TD5 90 - First Land Rover!

[landroversforever]

Hi Ross,

At this stage I would recommend starting with a good 200 or 300tdi. This will be cheaper to insure as many insurance companies will give you discount on your landrover being 10 yrs old. NFU and Sureterm to name but two. Expect to pay between £5k-£8k which is means you have the balance from your purchase to put to the insurance.

Don't be tempted down the dads policy route as insurance companies love to not pay if they smell anything fishy. If you get refused insurance because of such a trick you will be knackered as you may find it impossible to get insurance anywhere.

Pay on condition of the vehicle and check all the things you mentioned, chassis rust is a possibility at that age, but not a given.

Yellow was not a common colour other than if done for a PLC works truck. But a tin of paint and a roller later......

I have heard that the NFU wont insure young drivers? and i have hear bad things about sureterm .

£5000-8000 will get me a newer TD5 with far less rot though?

[SteveG]

Bad fuel consumption

Low quality parts compared to older landrovers

Silly electrics that fail INSIDE the rocker cover

Oil leaking through said silly electric and getting all the way down the wires into the ECU area

Higher insurance cost

Reqirement to go to a main dealer in order to get engine managemnet played with instead of just a mechanic

And most importantly, all the TDI lot will say "Told you so!" when it messes up..

You will probably get towed to saftey in Africa by a series 3 or TDI when the ECU wont let you drive anymore.

I still think you should do what I did and get an older defender with a carp engine. lower insurance... and make a project out of it.. Safe the money you would have spent on a TD5 for the engine transplan in a years time, spend some of the money on repairs and upgrades and I think you will have a load more fun and a much nicer landrover for your money.

Instead buy a horse..

Better fuel consumption than a TDi, none

Better quality parts, last a lifetime!

No electrics! (well only at the abattoir once lifetime parts have started to fail )

no oil leaks - does leak fluid, just not oil

low insurance cost, vet insurance only

no dealer visits required

And most importantly, all the horsie lot will say "Told you so!" if you buy a TDi

As someone recently showed, you won't get stuck on a horse and need a tow. Watch out for lions in Africa though!

And lastly you can help tow out all those fools that bought a TDi

Steve

[Happyoldgit]

I have heard that the NFU wont insure young drivers? and i have hear bad things about sureterm .

£5000-8000 will get me a newer TD5 with far less rot though?

That may or may not be so but until you or daddy picks up a phone you won't know for sure.

[Keith Keir]

I was in the same boat as you I finaly found a 1999 td5 90 van from. The insurance i got was £1500 TPFT for the first year then when it came to renewal it was down to £900 but then i started thinkign what about van insurance so i went on go compair and it turned out to be a LOT cheeper on van insurance i am now paying £400 TPFT whitch to me is quite cheep seeing as i am only 20 now. So if you were to get a hardtop then I would sagest going van insurance.

Btw i got my land rover for £4000, but the bulkhead was rotten ( it was from shetland >.< ) and doors were pritty used and aboused but the chassis was fine. But then again the rotten parts didnt matter because i rolled it shorly after so all those parts got replace by my self. Most of the things on a td5 are easy to replace your self I had the thing right down to a rolling chassis and rebuilt it. Also most parts from earlyer land rovers fit on to the TD5 only a couple of things are different.

So the only thing I would send it in to the garage for is engine or transmission problems you can do the rest your self.

Also this forum has a lot of answer to problems you can fix and this place is a lot cheeper than a garage

Also there may be a lot of wiring on the td5 but there not as bad as people say they are I am gettign on fine with mine now due to user mistake

[landroversforever]

I was in the same boat as you I finaly found a 1999 td5 90 van from. The insurance i got was £1500 TPFT for the first year then when it came to renewal it was down to £900 but then i started thinkign what about van insurance so i went on go compair and it turned out to be a LOT cheeper on van insurance i am now paying £400 TPFT whitch to me is quite cheep seeing as i am only 20 now. So if you were to get a hardtop then I would sagest going van insurance.

