Potential new 90, front end damage?

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J

Johno82

New Member
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5
Hi,

I am new to the site and hoped that I could draw on the years of experience of everybody here.
I am looking to buy a new 90 TDci and have found one I like. I have checked the whole thing over and the only part that scares me slighly is that it looks to me like it has had a hit to the front?

I have attached a couple of pictures that see to indicate its not straight at the front. I am not sure if this is an easy fix or just panel allignment.

The first pic shows a bulge in the front part of the frame...
Defender1.jpg


There is also a difference in the gap between the bumper and the front of the light housing.
Defender2.jpg


And you can see that the line on the wings aren't inline. The offside wing seems to be further forward? Which is weird as that is the side I think its had some impact...
Defender3.jpg


I know these vehicles are big meccano sets, so as I said it might be just lining up the panels.

Just don't want to buy something that twisted.

Thanks!
 
That does not look normal to me. There are other checks you can make;
Are the gaps between the bonnet and bulkhead the same at each side? and does the front of the bonnet line up with the wings and light housings on both sides? Are there any gaps in the MOT history (check on the gov.uk website) which would indicate it has possibly been off the road for repairs? HPI check? Do the vin numbers on the chassis, on the brake master cylinder bracket, and behind the passenger side windscreen match up, and do they appear tampered with? The engine, gear box, transfer box, axles all have serial numbers - might be possible to check they all left the factory in the same vehicle with matching vin number?
Edit; the front cross member is a very substantial steel box section with gussets, it would take a substantial impact to put a bulge in it.
 
Last edited:
Landrovers are built on a ladder frame chassis.
It does look like the car has had a shunt and possibly bent the bumper/bumper brakets and displaced a panel or two.

Damage is likely to be superficial rather than super serious.
Knock £2000 off (for repairs) and see what the seller says :)
 
Cheers guys! I'll check the bits mentioned.
As said, if its just panels and bumpers then thats fine. Just don't want a wonky ladder :)
 
Your red line in pic is out of true because of a bit of wing sag, not unusual. The NS wing bottom appears to be touching the bumper cap.
Evidence of a bit of a bump, check for creases around the power steering unit. Possible bump was on the steering arm.
 
I would say it is not the end of the world, but it has fresh paint and it is a tdci, which would suggest to me it is not cheap, and for that sort of money them faults will niggle away at you every time you look at it.
 
One of the nuts in the steering box bracket, just behind the bulge arrowed in the cross member, is newish and the other one is rusty. Possibly that's where it has taken an impact.
 
Johno82 said:
Hi,

I am new to the site and hoped that I could draw on the years of experience of everybody here.
I am looking to buy a new 90 TDci and have found one I like. I have checked the whole thing over and the only part that scares me slighly is that it looks to me like it has had a hit to the front?

I have attached a couple of pictures that see to indicate its not straight at the front. I am not sure if this is an easy fix or just panel allignment.

The first pic shows a bulge in the front part of the frame...
View attachment 291838

There is also a difference in the gap between the bumper and the front of the light housing.
View attachment 291839

And you can see that the line on the wings aren't inline. The offside wing seems to be further forward? Which is weird as that is the side I think its had some impact...
View attachment 291840

I know these vehicles are big meccano sets, so as I said it might be just lining up the panels.

Just don't want to buy something that twisted.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Front grille panel looks cracked and grille looks wonky in this picture.
 
How does the rear 'tub' fit at the back? I had a head on accident in a Series 3 (more or less the same chassis) and it pushed one chassis rail back by about the same as you see there. It was fairly obvious at the back, where the four tabs that the body bolts to were fine one side and bent on the other. The 'ladder' chassis doesn't have any diagonal bracing and so is fairly weak in the situation.
 
Cheers everyone. I need to get back and take a further look. The second question I have is it has 142k on the clock. Seems to have done 10k per year so a natural gain in mileage. What are the tdci life expectancy? I’m planning to do around 5k per year myself.
 
Its up for 21k. I have checked the MOT history and its had a few advisories, but nothing to make u feel its had a big hit. Its the XS model so had the mod cons and aircon work etc. Drives well and doesn’t snake or pull under heavy braking.
 
The underside has been painted, but have spend 30 mins looking it over and all solid. No signs of repair and very little rush.
 
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