 110 300tdi SW or CSW in the midlands area - let me know

[Mark90]

I would always go for an AA or similar pre-purchase check and use the report as a bargaining chip.

I saw the AA report that a buyer had done on my old 90 when I was selling it. It was laughable. They made a big thing out of nothing, missed more serious problems, and totally mis-diagnosed others. The guy had obviously never been under a Land Rover before, probably only used to doing euro boxes.

[LCJ]

I really need to learn more and quickly if I am to avoid a costly mistake and reading magazines is just not doing the job. Maybe I should pop down to Reids Dealers to get an idea of a poorly maintained vehicle.

@LCJ appreciate your offer and I will be taking you and your friend up on it. I am in Ockley just south of Dorking so close enough to pester you :-)

thanks.

/mad

Ah good old Reid, he will certainly show you what not to buy!

Any time you need mate - I'm away until next Saturday now but Sunday onwards is all good

[headhunter]

I was talking today to someone selling a 110 csw 1998 ex AA in good condition.

He said he was looking for £6500.

If you are interested I can pass on your details.

Let me know.

John

[West4x4]

I was talking today to someone selling a 110 csw 1998 ex AA in good condition.

He said he was looking for £6500.

If you are interested I can pass on your details.

Let me know.

John

Thats well expensive a 94 sold locally for £4000 and i paid £6000 for my 2001 TD5 both ex AA

[Mr Bean]

When buying a motor you need to take your time there is someone else who always got a better deal, take your time and one will turn up.

Don't buy for the sake of buying.

[Cal]

Maybe I should pop down to Reids Dealers

I know them all too well - bought my old Disco from there. What a mistake that was...

Still, now that I roughly know what I'm looking out for (on Discos anyway), if I ever need a laugh I just pop in there and check out their stock and the prices they want for it!

If only I'd done my research before buying the Disco - lost a lot of money on it

[freeagent]

I reckon when you know what you are looking for you can get a feel for a landrover in 10-20 mins..

The rusted out footwells and transmission clunk would have seen me walk away..

you'll find a sounder one than that for the kind of cash you have... the big thing with Landrovers is don't buy based on age.. a 20 year old one that has been loved and cherished will be a better bet than a 5 year old ex-hire hack that has been loaded with construction workers and towing a generator 24/7 since it was born... and never washed.

I'd look in the private ads for a nice family owned truck...

[Dave78]

Thats well expensive a 94 sold locally for £4000 and i paid £6000 for my 2001 TD5 both ex AA

Out of interest where did you get your ex AA vehicles from?

[West4x4]

Out of interest where did you get your ex AA vehicles from?

Mine was private off Ebay, the other one was in the local paper

[Dave78]

Mine was private off Ebay, the other one was in the local paper

Cheers, didn't know if there was some special ex-AA auction or something.

Oh hum, I'll keep looking

[Dave K]

Cheers, didn't know if there was some special ex-AA auction or something.

Oh hum, I'll keep looking

Try Marple Road Garage, he sometimes gets a few in.

http://www.marpleroadgarage.co.uk/GetDeale...38&pageid=1

[Mr Bean]

Check these guys out they are local to me and can normally source/build to your budget.

http://pixuk.com/southview/index.html

www.mrmlandrover.co.uk