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Petrol or Diesel for horsey towing?


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It's far easier to be critical of a car when you aren't the one who is buying it, if you are the one who has been searching and wanting it's very easy to get taken over by the excitement of it and miss things ..... I missed loads when buying mine :( But everything is fixable.

Also worth pointing out to check the engine number, vin plate and the chassis stamped vin, a lot of Defenders get stolen and you don't want to end up getting your new toy taken away from you.

When looking at the chassis don't forget that underseal/schutz as well as protecting the chassis may also be hiding a multitude of sins. It looks like the one in the advert has had a replacement rear cross member at some point which isn't unusual at the age it's at.

This has had a new rear cross-member and it would appear to have been done correctly. Re the underbody, I will if poss, get someone to check it over for me.
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Which of course may be hiding problems as well.

Anyone remember if the 300 tdi's had colour matched roofs? Or if County Station Wagons all had sunroofs?

My 98 300 tdi had colour matched roof, but it was a 50th anniversary collectors edition, it was a hardtop but had sunroof and alpine windows in the back. The 90 in the link is not a genuine CSW, it has no sunroof, no alpine windows and the interior roof lining isn't the same front to rear, the rear has been added and has the cut outs for the alpine windows, the seats are wrong for a CSW too and there is a large amount of dents on the drivers side of the roof too!

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My 98 300 tdi had colour matched roof, but it was a 50th anniversary collectors edition, it was a hardtop but had sunroof and alpine windows in the back. The 90 in the link is not a genuine CSW, it has no sunroof, no alpine windows and the interior roof lining isn't the same front to rear, the rear has been added and has the cut outs for the alpine windows, the seats are wrong for a CSW too and there is a large amount of dents on the drivers side of the roof too!

Is it a problem that it is not a true CSW? I will have to google this whole alpine window thing as I cannot see what you are talking about. Are you saying the back has been added because of the lash points on the tub?
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Is it a problem that it is not a true CSW? I will have to google this whole alpine window thing as I cannot see what you are talking about. Are you saying the back has been added because of the lash points on the tub?

Ok, got the Alpine bit. The head-lining seemed to be continuous even if it was not as it should be. The roof dents, I see now from the photos, but I have yet to view one that has not got an imperfection. Thank you for looking at this; I ask again, does it matter that it is not a true CSW for insurance or resale purposes?
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Ok, got the Alpine bit. The head-lining seemed to be continuous even if it was not as it should be. The roof dents, I see now from the photos, but I have yet to view one that has not got an imperfection. Thank you for looking at this; I ask again, does it matter that it is not a true CSW for insurance or resale purposes?

The County version is basically a step up from the standard, so basically it's not the model it claims to be ...... so there should be a difference in value.

Would be worth getting hold of the VIN so you can put it into one of the VIN decoders on the web and see if it was even a station wagon when built.

As it stands the low emission zone checker states that Land Rover is non compliant so you would have to go through getting it registered if you think you may venture into the LEZ.

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That's the thing, if it isn't a genuine Csw or Sw then it's worth less beer tokens and as Crazy says, it's not LEZ compliant which means it never was a station wagon and never will be. For that money you could get a clean and genuine Td5 hardtop 90.

Ok, I am picking up on the fine print. Thank you Wabbit and Toady. I clearly have a lot to learn, but also ask that, if this is my first buy, is it a wrong-un? TD5's I hear are being nicked left/right/centre - a neighbour of mine has been troubled. I am not needing LEZ, I just need a 'solid' 'reliable' work machine for my gardening and photography work - possibly hanging some telescopic camera-pole-type-thingy of the roof/back and some dobbin shifting.
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Do you actually need the extra seats of a station wagon? You could save yourself money by getting a hard top, due to your location you could also wander a bit closer to London as non LEZ compliant vehicles (commercials, not station wagons) should be cheaper.

If you need a station wagon then I would say that 300 tdi is priced as a County Station Wagon but isn't, so you would be paying over the odds.

EDIT: All Defenders are easily nicked regardless of model, budget on adding extra security. TD5's are a little more secure than the older ones.

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Do you actually need the extra seats of a station wagon? You could save yourself money by getting a hard top, due to your location you could also wander a bit closer to London as non LEZ compliant vehicles (commercials, not station wagons) should be cheaper.

If you need a station wagon then I would say that 300 tdi is priced as a County Station Wagon but isn't, so you would be paying over the odds.

EDIT: All Defenders are easily nicked regardless of model, budget on adding extra security. TD5's are a little more secure than the older ones.

Re seating: Future proofing: yes, we will need the extra seating capability but do not want to drive something as big as a 110. Happy to retro-fit a standard 90 with two forward-facing seats. I am trying to cut down on the gardening so large tools (pole-cutters/12ft ladders) storage is not a long term consideration, other than a few tools and saddles etc. I/we want windows in the back, but accept that this is all do-able later. I am not wildly mechanically skilled, and so am looking for something that will last for a while, whilst I skill up.
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EDIT: All Defenders are easily nicked regardless of model, budget on adding extra security. TD5's are a little more secure than the older ones.

I have been looking at some nice security options available from Xeng. I particularly like the floor plate thingy, but feel that I would want that and something more visible like the gear/diff locking thingy too.
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I have been looking at some nice security options available from Xeng. I particularly like the floor plate thingy, but feel that I would want that and something more visible like the gear/diff locking thingy too.

I have both of them, very nice bits of kit :) If you want increased visibility of the pedal lock you could cover the outside in hazard tape, that makes it very visible when locked but unobtrusive when unlocked.

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