Can you get a reliable decent Defender without having to pay over £8000

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heatseeker872591

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Isle of Sheppey in Kent
hi there, my names Aaron. im 26 years old and used to have freelander td4s - always wanted a Defender 90 in green.i get the itch for one every year but parents always end up talking me out of it telling me i will be breaking down and having mechanical issues non stop so end up wasting my cash on something else and a year later (sometimes not even that) the itch for a defender 90 comes along all again.
my dream defender would be a green 90 county station wagon (car version not converted van or pick up cos of insurance compliactions) so i can get it insured as a car not a van. a 200 or 300 Tdi engine. Been looking about on autotrader and e bay and the prices are astronomical- basically my conclusions is anything under £8000 needs work doing to it? am i correct?
Just dont want to spend a ridiculous amount of money for a 20 year old land rover like over £7000 and have problems?
so can i get a decent defender 90 for a reasonable amount of money or do I have to pay top cash?
right now im driving a 05 plate mini cooper s as all the nagging from the parents put me off my search for a while lol
 
No such thing as a cheap Defender mate, buy a cheap one, you will spend more than buying a good one in the first place. Even then the good one will require something at some point, just the way they are, maintenance heavy.
 
mine cost me 700 quid with a supposedly fooked engine, turned out it was a rocker on number 8 exhaust valve, and it needed brakes all round, a tiny patch on the outrigger, a new bumper, service and iv just replaced the snapped throttle cable this weekend, clutch good, brakes now good, chassis is solid, body work abit tatty ( bright green) and its run fine since i brought it, its been a reliable old truck! the gearbox if good, running gear all good, just abit of welding needs doing on bulkhead! you don't need loads of money you just alot of know how and good knowledge of mechanical workings! or someone with both! and iv trucked it and it cost less on insurance! oh and 4 tires on pepper pot wheels! and its a smart little truck, just adding things now, all for the price of 1500 quid at top's, very tops! and don't jump at the first one you see!
 
many thanks for your reply. obviously the td5 engined ones are more recent and more expensive cos they are more recent, but i hear mixed reviews about the td5 engine? these are all in the £10000 to £15000 range - money i could never afford to pay lol
basically if it ever comes down to it just would like to know how much would I have to pay for a defender that will be reliable and road worthy for at least a couple of years?and im aware that all cars need maintenance at some point in their life.
any more tips much appreciated. many thanks.
 
I would look for a 300 tdi 90, from the early 90's, I think there was a nice red soft top one on here for sale at 3800, couple of dents here and there, but it did look quite clean.
 
I have a 90 1998 CSW 300tdi with 90000 miles! Its in super condition and i may be forced to sell it in the next 6 months! But i think it would be below £7000, so they are out there; but hard to find one that hasnt been messed with!
 
Picked up my 1994 300 Tdi (admittedly not county spec) for £3,750. Never let me down and only HAD to replace rear brake callipers shortly after I bought him.

That said have spent another £2k or so over the last 4 years doing 'bits and pieces' to keep it mechanically good and general 'playing'

Just finishing off a colour change (got bored with the green algae on white look!), added a swing away wheel carrier and black modular wheels so will need to update my siggy pic soon! Reason for sharing that is because once yours you do seem to find ways of spending pennies on them.

The key is to search nationally and be prepared to travel to find 'the one' - good luck with the search
 
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I bought my current 110 six months ago for just over 2 grand. It's a bog standard 200tdi station wagon apart from having had the rear windows removed. I've put a clutch in it and a couple of propshaft uj's apart from that it's been totally reliable and isn't falling apart like a lot of the newer ones I've seen. Bargains are out there you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
 
I got my 1990, 110, 200tdi for nothing. The previous owner was proud of the fact that it had never been to a garage in 18 years, nor had it been washed or cleaned and had crossed the Sahara several times. I have replaced starter motor, battery, alternator,door hinges, rear cross member, brakes, front axle. fitted an electric rad fan, replaced shocks, bushes, exhaust, wheel bearings, clutch and all the oil seals on the transfer box. It has recently returned from a 7000 Kilometer trip across France, Spain and Morocco. And its ready to go again. Things do break but parts are cheap. I bought a cylinder repair kit for the brakes, £3.50; The same thing for my Toyota Auris £90. Replacement brake cylinders, Defender £10.50. Auris £320. When the Auris is 24 years old It would be worth nothing. Defender, depending how it has been maintained would be worth a lot more. Mine gets used for what it was designed for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pSIDr1F9bc
Land Rover Discovery 1 300TD, overland preparation and modifications: Day 7-8 to err, or is it day 6-7?, 4x4 Morocco trip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ6wssG7VBw
 
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I got my 1990 Defender for £4000 5 years ago. I was unlucky with a seized transfer box a couple of years ago, but otherwise I've had no major problems. Wear & tear can be higher than normal cars, but learn to do the basic jobs (and most of them are!) and parts are usually cheap.
 
heatseeker872591 said:
hi there, my names Aaron. im 26 years old and used to have freelander td4s - always wanted a Defender 90 in green.i get the itch for one every year but parents always end up talking me out of it telling me i will be breaking down and having mechanical issues non stop so end up wasting my cash on something else and a year later (sometimes not even that) the itch for a defender 90 comes along all again.
my dream defender would be a green 90 county station wagon (car version not converted van or pick up cos of insurance compliactions) so i can get it insured as a car not a van. a 200 or 300 Tdi engine. Been looking about on autotrader and e bay and the prices are astronomical- basically my conclusions is anything under £8000 needs work doing to it? am i correct?
Just dont want to spend a ridiculous amount of money for a 20 year old land rover like over £7000 and have problems?
so can i get a decent defender 90 for a reasonable amount of money or do I have to pay top cash?
right now im driving a 05 plate mini cooper s as all the nagging from the parents put me off my search for a while lol
Click to expand...

Shut up whinging and buy a god damn 90! Fixing them is half the fun! :flame:
 
Best thing is any TDI model will always be worth money, maybe even what you paid for it a few years later, I paid 4.3k for 200 90tdi 3.5 yrs ago and reckon its still worth that if not more, cant say that about many mainstream cars
Only let me down once and that was my fault as I was to lazy to change the duff starter, still one bump start later and away we went
 
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