Landrover defender curious

Oooh for off-road duties your typical STW’er would be looking for something practical like an Ariel Nomad ?

I’d go for a mountain bike. This thread reminds me of something:

So the experience of several friends of recent Land Rovers and Range Rovers could kindly be described as woeful. One had a three year old Evoque. The gear box tore itself apart up. It was warranty replaced. The replacement did the same on the second drive after it was replaced. Another in their 5 year old Discovery Sport had the engine tear itself apart on a dual carriageway bringing it to a very noisy and sudden stop. There followed some difficult discussions with their dealer who initially wanted over twelve grand to replace it. That was a battle. Earlier this year, the turbo died as did the DPF. Not warrantied so many thousands of pounds. My roofer has a four year old Discovery that has spent over two years in a dealer compound after the engine blew up. JLR refused to warranty. In addition, the dealer they bought it from falsified the service book. He is still paying off the finance for the privilege of a car that does not work and he cannot access. It is now in the hands of his lawyer who has a lot of clients in exactly the same position. Another had the engine of his Discovery tear itself apart putting a massive dent in his bonnet. There have also been ten JLR cars stolen in my street in the space of a year last year.

This is obviously not a statistically valid sample base but Which? Magazine described their reliability as woeful. Their customer service in the experience of friends has been dire. As such, I would think very carefully before parting with your cash. I would suggest that you do some research into the reliability issues before deciding if that is a risk you are willing to take.

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Sanny

The saddle bags look ideal for a box of washing powder or a bumper box of rice krispies

I suppose in the lakes farms  where the 4wd and towing is needed they have their place.  In my village I see a load of them at school time doing pickup duties, idling stationary, mother on phone.  Some have the side boxes and snorkels, some pretty awful colours too.

Each to their own but not for me.

The saddle bags look ideal for a box of washing powder or a bumper box of rice krispies

As a fan of the animated cars films, I can’t look at one with the side boxes without thinking it looks like it’s wearing headphones

Had 2 jlr vehicles – never again. Always on the garage with repairs to various things. Have a mitsubishi and it’s been back to the garage once in 4 yes (loose window behind door card)

Still at least the jlr dealerships have great coffee and they fully valet your car each time they take it in. I didn’t wash either of the 2 jlr cars once in 5 yrs

Still at least the jlr dealerships have great coffee and they fully valet your car each time they take it in. I didn’t wash either of the 2 jlr cars once in 5 yrs

If it gets cleaned every time it goes into the dealer they’ll have pressure-washed it back to bare rust by the time the warranty is up.

Mostly seem to be bought as a status symbol, driven aggressively by mums on the school run ferrying Tarquin to polo practice. Don’t forget to attach a BO55 number plate as well…

I get driven in one quite regularly. It’s a V8, the new Defender.

From a passenger’s point of view, it’s quite comfortable in the front seat. Quiet enough to chat at motorway speeds and a nice stereo that sounds good at a volume where you can talk about the music without shouting.

The owner can afford to change his cars on a regular basis (and his daily drivers prior to getting this car were mostly Lamborghinis – Aventador, Huracans Uruss (Urii?)) This one is now over 3 years old – unheard of for him but he loves it and has no desire to change. I’m assuming his muttering about booking a test drive in a Purosangue yesterday is just a tyre kicking exercise.

I actually asked him about reliability last week. His family own another two, a Velar hybrid and Evoque. None have given any trouble.

The only downside is the spare wheel on the back door which means that standard tow bar bike racks don’t fit – or if they do, you can’t fit many bikes on. The Thule rack that does fit weighs a ton and costs a fortune. But we did manage to fit 3 bikes on when we went to BPW.

We had a Discovery Sport for 4 years from new. It was lovely and never put a foot wrong.

Not even oil dilution ? I had one and it was plagued with it – 2 year servicing (the promise) was more like oil change every 8 months

They make the grenadier look good

I live completely surrounded by farms and crofts. There’s one defender, a swb of the type we all love. I only ever see it off road although it is road legal, it is regularly in the fields around my gaff and on our track, checking livestock or repairing fences

Every other farm 4×4 around here is a Hilux style pick up of one type or another, bar none.

Get the Porsche.

Every other farm 4×4 around here is a Hilux style pick up of one type or another, bar none.

They’re going through with the BIK changes on the dual cab pickups too next year , so might see a few less of them as well

I had a defender 110 at work when it was launched. I put it on the lifts and laughed; the underbody is chaos. I remember thinking that it must be a nightmare to service and repair. It was nice to drive on the local roads and test track.

I would happily rent one, but never buy. I would happily buy or rent a land cruiser.

they’ve got a wardrobe full of Thrudark tactical stealth clothing

LOL…. Could have spent more cash on their 4by’s rather than 900 quid on a softshell.

Does it have to be a Landy? I mean is it 4 wheel driving you like? Have you considered anything other than a Landy??

Mate of mine’s currently pondering his options following a £15,000 quote (from the local indy garage, not main dealer) to replace the seized Ingenium engine on his 5 year old, 55,000 Ingenium. Unsure what model but suspect it’s the 2l one that another friend of mine had the exact same issue with.

Bring me the longest barge pole you have and then extend it please.

My mate has two, a 70 year old one and a 30 year old. Needless to say they are the proper ones. He does his own spannering and does 4×4 courses in them.

