still looking, hard work !

its proving hard work trying to find a nice/suitable defender for my budget of 3.5k, ideally 2.5k

but ive seen and drove a 300tdi, a td, and today a 200tdi and gaining expirience in them, the nearest ones that have came up for sale in the last couple of weeks..

300tdi-wanted £5k buy it now, but said 3.6k for cash, could of maybe got 3300/3400 drove nice and was solid, but some smoke on tickover and stuff, and it was a van style land rover blue, i want country windows and green ideally if im spending that sort of money and have my ideal/perfect and have something that feels a little nicer inside with roof lining and rear seats and more carpet etc

the td-

1989 LAND ROVER 90 4C SW DT DIESEL BLUE | eBay

it drove nice enough, bulkhead etc was all ok, but the doors were very rusty, the back was full of of junk (come on who tries to sell a car like that not even bothering to even clean junk out the back so you can at least get in it and see the floor etc, let alone give it a clean) the rear door handle bit was totaly rusted through and constant water going through the rear door and the bottom was totaly rusted, had some thick welding on the rear cross member, and the chassis was very light rusty and all the chassic and running gear/suspension etc was very dry and light rusty looked like it had been sat a long time un used sort of thing, or had been driven down the beach in salt a lot or something ?

today went to see this 200tdi - he said on phone it was nice and solid and drove nice, and wanted £2500

1990 LAND ROVER 90 4C COUNTY D TURBO BLACK | eBay

looked better in the pics than it was, drove really nice and ran fine, quieter and better than the td and was a nice drive i liked it, but all the rubber seals were very bad and persished all round the car internal and external on the doors and windows etc, chassis was ok and better than the above one and all seemed good, paint job- hand painted nato black not that great but not that bad, but the poor seals and a leak in the back under front of the rear side window was a bit rusty inside and leaking in, but heavy looking repairs and painted over on outside of the bulkead corners, but the insides were gone through,drivers side had had a repair inside the bonnet in the corner, and the passenger side was completley gone, feeling inside from the bonnet under there could poke fingers through and pull out chunks of metal and inside was all leaking and rusted out going behing the dash, see ya !! at least i now know what the bulkheads go like i suppose

the search goes on , just glad ive not traveled too far a distance to see them , id be angry if i drove for hours after being told it was solid and nice to find horrors like that, but i think the 200tdi drove nicest and felt nicest mechanicly

im going to see a p38 tomorrow, thats had spring replacement suspension and looks and sounds nice for 2k cash,more to just to see it , but if its as nice as said il have to have agood think about if to just get that and have a lot more for my money than with a defender, but i know i know about the p38s and the risks, but im not paying 2.5-3k out for something that is a ****ter !!

Good luck with your quest, although if your scared of rust and crap paintwork, you'd be better off with a "Gaylander"

Keep looking and be aware of how much the replacement parts cost.

Knocking 1.5k off a 5k motor seems...well, generous!

Id go for a 200tdi or a 300tdi..a td is a poor medium.

But you mention a p38 as well so i think you have no idea of what you want.

Maybe a Pajero?

paintwork doesnt matter, i went to see it didnt i ! but a totaly rusted bulkead you could pull chunks of metal from for 2.5k !!

in my weeks of searching, asking so many questions and calls etc, theres a lot of over inflated price opinions of owners, and proff i suppose is in what ones get bid up to or sell for, and what ones hang around for sale or dont reach reserve etc

people could at least bother to advertise them proerly, not say yes its nice and solid only to turn up and find loads left out etc, some good honest ones have swiftly sold as ones a bit too far away to just pop along to view, im finding the defender market all over the place

i sold a nice discovery es for £2100, and to pay a few hundred or a grand more for a rusted ****ter isnt going to happen, just want a nice enough one, one will come along im sure but im not going to buy something for the sake of it

the p38- £2k cash, had the air suspension replaced with springs, it looks and sounds ok , especialy for the money compared with 2.5k defenders ive seen thats for sure, although only going for a look to then walk away and think about it

