most economic defender?

[cstone]

hi there,

i joined the forum just today. i have always had a passion for defenders, but wasn't to sure about the practically of it as a day to day vehicle. decided, forget that and i'm going to get one.

i have a few questions which i hope somebody will be able to help me with.

i want a defender (the one with only 3 doors) but what one should i get?

i want the most economic engine available but what one is that?

also, is it true that if you buy a defender registered before 2001, its only £185 road tax?

can i just put seats in the back of a county hardtop? do i have to notify anybody of the added seats?

im just really looking for some guidance here. hoping somebody with experience and knowledge will advise me. if anybody suggest a style could they if possible provide a picture of what they are talking about and what price it should be going for.

thanks for any advice given

calum

[Quagmire]

I have a 1984 90- its costs me £185 a year to tax.

As for engine- it used to have a 2.25 petrol. That gave me about 17mpg when i got it, and was returning about 21mpg after some love and attention. At that stage it had nice, properly gapped NGK plugs, an electronic dizzy and a kenlowe.

I then converted it to run LPG, and that gave me about 18mpg.

It now has a 3.5 V8 and this gives me about 16-17mpg average on gas, more like 20 on petrol. Only slightly less than the 2.25 but with much more driveability! This weekend on a run to Wales from Surrey i managed 19mpg on gas, just be driving a bit slower (i'm usually late for work in the week )

Using a gas price of 51.9ppl and Petrol of 90.0ppl that works out as giving the equivalent to a 'normal' car attaining 34mpg!

Not bad for a v8 eh?

I must state that 99% of my mileage is on the motorway and so i do tend to get pretty good figures. These drop pretty quickly when doing lost of town driving. After all, sitting still gives you exactly 0mpg.

I paid just over £1k for mine a couple of years ago

[jimmy_neutron]

I got a '91 200tdi defender 90.

I've converted it to run on veggie oil. Providing i'm not towing, it averages at around 28 to 29 mpg.

I buy the same kind of veggie oil that you find in the supermarket and not that used but filtered stuff. That costs me about 55ppl.

That puts me equivelent in cost to a diesel car delivering mid 50's to the gallon.

If you're thinking of buying a defender then my advice is take your time and don't rush into it cos there are so many bad examples to choose from

[Defender56]

hi there,

i joined the forum just today. i have always had a passion for defenders, but wasn't to sure about the practically of it as a day to day vehicle. decided, forget that and i'm going to get one.

i have a few questions which i hope somebody will be able to help me with.

i want a defender (the one with only 3 doors) but what one should i get?

i want the most economic engine available but what one is that?

also, is it true that if you buy a defender registered before 2001, its only £185 road tax?

can i just put seats in the back of a county hardtop? do i have to notify anybody of the added seats?

im just really looking for some guidance here. hoping somebody with experience and knowledge will advise me. if anybody suggest a style could they if possible provide a picture of what they are talking about and what price it should be going for.

thanks for any advice given

calum

My old 300tdi 90csw used to get about 28mpg. Most of that was motorway driving but it was constant pedal to the floor! My new Td5 110, although it's bigger, it gets about 29mpg. It doesn't get driven hard, but it has its moments.

[Outdoor Ed]

Running a 1989 Land Rover 90 CSW with a 2.8 Td out of an Isuzu Trooper in it.

I get 35-38mpg out of it on Diesel, Veg-oil or Bio-diesel.

Yep I'm paying £185 road-tax for the year too

This is my everyday and only drive. I wouldn't change it for the world (big smile factor everyday from driving her)

[Anderzander]

Mine's a td5 2000 model - I'm not sure what road tax I pay!?

but I get 30 - 33mpg.

[Rich_P]

Or... you could go and get a classic Land Rover and pay nill road tax.

[Happyoldgit]

I'm still amazed that the words 'economic' and 'Defender' are being used in the same sentence

[rallycinq]

I'm still amazed that the words 'economic' and 'Defender' are being used in the same sentence

Thats because you have a Puma.

Cheers

SPD

[FridgeFreezer]

Welcome Callum!

The most economical Defender is one you don't own - forget fuel cost, it's all the other stuff (tools, parts, modifications, off-road trips) that will cost you the money once the bug bites

The "one with three doors" is a Defender 90 (early ones were just called "Ninety" if you want to be a real pedant).

You make no indication of your budget and what you want the vehicle for so it's a bit difficult to say which would be best, although a 200TDi, 300TDi, or TD5 would be the most obvious answer in ascending order of budget.

The road tax rules are the same as any other car, so up to a certain year you'll pay £185 and then it degenerates into all the emissions based silliness we have now.

If you're really new to all this, I'll say now you should disregard anything you read (especially about the value of vehicles) in the UK Land Rover magazines, they don't have a great reputation for anything other than serving the interests of their advertisers.

The best advice is to find and join a good local Land Rover club and talk to as many people as possible - at the end of one night in the pub you'll probably have several offers of vehicles for sale, a list of people willing to come and have a look at any prospective purchase, the numbers of several good mechanics and offers of a ride/drive in a variety of vehicles to see if you actually do enjoy the Defender experience.