Land Rover to see me out.

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landowner

Pensioner Pete
Full Member
Posts
12,616
Location
WA2
Which is the Landy to buy if the following is to be considered?

Ease of maintenance

No major faults

Reasonable economy

Run for five years without major trouble

Under 10k purchase price

Asking for me
 
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@Stufer's answer is great. I immediately though of a Subaru Forester or, day I say it..., Toyota Land Cruiser [o_O]

The nearest to your spec' would be a 200/300tdi 110

Ease of maintenance - Tick
No major faults - possibly [subject to your interpretation of major faults...]
Reasonable economy - no chance
Run for five years without major trouble - possibly
Under 10k purchase price - 110 better value for money than a 90, though some good Ninety's can be found for this price
 
Been looking at prices and looks like l can only afford something either old or with problems.
 
Which is the Landy to buy if the following is to be considered? - You also need to look at what you also would like to own.

Ease of maintenance - Not enough experience to answer this as I have only just started my own journey! However, I did want similar to you so went for a Defender 90 (wanted the shorter wheel base for the turning circle!) with a 300tdi - I wanted to avoid any electrics - the mechanics side I hope to learn myself.

No major faults - Rust may well be an issue here so that is one thing you really need to look at. I am an ex sheet metal worker and have no issues welding and tinkering with steel - if you cant do that then be cautious what you buy.

Reasonable economy - They are potentially big, heavy and not designed in a wind tunnel! Not sure what the best will be here.

Run for five years without major trouble - I dont think you can guarantee that with any vehicle, though I do expect there will be a sliding scale of what will be the most reliable - but the vehicles age, previous use and service history/maintenance will play a big part here. And dont forget that vehicle electrics do not age well and are potentially expensive to sort out.

Under 10k purchase price - My 90 was just over 5k but it has dents on every panel, an old chassis and it aint pretty. I have already spent a bit on it (not much - probably in the region of £1K (set of 2nd hand wheels & tyres, timing belt and service kit, rear outriggers, 2nd hand rear door, two new tyres (fitting tomorrow). I still need to replace the front swivels (about another £300) and its still a beaten up old 90!!

I think Defenders are well over priced for what you get - but if you can do the work yourself the parts can be relatively cheap compared to other vehicles. I got mine because I want to look after it myself and keep it a long time. I also like the fact that it can be fully stripped down and worked on - which I am sure it will need.

Good luck with your search and try and get to know what you want before you start handing over money. Learn the areas you need to check on a vehicle as it is easy to buy trouble - and that will potentially be expensive.

M
 
I've owned four Range Rover classics over the past 20 years & only ever had one major fault, a slipped liner on a 3.9 which I still believe to have been caused by running on LPG. The remaining three, all 3.5 EFI examples & LPG free, have not caused me any headaches.
The foremost enemy, as with all LR products, is corrosion. My current RRC is 34 years old & regularly treated with Dinatrol ... professionally applied as I cannot do it myself. Expensive at over £500 a time, but well worth it.
You might find a good one within your budget, but you'll have to be patient & prepared to do a lot of viewing ;)
 
I've owned four Range Rover classics over the past 20 years & only ever had one major fault, a slipped liner on a 3.9 which I still believe to have been caused by running on LPG. The remaining three, all 3.5 EFI examples & LPG free, have not caused me any headaches.
The foremost enemy, as with all LR products, is corrosion. My current RRC is 34 years old & regularly treated with Dinatrol ... professionally applied as I cannot do it myself. Expensive at over £500 a time, but well worth it.
You might find a good one within your budget, but you'll have to be patient & prepared to do a lot of viewing ;)

I had a 3.9 auto RRC. I eventually got rid as it just needed too much doing. I hadn't looked after it and that came back to bite me. The only issue I had with the engine was I cooked the heads days after I bought it as the rad was goosed - so heads off, skimmed and refitted.

However, I had it 10 years and it cost me £560 on eBay - I got £250 back when I scrapped it. The chassis was in good shape when I scrapped it. The inner steel body shell was going to need attention which was the deciding factor. I didn't do longer journeys in it due to the crap fuel economy (and it was getting tired). I wanted something more economical which is why I got the 300tdi.
 
Unfortunately l sold my 90 200tdi a couple of years ago, galv chassis and R380 box discs all round etc etc, .
They are going for silly money now so wont get a good one cheap and l dont want to be doing any heavy work maintenance wise so its looking like a Yeti or x trail or similar instead
 
I have the same shopping list as Landowner, albeit flexible on some points. My current vehicle (flame proof underpants are on) is an Austrian built Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 (Merc) CRD, which has been totally reliable the last 4 years, does everything my past LRs have done, so a hard act to follow. But I keep coming back to thinking of another P38, chipped diesel or possibly a top hatted V8. I’ve been on the V8 P38 learning curve before, fell off a few times, but know enough to tackle most things that might crop up. Especially with the help of the butlers on the RR forum. Past ownership hasn’t been that bad either, easy to work on, little rust to deal with, parts easily available and not that expensive, engine sound for 5 yrs until sold, air suspension easy to maintain once understood. I’m expecting (hoping) to find a privately owned diesel in great condition with everything sorted, for a lot less that 10K. Some dealers now have supposedly good ones at around 10K, which is stupid money. :confused:

Problem is, my purchase is being delayed; she says ‘we need to buy a house first!!’ Come on, what sort of crazy talk is that?! :rolleyes:
 
Sounds perfectly sensible to me, life's most important mantra...house first, toys second.
I guess so. It’s just having moved house 9 times in 20 yrs of marriage, I need a LR to keep my head occupied, otherwise I’d just end up sat rocking in the corner ;):confused:
 
I had a 3.9 auto RRC. I had it 10 years and it cost me £560 on eBay - I got £250 back when I scrapped it. The chassis was in good shape when I scrapped it. The inner steel body shell was going to need attention which was the deciding factor. I didn't do longer journeys in it due to the crap fuel economy (and it was getting tired). I wanted something more economical which is why I got the 300tdi.

Yes you have to look after them or they will turn into a pile of rust, just like all LR/JLR products ... P38 excepted?
The first long run (Essex to Shropshire) I did with my 3.9 auto returned 21 mpg ... my current 3.5EFI auto will better that by a couple of MPG.
I don't suffer from 'heavy right foot' syndrome, but I don't hang about either.
 
I have the same shopping list as Landowner, albeit flexible on some points. My current vehicle (flame proof underpants are on) is an Austrian built Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 (Merc) CRD, which has been totally reliable the last 4 years, does everything my past LRs have done, so a hard act to follow. But I keep coming back to thinking of another P38, chipped diesel or possibly a top hatted V8. I’ve been on the V8 P38 learning curve before, fell off a few times, but know enough to tackle most things that might crop up. Especially with the help of the butlers on the RR forum. Past ownership hasn’t been that bad either, easy to work on, little rust to deal with, parts easily available and not that expensive, engine sound for 5 yrs until sold, air suspension easy to maintain once understood. I’m expecting (hoping) to find a privately owned diesel in great condition with everything sorted, for a lot less that 10K. Some dealers now have supposedly good ones at around 10K, which is stupid money. :confused:

Problem is, my purchase is being delayed; she says ‘we need to buy a house first!!’ Come on, what sort of crazy talk is that?! :rolleyes:


She of course is correct, sadly for you house prices have literally gone mad, and it appears to be country wide.

If I could do life again, I would practice bangernomics and get rid of that mortgage as a priority, cars/boats are all a waste of money.
 
Bit left field, but if off-roading is your priority over road performance there's always a Lada Niva.
Interestingly the model is still available new, LHD only.
 
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