Buying first defender 90, advice please

thecowvet said:

Cheers everyone.

Re the 110 - I know that the seat situation would be beneficial but I prefer the size of the 90; it would be easier to navigate round tight farmyards while avoiding machinery! Also if I commit to a 110 then I might as well start shopping at Mothercare...


Thanks for all the help and amusing comments

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It would just be a shame to get your motor just how you want it, then 12-18 months down the line have to get rid because your struggling for space and need something bigger

R.E. the Mods you want doing, what is it you want, quite a lot of stuff is pretty easy to do yourself if your that way inclined

i bought a wee 90 last year with grand plans, but 3 months later i found out i really did need the 110.

For what your planing go for the 110. I,m 6ft3 17 stone and i,ve driven defenders since i was 17. I,ve never been uncomfortable and i,ve driven germany to poland in them.

Yes they will leak and frustrate you, but what the hell, you can repair yourself and modify as required with basic mechanical knowledge.

So dont do what i,ve done and that is buy a 90 then decide you need a 110 so buy one of them aswell. The future wife will be most unimpressed and you,ll end up with a 90 sitting there. I,ve found this out the hard way!.........and welcome

I think a TDCI 90 county would be your best bet, you could get a new one for £25k.
If you can barter you might be able to get a XS too.

Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated! I think you're right and I might need to give the idea of a 110 a bit more thought... Was concerned re cost too but like you said its better than buying two!

Re doing the mods myself; I'm more used to scalpels and arm length gloves than spammers and socket sets! Stick to what you know is my motto!

Reckon I could get a half decent reliable low mileage 110 for £25k?

Thanks again everyone, very friendly.

Disco or 110 IMHO im 19 6ft 5" love the disco very comfortable and alot more refined than a defender IMO, but disco just don't have the X factor that defenders do

for 25k you,ll easily get a 110. Just look around and dont buy the first one you see. I only had 8 grand to find one and i took my time.

thecowvet said:

All I want is something that allows me to lock away stinky/expensive vet gear and the option of some back seats would be helpful cos I'm getting married this year and everyone knows what comes next...!

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I think the soft top you showed wouldn't be good for this as security is terrible.
Also, the back seats in a defender 90 aren't the most useable if you are wanting to fit a child seat eventually etc.... (although many do use them for this i'm sure).

Ive got a soft top and I love it but I would not want to be doing 35k miles a year in it. The soft tops make a fair bit of noise when going over about 40mph as the wind makes the canvas buffet and drum.

In terms of warmth I don't find the soft top any colder than the hard tops i've been in.

I love driving around in the landie and it makes me grin but to be honest I wouldn't choose to drive 35k miles in any defender if I had the choice of a discovery or something else confortable (even if it were Japanese :behindsofa:. )

I know what you mean about not wanting to look flash and you would like to "blend in" but have you seen the soft top you posted the link to??? It hardly blends in. I would have thought a discovery 3 without anything flash on it would look less garish.

If you are set on a defender I would agree with the others re the 110. Take a look at the Utility 110. You get the advantage of the back seats but also a good hard sided load space in the back for your kit. 110s may be slightly less manoeuvrable but to be honest most defenders seem to have terrible turning circles anyway so its all relative.

I wouldn't claim to know much about landies other than living (very happily) with mine as a second vehicle and the above is just my opinion.

Good luck with the search!

thecowvet said:

Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated! I think you're right and I might need to give the idea of a 110 a bit more thought... Was concerned re cost too but like you said its better than buying two!

Re doing the mods myself; I'm more used to scalpels and arm length gloves than spammers and socket sets! Stick to what you know is my motto!

Reckon I could get a half decent reliable low mileage 110 for £25k?

Thanks again everyone, very friendly.

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Bloody hell, that will never do

Might be worth seeing if you can get an extended test drive in a Fender

Make sure you keep this updated with what you decide, we is a nosey lot

Thanks again everyone.

It appears that head must rule heart, style must bow to substance and a 110 is perhaps the most appropriate. (at the moment I refuse to bow out completely and get a Navara but I'll take a few 110s out for a spin and see!)

I'm leaning more towards a double cab pickup rather than a Utility because i like the idea of my kit being separate from my driving airspace (you can't imagine a smell worse than my kit after delivering a dead calf thats been aborting for 3days!) I reckon I'd all fit in it with some sort of lid on it rather than the canvas top - can't have the pikies robbing my ketamine!

Ultimately i reckon 110 pick up for general use, 90 soft top for sunny days and a Navara for when my back is aching! Pipe dreams anyone?!

Thanks again, I'm going to call in at a LR garage tomorrow and weigh them up in the flesh. Will keep you posted if I don't crack and go jap, wouldn't show my face here if I did!

Turboman said:

Im a classic vehicle nut and Im still not sure Id want to do 35k on lanes. Peeps who say its comfortable are probably about 21, I was fine all day in a Landy then.

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I'm 46 but I take your point it's all relative.

thecowvet said:

So, if I was to purchase a low mileage 90 from Nene am I likely to encounter the problems our friend did on the other thread?

If I'm gonna get ripped off by them does anyone have any other suggestions of potential vendors? Should I pick up one from a 'reputable' official Landy dealership and have a secondary company do the mods I would like?

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Possibly, some of the stuff mentioned though was fair wear and tear the exceptions being the spot lights and maybe the door trim. I do treat all dealers the same though as they are used to selling and maybe bending the truth here and there shall we say......

thecowvet said:

Thanks again everyone.

It appears that head must rule heart, style must bow to substance and a 110 is perhaps the most appropriate. (at the moment I refuse to bow out completely and get a Navara but I'll take a few 110s out for a spin and see!)

I'm leaning more towards a double cab pickup

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Don't go alone.
Read the what to look for guide.
Ideally take someone along with you who knows at least something of the pitfalls of Landrover buying.

