Land Rover itch, needs to be scratched!

Hi, For the past couple of days I havnt been able to stop looking at Land Rovers. I currently have a car and a cheap van that I use to go to work and carry a trials bike.

I've always had a soft spot for landys (My dad had a series 2 swb, truck cab) and I've always liked the 'modern' defenders. So I have been looking at selling my car and van and getting a 90 with seats in the back that will do all the jobs and mean I'm only paying one lot of tax, insurance and MOT etc.

I've been looking at td5 90's but there doesn't seem to be that much out there. If I sold the car and van I'd have around 9k to spend and wonder what I should be looking for at this price range? Will I be able to get a decent td5 at this price and if not are the 300tdi's just as good. It might take me a while to sell the car so I'm thinking of waiting untill spring, is it right to think that the price of landys may drop slightly after the bad weather and winter is out of the way?

And also whats are they like to own and drive day to day? The only proper experience I have had with them was the series 2 which I'm guessing will be like chalk and cheese at the side of somthing more modern.

Oh and sorry for all the questions

:welcome2: thats a lot of stuff to ask, I'm confused now

To really enjoy the land rover experience be prepared to do your own maintenance and repairs.Get to know every nut and bolt personally,

keep the car and replace the van with a pre 73 series. £82 a year fully comp insurance and free tax, 2k will get you a nice one.

Welcome Dan.

£9k should see you get a nice example of an early(ish) 90 TD5 County, or indeed a 300TDI County, or for that fact either in the 110" wheelbase!

90s are fine, but if you will be using it as a family vehicle, a 110 would maybe be a bit better. You can put alot of crap in a 90, but not too many people. Both have their advantages off road, 90 maybe a little better because of its size, but not a huge amount in it.

The TDi or TD5 choice can be flogged to death forever more, and has many different opinions to it, so I'll just give you mine. I've had TDis (both Discovery and Defender) and currently own a 110 TD5. TDis are extremely easy to work on, and for the most part are devoid of any electric input to make them work, they're a simple mechanically controlled engine. As such they're robust, reliable, easy to maintain and work on, and tough as old nails. They are slightly agricultural, but so are the vehicles in which they're fitted!

TD5 is not such a simple engine. It is electronically controlled and as such has both the advantages and disadvantages that brings. On one hand they're more powerful out the box, and with tuning can reliably see 200BHP with shed loads of torque to boot. They're smooth engines, and they're 5 cylinder, so they sound *awesome*. The down side though, is that they're generally more expensive to fix, and there is more to go wrong. Servicing can still be done at home, and infact so can 80% of the work under the bonnet if you know that you're doing. You could do it all yourself if you had the right tools and diagnostic equipment. They may be electronically controlled, but none of it is really 'out of this world' super hi-tech stuff. Worth another note is the TD5s are fitted with dual mass flywheels (as standard). These are quite expensive to change when they go wrong, the parts cost alone for a clutch & DMF can quite easily be £500, you'd pay less than half of that for a simple 3 piece clutch on a TDi. Some people replace the DMF with a solid flywheel conversion which makes the drivetrain as simple as that of a TDi, but personally speaking I don't like that idea myself. DMFs are fitted for a reason and do serve a purpose.

Personal preference..... My TD5 has been nothing short of perfectly reliable (touch wood) others have been a money pit. I like the extra grunt and scope of yet more that my TD5 brings, and I also like the sound. I wouldn't be disappointed with either, but a TD5 would be my pick over the two.

Prices will generally drop after winter for obvious reasons, but Defenders hold their value extremely well. It's a ****ter when you're buying, but atleast you have a solid investment. All you need to do is prevent it from getting nicked, which is a major issue with Defenders.

Day to day driving, well... they're NOT the most comfortable of things. If you want comfort get a Discovery. Space for the driver is limited, and simple mod cons you would expect like central locking and electric windows are only about on few and far between special commissions. They also don't heat up very well, they often leak, and even if you get one with air-con, it is at best mildly functional. Driving on the road they're not too bad, alot will depend on what tyres you choose to fit. Decent mud terrains will do both tasks perfectly adequately, but anything else will be a compromise one way or the other. Having said that, driving a Defender will be alot different from an older series. The suspension alone is an improvement no end.

Thanks for the replies guys!

Matt TDi: Awesome post, thanks for that very informative and has given me plenty to think about.



I forgot to mention that its not a family car, I'm single so will only be carrying people every now and then, hence I've been looking at 90's.

Also my parents had a 300tdi disco which we had as a family car, it was spot on (just a bit slow when cold) and it was Auto. I'm guessing the 300tdi defender will be very similar to the disco.

I was quite shocked at the price of td5 90's really, but as you say if I didn't get on with it then I wouldn't loose much (if any) money as they don't seem to depreciate like other cars.