Any help appreciated!

Not based on anything but my opinion but seems like a lot of money but then again I was born in Yorkshire!
Service history and mot means nothing on a vehicle that age. My son's Disco 2 had a brand new MOT with no brake pad material on the rear pads.
You will need to get security as mentioned and buy some tools. Quite a few jobs can be done yourself if you are reasonable at DIY.

Hippo said:

You could buy a top spec FL2 for that and have loads of cash left over.

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Shush. Stop trying to lead new people astray!

meego said:

If it was me and with that kind of cash, I would look for a TD5 with a galvanised chassis. If someone went to the bother of fitting the chassis, they would have looked after the rest of it in my opinion.

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I think this is the advice I would be following and is the advice I would give. For your budget you could get a galv chassis galv bulkhead vehicle that is a little older. Age and mileage are irrelevant on defender it is all About condition (mine has 380k and is 34 years old but has the galv parts above along with lots else and has just been rebuilt again after an engine fire) . If it has had big ticket items like these replaced the rest of the vehicle is likely to have been looked after. If you are seduced by the xs spec you can get nearly all the parts to retrofit onto and older one of that is what you want.

If everything is original, ie gearbox, t box steering box complete chassis, then imo at 18 years, something could give way soon. Be prepared. Don't spunk all your budget on the purchase price.