MOT nightmare

Hi All,

I am a month in to my Defender 110 ownership and I have just taken her in for an MOT......Oh dear....19 failures and 6 advisories!

A good few of the fails are due the garage not appreciating the quirks of the car such as the hazard warning light switch on the TD5 centre console is currently purely decorative with the actual switch being to the right of the steering wheel and the DRL Halos on the LED headlights are also supposed to be indicators (changing to Amber).

However, there are a good few issues that do need sorting . It needs a fair bit of welding to the front cross member, both front out riggers and on the bulkhead around the brake servo. Felt a little sick when the guy at the garage was going through the list. Other than a small issue with the parking brake and "service brake" she is ALL GOOD!

I am a feeling a bit down about it at the moment. I thought I had a really decent car. My dream car! It is really clean from a body work and interior point of view and the engine is fine, just a little rotten underneath.

I am taking her in to the garage next week to get an idea of cost but I am fearing the worst.

Hopefully this will be just like our first row and we will get passed it and continue our lives together. I will keep you posted.

Sorry to hear this, always a bummer when you find out your Landy isn't quite what you believed it was.
If the rest of the truck is in good order, I would personally be thinking of going down a re-chassis route. You will be forking out minimum £600 for the work listed, there will be more lurking if you look hard enough.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVE...056423?hash=item58e6d849e7:g:AmoAAOSw1DtXGegK

Some guys will supply and fit for what I think is a reasonable price. If you go galvanised then it is fairly future proof and the value of the Landy will reflect that too.

If the rot is as bad as suggested you will be chasing it around for ever. It then starts to have an affect on the body, rotting the aluminium through electrolysis (under the bench seat on mine)

The next time a welding job comes up on mine I'll be shipping it off.
No point re-tiling a knackered roof.

And when you done this... ^^^^^... make sure you fit a tracker to it - cos the sticky fingered b*sta*ds seem to getting more brazen by the day.

MungoPark said:

Sorry to hear this, always a bummer when you find out your Landy isn't quite what you believed it was.
If the rest of the truck is in good order, I would personally be thinking of going down a re-chassis route. You will be forking out minimum £600 for the work listed, there will be more lurking if you look hard enough.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVE...056423?hash=item58e6d849e7:g:AmoAAOSw1DtXGegK

Some guys will supply and fit for what I think is a reasonable price. If you go galvanised then it is fairly future proof and the value of the Landy will reflect that too.

If the rot is as bad as suggested you will be chasing it around for ever. It then starts to have an affect on the body, rotting the aluminium through electrolysis (under the bench seat on mine)

The next time a welding job comes up on mine I'll be shipping it off.
No point re-tiling a knackered roof.

Click to expand...

Thanks Mungo, It is something I will certainly consider. Just waiting for the estimate from the garage before making a decision. Will keep you posted.

Mine was looking a bit iffy so I bit the bullet and had a new galvanized one last year, if you are keeping the vehicle then it is worth considering.
When I went to pick it up I was surprised how bad the old one relay was.

Ordered a tracker yesterday

Wot's to Consider ?
Don't fit a TRACKER then stand the chance of getting it NICKED Simplz
You Defender lads spend all your hard earned MONEY on them & FORGET to fit a TRACKER Then you start Cryin when it's gone !!
Beggars Be-leaf
Rant over

Magicgrotto said:

Wot's to Consider ?
Don't fit a TRACKER then stand the chance of getting it NICKED Simplz
You Defender lads spend all your hard earned MONEY on them & FORGET to fit a TRACKER Then you start Cryin when it's gone !!
Beggars Be-leaf
Rant over

Click to expand...

Sorry to quash your rant Magic but I was referring to a replacing my rusty chassis when I said it was something I would consider. Your enthusiasm for a Tracker has prompted me to look having one fitted as soon as possible.

Totally lost it said:

Sorry to quash your rant Magic but I was referring to a replacing my rusty chassis when I said it was something I would consider. Your enthusiasm for a Tracker has prompted me to look having one fitted as soon as possible.

