Defender 90 TD5 : Need an opinion....

Hey Everyone
Hope you're all well!!

Need your opinions if that's okay!!!......

Have been currently hunting a Defender 90 TD5 for the past few months, and have searched the usual places; privately, in the paper, auto trader, gumtree, ebay etc etc
One came up in the last few days and I went to see it today and it looks incredible!! However, I think it's a bit on the pricey side ( and i really just want to know what you guys think )

Here's a rough breakdown :
- Defender 90 TD5
- 4 Owners ( the last owner has had it for over 10 years )
- 113,000 miles on the clock
- MOT due next March
- Just had a full service
- Bodywork is immaculate ( for a Year 2000 truck it's fantastic )
- Chequer plates all in fantastic condition
- 4 Fold down seats in the rear
- New Sawtooth alloys on it
- Tyres all excellent
- Inside of vehicle looks incredibly well kept
- Original paintwork

The list goes on and all looks incredibly good........
Even took it for a test drive today, and she drives and pulls beautifully........
However.... it's a pricey little number - They are asking £13,490 for it.
It's a 2000 truck, which is nice as it falls in the lower tax band before 2001, and the condition is amazing - but it's from a dealer. I know dealers prices etc etc, and they can just charge what they want, but it really is a beautiful looking thing.

Have attached some pictures on here for you to look at.....
I just want to know what you guys think.... Other opinions are always good - and especially as you're all Defender'Heads, I just want to know your take on it!!......

Any comments / advice i'd really appreciate it
Thanks again as always and hope you're all doing good

LandySurf

Looks nice! However if I where you I would look for a late/post 2002 model with the 15p engine, which is near enough bullet proof. Which you should be able to get an excellent example for £13k

Mines a late 2002 and the tax is £280 p.a, I believe the tax jumps in 2006 to ~£500ish

Sounds a little dear for one over the 100,000 mile mark. But TD5s in good condition seem to be quite collectable now and are commanding high prices. I'm guessing it won't exactly fly off the forecourt at that price, so you've got a while to search for others. I'd be looking for something with less miles, or a later model, or a lower price, or all of the above.

bankz5152 said:

Looks nice! However if I where you I would look for a late/post 2002 model with the 15p engine, which is near enough bullet proof. Which you should be able to get an excellent example for £13k

Mines a late 2002 and the tax is £280 p.a, I believe the tax jumps in 2006 to ~£500ish

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Hey Bankz5152 - Thanks for the info - i know - something about the TD5 2000 which I really like..... Ideally I don't want to spend 13K however it is incredibly good condition!! Thanks for the info on the tax too - appreciate it!!

Brown said:

Sounds a little dear for one over the 100,000 mile mark. But TD5s in good condition seem to be quite collectable now and are commanding high prices. I'm guessing it won't exactly fly off the forecourt at that price, so you've got a while to search for others. I'd be looking for something with less miles, or a later model, or a lower price, or all of the above.

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Hi Brown - Yeah i know - it is a little dear - but then i think your paying for the ''Dealer Privilege'' - it is a beautiful TD5 though and the bodywork is immaculate - think your right - they are commanding high prices!!! Thanks for the advice - appreciate it!!!

Provided it has a sound chassis and bodywork, a healthy engine, evidence of servicing and mileage can be verified, it would in my opinion be a sound buy. With prices on the rise you will be unlikely to lose money on it even at the apparent top price being asked. I would choose it over one a couple of years younger but not in as good condition. Top condition will in my opinion always command top price.

Yes, TD5s in good condition seem to be commanding high prices, even higher than some of the later TDCi Pumas. With regular oil and filter changes there's no reason of course why a TD5 engine can't soldier on for considerably more than 100,000 miles, but there are still good cars out there with less miles on them.

Wimblowdriver said:

Provided it has a sound chassis and bodywork, a healthy engine, evidence of servicing and mileage can be verified, it would in my opinion be a sound buy. With prices on the rise you will be unlikely to lose money on it even at the apparent top price being asked. I would choose it over one a couple of years younger but not in as good condition. Top condition will in my opinion always command top price.

