MINESAPINT Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Over the last month or so I have been toying with either tidying up my existing 110Ht Td5 or buying a new Puma. My wife has also understandably added her two penneth. It all started when I had a puncture and the repairer damaged my up to then pristine alloy wheels. I considered having the wheel re powder coated but a match with others could not be guaranteed. I then started having a critical look round the vehicle & decided to do a proper refurbishment it would need new doors, new tyres, new body cappings & a full respray & waxoyling! Cost was £2,000 going on £3,000. My wife made it clear she would rather put the money to a new one. Had a tour round local Land Rover dealers to see what was available & what sort of a deal could be done. Met some right 47&3 holes in the process. Also got it into my mind I would like to save some money by buying a demonstrator. It so happened that Land Rover were holding a closed auction last Wednesday for dealers only and a vehicle was in it I might be interested in. 110 County Hard Top, ABS, Alloys & Air con. 07 reg 4,000 miles. Dealer thought it should be about £15,000 plus VAT. I said if he bought it I would look at it. The vehicles in the auction have been used & abused by Land Rover & their staff but difficult to know what for. The dealer did buy it but said it was a bit more than he thought and it would be £15,500 + VAT. I went to see it today. Initial glance it looked fine but on closer inspection it had certainly been abused. 3 wheels damged, longditudinal scratches along the bottom of the chassis, everywhere the valeters failed to reach was covered in a pale cream dried on mud, bottom half of engine, gearbox etc. this was also under the carpets inside the vehicle suggesting it had done some serious wading. It had as much physical bodywork damage as mine but admittedly less corrosion. Spare tyre totally flat with a hole in the tyre wall. Tyres on the vehicle had grooves running round the treads presumably done by wheelspin on rough terrain, they also seem to have lost an extroadinary amount of tread in only 4,000 miles. Not much different to mine after 57,000 miles! Saving on list price was I understand to be in region of £8,000 but the reason we are interested in changing our vehicle was to put the niggling imperfections behind us. I don't think my wife would have gone for it at half list price! Some will say it has only been put to the purpose it was designed for. In the end we ordered a new 110 County Hard Top with alloys. Should get it next week. MINESAPINT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Sounds like the Experience has had some use out of it! Probably best avoided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 or it's been on loan/test drive to a quarry company. & I still hate the bulgie bonnet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 & I still hate the bulgie bonnet. Love it now Ralph,, no face full of rain water first time you hit the brakes of a morning !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WALFY Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I wouldn't buy an Ex demo or Expierience LR. Ex Demo Think about how you treat the car on your test drive. If like me you push it in most gears to see what it'll do. And generaly treat it badly. Tell me I'm wrong. LR Exp vehicle. They do get severely abused by drivers who aren't 100% sure of how to drive, hence why they are there. Either way they'll both have a lot of character in 4K miles. I was offered the teat drive model I took out. THinking I'd be in for a bargain, asked about the price. Well it had a towbar and a few other things on it to bling it up but it had 6K miles on it and they lowered the list price by less than 1K. So walked away chuckling to myself. Made a few calls and got 13% discount over the phone with a few things thrown in. Best decision I ever made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jos Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I wouldn't buy an Ex demo or Expierience LR.Ex Demo Think about how you treat the car on your test drive. If like me you push it in most gears to see what it'll do. And generaly treat it badly. Tell me I'm wrong. LR Exp vehicle. They do get severely abused by drivers who aren't 100% sure of how to drive, hence why they are there. Either way they'll both have a lot of character in 4K miles. I was offered the teat drive model I took out. THinking I'd be in for a bargain, asked about the price. Well it had a towbar and a few other things on it to bling it up but it had 6K miles on it and they lowered the list price by less than 1K. So walked away chuckling to myself. Made a few calls and got 13% discount over the phone with a few things thrown in. Best decision I ever made teat drive model?