Defender buying

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doriz said:
Definitely take a pig with you in order to test the suspension and road manners, very good metric is a pig.

Whatever you get check the VINs, rear crossmember, door bottoms, front bulkheads, in fact everything I didn't...I was too focussed on the pig, thanks @Marmaduke
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Ha ha, this is what happens when you tratterers stop to quickly :p

Screenshot_20171213-181443.png
 
You do get more for you money with a d3 mate but when it goes wrong boy oh boy! Saying that a new turners engine isn’t much more than a td5...
 
Marmaduke said:
I used to own a tratter with discovery axles front and back and that used to stop just fine
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Turktowner said:
@Marmaduke
Well, it does, just eventually, with a bit of fade... Am curious (noob) what difference would the axles make - brakes are Disco too?
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+1, Even with defender axles that have the disk brakes fitted as std they stop just fine. :):) At least mine does.

Cheers
 
As a newbie, but someone who has owned defenders since I passed my test, 2008 I have always had a 110. I had a brief flirt with an 88 but although swb are more nifty off road they are not a lot of cop for carrying things. Current truck is a 110 td5 DCPU and I LOVE it!
I 100% see what you mean about prices, I have paid 11k for a 52 plate, however I do my own mechanics, whereas on a D3 or L322 I would not be very confident to do this. Plus everyone knows Defenders are the only real land rovers :p
 
If you are worried about stopping, buy an XS as they have ABS as standard.
But in over 90,000 miles of Defender driving l have never failed to stop in time. And l have never had one with ABS. You just need to drive it like a 4x4 and not like a sports car.
 
Marmaduke said:
You could always try a different and better brand of brake pads...
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I think you're right. The feeling I get is that I can push down as hard as I like and the friction gets to a point then no further.
No "bite" if you get me, no chance of locking up (if such a thing is otherwise possible).
Am doing a timing belt change soon, may as well get it done at the same time.
 
Well that’s not right, l can lock the wheels on my TD5 with emergency braking, the trick is to try and avoid locking the wheels.
 
Foxyred said:
Both my 200tdi's will lock up without crazy effort, both have disks all round
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Same with my 200, I bet the callipers are partially seizing and thats why they are poor, new britpart callipers are dirt cheap and last well.
 
Right, I know it's been a while but just to add a bit of a conclusion to this thread... ...I have bought a defender!

After well over two months of umming and arring, and searching ebay daily it was inevitable that I would fall in love for a second time with the defender. D3's just don't have the same character, and I couldn't guarantee their reliability. They ended up seeming like the worst of both worlds i.e. expensive and full of electrics to go wrong, AND quite bland and characterless. Conversely I know with the defender I WILL break down, but it will be manageable, diagnose-able (with the help of you good people), and usually cheaper to repair. I test drove both types of landy and was stuck by the vanilla feel, and lack of features in the disco, made worse by the fact I'm borrowing my mums L322 at the moment which is much nicer in every way.

So, deposit paid. Picking it up this week, it's a 2004 TD5 90 in Tonga green. Was originally a county van but you wouldn't know it (apart from the bulkhead behind seats, and the lack of interior window trim in the back). It drove as nicely as the last td5 I drove, and there wasn't much difference to my old 200tdi apart from a little quieter. It's done 130k so a bit higher miles than I was hoping, but not the mad mileage you see on so many TD5s. I have raised my budget quite substantially to get what I wanted and so had to pinch myself to agree the price because let's face it, these vehicles are fetching an obscene amount at the moment, but their value is only likely to increase so I keep telling myself it's a safe purchase (unlike the disco). I did see a couple of 110's locally but I just remembered my last 110 which always seemed so big and empty. By comparison the 90 seems tiny, I mean, it's shorter than a Nissan Micra!! The interior seems smaller and much more cramped than I remember but it's got air-con, and the bulkhead which I originally didn't want, actually may serve to prevent a muddy slobbering dog from sliding into the front.

Long story short, I am over the moon. I kind of know what I'm getting into having had a tratter before, so I'm both nervous and pleased in equal measure, but very exited. Thanks as ever for this forums helpful advice.
 
Last edited:
ReadySalted said:
Right, I know it's been a while but just to add a bit of a conclusion to this thread... ...I have bought a defender!

After well over two months of umming and arring, and searching ebay daily it was inevitable that I would fall in love for a second time with the defender. D3's just don't have the same character, and I couldn't guarantee their reliability. They ended up seeming like the worst of both worlds i.e. expensive and full of electrics to go wrong, AND quite bland and characterless. Conversely I know with the defender I WILL break down, but it will be manageable, diagnose-able (with the help of you good people), and usually cheaper to repair. I test drove both types of landy and was stuck by the vanilla feel, and lack of features in the disco, made worse by the fact I'm borrowing my mums L322 at the moment which is much nicer in every way.

So, deposit paid. Picking it up this week, it's a 2004 TD5 90 in Tonga green. Was originally an xs van but you wouldn't know it (apart from the bulkhead behind seats, and the lack of interior window trim in the back). It drove as nicely as the last td5 I drove, and there wasn't much difference to my old 200tdi apart from a little quieter. It's done 130k so a bit higher miles than I was hoping, but not the mad mileage you see on so many TD5s. I have raised my budget quite substantially to get what I wanted and so had to pinch myself to agree the price because let's face it, these vehicles are fetching an obscene amount at the moment, but their value is only likely to increase so I keep telling myself it's a safe purchase (unlike the disco). I did see a couple of 110's locally but I just remembered my last 110 which always seemed so big and empty. By comparison the 90 seems tiny, I mean, it's shorter than a Nissan Micra!! The interior seems smaller and much more cramped than I remember but it's got air-con, and the bulkhead which I originally didn't want, actually may serve to prevent a muddy slobbering dog from sliding into the front.

Long story short, I am over the moon. I kind of know what I'm getting into having had a tratter before, so I'm both nervous and pleased in equal measure, but very exited. Thanks as ever for this forums helpful advice.[/QUOTE
Click to expand...

Ya can’t have bought one - there aren’t any pictures of it!!:D
 
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