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Hi Wimblowdriver - thanks so much for your reply! From the test drive today it had a healthy engine, everything was sounding as it should, no horrible shakes, rattles, making all the right noises - all of the servicing in the book is completely up to date with a full service history, and a full service having just been carried out! That's what i was thinking about the rising prices and losing money, and I agree that the top condition will always command top prices. Thanks so much for your reply - really helpful!!

Brown said:

Yes, TD5s in good condition seem to be commanding high prices, even higher than some of the later TDCi Pumas. With regular oil and filter changes there's no reason of course why a TD5 engine can't soldier on for considerably more than 100,000 miles, but there are still good cars out there with less miles on them.

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Hi Brown - I saw this when I've been looking at Defenders, that some of them in excellent condition are going for alot more!! I think the car has been looked after tremendously well, and with keeping the full service history and everything else up to date i agree, that it will continue to do well and maybe even double it's mileage!! I agree that there will be some very good cars out there with less miles - they're just hard to find and I suppose it depends how much patience and time you have!!!!

Thanks for the reply - Really appreciate it!!

Like most things in life if you can afford it and you want it buy it.

Theres always cheaper, BUT theres always a reason they are cheaper, plus when you buy the cheaper one and it eventually goes wrong you will always thinks back to that mint one you didnt buy and kick yourself!

I hope its got a/c as being black its going to be a sweat pit in the summer.

Unlike most normal cars condition always outweighs mileage on a defender.

Check list should be short
1, engine starts and goes well
2, gearbox has not got a crunchy second gear on the down change
3, rear crossmember solid especially the bottom and around the hi lift jack holes

lynall said:

Like most things in life if you can afford it and you want it buy it.

Theres always cheaper, BUT theres always a reason they are cheaper, plus when you buy the cheaper one and it eventually goes wrong you will always thinks back to that mint one you didnt buy and kick yourself!

I hope its got a/c as being black its going to be a sweat pit in the summer.

Unlike most normal cars condition always outweighs mileage on a defender.

Check list should be short
1, engine starts and goes well
2, gearbox has not got a crunchy second gear on the down change
3, rear crossmember solid especially the bottom and around the hi lift jack holes

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Hi Lynall - Thanks for the advice! I have to agree - I think there is always a reason they're cheaper - and that's what's been going on in my head for the past few weeks - if i buy cheaper - i will always think back to the one that was mint that was more money!!!

Thanks for the shortened checklist - you're right - these should be priorities! On all 3 it seems good - i think it's worth another test drive!!!

One thing about the car which i'm not sure about - where the front bumper sits - it's sitting at an angle...
It's slightly down on one side Why is this? What could have happened to do this?

I spoke to the chap about it- who said that he could see whether or not it could be fixed - ( or straightened ) but this was a little bit of a worry!! When we were looking at it yesterday - we looked at it from the front - and one side of the bumper was slightly down on one side....Slightly odd, but definately not straight?!

Could there be any reasons for this do you think? Maybe you can see in the pictures in the initial post that it's slightly off!!
I would definately want this fixed before i purchased anything or left a deposit

It looks very nice, I personally wouldn't spend that much on a defender. But that's just me and if you have the money there's no reason not to spend it.

The bumper may have been damaged previously, it may be a pattern part and was never made dead straight.

A more problematic issue could be that the chassis has twisted slightly by being abused off-road or possibly in an accident. Unlikely it's been in an accident without there being info about it.

I've just looked at the pictures and I can't notice anything obvious. It looks pretty straight.

Check the chassis at the bumper mounts, has it been repaired / welded and a bit distorted? If its just a bit of distortion on the bumper itself, a new bumper does not cost a lot and easy to replace. And it is a bargaining point, get a few hundred knocked off the price. In any case if the dealer sees a deal is close, bargain hard to get the price down. Dealers usually add a bit to the windscreen price in the expectation of haggling.

be very careful , get it inspected properly as some of thr biggest rot boxes I have come across have been very clean looking and straight looking but proffesionaly 'cased up'

109inches said:

It looks very nice, I personally wouldn't spend that much on a defender. But that's just me and if you have the money there's no reason not to spend it.

