Help!

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Rachel S

Well-Known Member
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8,573
Location
Last Of The Summer Wine Country
Ok

As some of you know, we have had our Land Rover nicked and with a bit of harassing to the insurance people we have had the payout confirmed and passed off, and we are now in the process of looking for a new addition to the family.

After reading quite a few forums on here its got us in quite a tizzy about trying to find a new one (new as in new to us)

There seems to be so many comments and reports of 'dodgy' 'looks nicked to me' 'How much?!?' that we are actually scared to go out there and make the plunge. (We think we missed a good one because we went with the " too good to be true, must be something wrong here. Then lost it to someone who traveled hundreds of miles and paid cash)

Some of the landrovers that have been put on another forum as reported to police, that to the experienced eye, look dodgy, to us,look OK.

Some even say the body or 'that part' doesnt belong to a Landy of that year.. Its all so very confusing

So this is where we need help, Could you all give me and my husband some basic tips on what to look for, when purchasing? After all, we dont want to be adding to the problems of theft of these treasured motors due to ignorance.

We are looking to spend around £8000/ £9000 and we are going to add to the car accessories, security, comfort ourselves. So, I guess we are after a good base car and engine. We like the Landrover 90's.

What milage should we be expecting? What year? What are the cons to watch out for and the common cons of a seller

Any tips would be appreciated :)

P.S. Sorry if this is in the wrong Forum
 
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For that money I would pay and get a proper HPI check, I think its only £20 or so, do all the usual stuff like check copies of MOT certs from mileage verification. Plus all the usual stuff like checking for tin worm, making sure there is no rot, and a good service history always helps

Probably buying from a reputable dealer is a sensible idea if you can find one in your price range, at least then you'll get some warranty if anything goes wrong.

I'm not an expert on defenders, but I would have thought 9K would get you a good TD5 example with maybe 70-90k on the clock depending on the spec and condition
 
Put your location up and there might be someone close who could give you some pointers.

Also as a general forum thing, try to make the title of the thread a little more descriptive as "Help!" is a little vague.
 
Have a search and a read on here, there's quite a few threads on this, with explanations about checking various numbers match up etc, and Im sure I've read at least one explaining how to spot something that isn't what its claimed to be (if that makes sense:confused:) would definitely do the hpi check as well;););)

I would have a search myself, coz I iz good like that:D:D, but Im on my phone at work:eek::eek:
 
Thanks Guys

We will be getting a check done, we had heard of the AA as well and we think it will be worth it.

We are on the West/ South Yorkshire border.

I have done so many search's that all the Landys have blended into one in my head, I find myself looking at the same ones over again (im sure some have you have been there) and we have already knocked up about 300 miles looking only to find odd things like discrepancies between advertised miles and actual miles or even prices that have changed in the time it has taken us to get there..

Oh well.. I guess 'ours' is out there somewhere :)
 
It sounds like you may be getting yourself a little worked up and frightened over something that dosent need to be.

I understand about not wanting to buy a Dodgy or a stolen motor, we all have that concern. The HPI check should throw up if its stolen or an insurance write off etc, thats a fairly easy thing to check. As regard to stolen parts etc like the new puma bonnets then i think your right to check there not stolen. Ask the owner if he has a receipt. If your still not convinced then look for signs that it has been repainted recently or of any damage near the hinges and locking mechanism.

I dont want to teach you to suck eggs but basic common sense stuff. For your price you should be albe to pick up a decent TD5 with average miles.

2001 Y LAND ROVER COUNTY STATION WAGON 90 DEFENDER HARD TOP, BLUE | eBay

Its bog standard so you can apply your own touches and if all checks out its a factory CSW with back seats with decent miles for the year.

I bought my W reg TD5 van 2 years ago for £6000 it had a bargain 79'000 miles on and is in good condition where it matters. Some times you just need to be in the right place at the right time.

Chin up, keep looking. :)
 
Thank you!

Hey that looks a nice motor, how did I miss it? I am blonde though, this could explain things :scratching_chin:

I am starting to become obsessed by these four wheeled creatures.. What have you done to me Landyzone?? I used to be into Chanel, now Im into different snorkles and bull bars!

Ill contact the seller

:)
 
It wasn't meant to be a suggestion just an example but hey ho. :lol:

Do you need a CSW? If not, then you maybe able to get more for your money as they do command a higher price.
 
The AA publishes the things it looks for in a vehicle inspection on its website.
Vehicle inspections | For cars, vans and motorhomes | AA
A lot of them are easy to do if you're a non specialist, so it represents pretty good advice. Some of the older TD5s are starting to show the sort of chassis rust that plagues the rest of the species, so check all the usual places like rear crossmember, chassis outriggers and the like.
 
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