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas90 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I wouldn't buy an Ex demo or Expierience LR.Ex Demo Think about how you treat the car on your test drive. If like me you push it in most gears to see what it'll do. And generaly treat it badly. Tell me I'm wrong. LR Exp vehicle. They do get severely abused by drivers who aren't 100% sure of how to drive, hence why they are there. Either way they'll both have a lot of character in 4K miles. I was offered the teat drive model I took out. THinking I'd be in for a bargain, asked about the price. Well it had a towbar and a few other things on it to bling it up but it had 6K miles on it and they lowered the list price by less than 1K. So walked away chuckling to myself. Made a few calls and got 13% discount over the phone with a few things thrown in. Best decision I ever made My nas was registered by Land Rover, taken to Val des' eire (Sp) had plenty of promo videos taken along with other LHD white Disco's and RR's and then finally dumped on the experience guys in Solihull. I bought the vehicle from a main stealer 18 months old and 2300 miles. Now done 110,000 and still going strong, just depends on the condition when viewed. And yes Tim it does tip rain water over the screen, thought it was just my vehicle Helps being a V8 of course but then I've never been biased against d,d,d,d damn never could spell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 And yes Tim it does tip rain water over the screen, thought it was just my vehicle Helps being a V8 of course but then I've never been biased against d,d,d,d damn never could spell Young David !!! excues me,, I am a proper V8 man as well you know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowfinger Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 £2000-£3000 vs around £18,000. I'd go down the cheaper route myself. I own a 1985 110 CSW that I'm currently putting a new chassis on (amongst other things) and that alone will give the car around another 20 years of life. Land Rovers are meant to live forever in a Frankenstinian fashion in my view (a new bit here, a refurb there). Besides, the loss of the front vents on a Puma would be just too much for me to bear. Wash and brush up the TD5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MINESAPINT Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Wise words BOWFINGER I am sure and I was well down the road to planning a full refurbish. Found who I believe to be an absolutely genuine Land Rover refurbisher in Stockton 25 miles from where I live to carry out most of the work. Sorted a galvaniser to galvanise all the bits Land Rover forgot to do in the first place. Found a powder coater just up the road from me etc. etc. Unlike yourself I am unable to complete the work myself. The job would have been far from straightforward however as I only have 1 vehicle, wife does not drive, no friends. Wife also more than very unhappy about the vehicle dissapearing into the shady underworld of Land Rover refurbishers. Being married I should have had more sence than to carry out several months of research & planning in the first place. Mrs MINESAPINT was more than capable of making the correct decision in very much less time than a nanosecond! She even knew Keswick Green was a terrible colour before she saw it! MINESAPINT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WALFY Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 If you wanted to refurb yours then buy a cheap eurobox drive that till the refurb is done. If you buy a car you don't like driving it will make you refurb it that much quicker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSN Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 For Land Rover's, always avoid Silver vehicles which were previously owned by LR. Likely to be LR Experience vehicles and as mentioned above, they let inexperienced people behind the wheel (like JST!!! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantd Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 MINESAPINT - sounds like you made the right decision to me 110 Hard top Puma. Very exciting! You'll have to plan your overlanding adventures now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MINESAPINT Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 The dealer did say that Silver Defenders were used as Challenge vehicles but they were understandably unable to say what the one they had purchased at auction had been used for. However the evidence was there to see. The damage to the chassis, wheels, tyres & bodywork were evident but not any internal damage to engine/gearbox etc. In life we never truly know if we have made the correct decisions but you pays your money and you makes your choice. MINESAPINT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Love it now Ralph,, no face full of rain water first time you hit the brakes of a morning !! Nonsense - just saves on screen wash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisV8 Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Only problem to me is that LR charge way too much now ! Local garage has a mint 07 plate Santana with 9000 miles on the clock for..................£8995 plus Gordon (sorry Alistair's) bit works out a huge difference to buying a 110 ! Also it comes with a much better engine in my view, but it's the old model now Iveco are producing the Massif. I will stay with my olduns thanks much more maneageable and you don't have to get the main stealer to fix it ! I also have just bought a JEEP Patriot !!!!!! Does the same as a Freelander for me with a nice big wedge still left in my back pocket, I am getting 45mpg out of it as well which is a lot more than others have told me the Freebie 2 does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MINESAPINT Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Problem I have is I am unaware of any other vehicles that are similar to a Defender 110 Hard Top? All others seem to be full of seats. MINESAPINT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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