[Closed] Tell me why I SHOULDN'T buy a Land Rover Defender

They are crap to live with in the winter, apart from when it snows and they come into their own.
I've had 3, two 90's and a 110. They all leaked rainwater, the "heater" is next to useless. They were all uncomfortable after 30 mins of travel, and the "faster" you go the worse it gets. Very noisy inside which is tough on long journeys.
I have a Yeti 4x4 now, still miss the 110 all said though.

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My heater works just fine , but that makes me worry the head has cracked

Winter is fine just need a little mod to keep the side windows demisted.
And some silicone to stop the doors sticking shut

as someone who has only had 4x4 for last 20 years I may be a bit biased

but here is some rubbish written on this thread

fourtraks have shot up in price, you want something good and Jap get a trooper, better than fourtraks, and still cheap to buy

I have had cherokee's. ranger, troopers, l200, hilux, series landrovers, etc etc

always wanted a defender

so bought a new one 15 years ago

with fairly good and resonable expectations of what i was buying, they are slow ish, bad turning circle (but so are most large 4x4's) cramped inside, not and roomy or comfortable as a 20 year old trooper for instance

but they are ace, go any where do anything, I spent 3 hours out on boxing day pulling people out ditches and up hills in the snow ( I think all 4x4 owners should give something back)

ive done 17000 miles, no probs, heater works great in the puma ones, it'll melt yer foot ! quick clear windscreeen, heated seats, its built for winter

Im thinking of getting a new one this summer if i can still get one. I soundproofed mine, and fitted a tracker (a must)

go and drive a new one, realise its like a tractor crossed with a car !

I went for the 110 utility (VAT reclaimable if registered) seats five and van at the back, no one else makes this configuration (excluding double cabs pick ups which are awful for loading / unloading

also - I have never bought a new vehicle, only reason i did with the defender is it has such high second hand values

I had a series 2A, well I think it was, I had it many many years ago. It was a 2 1/4 petrol and had been fiddled with, it had fairey overdrive, safari roof, free wheeling hubs and a range rover rear diff.

It also drank fuel, leaked and the passenger door had a tendency to open itself on roundabouts.

I had some fun with it but also a few ahem issues, like the parked car I passed on my side of the road and the bloke coming the other way insisted in not deviating from his course and giving me a bit of room. His brand new Rover looked like it had been attacked with a giant can opener....oops.

Thanks, fellas. That's me convinced now...I think.
If for no other reasons than the experience and to scratch an itch, I may try hiring one for a weekend and negotiating the country roads of east Lothian and the car parks of the local retail parks.
An informed opinion will be shared here shortly thereafter.

ach go do an off road driving day at pitlochry 😀

If you have a long or fair commute and this would be your commuter don't do it.

If however its a scratch you want to itch- they are great at holding their value aren't they? More so now as they'll be collectable/etc/sort after more so as their numbers dip/people still want to get into one.

To drive- definitely marmite. A weird driving position, feel like your sat on a few mattresses and it leans wierdly as you corner. So if its a mixed commute you could easily become tired of it when you are already tired..

I grew up with them in the countryside, excellent at getting you into trouble and up to your doors in mud.

Drove a brand new one with 50 miles on the clock once and the was a rusty streak on the bulkhead where the water was leaking in. 😆

My mate has a 52 plate, the body cappings have fallen off and all 3 doors are scrap, all the Land Rover approved accessories have galvanically rotted the body.

I want one more than anything. 😯

It defies explanation.

It's like anything in life if you really want one and can afford one, get one, you'll only regret it if you don't.
If you don't get on with it, it can always be sold, I wouldn't worry about it and just buy one.

truly awful machines
The landy wot STW built:
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😈

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I worked for a company in deepest Derbyshire for a while which boasted a couple of LRs in the workforce and a Panda 4x4. Having experienced the Panda winch its way up a snow covered Winnats Pass, stop part way up next to a passer by (me) for a chat, then set off again displaying no signs of difficulty, I've fancied one of those ever since. The best 4x4 by far.

She's a beauty stoner.

I grew up with them in the countryside, excellent at getting you into trouble and up to your doors in mud.

Drove a brand new one with 50 miles on the clock once and the was a rusty streak on the bulkhead where the water was leaking in.

My mate has a 52 plate, the body cappings have fallen off and all 3 doors are scrap, all the Land Rover approved accessories have galvanically rotted the body.

