£2K quote for repairs after first MOT/Service - is this reasonable!?

Hi everyone,

Bought my first Defender (2006 TD5 110) a year ago from Nene overland who seemed pretty reputable. They did vehicle check through, repair and minor service and I got it checked by the RAC. The RAC technician gave it a really good report and said it was in great nick (which it appears to be).

I noticed a new whirring when I was engaging gears a few weeks ago so got it checked out as well as a full service and MOT at Sussed Vehicle Services. They have really good reviews on google and seemed fairly straight up.

They've sent me a quote for around 2k for a series of repairs - the most expensive being to fix a loose clutch release bearing (+/- new flywheel, they will only know when they remove the clutch) this is £600-£1000 itself.

Am I being ripped off or should I expect this sort of expense from a Defender this age???

Thanks for the advice
I've attached the quote as a PDF

Well how long is a piece of string?
I would ignore clutch release bearing until it gets worse.
Discs defo need doing as do steering ball joints.
Fan belt as well

Most of the work is diyable, or your local garage might do it, but tbh most garages shy away from land rover work.

If used as a daily driver, I reckon you need to budget minimum 1k per annum for repairs, ie 20 quid per week year on year, they are not cheap cars to run.

Now that you have the book time for each job, find a garage with a more reasonable hourly rate

Seems like very expensive wheel bearings to me. I've just priced some, because I may be doing mine this autumn, and you'd be hard pressed to find any that dear. You can get NTN ones for around £12 incl. VAT so that's only £24 per wheel.
I suppose by tie rods they mean the track rod and steering link; you can get the ball joints separately, so I don't see why it would need the whole rod. The ball joints are wear items so need replacing once in a while. I wondered what the diff bushes were, but presumably by the photo they mean the rear ball joint. Yes, these can wear out, and by the time the rubber cover has deteriorated it's probably time to replace the joint anyway.
I'm not sure how they know that it's specifically the release bearing that's the problem in the clutch. If it's noisy when you press the clutch, the bush in the rear of the crankshaft that the input shaft goes in, or the dual mass flywheel itself can be noisy too. If you're having the clutch done, it's generally worth replacing the dual mass flywheel, because it is so much work to get the gearbox off. They get loose and rattly and contribute to noise and vibration in the vehicle.

Clutch release bearing is same problem on most cars; very cheap part to buy, but labour cost to fit is very high as it is a lot of work to get at it. And while you are in there with the gear box out it is usual to replace the clutch to save the labour costs for doing it again in a couple of months time. I think the TD5 has a dual mass flywheel which wears out with the clutch, and is a expensive item to buy. I did read somewhere that the dmf can be replaced with a solid item, perhaps the experienced can comment on this. Good job you didn't get a quote from a main dealer, you would need a lot of bog roll

Just chatted to the guys at Nene Overland about this. Sounds like their parts prices are identical and based on how similar they are it sounds like they're the same quality parts. They also charge £75 an hour which apparently is pretty bang on average when I look around....

Interesting:

According to a new study, the average motorist is now having to fork out £67 an hour for work to be carried out on their vehicle and one garage in the UK was found to be charging its customers over £230 for one hour’s labour for a car service.

The survey was carried out by the automotive servicing company Motoreasy, with 6,000 garages questioned about the labour charges they expected customers to pay. The study found that Surrey was the most expensive place in the UK to have your vehicle worked on by mechanics, charging an hourly rate slightly over £81, whilst one of the most affordable places to have your car serviced is in Selkirkshire, where mechanics charge around £50 an hour for a car inspection and repairs.

As part of the study, Motoreasy analysed the labour costs at main dealers, quick-fit outlets and independent workshops across the country.

They discovered upon reviewing their findings, that the highest individual hourly labour charges was found at a prestige dealership in Reading, Berkshire, with a rate of £234 an hour. In comparison, however, the cheapest individual hourly labour rate was provided by an independent workshop in Manchester – only £36!

Franchised workshops tend to be the more expensive option, with labour costs equating to an average of £99, whilst independent garages work out at an average of £56 – a 40% difference in price.

If you decide to get the clutch replaced, do a search on the landy zone forums and then specify which brand you want them to fit. There are some sh1t quality items out there, and also some quality stuff. Never had to replace one on a landy myself but have heard some awful stories.

Yes, with the dual mass flywheel all the springs are in the flywheel, and you have a solid clutch friction plate with no springs in it. The trouble with the solid flywheel conversion is you don't get anything to dampen vibration or smooth out the torque peaks on the power strokes, or smooth drive take up, so it can be very harsh, even with a sprung friction plate, because the dual mass flywheel allows a lot more travel. I see LOF Clutches do a friction plate which is supposed to allow the same amount of movement as a dual mass flywheel, but I've not tried one of these.

With clutches I still think it's worth doing the lot at once and then, fingers crossed, it'll be good for another 100,000 miles.

Wimblowdriver said:

If you decide to get the clutch replaced, do a search on the landy zone forums and then specify which brand you want them to fit. There are some sh1t quality items out there, and also some quality stuff. Never had to replace one on a landy myself but have heard some awful stories.

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Yes, I had a clutch failure last year where the middle bit had come loose from the friction plate. I'm afraid I can't remember what brand it was - sorry!

I think it might have been a Valeo - it was in a green box as I remember.

Brown said:

I think it might have been a Valeo - it was in a green box as I remember.

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My valeo plate after circa 30k.

I read that same article about average labour costs! Called up the next nearest Landy specialist and they were ten quid more so reckon I'm going to bite the bullet and go for it. I've got a camper on the back so in the current climate reckon I can sell at a profit if I decide that this is all a bit more expensive than I bargained for (and I did bargain I promise!).

I'll ask them what flywheel they use

Thanks guys

The LOF single mass flywheel and the associated HD clutch plate is a very worthwhile upgrade IMHO. Any increase in harshness is negligible and more than outweighed by the increase in longevity. £2K seems pricey to me, if you don't mind a bit of a drive speak to Ian at Avon Specialist Vehicles (based in Hampshire) and see what he thinks. https://www.asvrepairs.co.uk/

My local LR specialist charges £50 per hour, if you are anywhere near Derbyshire.
They are very good as well, been there since the 1950's.

Hallam Brothers in Hayfield

jamesa said:

I read that same article about average labour costs! Called up the next nearest Landy specialist and they were ten quid more so reckon I'm going to bite the bullet and go for it. I've got a camper on the back so in the current climate reckon I can sell at a profit if I decide that this is all a bit more expensive than I bargained for (and I did bargain I promise!).

I'll ask them what flywheel they use

Thanks guys

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Pal, edit your posting to remove the pdf's they've got your home address on These things are nicked like sweets from a shop and you're telling everyone where to find yours....