Click to expand...

How coul you refuse !

Weren't havin a go at you personally T/L/I But I/WE get totally P/OF when when we hear of another Defender gettin nicked ! ALL for the sake of FITTING a TRACKER of some sort !
It don't have to be an expensive one it just needs to be one that works

Magicgrotto said:

Weren't havin a go at you personally T/L/I But I/WE get totally P/OF when when we hear of another Defender gettin nicked ! ALL for the sake of FITTING a TRACKER of some sort !
It don't have to be an expensive one it just needs to be one that works

Click to expand...

A Tracker does not stop it getting knicked @Magicgrotto ................Hopefully it helps get it back.

Didn't say it did neilly ! But isn't it better to (hopefully) get it back than to NEVER see it again ??

Hi All,

The Beast is in the garage. I have been quoted £350 for the welding which I think is a result!! The garage does MOT test and had the DVLA in today so they showed them the LED headlights that are fitted and they confirmed the DRLs etc are fine so another result there!

Thanks for the advice on replacing chassis etc. I will bear this in mind but at the moment, I just want to get through the MOT. I was having a shaky moment or two at the weekend and was considering selling but I think we are ok now.

I have ordered a tracker today, a steering lock and a DNA marker to help deter undesirables.

How much does a tracker cost?

Just fitted this one
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vehicle-Per...ize-SWTRACK1-/401218675043?txnId=604256113027
You need a payg sim gift gaff are good only about 5p for each text.

raywin said:

Just fitted this one
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vehicle-Per...ize-SWTRACK1-/401218675043?txnId=604256113027
You need a payg sim gift gaff are good only about 5p for each text.

Click to expand...

That looks ideal and a lot less than I was expecting! Ordering today. Nice one Ray

Take care where you fit it and I recommend to charge it up and test it in location before making the permanent connection, mine seems to be fine, the Giff Gaff sim cost £0.01 and the texts it needs to send cost only about £0.05 compared to many firms who charge £0.15 per text they also use the O2 network so there is decent coverage.
If you go for GG then you only want the PAYG top up don't pay for a plan package.

Just watched a program and it had a rather upsetting article on Defender thefts. The thieving scrotes now use something called a magic wand that detects where the phone/tracker is and lets them disable it with ease. You can get shielded ones that will transmit through containers and quite a few have been recovered from the docks and even from abroad from some god forsaken carp hole but they do cost a lot.

Totally lost it said:

Hi All,

The Beast is in the garage. I have been quoted £350 for the welding which I think is a result!! The garage does MOT test and had the DVLA in today so they showed them the LED headlights that are fitted and they confirmed the DRLs etc are fine so another result there!

Thanks for the advice on replacing chassis etc. I will bear this in mind but at the moment, I just want to get through the MOT. I was having a shaky moment or two at the weekend and was considering selling but I think we are ok now.

I have ordered a tracker today, a steering lock and a DNA marker to help deter undesirables.

Click to expand...

A window etch kit helps to make their minds up to leave it alone to ... very visible ...

LordOWar said:

Just watched a program and it had a rather upsetting article on Defender thefts. The thieving scrotes now use something called a magic wand that detects where the phone/tracker is and lets them disable it with ease. You can get shielded ones that will transmit through containers and quite a few have been recovered from the docks and even from abroad from some god forsaken carp hole but they do cost a lot.

Click to expand...

Yes that's true sadly, if you take a step back and consider that people were able to break into the Hatton garden safe deposit boxes makes you think there are people who are so determined they will steal anything, all you can do is make it a bit harder and deter the chancers and armatures and hope that they are the majority.

raywin said:

Yes that's true sadly, if you take a step back and consider that people were able to break into the Hatton garden safe deposit boxes makes you think there are people who are so determined they will steal anything, all you can do is make it a bit harder and deter the chancers and armatures and hope that they are the majority.

Click to expand...

Make it as difficult as you can, at the end of the day if they want it, they'll lift it away ...