Someone please talk me out of buying a defender!!

I’ve got my heart set on a land rover defender! Im sick of my cars getting ruined by my dog and manky bike. I know a van would make more sense but for some reason I love defenders! Road tax mpg and reliability issues are probably reason enough.

But still I look at eBay and pistonheads.

My mate has a 1948 LR. Still goes fine. It looks like something out of MASH (if you’re old enough to remember).

Windscreen wipers are a bugger though. It’s a big mechanical lever inside that you have to sweep left and right(by hand). Also the door handles are on the inside – so you have to reach in to open the door. The side panels are fabric though – so no big deal.

HTH

Edit – he also owns at least 10 other more modern ones and loves them. He does run a LR business though so he’s biased!

You forgot very bad value for money.

‘only buy one if you go off-road every single day‘ was what I’ve been told.

New ones haven’t moved on that much.

Ah the list could be endless

4wd – more complex drive train to fix
2 gearboxes – most people only need 1
green credentials or lack of
high tax
high mpg
unsightly

*hides*

fairplay though to the people who actually use them regularly for the terrain they are built for (and therefore do need this type of vehicle) rather than a London suburb

I had a 1989 110SW

Slowest, noisiest, most uncomfortable, least reliable, thristiest vehicle I have ever had.

I miss it. When I get the funds I want a V8 110 hard-top with LPG conversion.

PS Never used ‘properly’ off-road but fantasic for towing big stuff, and had a front mounted towbar for launchig and retreiving boats. Attach trailer, drive down slipway until water came under the doors, climb out and remove boat from trailer, reverse car up slipway. Probably a few that could that. Now piture the reverse manouver with a steep icy slipway and a half-ton boat full of another half ton of water, that’s when you need the Landy.
Also, putting 100 roof tiles in the boot has no discernable effect on performance. It’s still rubbish.
And opening the ‘air-con’ flaps on the front would knock 5mph off the top speed.

green credentials or lack of

They do have green credentials. The vast bulk of any vehicle’s emmissions comes from the factory making it, fuel consumption is a tiny part, therefore anything that lasts a long time (usually stuff which is simple, basic and easy to fix) is less bad than a ‘fuel-efficent’ car which is the scrappy in 10 years time.

I like the Australian saying, “If you want to drive to the outback, you take a Landrover or a Toyota. If you want to drive back then you take a Toyota.” Seriously awesome piece of kit if you use them properly offroad though, amazing what you can drive over in one, but total overkill for most people.

Buy one

I wanted one for ages. My mate is a big landrover guy, had one since we were 17 (40 now) he is a 4×4 magazine photographer, Camel Throphy vetrean, LR off road intructor etc etc and I guess I wanted to be cool like him 🙂

Anyway sold my Discovery and got a TD5 90. It was ace and I loved it. Turn out to be the wrong car for me. See my mate goes off road a lot, has no kids and mostly only goes on long trips for work. Unlike me.

Sold it after 6 months, it was still ace though and I loved having it. Also paid £12k for it and sold it for £13k so no harm done. If I was rich I’d have another one for “knocking about” in.

Do it, it may work for you.

As the stickers they all seem to have on the side say “one life, live it” (although there seems to be a lot of them over 18 stone looking to end it as quick as they can with lard)

i really really wanted on emyself,,,, but,,,,

insurance costs.

briming the tank costs

etc etc etc.

changed my mind

i bought a citroen berlingo instead

cheap to run and fun to drive.

get 5 MTBs in the back plus gear.

no brainer for me.

Just bought a 90 back in September.
It’s noisy, cold, slow, cold, leaks (water in oil out), cold, expensive on diesel, cold, more things have needed fixing than I care to remember, window demisters are pointless (learn to drive with a tea towel in one hand). It’s currently in at a garage having a new tank fitted as it started leaking diesel.
When it comes back I’ll be putting an add on Autotrader… not for the Landy, that is staying, but the Seat Leon is going.
If you’re getting one try to get one with a 200TDi engine in it so you can reduce your fuel costs by sticking a bit of veg oil in the tank – in a 200TDi you don’t need to do any adjustments at all.

Buying a defender? Sorry, you’re too late. Transfer window has closed…

igmc

in france now after driving 800 miles in a brand new defender lwb £22k jobbie… good fun but got a cold right leg and wouldnt own one myself… id have one for a few k as a fun machine but as an actual vehicle of practicality it is not and you’d kid yourself if you thought it was.

totally not value for money unless 22k is pocket money for you I would say no.

Lol cheers for responses. My brain is screaming “don’t do it you idiot, you don’t go off road!” my heart says “go on it’ll be a laugh!!”

Do you have somewhere secure to keep it? Defenders are easy to steal and common targets as they’re popular in many foreign countries.

As an ex-soldier of 7 years and ex-gamekeeper of 3. Landies are……….totally dreadful.

They came last place in the last mod ‘offroad vehicle’ procurement, yet got the contract anyhow as they were made in the uk, I understand that and think its a good shout for uk industry however….