I want one more than anything

I heard someone once say why are there so many still on the roads. The reason is its a vehicle people feel a passion for/a project/a personal folly. Hence why people go to the trouble of replacing Chassis, etc etc etc etc etc on an ongoing basis.

Its not because they are high quality 😀

I've been running an L reg Defender for the past 16 years (hence the user name). Most of the salient points have been covered above but to summarise
- Not remotely comfortable, only 1 chromosome removed from a tractor
- A giant Meccano set, every single part is easily available. You'll need a basic toolkit (angle grinder, MIG welder, lump hammer)
- Can do just about anything in the right hands
- Tend to slowly fall to bits, but you just bolt/weld new bits on
- The new ones are rubbish
- People keep out of your way when your front bumper is an iron girder
- Not a sensible vehicle unless you're a sheep farmer. But who wants sensible?

This might not help either.

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With MOD suspension you get less body roll but conversely, a little less axle articulation. That doesn't stop a 90 being absolutely mid-blowing on steep rough terrain such as used to exist in Lee Quarry before it got sanitised.... [i]*sniff*[/i]

They are great fun and we used to have some smashing family days driving the green lanes in the South Lakes:

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If you fancy this kind of stuff you can hire an ex-MOD soft-top 90 from Kankku in Windermere, equipped with satnav programmed with a green lane Lakes "safari".

http://www.kankku.co.uk/safari.html

I've always liked them, and would love a 110 county, or utility as said above. I was > < this close to buying one recently but the insurance (due to a big claim 2013) put me off. I don't do many miles- ca.7k a year but 4/AWD is useful for certain times of that year. In the end I bought a Legacy estate with Hi/Lo box. However it was a compromise vehicle and as much as I really like the Legacy, I still would like a LR at some point.

Remember that Defenders are 'gateway' vehicles and can easily lead on to the hard stuff.
35" wheels, 2" uplift, snorkel, winch, more chequer plate than a battleship.
When you find yourself applying a 'One life, live it' sticker, it's time to kill yourself 😆

You have to drive around with the window down unless you have impossibly small arms.

"You have to drive around with the window down unless you have impossibly small arms."

a myth - unless you have bought a new defender with its extra wide side impact doors.

its "one wife livid" isnt it rusty 90 ?

and stick yer 35 inch tires - 7.50 x 16 is where its at.

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mine currently - hoping to get a roof on it this weekend. - its an 1987 90 originally a 19j turbo diesel van - nowsporting a 200tdi and a truck cab/pick up. ground up rebuild after many years of neglect and "minimal maintainance" ....23 years of it to be exact.

its "one wife livid" isnt it rusty 90 ?

stick yer 35 inch tires - 7.50 x 16 is where its at.

Tell me why I SHOULDN'T buy a Land Rover Defender

buy a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Jimny 😀

currently on farmer spec 205 x 16s.

ive got dispensation at the moment because the picture below is the instruction manual we are working too.

Ms T-R and the 90 have prior history ....mainly involving the transfer box. she hates driving it but likes going away in it.

odly enough - my mate keeps saying buy a jimny.... strange that his 04 plate jimny just failed on terminal chassis and body rot - to the point where he doesnt think he can plate it up ....and hes a mechanic to trade.

Ah, yes, we got married in our farmer's 90 with 205s and the awful 2.25 petrol engine. It would turn almost as well as a London taxi but it only did 16 mpg and it was a rust-bucket.

a friend of a friend turned up at the VIP area of some shooting event at scone palace in his 2a.

upon getting out his car he commented to one of the others near by that his car looked at bit out of place in the sea of prestige motors.

the other lad replied - it was good enough for the queen its good enough for here.

why did a 90 have a 2.25 petrol in it . had someone downgraded it over the years ?

ok i stand corrected - 83-85 the 2.25 petrol was an option. That must have been horrific.

I drive 2 for work (different jobs). First is a a tarted up 1989 90 with a retrofitted Mitsubishi engine and stupid big wheels with A/Ts fitted, the other a 2002 crewcab 130 with a big tank of water in the back.

The first one looks great but is truly horrible to drive. Noisy, smelly, horrible clutch action and wallowy as a marshmallow hippo, it's like driving a canal boat and almost as damp inside.

