Newbie buying advice please

Hi there,
I've been reading on here and elsewhere and I'd appreciate some frank advice please.
I know very little about cars, and have a pretty limited toolset.
We are trying to decide on a second vehicle, for short journeys, and possibly for using to take our stuff to go camping in the future with our 2 young boys (1 and 2yrs).
We previously had a nice sensible Golf which ended up costing about £1k a year in maintenance.
Is a £5k 110 an absolutely appalling idea?
I'm looking at this one:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1993-Land...ts-/262424356031?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368
Thanks a lot for any help.

If you go into it with your eyes wide open you'll love it. That's a nice defender and well looked after by the looks of it.
If you want to get into landrover's and are willing to learn as you go, it's a good start. Plus your two young lads will love helping you as they grow up, and It'll give you some quality time together.
I vote yes, go for it.
Mike

Seems to be in very good condition and at a good price. They are easy to work on if things go wrong and parts are cheap. Owning a Defender is like having an addition to the family, its not like having another car. They don't depreciate and if looked after they can be reliable. Defenders have there personality. They are not very comfortable, Heaters are luke warm in the winter . water can leak in from around the top of the doors. But I wouldn't get rid of mine. They can go were no other car can go. You could take the family camping to Morocco in it.
http://land-rover-discovery-1.blogspot.fr/2014/04/day-2-morocco-trip.html
Buy and enjoy it.

Yammer Motor said:

Hi there,
I've been reading on here and elsewhere and I'd appreciate some frank advice please.
I know very little about cars, and have a pretty limited toolset.
We are trying to decide on a second vehicle, for short journeys, and possibly for using to take our stuff to go camping in the future with our 2 young boys (1 and 2yrs).
We previously had a nice sensible Golf which ended up costing about £1k a year in maintenance.
Is a £5k 110 an absolutely appalling idea?
I'm looking at this one:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1993-Land...ts-/262424356031?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368
Thanks a lot for any help.

Click to expand...

It's got the best engine in it and don't worry about the mileage either. You can do it up as you go or keep it as it is, service it yourself and mend it yourself. Keep it well maintained and it is unlikely to go wrong. There's lots of things you can do the reduce road noise, heater issues and leaks and make it more comfortable by changing the seats etc. Get a roof tent too, you'll have an additional family member! Go for it but make sure it is nice and rust free on the chassis.

Looks pretty reasonable to me but would still advise going and looking at it first.

As for repairing, a surprising amount can be done with very basic tools.

Good basis to learn on, and as a second vehicle you can fix it at your leisure if you see what I mean, and your kids will be able to help with some (and more) as they get bigger.

That also has a desirable engine, and seat setup so if looked after will hold its value well

This forum is super helpful with repair advice aswell, there will be nothing that will go wrong with that that someone on here hasn't fixed before and it needs no computers etc to repair

You can go into Landy ownership with a fairly basic toolkit. If you've been doing work on the Golf then you'll have most of what you need. When you need to do a certain job, buy any tools needed and eventually you'll build it up. With a decent set of sockets/spanners you can tackle general servicing. As cars go, they are actually easy to work on due to being mechanically simple and everything being relatively easy to get to. I changed an exhaust without needing to even jack it up.

Don't expect it to be modern, because they aren't. But most of the usual issues can be dealt with given a bit of time and inclination. Worn lumpy seats can be refurbished. Leaks (in to and out of the vehicle) can be fixed. Noise can be reduced. Look after it and it will be a faithful member of the family.

A 110 is great for camping as you can just throw your kit in the back and go anywhere.

Yammer Motor said:

Hi there,
I'm looking at this one:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1993-Land...ts-/262424356031?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368
Thanks a lot for any help.

Click to expand...

Firstly Yes whole heartedly I would advocate Land Rover ownership, you and your family will have some fantastic times with it.
But buying one is a serious matter if you have limited mechanical skills.
Do not view a vehicle without someone with you who will give you advice on the condition of the vehicle you are viewing it is easy to get carried away.
Take a look at the vehicle MOT history on line https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ for that vehicle just enter reg number and manufacturers name and you will see a slightly different picture than is painted in the sellers text.
At its last MOT it had an indicated 226110 miles that was July 2015
It is listed an white not green hence the inside of the rear door is white so a re-spray at some time is it for this sale (may not be a bad to have been sprayed)
It is also listed as a petrol but in 2006 failed MOT for excessive smoke from a TDI?
You can see when it failed its MOT and for what reasons so a picture of what work has been completed on it.
Now with this knowledge take that someone with you to view it and see if what you are looking for.

Yammer Motor said:

Hi there,
I've been reading on here and elsewhere and I'd appreciate some frank advice please.
I know very little about cars, and have a pretty limited toolset.
We are trying to decide on a second vehicle, for short journeys, and possibly for using to take our stuff to go camping in the future with our 2 young boys (1 and 2yrs).
We previously had a nice sensible Golf which ended up costing about £1k a year in maintenance.
Is a £5k 110 an absolutely appalling idea?
I'm looking at this one:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1993-Land...ts-/262424356031?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368
Thanks a lot for any help.

Click to expand...

As above^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Sellers descriptions aren't always accurate, sometimes through ignorance, sometimes through intention to deceive.

Myself I would never buy any vehicle, let alone a landrover, without thorough personal inspection, and a test drive. Unless it was a non runner for a few hundred quid.

If you think 20 quid a week is expensive for a cars upkeep, you might be in for a shock!

That 110 looks alright on the surface, and is probably as good a 110 SW as you'd get for £5,000 from a dealer.
The respray could be hiding all sorts of bodywork issues though, and as suggested above l'd also recommend taking somebody who knows about Defenders if you can.
Being from a dealer (who will have bought it for £3,000) it will come with a warranty so you should get some comeback if it turns out to be a dud.

That rear crossmember looks a bit odd as there are no holes in it. I don't mean rust holes, but the normal drillings and stampings you get in the standard one. I think I can see a bead of weld along the top, so it looks like someone has tried to repair a rusty crossmember by welding a piece of sheet metal over the whole lot. So if I were you I'd go and see it and look very carefully for rust all over the chassis. Oh, and I think I can see a missing window winder on the rear offside door.

So it's likely to need work. That doesn't necessarily mean don't buy it, because most things can be repaired and replaced, but it's a good idea to familiarise yourself with what you're getting into. If you enjoy working with your hands, they're great fun.

It's had an MOT advisory a few years ago on crossmember corrosion, so l am guessing it's been welded up rather than replaced.