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but il keep looking, thing is...its for a 3rd car , so i dont want to spend 4-5k for a nice defender to just be sat there a lot, if it was a 1st car id be spending that, and cash is king at the moment theres bargains to be had in the car market, so i want reasonable to good value for the money, just have to see

if not i may be forced to go jap or jeep or something and get a nice enough 4x4 for £1k-1500 , but id like a nice 200tdi green country defender, nowt amazing but just nice enough and solid

nationwide, theres been a few sold id of bought if were abit closer and could of had a look and was nice as described, but im not having an 8hr round trip to do that , som just have to be pateient and keep looking and waiting !!!

biggest annoyance im finding- most of the sellers wont just say a "cash price" its all "make me an offer" etc, which you cant do without looking at it and make a calculated offer from 3 pics, its hard going, and im finding its also those sort of ones that are left un sold not reached reserve or the sort of inflated opionion of they initialy think, its like most of them think its worth 5k when realistily its worth 3-3.5k , a lot seem to just get bid to around 3-3200 with reaserve not met im finding, where as the ones listed real honestly and the sellers are easy and sensible to ccomunicate with and say a cash price they are looking for when asked, those ones tend to be selling and often quickly

I had a similar experience when I bought mine. I spent six months looking and finally opted to get one that had plenty of issues but was at the right money. That said, I had a £4k budget and stuck to it. Unless you can find a TD that's been converted or cheap I'd opt for a 200 or 300TDI. There's plenty of advice on here of what to look for when purchasing. However, remember if the vehicle's going for a song then it will go QUICKLY. Perseverance is the key here. Good luck.

Oh ye,

Widen your search. Have a look at:

Pistonheads
Auto Express
Local papers

I bought my 110 a few weeks back for £3300. He offered me 800 quid for my MOT failed Disco and I was happy with that so I took him up on his offer against this 110.

The 110 is a bit rough cosmetically but it drives great and appears to have no major mechanical faults. I was aware that the rear door was **** and that there was a hole in the toolbox under the seatbox. I'm not overly fussed about welding jobs though as I do it for a living.

The chassis is fine and the rear crossmember has more years left in it.

Having since had a good prod about I've stabbed through some rot in the footwells which I've this weekend repaired and also stabbed holes in two outriggers. I'm a little disappointed about the outriggers in fairness as I'd not spotted this when looking the vehicle over.

That said, it still seems like a good buy for £3.3k, judging by what else I've seen for similar money.

I have plans to make it something of a weekender / camper / greenlaner on a budget but can undertake much of the work myself.

If you want something within your budget but not prepared to do much work to it I'd forget it, based on the condition of vehicles I've seen around this price.

I would like to give you a piece of advice, because I really think that you need it: Forget trying to find your perfect Land Rover and settle for something that costs a little less money and that needs a little work. Don't continue to spend months upon months comparing one to another because there is no such thing as a perfect Land Rover. It is what you make of a Land Rover, regardless of its condition that makes it perfect. When I bought mine four years ago, it was yellow, tatty and had a ****ty 12J engine on board and I thought that it was near enough perfect. Sure, there were little changes that I wanted to make here and there, but nothing major and I was over the moon. Over time I began to look at it slightly differently, and what I once thought was perfect became substandard - so I adjusted it to suit my new taste (totally new paint job, new boots, spot lights off and a new engine and now I'm just about to start making a few little changes to it again. It's the very reason why there are so many different and unique Land Rovers out there. You don't need to waste months trying to find one that suits your needs, when you can buy one cheap and make it meet your needs. Please, for Christ's Sake, just buy one, be happy with it, use it and get a foot on the journey of inevitable tinkering, adjusting and maintaining because no matter how you look at it, and how far you will go to try and avoid it - a Land Rover is a road going automotive construction site that is always in need of attention.