The leak, they’re uncomfortable, they’re cold, they don’t start, the fail epically just when you don’t want them too, they’re not that practical compared to many 4×4 vehicles. I hate the complacency of thinking that it is okay to use roughsawn timber to ‘shim’ the cabin. They smack of the british leyland nasty era and I hate them.

If you they can build a range rover sport, why can’t they make a decent utility 4×4.

Avoid.

I was on a UN job and we were issued toyota landcruisers in africa, we had no mechanics and ran them for 300,000km and then handed them back to be sold on, got a new one and repeated. We gave up checking the oil and water as its boring! If I was doing anything serious I’d go in that direction. Show me someone who’s driven a landy 300,000km in sand and flash floods on african roads with nothing broken when you didn’t check the oil and water ever and I’ll show you a liar. Also their spine would be busted and they’d hate landrovers as much as I do……..

I still shudder.

Look into my eyes not around my eyes

Don’t buy a Defender

Repeat until convinced.

Big Fat Cars you don’t want – get one of those 2.0l VW Caddys with a good sound system, recaro seats and nifty alloys.

HTH

Get a Toyota Surf instead. You can actually drive them on roads and they feel like a car, not a tractor.

I started a thread a few months back about this and got similar replies… ended up getting an old Disco. Comfy, nice driving position, off roaded it a couple times and it did the job. Mate had a Defender and main issue (in the 90) was that i couldnt get the seat far enough back to be comfy (im only 5’10) and it leaked in water everywhere. And the noise. And the shocking mpg.

If its a toy for offroading or you live miles up a farm track that sees 3 months of snow in winter then maybe a good idea. But as an everyday car then I’d have to say no based on the Disco.

For an offroad toy, look at Suzuki Jimny… cheap and daft but fun.

I wanted one for years, still do. Almost got one a few years back but the missus refused to drive it so I compromised and got a Freelander. Big mistake, worst of both worlds.

I really wanted a 90 but decided they were too impractical – can’t even get a bike in the back without removing front wheel. Go for a 110.

Get a high-miles Disco 3 instead. Good on-road, good off, will do (just about) 30mpg as an average.

You can fit any number of bikes in it, my dogs love it, and it’s been totally reliable. A lot better built than a Defender.

Terrible vehicles!

Most of it has been covered: Slow, noisy, cold, leaky, odd driving position, not a huge amount of space in the back, tiring on a ‘run’, not very well suited to main roads … the 110 has a pretty huge turning circle for the size of vehicle, they rot out … not especially good MPG. Can be expensive to fix (err, tho’ that’s equally true of anything if it breaks something expensive of course :wink:). Comedy engineering solutions, based on something that first went into production 100 years ago and which has never been changed …

… but that of course is to miss the point. If those things sound like they’ll ‘worry’ you, a Defender is not for you. Really, you’ll hate it.

I drive a lot of modern [hire] cars and honestly, I can’t tell them apart, they are all equally capable, and all equally dull. They do the job with no fuss, no bother, you arrive comfortable / warm / dry, but zzzz. I can’t wait to get back in my 110 with all of it’s weirdness and charm.

I’ve had it getting on for 6 years now, and the actual running costs are … ok.
My insurance is cheap (but I’m old, and live nicely out of the way), the ‘commercial’ versions are the same price as any other commercial vehicel (or should be) – vehicle excise duty (on the pre 2001’s) is the same as any other 2.5 vehicle. My reliability has been at least as good, if not better than anything else I’ve owned (but then mine gets whatever it needs as soon as it needs it).

Can be heavy and damaging off road if used irresponsibly tho’, (and 4×4 damage to lovely little byways makes me very cross indeed – especially as there are alternatives to mangling ancient lanes :evil:)

The Td5/TDCi versions feel less agricultural than the 200/300’s, but come at a price.

Going into it level headedly and teasing aside – they do require commitment; they are as tough as they come, but they also need care too – avoid an abused example, unless that is, you are prepared to put the hours into nursing it back to health; everything can be fixed tho’ (and that really is everything).

I’d like another one (in addition to, not instead of). Ideally, I’d like a lifted Td5 hi-cap pickup (preferably with a drop-sided conversion) for moving wood about, but that’s for another day … 🙄

Not sure that’ll talk you out of it tho’ … 😀

I know the feeling but I keep looking at Discos. The Defender is just too agricultural to consider it unless it’s spending most of it’s life off-road. The disco or other 4x4s will probably be more fun but sounds like a van is the best option.

From an earlier post:

“i bought a citroen berlingo instead

cheap to run and fun to drive.”

A berlingo fun to drive? Practical maybe but a defender would be more fun!!!

I own a Defender 110.

Buy one if;

You can use spanners/tools- they are NOT un reliable if serviced to the letter -its just there are a lot of things to service on them.

