Swimboy14
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- Cambridgeshire
Thank you - for sure! He has a few on it already, but you can never be too careful. I can imagine, I'm a bit like that with my car now and that's not a defender!
Views for my first Defender
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Interceptorxj
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- Bolton, Greater Manchester.
This is the big question, personally I love them and have owned 5 but pulled away from them due to how often they get stolen coupled with the now silly values hence now running a D2 again. They are not everyone's cup of tea and if you find out you don't like then it could be a very short term investment.
Swimboy14
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- Cambridgeshire
Have you, there must be something about them that made you keep going back..! I get what you mean, I work from home and don't go out and about that much, it would also be blocked in when parked as extra security. In your experience, what do people like/dislike about them the most? I won't fully be able to know until I have one I don't think. I had an old Rover Mini for a while and liked that (whereas others may hate them) only had to sell for a bigger car.
Here's my two penneth:-
Price of vehicle is irrelevant to me - it's your money - only you can make that decision
. Notwithstanding that, I'd suggest that a 90 needs to be a long term purchase to make sense at all.
Be very aware of the proper maintenance requirements of a 90 - you'll need tools, and the wherewithal to do the work your self to a high standard - or you'll need a money tree. IME, garages do NOT maintain vehicles - they might, if you are lucky service it to a basic standard.....
Security wise - get a tracker. There's a thread on here about how to do it very well....
As a daily, a 90 might suit you, it might not - it will NOT suit me - I'm far too tall, with long legs (36" inside ), so I don't fit.
Forget how shiny it is - it's irrelevant to the main issues with LR ownership - the mechanicals and structure - granted this has a galv chassis - what about the BH ? What are the brake and clutch fluid like ? etc .....
IMHO, this age is the right age - it's pre SVA and pre electronics, so easily fixed when it breaks.
Price of vehicle is irrelevant to me - it's your money - only you can make that decision
. Notwithstanding that, I'd suggest that a 90 needs to be a long term purchase to make sense at all.Be very aware of the proper maintenance requirements of a 90 - you'll need tools, and the wherewithal to do the work your self to a high standard - or you'll need a money tree. IME, garages do NOT maintain vehicles - they might, if you are lucky service it to a basic standard.....
Security wise - get a tracker. There's a thread on here about how to do it very well....
As a daily, a 90 might suit you, it might not - it will NOT suit me - I'm far too tall, with long legs (36" inside ), so I don't fit.
Forget how shiny it is - it's irrelevant to the main issues with LR ownership - the mechanicals and structure - granted this has a galv chassis - what about the BH ? What are the brake and clutch fluid like ? etc .....
IMHO, this age is the right age - it's pre SVA and pre electronics, so easily fixed when it breaks.
Swimboy14
Member
- Posts
- 29
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Here's my two penneth:-
Price of vehicle is irrelevant to me - it's your money - only you can make that decision
Be very aware of the proper maintenance requirements of a 90 - you'll need tools, and the wherewithal to do the work your self to a high standard - or you'll need a money tree. IME, garages do NOT maintain vehicles - they might, if you are lucky service it to a basic standard.....
Security wise - get a tracker. There's a thread on here about how to do it very well....
As a daily, a 90 might suit you, it might not - it will NOT suit me - I'm far too tall, with long legs (36" inside ), so I don't fit.
Forget how shiny it is - it's irrelevant to the main issues with LR ownership - the mechanicals and structure - granted this has a galv chassis - what about the BH ? What are the brake and clutch fluid like ? etc .....
IMHO, this age is the right age - it's pre SVA and pre electronics, so easily fixed when it breaks.
Yes, I get what you're saying. I'm prepared to do the maintenance myself and there are 2 local specialists if I need to draw on them... I know what you mean about garages - I'd far rather do what I can myself (as I'm very particular!) A tracker will be the first thing I purchase
I'm only a short arse (5ft7) and medium build, so I've got that as a positive for once! Yes, you're right. The BH is very good and it has had new fluids in Oct this year. I will get an RAC inspection carried out on it too, for another pair of eyes. He has said he will accept £18,500 which is another £500 better off in my pocket than his... With the service records from 2015 as well now, that is more reassuring too. Age wise, I agree, it is all mechanical and do not need to plug it into a computer to diagnose or clear fault codes..!Will this tell you anything ?
Serious question.
I.E. will the RAC "person" know what they are looking at ? I would suspect that they'll be sending a "tecnician" / "nerd" with a 'puter - rather than an engineer ... So, I'd be asking the question of the RAC before spending your money ...
Plenty of pictures on here will illicit plenty of opinions - some of them might even be helpful !
Swimboy14
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- Cambridgeshire
Very good point - I will ask this. Are there any independent LR or defender specialist companies that you know of that does this at all? Do you mean pictures of the defender? I will try to get some, I do have a couple of the inside:Will this tell you anything ?
Serious question.
I.E. will the RAC "person" know what they are looking at ? I would suspect that they'll be sending a "tecnician" / "nerd" with a 'puter - rather than an engineer ... So, I'd be asking the question of the RAC before spending your money ...
Plenty of pictures on here will illicit plenty of opinions - some of them might even be helpful !
Swimboy14
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- Cambridgeshire
The interior looks nice for starters... but the picture was probably taken on a dry day!
It is nice inside...IMO too. Ha - I think it was just after he'd cleaned it! Here is a pic of the back:
tottot
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From the parts list above mechanically it should be as a near new truck. I did not read through the whole list but I see clutch has been done which is good and even the transfer box O rings have been done. [ cheap items but can be a lot of work to change ] The fact the engine does not have a full service history would not worry me as it has passed emission tests been serviced in recent times and probably was with the original long term owner. Have a look at MOT history, may give more info along the lines of what care it was given. The same advisory coming up tear after year not good. 150 000 is not a huge mileage for a cared for tdi.
Swimboy14
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Thanks for your feedback - that's really reassuring. I don't have any experience with defenders, so it's great to get the views of you guys on here. Yes, and since the rebuild, it has passed it's MOT's. Prior to all the work in 2020, it passed in 2019 and in 2017 it was advised on shock bushes and said about chassis structure has excessive corrosion, hence why in time the new one was fitted. I think I just need to bite the bullet..!
Yep! 'specially the oily bits and the BH - which is where the money is...
Probably
+1. As he says 150K is nothing to worry about on a properly maintained 300 Tdi ...... IIRC, there was a guy on here whose 300 had done something like 504K, without issue.... my own has done 140K without issue, just proper maintenance.
One question though... have the injectors been changed ?
and another... is the heat shield still in place on the inlet plenum ? ( piccies would answer this one ).
Interceptorxj
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Then you will love the Defender. From the list of parts above i would be confident it's a good one and you're not really taking a risk as it is one of the most popular vehicles on the planet. Stop faffing about and get it bought. ! (would still offer him 17k though)
Swimboy14
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You're not making this any easier...
The parts are quite comprehensive aren't they! It's not just had a new chassis and a few bits... It's had the timing belt kit too. You're right, I think I'm going to have to go with it..! Worst case, it's a pretty good market for sellers and if I didn't like after a few months, the market won't suddenly plummet, so I should broadly get my money back (or even a little extra).