blue haze- piston heads, ebay, auto trader, are what i have been using
bede- i really like the 110`s , but 90% of the time just me in it, really its a bit too big for my needs sadly and seem good priced compared with 90s

pos- if you read the above and look at them, youl understand what im looking for, im loooking for the one thats "perfect for me", not "the perfect defender" a good base to start from, which means a solid chassis and bulkhead, side windows ideally, and a tdi engine and an mot, the rest im open to option and change , like you say its all price depending, im not paying £3000 and having to change and engine and a bulkhead and a paint job,3 grand is still a lot of money in the current car market and a lot can be got the 3k at the moment, im not going to waste it, il spend 3-4k on one if it suits and im happy, take the black one above for instance- £2500 for one with a nato paint job (which i can live with) or even now its not worth 2500 with a totaly rotted through in both corners bulkhead is it, if it was a grand or 1500 priced accordingly and honest, then you can look at that as a project, i just want a solid base to start from, and 3-4k will get me that

polsta said:

pos- if you read the above and look at them, youl understand what im looking for, im loooking for the one thats "perfect for me", not "the perfect defender" a good base to start from, which means a solid chassis and bulkhead, side windows ideally, and a tdi engine and an mot, the rest im open to option and change , like you say its all price depending, im not paying £3000 and having to change and engine and a bulkhead and a paint job,3 grand is still a lot of money in the current car market and a lot can be got the 3k at the moment, im not going to waste it, il spend 3-4k on one if it suits and im happy, take the black one above for instance- £2500 for one with a nato paint job (which i can live with) or even now its not worth 2500 with a totaly rotted through in both corners bulkhead is it, if it was a grand or 1500 priced accordingly and honest, then you can look at that as a project, i just want a solid base to start from, and 3-4k will get me that

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Fair enough. Bare in mind that when I bought mine, it was rock solid - the chassis was clean metal beneath the wax oil & paint and the bulkhead was clean beneath the paint around the hinges too. Three winters, and the amount of salt that we've had on the roads have rotten it something silly. The bulkhead has taken a turn for the worse and the rear crossmember got eaten away. Everything else is sound, the cross member was replaced and the Bulkhead is on my list of things to do. I'm not blaming you for having a solid start - it's the same thing I did but haven't you been on the lookout for months?

-Tom

get a foot on the journey of inevitable tinkering, adjusting and maintaining

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pos - that's brilliant

A grand or 1500 would be rough as a very right thing, I was happy with 1700 for a 110 station wagon with disco 200tdi very patched chassis and no synchro on 1st n 2nd, untidy, various colours etc etc, visit my site as I really know my stuff when it comes to landys even if I say so but honestly think your on to a loser , especially when u say a disco value plus a grand??? Discos are peanuts and will be worth £500 after a few years... A defender ... Rightly or wrongly will hold far far more value

Cheers steve


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.444242,-0.346028

ebbadger said:

A grand or 1500 would be rough as a very right thing, I was happy with 1700 for a 110 station wagon with disco 200tdi very patched chassis and no synchro on 1st n 2nd, untidy, various colours etc etc, visit my site as I really know my stuff when it comes to landys even if I say so but honestly think your on to a loser , especially when u say a disco value plus a grand??? Discos are peanuts and will be worth £500 after a few years... A defender ... Rightly or wrongly will hold far far more value

Cheers steve


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I am here: Google Maps

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i dont quite think you understood what i ment... i sold my disco for £2100, a nice 97 es model, silver, full leather, solid clean undersealed chassis, mechanicly faultless, solid boot floor, was a nice one

but...meaning if i spend 3-3.5k on a defender, that equates to my disco plus a grand- and i want something half decent for that money thats a solid base, if i cant find it il buy something else, but im not paying 3.5k for a rust heap, i wont be a mug and pay it

what im finding hard work- is people saying "remember its 25 years old " etc... and valueing a 1986-87 one etc, the same as 1991-92 ones , there doesnt seem to be much of a structure in the sub 5k market , 90% of owners of them seem some what deluded with reserve prices and asking prices...a lot of them dont seem to get past reserve or sold, where as nice sounding ones and honest listed, get sold quickly - so its just a case of waiting for the right one thats near enouugh and not owned by a disshonest deluded moron ,like the black one in my 1st post...a totaly rotten bulkhead in a bad state, not any mention of it in his listing at all, it wasttes peoples time etc, imagine someone willing it for 2.5k and turning up to see and find that after him saying "chassis and bulk head solid" when they asked like i did

