Defenders for under £2500

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OctopusPrime said:
[MAP][/MAP]

I'm in london at the moment, but will be moving to Surrey in a few weeks.
Won't be able to buy anything until out flat sale is complete, 2-3 weeks.

Most of the motors I've seen in my price range are at opposite ends of the country though, Cornwall or up near or in Scotland.... So I very much doubt a stranger would want to come for a road trip with another stranger for a day, then drive one of the cars home for him LOL

Thanks though
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There's some VERY strange people around these parts:eek::eek::D:D:bump2:
 
i use my defender daily for work as a plumber/gas engineer the 110 is the same as a medium sized van i paid 3.5 k for mine,with a good chassis and bulkhead,140k on the clock but tatty body as said they all have 2.5 engines you will do well to get one under 2.5 k
once you do get one though you will think everything else is **** but you need to buy with your eyes wide open and its not a vehicle to own if your a mechanical numpty
 
THEengineer said:
i use my defender daily for work as a plumber/gas engineer the 110 is the same as a medium sized van i paid 3.5 k for mine,with a good chassis and bulkhead,140k on the clock but tatty body as said they all have 2.5 engines you will do well to get one under 2.5 k
once you do get one though you will think everything else is **** but you need to buy with your eyes wide open and its not a vehicle to own if your a mechanical numpty
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+1

I spent £2k On a 97 110 300tdi van! exactly a year ago spent another £1k on it since then. I've done 13,000miles in it, in the last 12 months. :eek: Mainly work with a few trips to see Minty (650mile round trips) did 1100miles in a weekend not so long ago. Wouldn't change it for anything..
 
I got my 200tdi 90 with 96k on the clock for £2000. Five years on and it's undergoing a full rebuild after suffering terminal rot. There are good defenders out there at your price range just make sure you search around first and don't buy the first one you see like I did. Saying that, I've absolutely loved my 90 since I've had it hence why I'm rebuilding it :)
 
I recently bought a 1988 Defender 90 for £2k and it had problems. I knew this when I bought it so the learning curve was interesting and it's a Landy so repairs are cheap if you are prepared to do the spanner work yourself. Mine had allsorts of history, this had been changed and that not always done right, but in the end, its a very basic machine. If you can build a Mechanno model and you have a reasonable toolkit, and time is on your side, all is achievable.
They are great fun to drive, back to basics, and where else can you get so much free help and advice than on here, Landyzone. Works for me. :)
 
OctopusPrime said:
[MAP][/MAP]

I'm in london at the moment, but will be moving to Surrey in a few weeks.
Won't be able to buy anything until out flat sale is complete, 2-3 weeks.

Most of the motors I've seen in my price range are at opposite ends of the country though, Cornwall or up near or in Scotland.... So I very much doubt a stranger would want to come for a road trip with another stranger for a day, then drive one of the cars home for him LOL

Thanks though
Click to expand...

But, you could get someone who's local to where the landy is, drive up with your misses, then if you decide to go for it, she drive other car back.

If you don't know what you're looking for, you'll end up buying something that's rotting and then you'll be on here not happy ;)
 
I bought mine with your budget its 1989 300tdi hardtop, loads of extra bits and chassis only had 2 patches on it and was solid everywhere else. I did the big mistake of not looking how many previous owners it had and lets just say its had a few :doh:

It has fallen apart at a rapid rate though! cambelt snapped a week after getting it not even giving me the chance to receive the one I had orderd already, 2 wheel bearings, cv bearing, diff seal, low range is jumping out, steering box leaks like a waterfall and much more. So i'm in for a fun couple of weekends fixing it. Then again if you don't go green laning or off roading it wont be so bad I suppose.

Now I have had it a while and abused it I do think 'jesus how much I pay' but that all goes away when you drive them as they are good fun and keep you on your toes.

Don't just buy it because it has loads of shiny new bits bolted on it you really need to look at the rust situation (chassis, bulkhead, bottom of doors not to far gone as they seem to be pricey atm. I would expect your looking in the 200/300 tdi conversion bracket for that money.

If your moving to somewhere it snows you should practice lying down on the snow as once you own one if you don't have a big enough garage your probably be in it at some stage if its like mine!
 
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mlucas110 said:
I did the big mistake of not looking how many previous owners it had and lets just say its had a few :doh:
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Why is that a 'big mistake'?? condition is everything no matter if its had 2 owners or 20

I paid 1500 for my V8CSW 110, chassis had never been welded and still hasn't been welded due to structural issues, sold the V8 engine and box for far more than its 300tdi and box cost so quids in on the engine conversion

it was nothing special but was very clean, exceptionally straight and low miles

To be honest the only thing that would bother me would be chassis condition, everting else can be unbolted and swopped in a weekend... chassis is a bit more involved and expensive.... buy the best chassis you can and get it protected

Cheers Steve
 
thanks for all your help people :)

Ive had a chat with an old mate of mine who is a mechanic at brands hatch and he almost jumped at the chance of a road trip to find a decent landy. He will know what to look for.

mlucas110 said:
I bought mine with your budget its 1989 300tdi hardtop, loads of extra bits and chassis only had 2 patches on it and was solid everywhere else. I did the big mistake of not looking how many previous owners it had and lets just say its had a few :doh:

It has fallen apart at a rapid rate though! cambelt snapped a week after getting it not even giving me the chance to receive the one I had orderd already, 2 wheel bearings, cv bearing, diff seal, low range is jumping out, steering box leaks like a waterfall and much more. So i'm in for a fun couple of weekends fixing it. Then again if you don't go green laning or off roading it wont be so bad I suppose.

Now I have had it a while and abused it I do think 'jesus how much I pay' but that all goes away when you drive them as they are good fun and keep you on your toes.

Don't just buy it because it has loads of shiny new bits bolted on it you really need to look at the rust situation (chassis, bulkhead, bottom of doors not to far gone as they seem to be pricey atm. I would expect your looking in the 200/300 tdi conversion bracket for that money.

If your moving to somewhere it snows you should practice lying down on the snow as once you own one if you don't have a big enough garage your probably be in it at some stage if its like mine!
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Thanks mate.

Yeah, fairly big garrage, it will fit (hopefully with a roof rack too as i need one for sheets and timber)... has an inspection pit too, handy

And no, shiny bits dont interest me. As long as it runs fine and the chassis is in good condition the aesthetics will have to take a back seat until i can save up some money to start replacing parts and working on the body. I worked for a shot period in a body restoration shop, mainly just doing the sanding work, but i took quite a bit of knowlege away with me about the processes.
I do plan to do a lot of work on it, but for now i just need a working motor that would see me through to the summer when i will have a bit more spare cash.

OK.... so.... its doable on my budget, but i need to tread carfully and research more into it.

thanks all
 
Why does it have to be a Defender? You'll get a much newer, better condition discovery for that money, commercial or not.
 
barmatt said:
Why does it have to be a Defender? You'll get a much newer, better condition discovery for that money, commercial or not.
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yeah, i have been looking at the discos too. Its an option

However, i do need to carry all my tools and materials on a daily basis... i would trash the interior of a disco, the back of a defender isnt a problem
 
OctopusPrime said:
yeah, i have been looking at the discos too. Its an option

However, i do need to carry all my tools and materials on a daily basis... i would trash the interior of a disco, the back of a defender isnt a problem
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there is no interior in the back of a commercial disco?

I understand that people may prefer defenders and they are slightly longer in the back but don't discount a disco straight away have a look at a couple and drive one then you'll see how much more you'll get for your budget.
It would also give you time to save some money to be able to buy a decent defender in the next year or so.
 
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