Buying a Defender

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Yep, I know it's expensive, but it ticks the right boxes.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-de...romSavedAds=true&advertising-location=at_cars

They were happy about a Defender mechanic coming to have a look, which is positive. I'm up in Scotland so difficult to see myself. Anyone West london fancy a few hours work?
Why not just get them to buy one for you in West London, and bring it up.
It will have had much less exposure to road salt, and a lot of people down there are selling them due to ULEZ.
 
Why not just get them to buy one for you in West London, and bring it up.
It will have had much less exposure to road salt, and a lot of people down there are selling them due to ULEZ.
Article on this in LRM.
Apparently the chip situation is clouding the waters.
Quote from page 119 "Buying guide"
"The owners of these (non ULEZ compliant) cars are sad they are having to sell, but are absolutely flabbergasted by how much their cars are worth. There certainly hasn't been a collapse in values, although it has been masked a lot by the chip shortage for new cars."
 
Article on this in LRM.
Apparently the chip situation is clouding the waters.
Quote from page 119 "Buying guide"
"The owners of these (non ULEZ compliant) cars are sad they are having to sell, but are absolutely flabbergasted by how much their cars are worth. There certainly hasn't been a collapse in values, although it has been masked a lot by the chip shortage for new cars."
Second hand cars appear to be selling very well. Probably partly due to the chip shortage, and partly due to fear of using public transport due to Covid.
But I would still think if you want to buy one, it is going to be better to get one in a city, where it will probably not have done a lot of miles, and not been exposed to so much road salt and animal wastes on the roads.
That is what I used to do when I used to buy and sell a few old Land Rovers years ago, buy one in London or the Home Counties, and take it down to Cornwall to sell. Always used to make a good profit on them.
 
Hi All,

I've found what looks like a nice defender from UK Custom Land Rovers. Nut and bolt rebuild, galv chassis, nice and shinny. The guy says he will not entertain an AA or RAC check as they don't really understand Landys, create long lists and block up his yard. Is this reasonable?
Unreasonable? Possibly. Certainly doesn't seem very welcoming. That said, I can sort of see their point. And tbh if you are the sort of person needing an AA/RAC inspection, then you might not be the sort of person who should own and run a Defender...

You are much better off inspecting the vehicle yourself. It really isn't all that hard.
 
This seems a lot of money. I recently did a "nut and bolt" rebuild of my TD5. I literally took everything apart and cleaned and replaced where necessary, and either copper greasing or loctiting all the bolts depending on their function. 18 months later I work on her every Saturday morning doing bits and bobs that have cropped up. 7k on I'm going to have to replace the steering box which is leaking and rear diff which has a slight bit of play where the propshaft is bolted to it. Not big jobs by any manner of means but a pain the @rse to do anyway. And I could have done them at the time but they seemed fine when I checked them.
My point is, thats a lot of money for something that is going to continue to cost you in the future because their refurb will only have been to replace the things that needed replacing. 120k is 120k. You dont know what kind of life its had, it may have been driven over potholes and cobbles all its life and never been out of 3rd gear. I know people say they are a bullet proof engine but I'm not so sure, even ones with a good service history have issues.
All the wiring is 26 years old, unless theyve changed the various looms and that steering wheel is honking. I would check for ANY oil coming from the Transfer box and gearbox, because at that proce you would hope they would have rplaced all the seals on the critical areas that always go. Let it run for a bit and stick some cardboard under it. Deduct a grand for every drip :)
Final thing from me is why leave the chassis bare - I know its a galvie but why advertise it? Anyone doing this themselves would have painted the chassis with the correct paint - to deter thieves but also to protect it.
 
Second hand cars appear to be selling very well. Probably partly due to the chip shortage, and partly due to fear of using public transport due to Covid.
But I would still think if you want to buy one, it is going to be better to get one in a city, where it will probably not have done a lot of miles, and not been exposed to so much road salt and animal wastes on the roads.
That is what I used to do when I used to buy and sell a few old Land Rovers years ago, buy one in London or the Home Counties, and take it down to Cornwall to sell. Always used to make a good profit on them.
And I would imagine ones in Cornwall suffered more from rust partly due to the proximity of the sea, whose moisture is caught on the winds and blown inland anyway. It is said that ones from the Channel Islands suffer a lot from this.
 
