New to Land Rovers

[Brianlad]

Hello folks,

Im new to this forum and Land Rovers in general so thought somewhere like this would be a good place to start developing my interest.

I have always been a sucker for the Defender but now I am a sucker who is actually looking for one and would value any wisdom that people may wish to share.

As i try to match my desires with reality i am swinging towards a Defender 90 station wagon. Im looking something about 10yr old with under 100k on the clock and im thinking of a budget of about 5ish-K.

Is there anything special i should be aware of or anything i should stay away from ? (eg typical faults / engine types / school-boy pitfalls etc etc)

Any advice would be greatly welcome and places to look for such a vehicle would be especially appreciated. (Im in Belfast, Northern Ireland)

B

[mike4444244]

Welcome to the forum

You will find a mine of information in the tech archive, a good read of this would be a good idea before you go looking, best thing to do is take your time there are plenty around (and plenty of cr@p) and take a friend with you who knows their landys

Good luck with the search

Mike

[Godlykepower]

My advice would be not to rush into it. A lot of people get blinded by desire as soon as they get the money sorted.....i.e I mean as sson as you can actually afford one, you may get overly excited at the first one you see and overlook any faults.

Play it cool & as Mike said, you can find a decent motor.

My other advice would be, if you are willing to give a little on this 10 year age limit, which would mean a TD5 engine, you could possibly go a couple of years older and get a 300TDi. There is nothing wrong at all with a TD5, in fact it is rather brilliant, but for 5k you may be able to pick up something with a simpler (albeit slightly rougher in comparison to a TD5) engine.

And by the same token, mileage is not important on a Diesel Land Rover as it is on a "normal" car; anything round 100k is still being run-in! If you find a vehicle with a service history & has been regularly maintained then mileage becomes irrelevant. Ralph (Western on here) is at something like 400k now .

My final bit of advice is when you do get one.....enjoy it! You will never drive anything that has as much personality and makes you smile (and cry) as much as a Land Rover.

HTH

Martin

[Litch]

Plenty of info on this & other forums about buying your first LR. Read & digest and as already said, take your time to find the right one for you.

Whatever you do don't be blinded by lots of accessories (chequer plate, lights, off-road equipment etc) which may or may not had been fitted by a complete idiot and be hiding all sorts of potential problems. Buy the best, most straight & standard machine you can find and add the accessories later.

How many times has someone posted a thread saying they have spotted a fantastic vehicle fitted with a good sound system, loads of chequer-plate, full under body protection, a multitude of lights, big tyres, furry dice etc and then make no mention of the chassis, bodywork, mechanicals etc?

[Rich_P]

And if you've never driven one, they're nothing like a car - if a bit closer to car-ness than the older models.

Think agricultural.

[R.G.P]

I agree with these coments, don't rush in too deep with the first one. Defenders that haven't been looked after can be a rusty minefield!!!

On another note my tractor is more refined than my defender hahahaha

Good luck!!

[Cranberry]

Welcome.

Defenders do take a bit of getting used to if you've previously driven cars. However I wouldn't swap mine for anything else.

The 90 is more manoeuvrable than the 110, but suffers, in my estimation, from a lack of space. A 110 is slightly harder to park, but gives you far more usable space.

People will tell you to steer away from the TD5, because it has electrics, but they are fine, and more refined motors than the 200/300 series. They can suffer from oil in their wiring loom - this is easily and cheaply fixed. You can tell this problem if there is oil in the connector to the ECU ( under the driver's seat for RHD models ).

[Brianlad]

All useful info folks

Thanks

B

[FridgeFreezer]

The most recent asking of pretty much the same question was by Neill.bird, who initially seemed to have trouble taking advice but if you read around that there was a lot of excellent advice offered in these topics:

Which LR should I buy?

Picked some likely candidates

I've actually bought one

My advice in the first thread still stands.

[dantd5]

Becareful not to fall in love with a "Schizofrened Defender". It might cost you a fortune and you will never love a defender for good! Defenders are a non-ending-buy-a-new-part-one-more-tool-oh-what will-SWIMBO-Say infected truck. IT is an unending project.Remember to have around 1000-2000 quid always on the account

[Brianlad]

Thanks for the advice and links to other forum posts.

Some trawling was needed through the longer threads! LMAO

B

[reb78]

Hmmmmm. This thread seems to have evolved as the day has gone on...... The links offer great advice. Whatever your budget, it will be a lot of money to spend in one go, so it is no wonder that most people are aprehensive and take their time about their purchase . Buy a sound vehicle with a good chassis and, if budget allows, a good engine. All the rest is on here.....fixing the problems, putting in a more desirable engine.....you have come to the right place for the advice you need. It helps you get to know your vehicle, how to fix it and how to enjoy it more...