Btw i got my land rover for £4000, but the bulkhead was rotten ( it was from shetland >.< ) and doors were pritty used and aboused but the chassis was fine. But then again the rotten parts didnt matter because i rolled it shorly after so all those parts got replace by my self. Most of the things on a td5 are easy to replace your self I had the thing right down to a rolling chassis and rebuilt it. Also most parts from earlyer land rovers fit on to the TD5 only a couple of things are different.

So the only thing I would send it in to the garage for is engine or transmission problems you can do the rest your self.

Also this forum has a lot of answer to problems you can fix and this place is a lot cheeper than a garage

Also there may be a lot of wiring on the td5 but there not as bad as people say they are I am gettign on fine with mine now due to user mistake

As its a hard-top i want, Van insurance would be good hadnt thought of it!!

[simonr]

Another option - for the insurance and vehicle - would be an ex military vehicle.

When I worked for the BBC, my previously 'cheap' insurance (£450) went up to over a grand! I had an ex mil series 2 at the time and I found a company A.C.Miles IIRC who gave me comprehensive insurance with 5k limited mileage for £70 - which was a bit better.

They do not give any NCB - but as per the above, it makes little difference. 5 years later, then being older too, I left the Beeb and bought a 110 - and the insurance was less than £200.

It might be worth looking to see if you qualify with one of these companies and buying a truck which qualifies also. There are plenty of pretty cool Ex Mil 90's about - but you could buy something really cool which does several gallons per mile - but will impress your mates no end!

By the time you get bored of it - your insurance will be nearly free!

Si

[landroversforever]

How would it be verified that its ex mod? if it is one of the stock looking ones? ie. not cammo.

[simonr]

I had to produce some paperwork to prove it. Can't remember where it came from or what it was though. Gaydon rings a bell though. Mine was a civvy spec series 2 which had been used at Caterick Garrison for towing stuff. Despite not being strictly Mil Spec - it still counted as it was bought and owned originally by the MOD.

Si

[landroversforever]

Sorry to drag this back up again!! a couple of questions:

Where is the best place to buy one from/look at one?? bear in mind i only THINK i know what i'm looking for and have nothing to judge against...

...Is there anyone on here that lives not to far from here that would be able to help out with inspecting, or know of a reputable garage to get one from?

I want one that is solid, and not going to need loads of work. Equally, i dont need a concours one!!

Lastly i think i was a bit mad (arent we all?) in thinking TD5 for first car an earlier one will be far better for me at this stage, slightly cheaper insurance.

[smo]

TD5 is undoubtedly the best defender engine so far, coincidentally its was also in production for longer than any of the others!! My personal preference is TD5 over any others, and i have had a TD5 90, 110 and now a not so great (i dont love it) 200Tdi 90, and an almost ready TD5 D-Lander

As for insurance, if you are the main driver, and your crash and its in your dads name they wont pay - they have cracked down on this a LOT recently, just think how far 10K goes with internal legal teams at an insurance company, rather than pay it out to you for your car and personal injury....they go to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying for fraudulent claims, which your would be!

[JimAttrill]

I drive a lot of different Land Rovers in my job, and must say I do not like driving TD5s. It's the feeling that the throttle is not connected to the engine, which is not surprising, as it isn't. The power off the turbo ie below 2500 rpm is non-existent so you have to row it along on the gear lever. It is rather like being on the bridge of a ship, you dial in the power you want 'ding ding full speed ahead' and sooner or later something will happen. Then you often get too much power all of a sudden and have to lift off, then you have no power so put your foot down again, and so it goes on.

This causes 90s to pitch like crazy, and after a while you need a neck brace to stop your muscles from giving up the ghost, or maybe if you drive one for long enough you end up with neck muscles like a F1 driver Also passengers look at you suspiciously, wondering where you learnt to drive.

110s are a bit better on the pitching front, and don't bother with a 130 with any load in it as you need low range to get up any sort of incline.

What the TD5 really needed was a variable vane turbo and no electronic rubbish. Try driving a Brazilian 2.8 TGV to see what LR could have done if the EU pollution regs hadn't got to them.

On the positive side, I know one guy who swopped his TD5 130 for a Fraud engined 110 and he reckons it is wonderful.