And I would imagine ones in Cornwall suffered more from rust partly due to the proximity of the sea, whose moisture is caught on the winds and blown inland anyway. It is said that ones from the Channel Islands suffer a lot from this.
All that sort of stuff.
A vehicle that has spent it's life in a garage in Surrey, and used odd weekends to tow a horsebox to a gymkhana almost always looks better, and is better, then one that has spent it's life on a Cornish stock farm.
 
This seems a lot of money. I recently did a "nut and bolt" rebuild of my TD5. I literally took everything apart and cleaned and replaced where necessary, and either copper greasing or loctiting all the bolts depending on their function. 18 months later I work on her every Saturday morning doing bits and bobs that have cropped up. 7k on I'm going to have to replace the steering box which is leaking and rear diff which has a slight bit of play where the propshaft is bolted to it. Not big jobs by any manner of means but a pain the @rse to do anyway. And I could have done them at the time but they seemed fine when I checked them.
My point is, thats a lot of money for something that is going to continue to cost you in the future because their refurb will only have been to replace the things that needed replacing. 120k is 120k. You dont know what kind of life its had, it may have been driven over potholes and cobbles all its life and never been out of 3rd gear. I know people say they are a bullet proof engine but I'm not so sure, even ones with a good service history have issues.
All the wiring is 26 years old, unless theyve changed the various looms and that steering wheel is honking. I would check for ANY oil coming from the Transfer box and gearbox, because at that proce you would hope they would have rplaced all the seals on the critical areas that always go. Let it run for a bit and stick some cardboard under it. Deduct a grand for every drip :)
Final thing from me is why leave the chassis bare - I know its a galvie but why advertise it? Anyone doing this themselves would have painted the chassis with the correct paint - to deter thieves but also to protect it.
Have to agree about the lack of paint on the chassis. Coudln't really understand the point of some of the pics where all they showed was the fact someone couldn't be Rsed to wave a paintbrush around!!
 
This seems a lot of money. I recently did a "nut and bolt" rebuild of my TD5. I literally took everything apart and cleaned and replaced where necessary, and either copper greasing or loctiting all the bolts depending on their function. 18 months later I work on her every Saturday morning doing bits and bobs that have cropped up. 7k on I'm going to have to replace the steering box which is leaking and rear diff which has a slight bit of play where the propshaft is bolted to it. Not big jobs by any manner of means but a pain the @rse to do anyway. And I could have done them at the time but they seemed fine when I checked them.
My point is, thats a lot of money for something that is going to continue to cost you in the future because their refurb will only have been to replace the things that needed replacing. 120k is 120k. You dont know what kind of life its had, it may have been driven over potholes and cobbles all its life and never been out of 3rd gear. I know people say they are a bullet proof engine but I'm not so sure, even ones with a good service history have issues.
All the wiring is 26 years old, unless theyve changed the various looms and that steering wheel is honking. I would check for ANY oil coming from the Transfer box and gearbox, because at that proce you would hope they would have rplaced all the seals on the critical areas that always go. Let it run for a bit and stick some cardboard under it. Deduct a grand for every drip :)
Final thing from me is why leave the chassis bare - I know its a galvie but why advertise it? Anyone doing this themselves would have painted the chassis with the correct paint - to deter thieves but also to protect it.

Totally agree. I wouldn't buy a land rover off anyone other than an enthusiast. They're the only people that put in the time and they effort. Problem is they rarely sell.
 
Hi All,

I've found what looks like a nice defender from UK Custom Land Rovers. Nut and bolt rebuild, galv chassis, nice and shinny. The guy says he will not entertain an AA or RAC check as they don't really understand Landys, create long lists and block up his yard. Is this reasonable?

What did you do in the end? I don't know where in Aberdeenshire you are but I live in the city, you're more than welcome to come have a look at mine I can talk you through all the bits to check etc. Or if you need a hand with the maintenance, happy to help.
 
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