defender advice

I`m currently looking for a defender and have seen one for sale that I quite like as I know nowt about landy`s I would appreciate some advice.

I have seen a 2000 x-tech model with 106000k on the clock and the seller Is asking £8700.

The seller said that It has some minimal rust on the window latches / rear door and on the rear bumper

What would be a realistic price for this vehicle and do you think that the rust could be treated or should I walk away

It has a full s/h btw and the Interior Is very clean.

jase.

dc5 said:

I`m currently looking for a defender and have seen one for sale that I quite like as I know nowt about landy`s I would appreciate some advice.

I have seen a 2000 x-tech model with 106000k on the clock and the seller Is asking £8700.

The seller said that It has some minimal rust on the window latches / rear door and on the rear bumper

What would be a realistic price for this vehicle and do you think that the rust could be treated or should I walk away

It has a full s/h btw and the Interior Is very clean.

jase.

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got any pics?

What rear bumper?

s/h doesn't mean no faults

Have you done your research on the common faults of the vehicle you are looking at? do you know what to look out for?

Hey dude, I think you'll find you asking an impossible question, particularly without pictures. From my limited experience I've learn't you pays yer money, you take your chances. But with that sort of cash, I'd probably try and get a specialist to give it it the once over. Seller should not complain. Also, treat it like any other second hand car buy, usual checks apply. But, I would also suggest that an admission of minimal rust, factoring pythagorus and quantum pyhsics standard variables, probably mean, he'll hope you don't notice the rest!

dc5 said:

I`m currently looking for a defender and have seen one for sale that I quite like as I know nowt about landy`s I would appreciate some advice.

I have seen a 2000 x-tech model with 106000k on the clock and the seller Is asking £8700.

The seller said that It has some minimal rust on the window latches / rear door and on the rear bumper

What would be a realistic price for this vehicle and do you think that the rust could be treated or should I walk away

It has a full s/h btw and the Interior Is very clean.

jase.

Click to expand...

Er by rear bumper I assume u mean rear cross member ?? If this is rusty whats the rest of the chassis like? Never mind the inside have you had a good look/poke and tap about underneath??
Admittedly a new rear cross member may only set you back £300 but I'd want that knocked off the asking price for starters if its going.
You really need to take someone with you who knows what they're looking for.

bugger i was just gonna say that !! take someone hwo knows what to look at it,ll save a lot of grief and money

Cheers guys, I`ve not been to see It yet as were just at the emailing stage

This Is the p/h add Land Rover : Defender 90 X-Tech Edition

jase.

It came from an elderly lady who stayed in the country. She bought it to tow her caravan at the weekends, it sat in her garden through the week

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yet......

The previous owner had it for just over two and a half years and in that time she covered almost 33,000 miles.

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she must have been driving up and down the country non stop every weekend to rack up those miles on weekends.:suspicious:

I wish I wasn't so cynical sometimes.

It's a ten year old car for nearly £9K, it's spent a third of its life towing a caravan, apparently, it's an early TD5 engine with the risk of oil pump failure (big big bucks), head gasket problems, diesel in the oil and fuel pressure regulators spraying the left side of the engine with diesel. It is clean and the paperwork is all there but there's no mention at all of the state of the chassis, transmission or how well it runs / stops / changes gear. Instead you just get told it's got an aluminium gear knob. And can play MP3s.

Beauty and cleanliness are only skin deep sometimes. If you've not had a land rover before, you need to budget for things going wrong and costing you money - quite a lot of money sometimes. There's no warranty on this car so the advice here is spot on - get it checked by someone who knows what to look for or run the risk of it being a major money pit.

I've got two TD5's (Disco and 110) - both have done similar mileages and both need new transfer boxes. Neither have ever towed. The Disco has had a new gearbox, a long, long list of other repairs needed and yet was totally mint when I bought it with 40K on the clock.

On a positive note, once I got off my *rse and started fixing the cars myself I then discovered probably the best thing about owning land rovers (for me) - they can be unreliable but also very fixable and you learn a lot quickly. Suddenly it's not just a car but something you've sweated and toiled over to get right and just how you want it.

Maybe I'm going off topic but what is the best Land Rover to start out with? Is it a 10 year old TD5? Or a £1500 Disco 1? Or a, gulp, Freelander?

Euro

Cheers for the replies guys, I`ve scored this one off my list now

I asked the seller to send me pics of the rusted areas and It turns out there Is a fair old bit

Oh well, I`m In no rush and the right one will come along

jase.

sounds like a bargain if your buddy will fix it for ya. it all depends on whats wrong with the head. its gotta be easier to swap a head than to do a whole engine? no?

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

heads are around £300 s/h

Yes, a new head would be cheaper but the engine has done around 74k and I`m planning on keeping this vehicle for a few years.

74k is barely run in! just get a head

I`ve looked online and a brand new head with all the bells and whistles that Is ready to fit Is about 1k

Looks like a new head Is the way to go.