The bumper may have been damaged previously, it may be a pattern part and was never made dead straight.

A more problematic issue could be that the chassis has twisted slightly by being abused off-road or possibly in an accident. Unlikely it's been in an accident without there being info about it.

I've just looked at the pictures and I can't notice anything obvious. It looks pretty straight.

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Hi 109inches - I know - it was over budget - but i'm trying to find something that looks fantastic - and that it most importantly be an investment for the future - I will want this for the long road ahead, and with that in mind - that's why i pushed my budget further north!! I've done all the relevant checks with regards to accidents and nothing has come up at all - so i think it might just require some further prodding!! Thanks for the advice, really appreciate it!!

Wimblowdriver said:

Check the chassis at the bumper mounts, has it been repaired / welded and a bit distorted? If its just a bit of distortion on the bumper itself, a new bumper does not cost a lot and easy to replace. And it is a bargaining point, get a few hundred knocked off the price. In any case if the dealer sees a deal is close, bargain hard to get the price down. Dealers usually add a bit to the windscreen price in the expectation of haggling.

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Hi Wimblower - I had a look at the chassis bumper mounts yesterday when i went to inspect the vehicle and checked the bumper mounts and couldn't see any signs of repair / or seeing if it had been welded or distorted ( this was my first guess ) but after inspection couldn't see any signs of that at all!!

The dealer wanted me to leave a deposit - and then he said ''If you leave a deposit - i can then take the vehicle back into our workshop and see if we can get the bumper straightened out - and if it can't be done - then we would just give me the deposit back''.... I didn't leave a deposit yesterday as I was just unsure and wanted it definately fixed before anything else went ahead!!

They have quite a few Defenders, but that was the only one i was interested in. I can see why he's not going to be racing it down to the workshop to get the bumper stripped off to check to see if it can be straightened WITHOUT leaving a deposit, because it's obviously going to cost him time and money to get that done - and to be fair, others might not notice the fact that it's not completely straight and go ahead with the sale......

I've left my phone number with him asking him to kindly call me back once he knows about the bumper, but for some reason i think he's going to be more inclined to wait to hear from other buyers first to see if he can get a deal without doing the bumper, rather than racing it down to the bodyshop to do the bumper in the hope of getting a deposit from me!!

pressbrake said:

be very careful , get it inspected properly as some of thr biggest rot boxes I have come across have been very clean looking and straight looking but proffesionaly 'cased up'

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Hi Pressbrake - thanks for the advice - really appreciate it! When you say inspected, do you mean one of those AA inspections that you can pay for? I'd definately like someone to check it out who knew what they were looking at... ( although the price for one of those AA / RAC inspections is quite expensive from what i've heard!! )

Good advice though with regard to the ''cover ups'' on alot of Defenders... have heard some horror stories - but with this one in particular - last owner had it over 10 years, and i inspected it for a good 45minutes, and to be fair, apart from the bumper, i couldn't fault much of it at all!!!

Well worth it if it was on Galvanized with a re-build. But a bit steep otherwise. Bodywork looks amazing but not much cop if everything underneath is 16 years old.
Engine wise, like others have said are bullet proof if well serviced. Mines on 145k and runs as sweet as a nut, on the button with no smoke.
Good luck with whatever way you go.

defenderdog said:

Well worth it if it was on Galvanized with a re-build. But a bit steep otherwise. Bodywork looks amazing but not much cop if everything underneath is 16 years old.
Engine wise, like others have said are bullet proof if well serviced. Mines on 145k and runs as sweet as a nut, on the button with no smoke.
Good luck with whatever way you go.

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Hi defenderdog!! I don't think it has been galvanized and not re-built either!! I just think it's been incredibly well looked after and maintained by the owners!!! There aren't many owners at all, and with the last owner having it for 10 years and servicing it meticulously in her ownership, I think it's just ''as is''. Appreciate the advice on the engine - i think as others have said, if you keep the serving up, it's bulled proof - so nice that you've got one and good to hear still going strong!!!! Thanks for all the advice - appreciate it!!

