Where to buy a Defender?

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Scotty99

Member
Posts
21
Location
Herefordshire
Hello,

I‘m on the lookout for a Defender 300TDI or TD5 but after reading some terrible reviews of T&T Motors in Wakefield and Walton Motors in Cranleigh who between them seem to corner the market on Autotrader, I‘m not sure where to look next. Any ideas gratefully received.
 
I take it you have looked on here?
At least you will get an honest 1.

We have actually had 2 LRs from Walton but it was a few years ago when they were alot smaller and maybe cared ;).

Still got them too, although 1 is now a spares car.

J
 
I asked a similar question in the summer as I started my search for a station wagon. As long as you know what you are looking for on a defender to check them thoroughly yourself (I would do this even with a dealer one) your best bet is Facebook/ebay for private sales. If you don’t know what you are looking for yourself people on here who are local might be willing to go with you to have a look over it, I had several offers for vehicles that were not local to me. For old defenders as a rough rule of thumb dealer vehicles are unlikely to be better than private sales but are more likely to have had the top side tarted up to look nice and more likely to be a higher price. It is the conditions of the chassis and bulkhead that is more important followed by the mechanicals. How shiny the bodywork is or how clean the carpets are should be the least of your worries as they are easy and cheap to improve.
 
T&T Motors have a big selection.. bought from them in the past, they're pretty straight up and honest and their mentality is like "come look during the day when it's light so you know what you're buying", so you'll just have to know what you're looking for, rust etc.
 
You just have to keep looking on all the usual places. If you can't find a decent one in your budget then you will need to up your budget or accept you will need to do some work.on it.
Actually you will probably have to do some work regardless of budget.
Have fun looking.
 
Anaconda said:
Actually you will probably have to do some work regardless of budget.
Click to expand...
This ^^

Whatever you pay be prepared to pay so e more for maintainence/problems you discover. However if you are not already mechanically inclined they are the perfect vehicle to learn on and if you are, other than being big heavy and rusty, they are a very easy and basic vehicle to work on!
 
marjon said:
I take it you have looked on here?
At least you will get an honest 1.

We have actually had 2 LRs from Walton but it was a few years ago when they were alot smaller and maybe cared ;).

Still got them too, although 1 is now a spares car.

J
Click to expand...

I have not yet looked on here, but I will do. A private sale is probably the way forward.
 
RustyDefender said:
T&T Motors have a big selection.. bought from them in the past, they're pretty straight up and honest and their mentality is like "come look during the day when it's light so you know what you're buying", so you'll just have to know what you're looking for, rust etc.
Click to expand...

They are the only dealer that regularly shows photos of the chassis condition of their vehicles in the ads, which is an honest approach, which does not gel with some of the reviews I’m seeing.
 
dag019 said:
This ^^

Whatever you pay be prepared to pay so e more for maintainence/problems you discover. However if you are not already mechanically inclined they are the perfect vehicle to learn on and if you are, other than being big heavy and rusty, they are a very easy and basic vehicle to work on!
Click to expand...

I haven’t worked on vehicles for many years but not afraid to start doing so again and have most of the tools I would need. I’d get a lot of pleasure from maintaining my own vehicle again. Never welded before so this might have to be outsourced unless I go on a welding course!
 
In a way you are better off looking now than a couple of years ago when I was looking.
A lot were getting sold the moment the advert was live, quite often unseen and dealers were also falling over each other buying everything up then sticking £3k on top the following week.
I also discounted the two places you mention and most other dealers come to think of it.
Bought one from a nice gentleman on Ebay in the end.
Defender2.net often have some for sale.
 
Scotty99 said:
I haven’t worked on vehicles for many years but not afraid to start doing so again and have most of the tools I would need. I’d get a lot of pleasure from maintaining my own vehicle again. Never welded before so this might have to be outsourced unless I go on a welding course!
Click to expand...
Welding is not essential and is something that can be outsourced. I did this for a while and then did a collage welding course one evening a week which has more than paid for itself since. But even without being able to weld nearly everything else is basic tools and nut and bolt jobs.
 
marksman said:
it all depends what your expectations are Vs your budget
Click to expand...

It’s all about budget. I have about £15k to spend and reckon I would still need to spend on repairs and improvements after the initial spend. I understand that condition of chassis and bulkhead are really important.
 
Scotty99 said:
It’s all about budget. I have about £15k to spend and reckon I would still need to spend on repairs and improvements after the initial spend. I understand that condition of chassis and bulkhead are really important.
Click to expand...
You should be alright for £15k.
Check all the chassis carefully, it can rust out pretty much anywhere. Bulkhead can do the same and along the bottom of the doors.
Usual mechanical checks and oil leaks.
Post up any adverts if you would like opinions on them.
 
Scotty99 said:
Hello,

I‘m on the lookout for a Defender 300TDI or TD5 but after reading some terrible reviews of T&T Motors in Wakefield and Walton Motors in Cranleigh who between them seem to corner the market on Autotrader, I‘m not sure where to look next. Any ideas gratefully received.
Click to expand...
There are loads for sale, the UK isn't that big to travel around though, so going a few hours drive to look at one should be more than reasonable. Remember you are going to buy, not to make friends with the seller. So why care about reviews. Just inspect the vehicle properly before buying and make sure you are happy with the price vs condition vs spec.

Defenders are very simple vehicles, making them one of the easiest vehicles to inspect.
 
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