You can afford the labour charges for the above if you cant spanner yourself.

edited to add. Forget MK1 & Mk2 Discovery’s unless you can weld and own shares in BOC

hehe, got to agree with above,

depends on what you want out of life, if you want a 4×4 and to be like everyone else then don’t buy a defender, get a disco or similar and pretend your happy with what you have,

, if you want a real 4×4 then buy a defender, put up with the leaks, the noise, the crap mpg, etc etc,but you will smile every time you drive it and want to keep it forever,

ps.every one will tell you you are a fool,

i have my ex-mil 110 up for sale right now, loads of calls and interest and one offer in two days of being advertised, moneys going towards a TD5XS 110, but if i could i would keep both, and buy aniother ex-mil 110 that withams have for sale 🙂

forgot to add in seven years it has only broken once and its a 1986 vintage, clutch took a nose dive 100meters from my front door, that is all

If it’s a 90 or a 110 your after, just borrow someone elses, pull the ignition barrel out with a pair of pliers, put a flat head screw drive down the hole, turn it as you would a key and your off

Not the most reliable of offroaders, cold and uncomfortable, but piss easy to fix when they break down

OP you want to get bikes inside a Defender? You’ll JUST get them into a 90 if your not precious about your forks/paint on two bikes

get a santana ps10 instead.

If you needed a new computer you wouldn’t buy a (vintage) Apple Classic.

Van

To put it in perspective….

BL used spigot bushes

Ford uses spigot bearings

Theres 10001 good reason why ford sell more fiestas than any other car in the UK and Rover went bust, thats just one of them.

I purchased my first defender back in august/september. After being around mates with both defenders and disco’s and growing up with disco’s lead to me getting a nice td5 90. Look around and buy the best you can…defender prices are pretty high at the moment and they hold their value well!

Although it’s not going to be the quickest, comfiest vehicle in the world i wouldn’t change mine for anything.

Make sure you get one with a good clean, as rust free as possible chassis/bulkhead. In general, one thats been very well cared for.

Tonight i was parked up outsides a friends whilst collecting a new shock for my bike when some silly woman reversed her audi A3 into mine. She hit the rubber cap on the end of the bumper, from what i can see I have no damage what so ever, her whole side was dented/scraped! They are pretty tough vehicles but do need maintenance…I quite enjoy it though.

hehe, someone hit mine out the front once, left loads of paint on the front bumper, must have made amess of his car,

i hate fords, they are a pile of ikea to me, it’s horses for courses, classic marmite

Drive one first. I was gobsmacked by the seat/position. You need to be short or have no legs IMO

Are you all suburban action-man to your friends? 😉

What many of the replies are forgetting is that justification is not needed or possible. Its just like riding a single speeder.
Anyway many of the critisisms you can ignore.
Speed. we have 60mph law in Britain. Exceed that on main roads and you are as bad a person that is possible. On country roads 40 is ok . Any Defender will do 60 happily. Even 2.5 non turboed diesels. Fuel is no worse than any other big 4wd. Noise. Yeah the stripped out ones are nosiy but so is a stripped out Toyota.
Seating position? Have yet to see that although I have moved my seat back a bit with 4 4″ bolts and 4 its of chain stay as spacers.
Reliability. New ones break no more than anything else. Old ones can be mended. Try that at a sennsible price with something Jap. Know of any Toyotas you can hose out?
Virtually all the comparisons are just not like for like and therefore silly. Compare to a Lada Niva maybe or something else Russian or something like a Suzuki SJ.
Nope all the comparisons are with a different thing. Don’t.
Of course all the wonderful things about Landys may not suit you but thats not the vehicles fault its you! 😀

I used to have a Series 3. Absolutely loved driving it, it is an experience like nothing else. Biggest downside is fuel thirst, plus I’m not particularly agile with spanners and never had enough time to fix things.

depends on what you want out of life, if you want a 4×4 and to be like everyone else then don’t buy a defender, get a disco or similar and pretend your happy with what you have,

Sorry, that bird doesn’t fly.

I’ve had a Series III station wagon, but found it too compromised. A Disco 3 is my choice – no need to pretend that I’m happy with it. For what I need (carrying lots of stuff/carrying dogs/long trips to the Alps/driving in snow & mud) it’s perfect.

A Defender would just be a toy for me. Nothing wrong with that, but it’d be something I have in addition to my Disco, rather than as a replacement.

got my 200tdi hardtop last september and love it. Perfect for carting dogs, firewood, trips to the tip, tramming over fields shooting rabbits, cost me £3.5k, so not expensive, insurance is £100yr and 25 mpg, and it makes me smile every time i go out in it. AND the odd trip to off road centres / pay n play days are sooo much fun.
yes its cold noisy and basic inside but thats really not the point…..

Hideously vague steering, awful fuel consumption, ancient design with unreliable bits, a stranger to refinement.

The only thing they beat other cars at is very tricky off road stuff and depreciation. Unless you actually need to use them in severe off road conditions, there really is no point chucking your money at an antique when far more modern, safe, refined, fuel efficient designs can be had for far less wonga. Better off with a Trooper, Terrano or Shogun.

Great car to borrow and drive off road though, stunning ability.

I looked at the 2.7 diesel Terrano a couple of times. The bad mpg put me off.

Whats the point of paying more than petrol for way less mpg and woeful power.

People who go off road in Landrovers and people who need them due to where they live- I can completely understand and greenlaning in a Defender does look like fun however for the rest it smacks of ‘lifestyle’ ‘look at me I’m rufty-tufty in suburbia’.

Abit like the folk who ride bling in body armour just at trail centres, sling their bike on the back of their expensive Audi then drive home.