First time buyer questions.

Hello folks,

I'm off to look at a 98 S plate 110 defender 300 tdi commercial van. I was wondering what to look out for when buying second hand.

The motor has done 130k got a fresh mot and some tax, is in excellent condition from what i hear. Asking price is £3500.

I intend to use is for towing scaffolding materials around from job to job. How do these motors handle being used in such a manner on a regular basis?

Cheers.

Only advice is make sure it's got a good chassis!

bring a little hammer with you and get underneath and try and knock holes in the chassis - knock £150 off for every hole - see if it starts ok from cold with no undue amounts of smoke - plenty of other things mentioned on here to look at - if there's anyone on here that's near you ofer them a beer to come and view it with you (unless they have a hippo)

will make a excellent tugger

s0785488 said:

Only advice is make sure it's got a good chassis!

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and bulkhead

Thanks for the quick replies, i'll be sure to give the chassis a good going over.


Edit: and the bulkhead

don't think i'd be too keen on someone attackin me chassis with a hammer.. if you spent the time to keep it protected the last thing you'd want would be someone knockin seven bells ouuta it with a hammer and screwdriver.

bit like the proposed indentity cards - if you got nowt to hide whats the problem

i did say a little hammer

Ye you beta ask him first, gentle taps with a hammer should tell you all you need 2 Know.

Sean said:

bit like the proposed indentity cards - if you got nowt to hide whats the problem

i did say a little hammer

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bollocks! havin a id card dunt knock yer protection orf yer chassis and even a little hammer can put holes in yer protective layer, whether its underseal or owt else. if its rusted yer gonna see its rusty without the need fer hitting it with anything

slob said:

bollocks! havin a id card dunt knock yer protection orf yer chassis and even a little hammer can put holes in yer protective layer, whether its underseal or owt else. if its rusted yer gonna see its rusty without the need fer hitting it with anything

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so if you looked at a chassis that was coated in underseal you'd just assume that it was sound ?

I know the seller quite well so i doubt he'll mind me poking around. I quite like the look of the red hammer, is that small enough?

yer wanna be careful, if either o them ammers fall they'll knock you out

Sean said:

so if you looked at a chassis that was coated in underseal you'd just assume that it was sound ?

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now where did i say that?

slob said:

now where did i say that?

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you didnt, but how else would/could you find out if the underseal was structural

ffs int yer never heard of common sense?

if the rest of it is tatty looking and its got nice new underseal slapped on it then yer got cause fer concern. if on the other hand, at the other end of the scale every thing is all bright and shiney and appears well looked after then yer probably ok.

if the chassis is painted but blistered its probably folked and should fall off with just a rap with yer knuckles. its a question of using yer eyes and a bit of common sense without knocking some poor NFC's carefully protected chassis to fook

you must be one of those trusting types, i'd rather risk upsetting the owner and chiping away a bit of underseal rather that spending me hard earnt on fresh air coated in goo

each to their own

Sean said:

you must be one of those trusting types, i'd rather risk upsetting the owner and chiping away a bit of underseal rather that spending me hard earnt on fresh air coated in goo

each to their own

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yer not reading are yer??? bit of common sense and experience will tell yer if its rotted or not or is you on eof them thet think yer gonna get a ferfect chassis on an old vehicle

Im with Sean!

slob said:

or is you on eof them thet think yer gonna get a ferfect chassis on an old vehicle

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not at all - all i am trying to say is that better to be safe than sorry and have a tap with yer hammer just in case (unless you have knuckles that can bang nails in) , even if the underseal doesnt look like it was done in the last 20 minutes

enuf of this - thursday is pedants nights

s0785488 said:

Im with Sean!

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ah dunt care, yer still wint be bangin ma chassis with no hammer