Help buying a Defender please!

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SamuelE

SamuelE

New Member
Posts
6
Location
Farnham Surrey
Hello all.

I am wanting to buy a Landover Defender 90, around 1990 age approximately. My budget is around £4000. The main issue is that I don't know enough about them to take the leap and test drive one/buy one. What I really would like is someone who can spend a little time giving me some advice on the main things to look for, or even better come and have a look at one with me.

I am not overly fussy about looks, but want to make a good buy. I understand that a Defender will cost me money, but don't want to buy one that is unsafe or will cost me a fortune straight away.

Also, where is the best place to look for a good one?

Please help!

Thanks,

Sam
 
When this very common question was asked last week, I kindly suggested to the OP that they introduce themselves because blah, blah, they could do a search on the forum blah, blah, this would get a much better response etc etc. Then they got a load of replies and advice, so I'm not doing that again! ;)

I think the desert theme got people interested last time :)
 
Try one of the Land Rover magazines such as Land Rover Owner or Land Rover Monthly.
There are loads for sale in there.
At that price it'll probably be a private sale, there are plenty around for £4,000 but as you said you'll need to take somebody who knows what to look for.
 
Take some body who knows what there doing and what ever you do don't buy one from a certain Land Rover dealer in rossendale he's a rouge.
 
SamuelE said:
Hello all.

I am wanting to buy a Landover Defender 90, around 1990 age approximately. My budget is around £4000. The main issue is that I don't know enough about them to take the leap and test drive one/buy one. What I really would like is someone who can spend a little time giving me some advice on the main things to look for, or even better come and have a look at one with me.

I am not overly fussy about looks, but want to make a good buy. I understand that a Defender will cost me money, but don't want to buy one that is unsafe or will cost me a fortune straight away.

Also, where is the best place to look for a good one?

Please help!

Thanks,

Sam
Click to expand...
Welcome,

You need to take someone who knows, after 7 years of Defender ownership I am still fathoming out the botches the last person has made. However keeping in mind in 7 years I have gone to Europe/Ireland, the Alps, Spain, Morocco, towed cars out of fields and used rollers in fields it gives you an idea of just how resilient they are.

For that age the key areas will (and I use the words will as they are all the same) be ;
Rear Crossmember rotted (has it been replaced)
Front outriggers and footwell
Front bulkhead (under the windscreen and around the wingmirrors)
That's assuming it runs ok...
Check Diff Lock
Check High/LOW
Check All Gears
Check A frame bush (knock when in gear and pushed from the back)

There is no best place to be honest but avoid any advert with "no rust" "starts on the button" as these wont be suitable.

Where do your skills lie ? If you can weld don't worry about chassis, if you can spend on mechanics or DIY don't worry about those elements. Alas the body is never the problem and your biggest risk is something which looks amazing due to a respray and is a real rot pit underneath.
 
SamuelE said:
Hello all.

I am wanting to buy a Landover Defender 90, around 1990 age approximately. My budget is around £4000. The main issue is that I don't know enough about them to take the leap and test drive one/buy one. What I really would like is someone who can spend a little time giving me some advice on the main things to look for, or even better come and have a look at one with me.

I am not overly fussy about looks, but want to make a good buy. I understand that a Defender will cost me money, but don't want to buy one that is unsafe or will cost me a fortune straight away.

Also, where is the best place to look for a good one?

Please help!

Thanks,

Sam
Click to expand...
Agree with the previous posters, if you have no experience of landrovers, best by far is to get someone who has owned and maintained them before to go with you to look at them.
Forum search is good, most of the weak spots have been posted before. I could go through and list them (again), but really don't think you will know what you are looking at if you have never been under an old landy.
Read up on the various engine and spec changes that have taken place over the years, may narrow down the field of vehicles you want to look at.
 
Cheers, very helpful much appreciated. Yeah I am getting the feeling that I need to take someone with me who knows the Defender to avoid me buying a minger.

I have looked at some pretty useful utube vids on what to look out for, but that doesn't substitute knowing how much smoke is normal, how the brakes should feel, how much play there can be in the steering etc.

I could offer a case of beer to anyone around Surrey or Hampshire who could have a look at one with me. Nothing weird, just want to but a land rover!

Cheers,

Sam
 
Last edited:
SamuelE said:
Hello all.

I am wanting to buy a Landover Defender 90, around 1990 age approximately. My budget is around £4000. The main issue is that I don't know enough about them to take the leap and test drive one/buy one. What I really would like is someone who can spend a little time giving me some advice on the main things to look for, or even better come and have a look at one with me.

I am not overly fussy about looks, but want to make a good buy. I understand that a Defender will cost me money, but don't want to buy one that is unsafe or will cost me a fortune straight away.

Also, where is the best place to look for a good one?

Please help!

Thanks,

Sam
Click to expand...
Honestly. The Defender is a simple vehicle, not at all complex. The fact it changes so little over it's life time combined with the fact that every part can be replaced. Makes them one of the easiest cars you could possibly buy.

Far easier than a £4k hatch or BMW.

Just check for rust on the chassis, general condition, spec (which is easy to read up about online and not complex), and how it drives.
 
Do not buy the first one you see as the next one will be better!

Go and look at a few just to get an idea of what's what. Loads of guides on the internet but in general you need to check for rust.

I am over Brighton way and if your pass the your welcome to look at mine and I will show you what areas to check and how to check them on a known good vehicle
 
The only other thing is. Have you asked yourself why you want a Defender?

