Where to look for one?

can anyone suggest where I should be looking for a defender?

eBay is full of scams! Seems one in five is a con

I've also tried gumtree and auto trader.

I'm sure if patient I will find one but just wondering if I've missed any other places to look?

Thanks in advance for any replies

What's your budget?

£8000 ideally but for right one a can push a little but it would have to be really right for me.

From my research I believe I should be able to find one around year 2000-2004 depending on miles.

I would prefer a full window county one but would consider a "van" if price allows me to convert it.

If you want a station wagon, but are thinking of converting a van then you also have to think if you ever want to take it into London.

A lot of older landies are not LEZ compliant, it is worth checking on any vehicle if this is a risk.

Cheers

Thanks, but I hate busy cities so avoid like the plague

To get a van though it would need to be almost exactly what I want with all the extras already on or too good a price to ignore as county would be a lot easier to get to how I want with less expense

I would also consider a 300 if very nice

its the same when you buy anything - you look everywhere you can think of, multiple times per day, and, given time, you find what you want.

or you look one place, every evening, and maybe find what you want, for more than you want to pay.

my defender was on ebay - by 8:15am id contacted the seller, by lunch time i had a deposit down, and by the weekend, id made the 11hr round trip and picked it up.

Lel said:

can anyone suggest where I should be looking for a defender?

eBay is full of scams! Seems one in five is a con

I've also tried gumtree and auto trader.

I'm sure if patient I will find one but just wondering if I've missed any other places to look?

Thanks in advance for any replies

Click to expand...

In the UK there are quite literally millions... well ok tens of thousands. If you can't find one, then it's amazing you manage to find your house keys when you return home.

Sorry, don't believe your claims of scams either.


But there really can't be an easier enthusiasts vehicle to buy in the UK over a Land Rover. 30+ years of local production, 100,000's sold. Massive spares availability and an extremely simple and easy to inspect vehicle.

Ok, don't believe me, your choice. Just a hell of a coincidence that so many I've looked at say they don't check their messages often so leave a mobile number (most have exact same wording like they'd taken someone else's ad then just pasted that bit on the end).... Nothing odd about that at all, after all when I'm selling on eBay I don't check my messages and prefer a mobile number to ring. :/

It's easy to find when you know where to look but I didn't come on here for laughs. I've never owned or know anyone who owns a LR before and even using google thought I'd find more than I have.

If you don't have anything helpful to say that's fine but you don't need to come on here just to call me a liar (not directly but insinuated by your choice of words). Yes, it could be that as I don't look at all I've just been really unlucky but that doesn't change my experience looking at these and compared to other vehicles I've never come across sooooooo many cons.

So either you've not recognised a con when you've read it or you've been luckier than I or maybe it's a new thing.

All I wanted to do was make sure I'm not missing something and thought the best place to double check that is a group of people who share the same interest in these vehicles.

By the way, I've found plenty but don't want the ones that have been round the world, are rotten, over priced (some people are asking more than garages are asking) etc.... I'm not being fussy, just being careful.

I'm a very keen and serious buyer who's biggest fault is lack of patience. I don't expect it to fall into my lap so am trying to be as proactive as possible.

Lel said:

I'm a very keen and serious buyer who's biggest fault is lack of patience.

Click to expand...

Just curious, have you been in a Defender before?

I only ask, as it does seem to be the trendy thing to buy one and make it look horrid by blinging it up and spending a fortune on trying to make it do things it can't.

I'm not saying you, hence why asking.

But being impatient is not likely to be a good recipe. Land Rover's are somewhat fickle. Often durable, but likely to have niggles and always need something doing to them. And many jobs are quite labour intensive and long winded.

And while a Defender can be made to go quite well, they are not the sort of vehicle to use to get from place to place as quickly as possible. If you are an impatient person, you may not gel with this.

I say this, because if you are not prepared to drive and live with a raw utility vehicle. Then it really is the wrong vehicle for you. Sure, you can do things to improve certain aspects of the Defender (although usually at the compromise of others). But it will never be a refined, quiet, roomy road vehicle.

Land Rover spent much effort addressing several key areas to improve such things. The result was the Range Rover and the Discovery.

I'm buying it as a second vehicle. I did like the Discovery 3 but worry about all the electronics as with so many, in my mind, more that can go wrong and expensive to fix.

The reason for going for this is I have taken up paragliding and some sites seem to need a good 4x4 to access.

I have owned Nissan Navaras in the last and a older Mitsubishi L200 but again more to go wrong with them so might as well go for the Disco 3 if I'm thinking about them.

I just want a vehicle that will go anywhere, I don't have to worry about massive bills (unless very unlucky).

I will miss my modern car comforts but I do also have a fully converted VW Transporter which is very comfortable.

Longest journey in it will be about 60-100 miles max but most will be shorter and it certainly would not be a daily use vehicle.

Don't get me wrong, it's not been an easy decision as all offer different reasons why they are the model I should go for but a big part of this is on going running and repair cost.

When the disco 3 has its handbrake issue it seems most are paying £1000 to repair including new rear discs. That's a lot of money.

Lel said:

Thanks, but I hate busy cities so avoid like the plague

To get a van though it would need to be almost exactly what I want with all the extras already on or too good a price to ignore as county would be a lot easier to get to how I want with less expense

Click to expand...

Not just London, its practically anything inside the M25, so still worth keeping in mind.

If one in five are scams, just buy the fifth one. Easy, job done.

If you're only travelling 60 or 100 miles, you could even survive with a Series. I do some long journeys in my Defender, and find I can do up to around 700 miles a day without ill effects. People go on about how coarse and basic they are but maybe I'm just not very sensitive to this. I was a bit choosy when getting mine and sought one out without chassis and bulkhead rust which was fairly low mileage. I wanted to spend more time driving it than mending it. I've had it over four years and not had the engine out yet, nor even had the head off, which is a record for me and cars. Just go and visit the ones you see advertised, see the people selling them and where they're trading from, have a look at the weak points on the car (for example rusty rear crossmembers and footwells, or whatever problems you're seeking to avoid) and if it looks OK for the money, buy it.

would a dealer be better , giving u some peace of mind along with a warranty

know it would be more expensive

not sure if u would have to pay the vat on a van type fender

expect I will get things thrown at me for this, lol

ever thought of a freelander 2 , has better traction control , quiet , decent mpg , along with creature comforts

time to hang on and wait for the abuse,

For me personally, it's just not my cup of tea I'm afraid

Lel said:

For me personally, it's just not my cup of tea I'm afraid

Click to expand...

no worries , has more comfort creatures , even has better traction than the fenders ,lol

That's why I did consider Discovery 3 but too much to go wrong and not cheap to fix.

Lel said:

That's why I did consider Discovery 3 but too much to go wrong and not cheap to fix.

Click to expand...

it does seem they cost a few bob to repair, I also like the disco 3 but also put off

have had the series 2 s and 3 s in the past , but now nice to have some creature comforts , lol

looks like the discovery 5 is going to be the same shape as the disco sport