If you absolutely must go alone make a list of things to look at/questions to ask, a torch and something to lie on

Evening everyone,
Just to let you know I had a little trip over to Nene today. Fairly impressed by their wealth of stock and the guy that helped me did know his onions, they just seemed so rushed. The guy who was helping me was flitting between about 5 different customers, despite me having told them I was on my way. Having said that I managed to take a couple of Defs out for a long drive on my own - an 2009 plate 110 and a tuned SVX 90. 110 was good but LOVED the tuned 90, their engine remap giving an extra 40bhp really made a difference, the recaro seats were a dream too.

Only situation is the cost! Man they're dear. I was looking at commercial 110s and hardtop 90s and would not have got change for £28k pre-VAT and thats before tuning,seats,etc

I've also had a look at some used "Twisted Editions". Really like those and they seem a bit more reasonable at the same price with the mods done. can pick one up on pistonheads.com for anywhere between £17 and £30k

Slowly working on the Mrs-to-be to appreciate that a 2 seater Defender 90 hard-top is by far the better option, who wants a stinking vet-wagon to be the family car??!?!?!?

Any experiences of Twisted Performance?

Cheers everyone

Evening cowvet, Im afraid I know nothing about such kit, my involvement with landies is from the classsic vehicle end of things, dont think Ive ever even been in post 1995 vehicle, I think someone gave me a lift in a late model disco once but the details escape me. Im sure someone will be along soon that has experience of later vehicles and they will sort you out.
Any interesting calvings or anything to tell us about?

Cheers Turboman, things are ticking along with it all, still got a few months left on the Skoda so in no huge rush, will take my time to find the right vehicle.

Sounds like you're a real classic nut, got a lot of respect for that.

I'm on call this weekend, so far only had a calving with a dead calf with deformed hindlimbs that needed cutting up and delivered piecemeal and another cow that required caesarean section due to her calf being massive! Fairly quiet. Now just perusing defenders waiting for the phone to ring!

thecowvet said:

Cheers Turboman, things are ticking along with it all, still got a few months left on the Skoda so in no huge rush, will take my time to find the right vehicle.

Sounds like you're a real classic nut, got a lot of respect for that.

I'm on call this weekend, so far only had a calving with a dead calf with deformed hindlimbs that needed cutting up and delivered piecemeal and another cow that required caesarean section due to her calf being massive! Fairly quiet. Now just perusing defenders waiting for the phone to ring!

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Do ya think that was due to Schmallenberg virus, cowvet?

You're bang on. All our herds have tested positive for the virus during late summer so this will be the effect now as those cows will be calving about now. May have a few more caesars on our hands as we're going into the spring... can't wait...!

Take it you're in the industry?

It is in the area around here but we havent had a visible case, no idea whether there are antibodies or not. Our cattle are hard as nails they live out most of the time, weve never had any problems with any ofthe diseases, only with the related political and regulatory bull****. I have never had a caesar in twenty years, although I have assisted at a couple. Im right down in Cornwall, got a few sucklers and a few pedigree Angus, ties in well with my interest in old Landies and tractors. Whereabouts are you based cowvet?

I cover mainly Staffordshire and Shropshire.

I should imagine that it has been through your herd but given that they're tough you won't have seen much of an effect, its thought that the immunity should be fairly long lived so you should be ok for the future. Can always blood sample them if you feel so inclined. Our dairy cows are delicate ladies.

Who'd have thought schmallenberg virus would be discussed on Landyzone!?

A beautiful area, cowvet, and a favoured one in farming terms, far cry from the salt blasted north coast of Kernow.
Im not sure if Schmallenberg has been on before but there has certainly been discussion of many other animal disease and stockmanship issues, you should seearch the livestock threads think you will be impressed. Non LR stuff istalked about in the Anything Goes forum and we will probably get sent to the norty step in a minute.
The dairy cattle are thin skinned because the breeders concentrate entirely on feed conversion,milk production and udder size and suspension at the expense of all else that is desirable or practical in a bovid.
I am not a very good customer for my vets, although I get on very well with them. As we have yearly TB testing here we try to save our little bit of herd work for that when the ministry pay for the callout.

thecowvet said:

Evening everyone,
Just to let you know I had a little trip over to Nene today. Fairly impressed by their wealth of stock and the guy that helped me did know his onions, they just seemed so rushed. The guy who was helping me was flitting between about 5 different customers, despite me having told them I was on my way. Having said that I managed to take a couple of Defs out for a long drive on my own - an 2009 plate 110 and a tuned SVX 90. 110 was good but LOVED the tuned 90, their engine remap giving an extra 40bhp really made a difference, the recaro seats were a dream too.

Only situation is the cost! Man they're dear. I was looking at commercial 110s and hardtop 90s and would not have got change for £28k pre-VAT and thats before tuning,seats,etc

I've also had a look at some used "Twisted Editions". Really like those and they seem a bit more reasonable at the same price with the mods done. can pick one up on pistonheads.com for anywhere between £17 and £30k

Slowly working on the Mrs-to-be to appreciate that a 2 seater Defender 90 hard-top is by far the better option, who wants a stinking vet-wagon to be the family car??!?!?!?

Any experiences of Twisted Performance?

Cheers everyone

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Have a look at these.
Overfinch Global Home | Overfinch

Might seem a little radical, but seeing your 35K mileage, your £25K-ish budget and that you want a shiny defender...have you consider actually buying two?
A commerical Disco/Freelander (or even Navarra) for 80% of your longer runs (the only reason I mention the Freelander is for MPG) and then a, say £5K, Defender 90 that you can make all shiny over time - either yourself or as and when you can pay someone to do it.
I think that might then satisfy your head and heart.