some peoples idea of good condition is far from it.. best thing to do is look for original painted landys as there will be less chance of filler in bulkhead an you can paint it yourself at later date . an you need to broaden your search. looking for a green csw in mint/good condition 200/300 tdi in your area will be very hard you need to travel .. i drove 3 1/2 hours to get mine an didn't even have a number for the guy who was selling it .. my mate just seen it parked outside the mans house an took a pic on his phone an showed me it 2 day after he took pic.. you need to strike while the irons hot with defenders or you will be waiting forever

yeah i knowi know, looking around on ebay etc, its just hard work with a few suitable in price range looking ones,but miles away, and the sellers are just so difficult to deal with , its all "make me an offer" rather than just comming out with a price which you cant do without actualty seeing it and looking it over etc, most people with a car for sale know a rough price in mind they want, why not just say it with defenders ?? most/all other cars people will, but then again othjer car markets are not full of so many dreamers thinkiing theyl ge5 4 or 5 grand for a rust heap

its just a nightmare tbh, the green tdi country, is just an ideal, im open to options a things can be changed to my tastes over time, i just have to be patient i know, id be willing to travel for the right one if i was 95% confident in it being right...but with 3 pictures and none of the chassis etc and near every single defender listed for sale 95% of them say "chassis and bulkhead good" ...im not willing to travel for that, just seems a very tedious and testing market, il be bloody chuffed when i finaly get one !

trouble is also, ones further away that do look and sound nice and sensibly priced ...by the time youve spoke to the seller and had questions answered its sold, so its a case of just waiting for ones near enough to strike whilst its hot with the seller actualy giving a price in mind thats not been dreamed up with them thinking their beat up 89 is worth the same as one 10 years newer

lanny man 90 said:

some peoples idea of good condition is far from it.. best thing to do is look for original painted landys as there will be less chance of filler in bulkhead an you can paint it yourself at later date . a

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thanks mate, appriciate any advice that helps me, ideally i do want an original one

berkshire land rover have a nice one that fits the bill, all but the engine its a td and not a tdi

i shudder to think what the market will get like in december !!! if it goes another month or so lke this il just abandon the search i think, i dont want to buy for the sake of it/in desperation, but its all learning i suppose !!

even yanthelandyman on ebay....i have no idea how he prices his, but click on his auctions and completed, none ever go past the reserve price, re listed and re listed over and over and hes got a few..do people like this not realise he must price them too high ? afterall...things are only worth what someones willing to pay for it , although from what ive read hes to be avoided !

polsta said:

thanks mate, appriciate any advice that helps me, ideally i do want an original one

berkshire land rover have a nice one that fits the bill, all but the engine its a td and not a tdi

i shudder to think what the market will get like in december !!! if it goes another month or so lke this il just abandon the search i think, i dont want to buy for the sake of it/in desperation, but its all learning i suppose !!

even yanthelandyman on ebay....i have no idea how he prices his, but click on his auctions and completed, none ever go past the reserve price, re listed and re listed over and over and hes got a few..do people like this not realise he must price them too high ? afterall...things are only worth what someones willing to pay for it , although from what ive read hes to be avoided !

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yes mate his stuff is way over priced ..me an my brother phoned him about 5 years ago he had a p reg 90 on eblag as project so we phoned him an said on the phone how much buy now he says £2000 i says how much £2000 for a p reg he says YES so we drove to his house an when we got there he said NO its a G reg ..well i near killed the cnut .. he did have a p reg the one that we seen in the pics an it was £3900 so we had a look anyway after traveling 2 hours in a recovery truck i was the worst **** box av ever seen rust chassis, rotted bulkhead , rotten foot wells , ect,ect he had tried to make the wheels look good by painting them white again he had painted around the wheel nuts:doh: an his cutting in was well lets say disgraceful.. stay well away the man is a cowboy