Right, I know it's been a while but just to add a bit of a conclusion to this thread... ...I have bought a defender!
After well over two months of umming and arring, and searching ebay daily it was inevitable that I would fall in love for a second time with the defender. D3's just don't have the same character, and I couldn't guarantee their reliability. They ended up seeming like the worst of both worlds i.e. expensive and full of electrics to go wrong, AND quite bland and characterless. Conversely I know with the defender I WILL break down, but it will be manageable, diagnose-able (with the help of you good people), and usually cheaper to repair. I test drove both types of landy and was stuck by the vanilla feel, and lack of features in the disco, made worse by the fact I'm borrowing my mums L322 at the moment which is much nicer in every way.
So, deposit paid. Picking it up this week, it's a 2004 TD5 90 in Tonga green. Was originally an xs van but you wouldn't know it (apart from the bulkhead behind seats, and the lack of interior window trim in the back). It drove as nicely as the last td5 I drove, and there wasn't much difference to my old 200tdi apart from a little quieter. It's done 130k so a bit higher miles than I was hoping, but not the mad mileage you see on so many TD5s. I have raised my budget quite substantially to get what I wanted and so had to pinch myself to agree the price because let's face it, these vehicles are fetching an obscene amount at the moment, but their value is only likely to increase so I keep telling myself it's a safe purchase (unlike the disco). I did see a couple of 110's locally but I just remembered my last 110 which always seemed so big and empty. By comparison the 90 seems tiny, I mean, it's shorter than a Nissan Micra!! The interior seems smaller and much more cramped than I remember but it's got air-con, and the bulkhead which I originally didn't want, actually may serve to prevent a muddy slobbering dog from sliding into the front.
Long story short, I am over the moon. I kind of know what I'm getting into having had a tratter before, so I'm both nervous and pleased in equal measure, but very exited. Thanks as ever for this forums helpful advice.[/QUOTE