Weirdly the 130 I actually really enjoy driving. It's on standard wheels which I guess helps.

I still want one of my own despite all the horror stories. I'd go for a farmer spec utility crew cab.

We have one at work and I can't think of one single reason to buy one over virtually any other vehicle if, as stated, you will not be using it as a work horse. I can't think of a vehicle I've driven that is worse to drive.

"I can't think of a vehicle I've driven that is worse to drive."

africa spec hilux.

cart springs make me sea sick with constant bobbing 😀

ok i stand corrected - 83-85 the 2.25 petrol was an option

mines a ninety - windy windows didnt come till 87 - was slideys till then - im downgrading to slideys as the doorcars/windows take up too much room in cab 😀

i just wasnt aware they put the crap 2.25 petrol in. at least the 2.25 diesel was bombproof.

If you want the full, hard core land rover experience - rust, no performance, wayward steering, crippling fuel economy, drafty, damp, noisy downright dangerous above 40mph, you NEED a 101. Preferably one with someone else's DIY LPG conversion that basically just sprays neat gas into the intake manifold irrespective of whether there is demand for it, or for that matter irrespective of whether the engine's running. I'm particularly fond of the hacked about ambulance body that gives it the look of a vampire but without all the annoying militeria-fanboi magnetism. I also like the way my mate (it's his) upholds the just dragged from a swamp / run around Salisbury plain / trek across Goose Green appearance.

Stupendously good fun, all the same.

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The 2.25 petrol was much loved by the military as it would run on just about anything from jet fuel to squaddie piss and could survive being adjusted with a hammer.

Favourite thing in the world, good at everything, best thing I ever bought, anything else is rubbish.

and the award for most confusing post goes to...

I'm not normally one for teenage acronyms but... WTF?

I bought ours because we wanted a 9-seat, go-anywhere vehicle for taking mountain bikers up mountains (and for shifting snowboarders + luggage in the winter).

I love it, I really do... but...

If I didn't very specifically need a 9-seat, go anywhere vehicle, I would buy something else...

Ok, so now my post looks stupid, there was a post there in random broken English about "Range Defenders" and long sports cars, wasn't there? Or have the drugs just worn off?

the 2.5 diesel was much loved by the military too - the 200tdi never really got a lookin.

101 - needs 6BT

cummins 6bt truck engines are cheap - google "sitec 6BT 101" - be impressed - even though they weigh 500kg its still a huge improvement for roadtripping over the aussie outback - IIRC hes managed to pressurise the cab to keep out the dust which must need a huge fan with all the holes round a landy cab.

I can't I've been desiring one for years - if only I could justify it

Here's the STW camper.....

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Aaaaahhhhhh, wish I hadn't read this post. I still miss my series 3 but the chassis went and I couldn't afford to fix it.

OP, we hired a defender last year from a really good hire place called 4x4 or something I think in Glasgow - they meet you at Edinburgh / Glasgow airport and we thrashed it round the west coast / highlands. Brilliant.

Would love one but for reasons I could never fathom mrs o didn't take to it.

If you get one - PICTURES!!!

Used to have an ex RAF 90 with a 2.5 DT chucked in. Slow, noisy, wet, cramped and so much fun. Ran it on 50/50 diesel/veg oil, made me hungry every time I drove it. 50mph on a good day, absolutely hateful over any more than about 30 miles. I'd buy another any day.
I'm 6'2" and I got on fine with the driving position, military spec door help as they have no gunnins in them, just the outer skin and frame. Sliding windows useful for elbow out too.
It replaced my fave LR, S111 Airportable. That had a 2.25 petrol and was another really fun vehicle to drive, although the he short wheelbase and baggy steering meant it was like taking a puppy for a walk, all over the road! You know how kids pretend to drive & constantly move the imaginary wheel? They would be right at home in a SWB Landy.
I chopped my 90 in for a Range Rover Classic 5 door, still awesome off road but huge woolly armchair seats, auto box and that 3.9 l v8 made long distances not only possible but comfortable. Bit thirsty though, even with LPG.
That then got swapped for a Disco 300 tdi, which wasn't anywhere near as fun but cheaper to run and was no trouble until the gearbox let go.
Old workplace had 2 'snatch' and a WMIK, if you think a std LR is bad, try doing 140 miles in a snatch!

if you think a std LR is bad, try doing 140 miles in a snatch!