My brother in law restores original defenders. Has done everything down to a Series 2. Loves them with a passion. His daily drive is a Landcruiser. My stepfather has three Jaguars. Including a Mk2. After scratching the Range Rover itch, watching the engine fail and waiting two years without progress, his daily dog car is a Kia Sportage. Buy the Porsche!

I come from a farming area, we had a volvo and a tractor.
Richer folks than us had range rovers or discos. Everyone else had mitsubishi pick ups (other japanese brands are available)

OP, have you heard of the climate crisis?

OP, have you heard of the climate crisis?

This.  There are many aspect of our lives that can be quite challenging to change when trying to reduce our climate impacts.  But unless you need a big 4×4 for farm, forestry or site work, surely not buying a big SUV is one decision that is easy to make.

OP, have you heard of the climate crisis?

They only want an SUV, it’s not like they are planning to get a dog ffs

I’m a lifelong Land Rover fanatic (i’ve had a series 2a, series 3, two 3 door Range rovers, a 200TDI ninety, a 300TDI 110, a v8 Disco 2, two 200TDI Discos, a 300TDI Disco and probably some more i’ve forgotten!) If you keep up on the maintenance then they are very reliable and easy to live with ( I put 140 thousand miles on my 300 TDI Discovery and then sold it to a friend who put another 110 thousand on it. Other than consumables all it ever had go wrong was the power steering pump and that was about £60 for a new one).  That being said you couldn’t give me a new one! A friends Father got one when they first came out (he was on a waiting list ever since they were announced) and eventually got so sick of it that Land Rover had to have it back and refund his money.

The saddle bags look ideal for a box of washing powder or a bumper box of rice krispies

I always assumed they were just a lightweight foam wrapped in fibreglass and didn’t function other than to confirm the fact a walloper was driving it?

What kind of driving do you do OP, that the Defender sounds like the car for you?

And 5 or 3 door?

Genuine question.

They only want an SUV, it’s not like they are planning to get a dog ffs

I know from another thread that you have had a few Land Rovers in your time, so I’m not surprised that comment touched a nerve. The trouble though, is that all these individual choices do start to add up. And to @intheborders question, if this is somehow necessary because your work requires it or something then fine but personally I don’t think posing around town really justifies it, which is what I see a lot of where I live.

I know from another thread that you have had a few Land Rovers in your time, so I’m not surprised that comment touched a nerve

Um… As a climate change believer and hand wringing lefty.

I can only applaud STR’s excellent cross thread humour.

When I’m World Emperor* it will be illegal to own one of these unless you do actually live somewhere where you actually need one.

*only a matter of time etc etc

Um… As a climate change believer and hand wringing lefty.

I can only applaud STR’s excellent cross thread humour.

Hah well in which case it all went right over my head and I can only apologise!

As a climate change believer and hand wringing lefty.

If you cared about climate change you wouldn’t own a dog.

If you cared about climate change you wouldn’t own a dog.

And if you did you wouldn’t have owned a knackered old porsche, flown to the USA or driven up to torridon to ride your push bike.

On the subject of the new defenders, what’s with the pointless ‘widdle wadder’ and sandwich boxes I see on the sides? Is it just to look more utilitarian? They really don’t. They look like Barbie accessories.

Who is STR?

Artist formally known as…

Not an actual artist

I have to admit that I quite like the look of the new Defender. I’d never buy one in a million years, though, as I don’t need a huge vehicle with fuel consumption figures around 30mpg at the very best, with around town figures sub-20mpg combined with dreadful reliability. And, as already said above, Wallopers drive them.

@joshvegas – how much I care about the environment has increased over the years so there’s definitely things I’ve done in the past I wouldn’t do anymore and if you keep on stalking my life, you’ll see that. I certainly care about it more now than when I owned the Porsche, and wouldn’t do that again. Unfortunately, I’m bound to fly to the USA because my wife’s American and that’s where her parents are. And until the train reaches Torridon, there’s not much that can be done to get there without driving.

We live in a society that requires people to travel places, but doesn’t provide them with a carbon neutral public transport to do that. In the meantime, driving is a necessity. I catch a train or the bus to ride my bike where I can (if I’m not riding from the doorstep), and car share if there’s no other option. My carbon footprint for getting to bike rides this year is less than a 5th of the annual carbon footprint of a dog, and bike riding  comes with benefits that help everyone like improved fitness. And I’ve offset every gram of carbon my entire life has contributed to the atmosphere this year anyway.

Dog ownership is entirely optional (you don’t HAVE to buy a dog, but regardless of what you’re likely to respond to this, you do HAVE to see your family), and has a massive environmental impact that you don’t seem willing to face up to, and it doesn’t really have any upsides for society. Just like SUV owners aren’t willing to face up to their responsibilities and not own an SUV (although there are, in the society we live in, people who do HAVE to own an SUV, like STR, so unlike dogs occassionally they’re essential).

…you could have married a local lass!

And the massive upside of owning a dog is improved mental health and the fitness of the owners. Responsible owners will walk their dog two or three times a day. It’s also social as I chat to many people on my dog walks.

you do HAVE to see your family

…you really don’t – and not seeing half of my family again improves my mental health! 🙂

Does mental health outweigh the importance of the climate crisis?

I’ll give you a clue. It doesn’t.