Hard Top Or County SW

[philak]

Having completed the insurance search to get an idea of costs, i'm now searching for a Defender. Aside from visibility , what are the pros and cons to getting a hardtop over the County SW. Does it change the tax bracket from the County version , is a hardtop more secure? The windows on the County look as those they may be a bit leaky over time too?

I'll probably only be driving with 1 passenger most of the time but wouldn't mind the occasional extra one or two seats. I think i have seen hardtops for sale with rear seats?

If it's been covered before i did try a search so please just link to a thread if i didnt find it.

Cheers

Phil

[mmgemini]

Why not get a hardtop County ? There is such a thing. Or get an ordinary station wagon.

The County trim could include

Tinted windows.

Cloth seats

Carpets

A sun roof that could leak

Alli wheels

Body coloured wheel spats.

HRW

Rear wiper

County decals.

The advantages of a hardtop are slightly better security.

A long load space.

The advantages of a station wagon. I do like my station wagon

More light.

It's looked on as an up market Defender.

You can access the side rear through the rear doors.

You can separate the load bay from the passenger compartment.

mike

[philak]

Thanks Mike, i think i was slightly confusing County (as in trim level) with Station Wagon but it's clearer now. I'm looking then at the advantages or otherwise of a Station wagon over a Hardtop then and aside from those you have already given. (I'd be looking at a 90 btw so 3 doors.)

[mmgemini]

If you're looking at a 90, I have a 110 and tend to forget 90's exist, I don't think ther trim apart from the side windows maks much difference.

Personally I'd go for the hardtop but that's the way I think.

mike

[OilIT]

If you're looking at a 90, I have a 110 and tend to forget 90's exist, I don't think ther trim apart from the side windows maks much difference.

Personally I'd go for the hardtop but that's the way I think.

mike

find the right truck at the right money - if its a hard top you can always add rear seats and windows later. I suspect generally speaking most hard tops will have had a harder life than a county (a bit like your average astra van versus your average astra estate)

[landy andy.]

The hardtop is much cheaper in road tax.

Andy

[crwoody]

One of the advantages of having rear side windows is the improved visibility when you’re trying to pull out of obtuse angled road junctions, or some off road situations.

On the downside, if they’re the factory fitted ones, they can be inclined to leak a bit, especially if you use a jet wash, also, depending on the age / generation they can rattle quite a bit where the sliding glass is not held tightly enough in the runners.

I’ve never found security to be an issue with mine; given that you’ll have a nice big window in the back door a couple more won’t make much difference.

Clive.

[Dr Goon]

As far as the Vehicle Excise Licence point is concerned, I think that depends on the age of vehicle. That would, I think, apply only to cars that are rated on CO2 emissions, so anything pre-2001 would be the same.

<edited as I was talking tosh about toll bridge pricing>

I have had my 110 Station Wagon for 7 years and love it. Personally, I would be inclined to go for a SW up to about year 2000. There really isn't much in it in terms of security. I have a dog guard and window grills in the back of mine to make it slightly less easy to get into the load area, but the weak point on all Defenders is the crude door locks fitted as standard. It is always advisable to have some secondary security system.

As you live in Chippenham, have a look at the place opposite the bottom of the Malmesbury Road, Harfords. He is not cheap but his vehicles are worth a look as they seem to be reasonably well presented. W.J.Joyce in Trowbridge is a place that a mate of mine used to use and recommended. No personal experience of using them but GB Mud (a moderator on here) lives in that area and may know more about them.

There are plenty of good trucks out there. Don't buy the first you try. Get a good one and it will do you sterling service for years.

Good luck

[jason110]

I do know, however, that on certain toll bridges, it is cheaper to take a Station Wagon through than it would be a hard top. The Severn Bridge for example costs me the same in the truck as in the car (£5.30 last year), but hard-top Land Rovers pay the van rate, which is £10.60. So if you pop over to South Wales regularly, you should factor that cost into your deliberations.

Thats interesting you get charged £10.60 for a hard top, i make cross the severn-bridge quite a lot and have never paided £10.60, but the lower rate of £5.30! oh btw i have a 110 hard top.

[Dr Goon]

I stand corrected. Post edited accordingly.

I had based my posting on an assumption, given the diagrams of the various classes of vehicle.

[philak]

I'm certainly not buying the first i try as i must have looked at 30 already without actually driving any of them! I either see big £ signs or rusted chassis members on everything i look at (although the rust is probably superficial i'm being overly cautious as major rebuilding is not my aim). It's also been donkeys years since i stripped anything down so it wouldn't take much paint /underseal as camoflague to disguise something bad.

As a basic rule of thumb im finding anything X reg (2000/2001) "looks" fairly solid underneath but when i look at the weekend trip threads i see plenty of older vehicles doing just fine. As i say though, at this point i don't have the time or facilities to do too much work on a truck , i need something reliable and solid for now so the hunt will continue. I'll spend as much as i can reasonably afford to get the best i can at the moment.

Phil

BTW i read that there is a members' vehicles section somewhere but i can't find it?

[western]

BTW i read that there is a members' vehicles section somewhere but i can't find it?

you won't have access to the members vehicles forum, until you have accrued 20 posts IIRC, it was a attempt to prevent 'unwanted browsers' scanning members vehicles with a view to seperating said vehicles from their owners,