Land Rover Defender - First car?

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lolage

New Member
Posts
9
Hey, im 18 in 2 weeks or so and looking at getting a car. All my mates seem to be getting Polo's/Clio's/Saxo's/Punto's etc..

I wanna be a bit different and look into getting a defender? I believe that they are quite reliable and easy to find parts etc for?

How much ££ am i looking at needing to part with? Also - is the insurance going to be a killer? Or will the fact it'll be so slow outweigh its a big'ish engine?

Thanks for any advise given,

Ben. :cool:
 
Good plan - don't get a clio corsa etc... Everyone and her sister has one of these cars so you will stand out from the rest a bit, and people love the iconic British vehicle.

Um if you look on here you will get mixed opinions on reliablity, you are probably going to be looking at a 90's model, or an early 00's if you are lucky enough to have some spare cash lying about but insurance will go up a bit.

The good news is after one year on highish insurance it falls quite rapidly where your friends will still be on a grand a year etc...

I would say you probably want to look for a tidy 2.5NA which is a fairly slow non turbo engine but a good engine nontheless. Parts are cheap to find and get a Haynes repair manual and you will be able to do most of the work.
 
not sure about insurance costs but cant be any worse than saxos etc, depens what you buy on the speed side but you could make some money pulling your mates out of hedges if the lads round here are anything to go by:doh:
 
Also when its snows you can make £15 a tow to get people out of drifts etc...
House removals...

It's amazing what you can do with a LR, I have made and saved FORTUNE over the years simply because I had a LR.
 
Hmm thanks for the advise guys! How much do i need to spend to get a Defender 90 which has no turbo etc?
 
baggyjim said:
a grand would get you started with a road worthy one and spend some time and money on it to prep it as you want
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Ok cool! One other question - they seem to have high mileage? When i was looking at polo's/punto's they were around 40/50k+ miles for around £1000.

How many miles would i be looking at for a defender which is £1000?
 
lolage said:
Ok cool! One other question - they seem to have high mileage? When i was looking at polo's/punto's they were around 40/50k+ miles for around £1000.

How many miles would i be looking at for a defender which is £1000?
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probably 100k which shouldnt be a prob for the vehicle but just have a good look round,dont buy the first one you see unless it is in mint condition, where you to as some one on here might help you have a look at some and give you some pointers on what to look for and what to avoid, bulkhead and chassis are main issues but with some mechanical knowledge and a bit of time they are easily repaired, loads of parts are replacable and not too much trouble to find ebay etc
 
Hi, just to throw a spanner into the works, have you thought about a series? Yes they are a little more agricultural but bags of fun! Much cheaper for a teenager in intial prchase and insurance terms, cheap, plentiful parts, they are still very capable (as lots of series owners will tell you) and are ideal to 'cut your teeth' as your first landy. Have one for a year, save up some pennies then move up to the defender when your insurance is cheaper. Just some other thoughts for you, good luck landy hunting :D
 
bigdenbailey said:
Hi, just to throw a spanner into the works, have you thought about a series? Yes they are a little more agricultural but bags of fun! Much cheaper for a teenager in intial prchase and insurance terms, cheap, plentiful parts, they are still very capable (as lots of series owners will tell you) and are ideal to 'cut your teeth' as your first landy. Have one for a year, save up some pennies then move up to the defender when your insurance is cheaper. Just some other thoughts for you, good luck landy hunting :D
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Interesting...... Series 1, 2 or 3?
 
A good series 3 would be ideal, theres lots of good ones readily availible and at very reasonable prices (seen good roadworthy ones at £800) petrol or diesel (petrol ones generally bit quicker but bit more thirsty) insurance defo cheaper, brilliant spares availibility and you can do anything easy peasy on a series! Ideal landy to learn about mechanics on too. All series are great fun to drive! Have a look around and take your time, try and have a test drive or two. Good luck, regards Den :D
 
yer looking at £600 - £700 fer insurance with limited milage, prob £100 - £2500 would get yer self a decent 2.5 n/a ( non turboo) diesel, but the milage might be 100+ whitch is not a prob really ;)

look on defender centres website see what he's got in, or ebay as yer can work on them easy enough to sort out those few teething probs !
 
i'm pretty sure older land rovers fall into quite a low insurance group, Td5's are higher for sure but I reckon insurance will be cheaper than any 106/saxo/punto grot box that you might buy.
 
MrJC said:
Just spotted a very nice Series Land Rover is for sale on here within budget. Looks fantastic next to a Saxo..... a propper fanny magnet and not a fluffy dice in sight :)
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Interesting.... Don't think i can get into the for sale section with my user? Any pictures of it?
 
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