They are awesome vehicles.... but so many people buy them because:

a) they think it's something else
b) because they think it's a trendy fashion icon

In either case the owner normally ends up disappointed, moans about it and may spend vast sums of money trying to turn it into something it'll never be. To which you'll fail to attain your goal, still be disappointed and end up selling it, claiming it as the worst car you've ever owned.

There are loads and loads of good 4x4's out there, some from the rest of the Land Rover stable too. Just make sure you understand what a Defender is and why you want to buy one --- before laying out the cash.
 
flat said:
Do not buy the first one you see as the next one will be better!
Click to expand...
I don't actually agree with this. For any vehicle not just Land Rovers. If the first vehicle you see is what you want, in the right condition and the right price. Why would you pass it up? The next one you go look at may be far worse.
 
300bhp/ton said:
The only other thing is. Have you asked yourself why you want a Defender?

They are awesome vehicles.... but so many people buy them because:

a) they think it's something else
b) because they think it's a trendy fashion icon

In either case the owner normally ends up disappointed, moans about it and may spend vast sums of money trying to turn it into something it'll never be. To which you'll fail to attain your goal, still be disappointed and end up selling it, claiming it as the worst car you've ever owned.

There are loads and loads of good 4x4's out there, some from the rest of the Land Rover stable too. Just make sure you understand what a Defender is and why you want to buy one --- before laying out the cash.
Click to expand...

Good point. Drive a couple first, 80mile round trip commute everyday? Defender might not be the best. Etc
 
300bhp/ton said:
I don't actually agree with this. For any vehicle not just Land Rovers. If the first vehicle you see is what you want, in the right condition and the right price. Why would you pass it up? The next one you go look at may be far worse.
Click to expand...

I meant it in a 'don't get excited and get ahead of yourself' kind of way, of course you can buy the first one if you want but if you have no experience of landrovers it would pay to look at a few as you have no benchmark to judge them from.

Buying the first one you see might be fine if you have years of ownership under your belt and know exactly what your looking at but the OP doesn't have that
 
Cheers for your replies guys.

Guess I want a Landover because I love the idea I keeping a car long term that I can take pride in and really look after, and learn a lot about. I think I will enjoy the basic driveway servicing, beyond that I will need a mechanic to do more heavy duty stuff. I also will need it to be fairly reliable as i will commute in it, only 20 min but don't want to have to borrow my wife's car to often! I guess to start off with it may not be so reliable but after I have looked after it for a while it should be.

Encouraging that the main issues are rust. Is it generally a good thing if the rear cross member has been replaced, or is it easy to do a shoddy job on this?

Thanks,

Sam
 
SamuelE said:
Cheers for your replies guys.

Guess I want a Landover because I love the idea I keeping a car long term that I can take pride in and really look after, and learn a lot about.
Click to expand...
This is good :D

SamuelE said:
i will commute in it, only 20 min
Click to expand...
If you haven't driven one before, I'd recommend trying before buying. See if you can maybe get an extended test drive from somewhere.

I say this, because they are nothing like a car, if you've not driven a utilitarian based vehicle before.

Personally I find the seating position good in a Defender. But some people hate it, and if you are tall you may find lack of leg room and the hand brake will get in the way.

The door is also very close with little elbow room. Again I like this, as it serves a purpose, but some people don't and will moan about it.

The big thing to note here is, all the faults of the Defender you cannot change.

Ride, NVH, noise, lack of refinement, interior space.

You can spend a fortune addressing these, but you'll never really make much difference. This is a fundamental thing about the basic design.

Land Rover did a lot of work to address these issues and they solved most of them. It's called a Discovery....

So if you want more comfort, more room, more refinement, better ride, less NVH. Then a Defender isn't for you.

If you can accept a Defender for what it is, then they can be very rewarding however.

SamuelE said:
Encouraging that the main issues are rust. Is it generally a good thing if the rear cross member has been replaced, or is it easy to do a shoddy job on this?

Thanks,

Sam
Click to expand...
Depends. There are plenty of older vehicles on original chassis with no welding at all.

A rear cross member is not the end of the world, but you'll probably want to budget £300-400 to get it replaced, as there is a fair bit of grunt work involved.
 
Thank you. I know I will not be fused about any of those things. Just don't want to buy one, be really happy I have spent £4000 on something, take it to a Landover Mechanic who says "you paid HOW much?" or quote some part I have never heard of and say "that needed replacing 100000 miles ago and will cost you £2000!" Maybe I'm being over cautious.

Is there anyone in Surrey or near Farnham that wouldn't mind me coming and having a look around their Defender with them so I can know what to look out for etc? Understand if not no worries.

Ta

Sam
 
Id say your main issue would be rust and for £4000, id say the chassis will have been attacked by it somewhere. Because of that dont be too concerned about one that has been worked on or had various parts of it replaced. Most of the members on here have had welding done on there landy and as long as it has been done with care and attention, look at it as a job you wont have to do. Mechanical problems we all get but rust can work out very expensive. Good luck and do your research.
 
Well, I'm really impressed with this forum, all really kind helpful advice to I must admit a keen but complete novice. I recon I feel confident enough to go and have a look at a few and use that as a way to find out more and chat to a couple of Landy owners in the flesh, and do some tapping around under cars.

Cheers guys for all your advice. Will keep on the forum.

Sam
 
I hope someone has pm'd to go with him ? If he lived close to me id go . I would Never pic a car for someone only point out what NOT to buy as the final choice is for the OP.
Look for a good genunine 200 tdi hard top (at the price you want to pay) that is standard and NOT been to a pay and play site with mud forced in every hole
 
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