Oh, and TD5s are a pain in the neck to work on, though I won't go into that

[Daniel TD5]

hi ross

i started with a old land rover as my first car

but found this on ebay just right for you and its yellow looks good and its cheap at present

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LAND-ROVER-90-Ex-RAF...tem110233127158

just think how cool the summer would be

dan

[landroversforever]

thanks Daniel TD5, .

What sort of MPG are people getting from their 200 or 300Tdi??

[smo]

thanks Daniel TD5, .

What sort of MPG are people getting from their 200 or 300Tdi??

Probably 20-22mpg, which is much worse than my TD5 ever returned (used to get 28-30) but then i have had to turn up the pump and turbo because standard perform ace is shocking by comparison!!

[landroversforever]

Probably 20-22mpg, which is much worse than my TD5 ever returned (used to get 28-30) but then i have had to turn up the pump and turbo because standard perform ace is shocking by comparison!!

What did you get before the tweaks? as i wont be tweaking for many years!

[Guest mortus]

Im in the same situation, im 17 in 21 days. april 9th

ive already got my 200tdi 90, and my insurance for just me is 1400 with NFU

but i think i will be a named driver on my dads 100% NCB for 2 years untill im 19 and the insurance companys will actually quote me a decent price.

NFU are best for mods aswell.

[landroversforever]

I cant find any information about insurance on the NFU website. do you have to join?

[Madcowz]

I cant find any information about insurance on the NFU website. do you have to join?

No,

just phone your local office:

http://www.nfumutual.co.uk/local-offices/index.htm

very very helpful. They were the only insurer that I phoned that understood why the petrol engine had been taken out and replaced with a 200 Tdi and what rock sliders are.

/mad

[landroversforever]

Cheers mad, got an office in the nearest town!

[Rat Monkey]

I can certainly agree with the recomendation for NFUmutual, only company to give a decent quote with mods and my wife with a provisional licence aswell

[landroversforever]

so has anyone had any dealings with the wantage or witney NFU offices? or are they all the same?

[Rat Monkey]

I phoned the main number for NFU mutual (0800 282 652) they were really helpful

Unfotunatley my local office didn't seem as switched on but were still helpful

[Madcowz]

I phoned the main number for NFU mutual (0800 282 652) they were really helpful

Unfotunatley my local office didn't seem as switched on but were still helpful

When I phoned the main NFU Mutual office they couldn't quote me on a 12 seat defender and advised me to phone the regional office as they could. I can't remember the reason why. Some insurance mumbo jumbo word.

I used the Oxted office.

/Mad

[Adz]

Probably 20-22mpg, which is much worse than my TD5 ever returned (used to get 28-30) but then i have had to turn up the pump and turbo because standard perform ace is shocking by comparison!!

Performance is only 'shocking' if you want to drive like a hoon and the economy is excellent on my 200, tweaked to 1bar and some mild fettling of the fueling. On a run a while back from somerset to cumbria including some town work when I got there I had an average of 36mpg. Granted that's without exceeding 60mph, but it's a land rover, not a Corsa with 1 flared wheel arch in grey primer, wheels on hp and Max power stickers in the windows.

get an older one and teach yourself how to fix it... they're just like a mechano kit really and the bits cost peanuts compared with bits for a TD5.

Cheers,

[smo]

Performance is only 'shocking' if you want to drive like a hoon and the economy is excellent on my 200, tweaked to 1bar and some mild fettling of the fueling. On a run a while back from somerset to cumbria including some town work when I got there I had an average of 36mpg. Granted that's without exceeding 60mph, but it's a land rover, not a Corsa with 1 flared wheel arch in grey primer, wheels on hp and Max power stickers in the windows.

get an older one and teach yourself how to fix it... they're just like a mechano kit really and the bits cost peanuts compared with bits for a TD5.

Cheers,

PMSL - i dont drive like a hoon, i have proper road cars for that, its just the performance from a standard 200tdi is diabolical by comparison and im not saying the TD5 is great or goes fast, it just drives much better out the box.

As for parts, there is very little difference in cost so i dont know where you got that idea from!