I am sure this has been posted 1000 times, but I have read a lot of the posts on hear and still feel that I want to ask, so here goes.....
The original thought was for my partner and I to sell one of our cars and buy a defender. The logic behind this is that my 'day to day' car is a Hyundi i10 and it pretty much pays me to keep it on the road, so even if a defender costs more to run its still sort of balances itself out if that makes sense.
The plan was that she (my other half) has it as an every day car as she has the use of company cars / vans so the defender would not accumulate thousands of miles each year, then I would take the defender when i am doing longer trips as I don't get the use of any company cars (and however economical a i10 is, on the motorway at 70...its not).
Once we had decided this, the problems began to form. We agreed (I got told) that a 110 station wagon would be the best all round vehicle - even though were still young, shes beginning to plan for the future!! For me to drive it on company business I want it to be reliable, good condition and get me to where I should be (if I start breaking down every trip I am soon going to be looking for a new job!). The catch is landys in this category were in the realms of £25-35K which as were both 'young professionals' AKA - no money we realistically cant afford that. I know there is finance available, but I am not sure if a) I would get it b) I want it - its a huge amount of money for something that is a glorified toy!.
In a visionary moment, we decided that we would probably buy a 'weekend' landy, just to plod about in, go on some road trips etc. If it breaks down, who cares as long as there is a sunny lay-by. Obviously as its just a weekend toy the budget is even less, sort of non existent even less, in the realms of £3-4K (I would probably stretch to £3-6.5K maybe?!?!).
Of course with this sort of money, a newer defender is out of the question, which is fine, but i want something that will work and not spend 11 months of the year being worked on asI have no mechanical background, my knowledge goes as far as watching my grandfather as a child and being told what to do. I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty, in fact I think it would be good fun, but I am conscious of the fact I know the square route of nothing, so having something that's in reasonable condition to start with would be preferable!
So my question you clever people out there, where do I start? I have done a fair bit of research and have a good idea of what I want / am looking for, but any advice on the matter would be welcomed as I feel slightly out of my depth.
The vehicle I think we will go for would be a short wheel base 300tdi, I keep changing my mind on hardtop or station wagon!
The original thought was for my partner and I to sell one of our cars and buy a defender. The logic behind this is that my 'day to day' car is a Hyundi i10 and it pretty much pays me to keep it on the road, so even if a defender costs more to run its still sort of balances itself out if that makes sense.
The plan was that she (my other half) has it as an every day car as she has the use of company cars / vans so the defender would not accumulate thousands of miles each year, then I would take the defender when i am doing longer trips as I don't get the use of any company cars (and however economical a i10 is, on the motorway at 70...its not).
Once we had decided this, the problems began to form. We agreed (I got told) that a 110 station wagon would be the best all round vehicle - even though were still young, shes beginning to plan for the future!! For me to drive it on company business I want it to be reliable, good condition and get me to where I should be (if I start breaking down every trip I am soon going to be looking for a new job!). The catch is landys in this category were in the realms of £25-35K which as were both 'young professionals' AKA - no money we realistically cant afford that. I know there is finance available, but I am not sure if a) I would get it b) I want it - its a huge amount of money for something that is a glorified toy!.
In a visionary moment, we decided that we would probably buy a 'weekend' landy, just to plod about in, go on some road trips etc. If it breaks down, who cares as long as there is a sunny lay-by. Obviously as its just a weekend toy the budget is even less, sort of non existent even less, in the realms of £3-4K (I would probably stretch to £3-6.5K maybe?!?!).
Of course with this sort of money, a newer defender is out of the question, which is fine, but i want something that will work and not spend 11 months of the year being worked on asI have no mechanical background, my knowledge goes as far as watching my grandfather as a child and being told what to do. I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty, in fact I think it would be good fun, but I am conscious of the fact I know the square route of nothing, so having something that's in reasonable condition to start with would be preferable!
So my question you clever people out there, where do I start? I have done a fair bit of research and have a good idea of what I want / am looking for, but any advice on the matter would be welcomed as I feel slightly out of my depth.
The vehicle I think we will go for would be a short wheel base 300tdi, I keep changing my mind on hardtop or station wagon!
