Buying Defender Help

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ChrisMacca

New Member
Posts
10
Hi,

I'm buying a Defender either 90/110 very soon. I have seen a County 90 on ebay. the interior is immaculate for one of its age.

Mot till June and is taxed until 31/03/2014 It has recently had a new exhaust section, wheel bearing seals, brake pads wheel cylinders and a new battery.


Seller has told me "rust patch welded for mot slight blistering to paint work mot advisory on slight play in pitman arm"

Patching: "Nsr half way between spring mount and cross member"

Its located to far away to visit and inspect. Could anybody give me some advice?

Can give the ebay link if its allowed.

 
For gods sake don't buy something with out looking at it or driving it.

What defender are we talking? How old is old? What's the price.

There's a thread on here with some great tips on what to look for when buying a defender. There's also some guides on you tube that are very informative.

Run the reg through a reg checker, get the chassis number and engine number before you buy. These will tell you what engine, gear box, transfer box it left the factory with, then investigate any discrepancies. If it's rusty (they all are) and has had welding done, you can bet your bottom dollar they'll be more to come so make sure you spend a long time underneath it with a screwdriver poking at all the rusty bits.

If it's old, consider remortgaging your house because it will bleed you dry in the long run.

Bloody good fun tho.
 
payydg said:
For gods sake don't buy something with out looking at it or driving it.

What defender are we talking? How old is old? What's the price.

There's a thread on here with some great tips on what to look for when buying a defender. There's also some guides on you tube that are very informative.

Run the reg through a reg checker, get the chassis number and engine number before you buy. These will tell you what engine, gear box, transfer box it left the factory with, then investigate any discrepancies. If it's rusty (they all are) and has had welding done, you can bet your bottom dollar they'll be more to come so make sure you spend a long time underneath it with a screwdriver poking at all the rusty bits.

If it's old, consider remortgaging your house because it will bleed you dry in the long run.

Bloody good fun tho.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I have a 4k budget so I'm not expecting a brilliant defender. I generally will have to get a defender that's out the way (they are run ragged by mine) so will be hard to view.
 
Where do you live? Maybe someone on here can have a look on your behalf.

4k could get you a really tidy 300tdi or even a nice td5, but will take some shopping around.

I can't emphasize enough not to buy a landy without looking at it. You might get lucky, you probably won't esp when your budget points you at 15-20 yr old land rovers.
 
payydg said:
Where do you live? Maybe someone on here can have a look on your behalf.

4k could get you a really tidy 300tdi or even a nice td5, but will take some shopping around.

I can't emphasize enough not to buy a landy without looking at it. You might get lucky, you probably won't esp when your budget points you at 15-20 yr old land rovers.
Click to expand...

I currently live in Liverpool. Thanks anyway Payydg for your help. Hopefully I can find one I can view!.

Cheers,
 
You can always PM me, or anyone else on here, the eBay link and we can at least look it over.

Hope you get one. They're great
 
Slightly concerned seller hasnt shown evidence of the patch work done,

Cant see a good view of the engine, looks like an NA diesel, slow but long lasting provided its been serviced well,

As about under the doors (where they usually rust)

And a test drive is a must, transmission and gear box issues will rear their ugly head if there are any.
 
payydg said:
I can't emphasize enough not to buy a landy without looking at it. You might get lucky, you probably won't esp when your budget points you at 15-20 yr old land rovers.
Click to expand...

Best advice ever....I got well and truly shafted when I bought mine without test driving it ( gearbox/clutch/transfer box etc ) :( All sorted now but cost me over £1500 to put right !!:mad:

May treat her to a nice shiny new chassis in the New Year though :) Live Wirral
 
It looks quite tidy to me, but tidyness can hide a multitude of sins.

Also, looks like a turbo engine to me, probably a TD but unfortunately it doesn't look like a Tdi to me (air box in the wrong place).

Don't jump at the first one you see, there are thousands on the road and loads for sale, you just have to be patient. And don't worry too much about a chassis being patched, it's not the end of the world. I would worry more about how it drives as engine and transmission problems are more expensive to put right than welding.
 
Bought mine off eBay for £2500, 200tdi defenders were nowhere to be found anywhere near me so a 4 hour trip it was, so much underseal on it and getting dark was hard to see the chassis properly, I was assured the welding done before under sealing was done well, I'd driven that far I bought it, mistake, poking around the chassis was scrap or not far off, I've now replaced the chassis and bulkhead, with all the work I've done it owes me 9k plus, worth every penny though and valued through insurance at just over so done properly they don't lose money, be very careful and give yourself plenty of time to view, check the chassis and engine numbers vs the v5, check the doors and chassis thoroughly as very expensive to replace, give it a good test drive and don't be scared of oil leaks as it should have a few.
 
Thanks for all the comments, they are all much appreciated and taken in. I think I will have to avoid ebay and find someone selling at a direct price rather than bidding so I can have a good look at it. If any of you see a decent defender knocking about could you PM me please?

Cheers,
 
Could anybody help me with this? Will be my first defender!

Land Rover Defender 90 200 TDI GREY | eBay

the guy has sent me some pictures of it from underneath:
5

5

5
 
odometer stopped working at 109.000 miles in 2009 however had full cylinder head rebuild approx. 4000 miles ago

I'd also get a HPI report done on it as they are nicked loads and respraying it is an easy way to conceal stuff
 
ChrisMacca said:
Thanks for all the comments, they are all much appreciated and taken in. I think I will have to avoid ebay and find someone selling at a direct price rather than bidding so I can have a good look at it. If any of you see a decent defender knocking about could you PM me please?

Cheers,
Click to expand...
Have to agree with the others, you would be crazy to buy any vehicle, especially a landy, without a full test drive and try all gears etc.
I dont know how urgently you need one, but many sellers try and cash in on fear of winter weather by selling 4x4 at this time of year. If you could hang on til spring you might get a much better buy.
Also, it might not be better to spend to the limit of your budget, there tend to be little things need sorting after purchase.
 
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