Reliable

OK,

so I would LOVE to get a landy, but on talking with friends and even a couple of Landy owners I've been VERY STRONGLY advised against it due to them being 'total pants' reliability wise, and very costly to maintain and repair.
This cant be right ...I always thought Defenders were super reliable, durable and not that expensive to repair/maintain?

I think it depends on what you want out of a car. If you buy a 20 year old car, you are going to have a lot more work than one that is only a couple old. maintenance is easier (IMHO) than on other cars and can be done cheaply. I got mine because a good friend is a bit nifty with a trolley jack and was willing to help me out. I would say its not the best first car, but then, thats only my opinion

well I can afford a 300tdi I think at around 5k which I'm told is a much more reliable unit?

landrovers are great if you can fix them your self , if you cant then mechanics tend to go 'cha ching' every time you drive one into their yard.
there is an interesting thread about them on one of the other sections , some farmer geezer slagging them off but its really very well put.
he says something like 'if you want to drive out into the desert buy a land rover , if you want to get back alive buy a toyota' , which is something im very much considering at the moment.
but yup , it depends on what you want out of a car , what you will be using it for and how handy you are with a spanner.

5K should be enough to get an fairly good, rust free example. As with any defender, check the problem areas: the bulk head, rear cross member, door pillars and bottoms and out riggers for rust. Surface rust is normal, but holes are not. If you are lucky, cars on galvanized chassis turn up from time to time and I would say it was worth the extra in saved time later. check the oil filler cap, if there is a white substance on the cap or visible in the engine, leave well alone. I think you can expect a good example of a 300 tdi 90 for that, rather than a poor example of a 110 CSW 200tdi for £2k that I got. But then, I knew it would be plenty of work and was happy(ish) to do it.

the best advice you can get is , when you go to look at a few , dont buy the first thing you see , bring someone who knows landrovers with you , not someone who knows about diy mechanics but someone who accually knows landrovers and dont listen to a word the seller is telling you , a good un will more or less speak for it self. if the seller is speaking sales talk be dubious. ive seen landys at 5k needing a lot of work doing and most landys will be bodged in one way or another as most landy owners , like my self , dont mine attacking it with a box of spanners on a week end.
look for a chelsea tractor if you can , something thats been used to ferry kids to school in all its pampered life as opposed to something thats humped bails of hay and bricks across farm yards.

you also need to ask your self do you need a 90 or 110 as they both have their own problems to look out for.

I'd like a 90 for road use around towns and motorways, not off-roading.
I've seen a few that look in amazing condition compared to some others. do you think if I get one like this I would be ok using mechanics?

You ain't going to find many Toy-yotas on the road in 20 years. Land rovers are like marmite you either love um or not. yes they have their faults but you give me one car thats infalable to breakdown. There are plenty of independent land rover specialists about the country that don't go cha-ching but will bend over backwards to help. Mine charges £37.50 an hour labour and that ain't bad. There will be always something that will need doing or a bit that you'll always want to improve on, but swap my landy's for some rice burning tin bucket no thank you. If you want a land rover me old mucker go get one. A 300Tdi is a good choice 200's are also good, a friend of mine has a 200 disco and has just put a gas flowed head on. When he took the head off you could still see the honing marks in the bores. Like Nobber has said take someone with you that knows um inside out.

you might want to consider a 300 disco, youll get a much later car than a deepender for the same dosh. and it may be a more sensible choice for a first landy?

(plus itll more likely be a school run chelsea tractor).

Since we bought a new Defender 90 last year we have had the following faults...
1. Engine management fault (power dropping off) caused by the supplying dealer tampering with the boost setting.
2. Obstructive gear change, cleared up after 5k miles
3. Sticking rear door lock,cured with some oil.

We've done 7000 miles off mainly on-road driving with some green laning.
I think that you have to look at the kind of use the vehicles are subject to. Most 10+ year old Land Rovers will have had farm/heavy off road use and if you did that regularly in your Audi/Mercedes etc it would be scrap by now.
I have a friend with a 110 and she's NEVER cleaned it...as for washing underneath? She just laughed.

There a big problem with a disco I drove them
all you think it looks good then you try it
fells like a tank or tractor but you get in a
Defender you know its a Tank and tractor
Disco 3 is cool

Yes of course the Discovery 3 is superb...but you cannot compare it to the Defender,which is basically a farm/utility vehicle.There is really no comparison for on road use,but that does not stop me from using my Defender as a daily driver!
Sadly the Defender's days seem numbered, as Land Rover will replace it in 2010 with another fashion wagon.

If I had 5k to spend & wanted a 90 I'd go find a really good, late model 200Tdi with the highest possible standard spec & as much history as I could find to give the best chance of it having had an easy life..............For what it's worth I reckon that would give you the best chance of getting the motor you wanted with the minimum risk of it needing anything major doing.

Why not but one for £1500 and spend the rest making it reliable then you know where you stand and would have a pretty tidy motor to show for your money

i payed 500 for mine , i threw another 3k at it and i still don't have a reliable motor , its pretty solid , structurally sound and could be described as almost brand new but that wont stop it from breaking down.

If only Land Rover Waxoyled (or similar) the Defender from new...I don't suppose it would improve the reliability though.