For me the devil would be in the detail..I'd want a comprehensive service history on it..its not a spring chicken let's face it.
Was the dealer reluctant on sorting the bumper?
If yes I would view any potential issue could be an issue!!
The current prices are a spike, if you want to pursue it I would certainly have a second pair of eyes on it to be objective..if it were me.

stew laws said:

For me the devil would be in the detail..I'd want a comprehensive service history on it..its not a spring chicken let's face it.
Was the dealer reluctant on sorting the bumper?
If yes I would view any potential issue could be an issue!!
The current prices are a spike, if you want to pursue it I would certainly have a second pair of eyes on it to be objective..if it were me.

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Hey StewLaws - thanks for the reply. Yeah for me it is too - to be able to justify that amount of spend on a Defender, there has to be something just ''WOW'' about it - especially due to the vehicles age. I went through all of the body work so closely, and it really is excellent - i haven't seen another Defender of that year to match ( actually there is one on eBay of the same year with 66,000 miles but it's up for £15,000!!!!!!

The Service History is comprehensive with everything detailed, and broken down, including all the services and everything is complete.

*** UPDATE *** Regarding the bumper, yes he was happy to sort it!! He got back to me today and he said that it had been readjusted and that it is now sitting perfectly. He said he thought someone had probably jacked up the Landy when changing a wheel and it had jumped out of place - he also said that if an aftermarket bumper is fitted, sometimes they will never ever be ''perfect'', but as of now, it is sitting perfectly straight!!! ( I'm going to pop over again tomorrow and take a look for myself to see ) - but he was pretty happy to get it all sorted and adjusted - so in that respect it's now sorted!!!!

Regarding prices - it still seems a little on the pricey side - but i think you pretty much get what you pay for - and compared to others, it really is immaculate - for her to have had it 10 years she must have really looked after it!! Of course would love another set of eyes on it, but don't know anyone unfortunately whose eyes are adjusted to ''Defenders'' who might know better than me what to look for etc....

Thanks for the reply and advice though StewLaws - really appreciate it

pressbrake said:

be very careful , get it inspected properly as some of thr biggest rot boxes I have come across have been very clean looking and straight looking but proffesionaly 'cased up'

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I'd agree with this - unless you are completely confident of inspecting the vehicle yourself, money on an independent motor engineers report is money well spent - there are plenty out there - not just the main motoring organisations have them...

I would also want to know which warranty the thing is going to come with, and be g**gling ( other search engines are available ) "problems with warranty company X" - and seeing what you can find out.

The MOT history of the vehicle is always interesting too - I've attached it for this one, and it seems to have failed a few times on rather daft things - like windscreen washers - plus headlamp aim crops up repeatedly, which I always find rather weird.... combined with the bumper not being sat right - I would want an explanation of that really.....

there are also a few advisories which an independent engineer should spot ( which can be used to your advantage ) - and I think, for the money, i would be insisting on a clean ( I.E. no advisories ) MOT, from a different garage...

This might a lot to ask, BUT, £13.5K is a lot of money, and its your money !!

I think its overpriced - as another poster said, the prices are spiking as there aren't many on dealers forecourts - the local Harwoods has none..... My 300tdi is 4 years older, and cost about £9k less... I know its not the same as this one, but £9k? I've spent £500 on a clutch (required) and a bit more than that for decent tyres and steel wheels. Not £9k.

It doesn't look like original paintwork to me - 16 years old paint isn't that good. But, that said, if its resprayed, and a good job, thats a win.

The ride is pimped - chequer plate looks good, but why is it there? Alloys? Expensive, so thats on the price too.
It needs to be sound underneath, and in the engine and transmission - you will find things you missed if you buy it.
was it always a 5/7 seater? Whats on the V5? It shows as London Emission Zone exempt - so wasn't ever a hardtop.

If its what you want, and you have the cash, why not though?