Most sensible model for first timer

Turktowner said:

@IamRobbie
On the welding front - are you self taught or done a course? Reckon I'll need that skill before too long

Cheers

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self taught, me and my flock of pigeons don't do too bad a job I suppose.

Just picked up my 3rd welder today since starting with a poxy Clarke 85en gasless thing.

The joys of land rovers!

IamRobbie said:

5k isn't going to get him anything that isn't going to require the poor guy to be lay under it several times a year practicing his new found vocabulary.....

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Surely that is part of the point of having a defender. If you are not going to work on it yourself then they are are not sensible to own in any guise, even the new ones. I would also say that several times a year is optimistic, and is more likely to be once a month!

IamRobbie said:

I paid 2800 for mine on a G reg 4 maybe 5 years ago with hardly any mechanical knowledge.. Now I can weld. I can do practically anything on it because I have had to due to the constant maintenance needed. Mine was full of expanding foam and filler.

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I did a similar thing when I bought mine. Just got my first installment of student loan and a student account with a large overdraft and immediately went out and spent £1800 on my '89 110, which definitely should not have had the 12 months Mot it came with. Since then (8 years ago) it has cost me a small fortune, I have learnt how do do everything to it out of necessaty, can now weld, and have a series III which i have now finished rebuilding. But that was part of what I wanted when I bought it and because I have done so much work and regularly maintain it it quite happily took me 6k miles to Morocco and back in October with no problems.

It needs to be carefully considered why you want a defender. If it is just for the look and you expect to not put a spanner to it between services or MOTs, then you will be in for a very large shock and will end up hate it. (Even more so if you are paying a garage to do everything it needs).
If it is to enjoy to opportunities a defender gives you that other vehicles do not, including the easy maintenance and repair, you will love every second of ownership.

There are plenty of buying guide for what to look for but everything can be repaired fairly easily. To get a good basis you want to have a solid rust free chassis and bulkhead as these are the most expensive and difficult to repair/replace.
Drive train noises are not ideal but gearboxes and diffs are easy to replace and cheaper than extensive chassis/bulkhead repairs.
Knocks and clunks are likely to just be Prop UJ's or suspension bushes which are very cheap and easy to replace.

With 5k to get the most vehicle condition wise for your money I would be looking at a 110 hardtop, these are the "least desirable" model (The 110 station wagon is the most expensive model, closely followed by the 90 station wagon). They are however the most practical, huge load space, and with some individual folding seats and windows in the sides perfectly good for carrying passengers when they are not full of other things.

If the O/P is lucky he could get a very nice TD5 hardtop for the top end of his budget (£8,000-£10,000) that doesn’t need much doing to it.

I disagree that the 90 is too small. I have a 110 and the missus drives a 90. The 90 is fine for two of us and we used it as our only car for eight years.
The 110 is of course a lot better in this respect but mainly if you want to carry more than two people plus luggage.
As for bikes, we use a tow ball mounted bike carrier.
The 110 does ride better on bad roads but the 90 can be improved by fitting adjustable dampers, as we have done.

@IamRobbie
Am risking hijacking this thread, sorry @mattie_uk so this'll be my last word on the subject. Any recommendations for a noob wanting to get into welding.
I read somewhere to stay well clear of gasless for instance. Bet there's already a old fred about it somewhere, right?

Turktowner said:

@IamRobbie
Am risking hijacking this thread, sorry @mattie_uk so this'll be my last word on the subject. Any recommendations for a noob wanting to get into welding.
I read somewhere to stay well clear of gasless for instance. Bet there's already a old fred about it somewhere, right?

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Avoid gasless, splash out on a proper argon mix rather than using CO2, and watch all of the youtube videos. Then just lots and lots of practice on scrap that doesn't matter.
I was self taught and then did a city and guild course at the local college evening school. Other than the opportunity to practice lots with a better welding set it was not worth it. I already had the skills, and my welding improved more from spending 3 hours a week doing it than the tuition I received.

Turktowner said:

@IamRobbie
Am risking hijacking this thread, sorry @mattie_uk so this'll be my last word on the subject. Any recommendations for a noob wanting to get into welding.
I read somewhere to stay well clear of gasless for instance. Bet there's already a old fred about it somewhere, right?

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At this time of year many FE colleges do 'taster courses' at very reasonable rates, so my advice would be to sign up on one of those and get 'the feel' for it there!
Remember that welding is like having a shyte, you can't do it unless you're comfortable ... it is alsoi the most erotic and sensual of all the manual skills, but that's another story

Turktowner said:

I'd have to agree with @dag019, @mikescuba and @saxavordian, I've got a 90 CSW and it's practicalities are limited.
I could only fit one grown up bike in the back sensibly and there's no way of getting a kip without putting your feet up on something.
TBH honest my old Berlingo was more useful that way. That said it was a heart, not head, choice and I love it to bits (literally - it's a bit tatty).

+1 on all the security stuff - the new Defender defender looks interesting, that and the normal mechanical deterrants.
+2 on getting further advice here when you've found something that takes your fancy.

For what it's worth, I did a full engine and transmission oil change over Christmas out the front of the house - is a doddle, if a bit messy (big sheet of ply to protect the asphalt).

Good hunting mate, don't forget to show us what you end up with.

Oh, and show this to the missus....

View attachment 138667

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Struggling to find the bit about, do you want to spend your weekends underneath your defender, or spending money stocking up on tools, Haynes manuals and swarfega to enable spending the following weekend underneath your defender on a cold wet road?

If you have a fixed budget , then halve it to buy the best you can and then the other half will be spent on sorting out all/ some of the problems of previous owners , depending how well you bought .

Isn't the FL2 reputed to be the most reliable land rover product of all time?

But the doors fall orft if it rains!
Ask the Hippopottymouth!

Hi all

Apols for delay in replying, was testing out a few options with the missus and just about repaired the fallout. Some progress made though, as it looks like we'll get a second - dare I say more everyday-practical and reliable - car for her to use. That might be an MX5, which I hope shows the sacrifices I'm prepared to accept to get a Defender.

We've also signed up for a an off-road day in a Defender near Edinburgh so i can see if I fit into a 90, I've seen an example that I quite like the look of (see below) but would like to know if I'll fit/would prefer a 110 before bothering the seller.

In meantime. I'd be grateful for any thoughts on whether this would be a sensible option.
https://forsale.lro.com/land+rover/defender+90/236759

Thanks to all who commented on thread btw, much appreciated. Sad to let the Feeelander 2 go, but I either get the Defender now or never get one.

mattie_uk said:

Hi all

Apols for delay in replying, was testing out a few options with the missus and just about repaired the fallout. Some progress made though, as it looks like we'll get a second - dare I say more everyday-practical and reliable - car for her to use. That might be an MX5, which I hope shows the sacrifices I'm prepared to accept to get a Defender.

We've also signed up for a an off-road day in a Defender near Edinburgh so i can see if I fit into a 90, I've seen an example that I quite like the look of (see below) but would like to know if I'll fit/would prefer a 110 before bothering the seller.

In meantime. I'd be grateful for any thoughts on whether this would be a sensible option.
https://forsale.lro.com/land+rover/defender+90/236759

Thanks to all who commented on thread btw, much appreciated. Sad to let the Feeelander 2 go, but I either get the Defender now or never get one.

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Way to expensive for a defender without a galv chassis

Needs a new chassis at that price, already been welded and will need more quite soon.

Highly nickable vehicle AND on street parking AND the cold end of the country means any car other than a defender will be much better.

Marmaduke said:

Way to expensive for a defender without a galv chassis

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This. That’s to expensive.