Would 18k annual mileage a year kill a Defender?

lightning · Aug 20, 2015

lynall said:
Wallet will be empty.
Fuel consumption will be crap maybe 30/32 at best.
Most old defenders are not well maintained.
The problem with an old land rover is there is always a snag list of stuff to do, normal cars just arent like that, plus when you change something on a normal car thats it, its very unlikely you will ever need to replace that part ever again, on a defender!
I would never choose one to do big miles in, theres many many better ways to do it in more comfort, why suffer/struggle in life if you dont have to?

Blimey you're a barrel of laughs....

I drive my Defender 110 TD5 all day every day, and l would not go back to a car. The Defender is much more rewarding, and fun to drive. Customers l visit love it, nobody ever said that about my Transit Connect van.
Defenders hold their value. I lost £10,000 in six years on the van, the 110 l bought last year is now worth more than l paid.
Reliability? The best vehicle l've owned. Nothing at all in the last 10,000 miles!
Tyres last for ever. Fuel consumption? In real world driving the Defender does 28mpg. My van did 33mpg. I don't notice the extra.....l'm enjoying driving too much!

One thing l would say, it go for the TD5. Wife had a 300tdi earlier this year and while a great vehicle, the TD5 is much more refined.

Brown · Aug 20, 2015

lightning said:
Blimey you're a barrel of laughs....

I drive my Defender 110 TD5 all day every day, and l would not go back to a car. The Defender is much more rewarding, and fun to drive. Customers l visit love it, nobody ever said that about my Transit Connect van.
Defenders hold their value. I lost £10,000 in six years on the van, the 110 l bought last year is now worth more than l paid.
Reliability? The best vehicle l've owned. Nothing at all in the last 10,000 miles!
Tyres last for ever. Fuel consumption? In real world driving the Defender does 28mpg. My van did 33mpg. I don't notice the extra.....l'm enjoying driving too much!

One thing l would say, it go for the TD5. Wife had a 300tdi earlier this year and while a great vehicle, the TD5 is much more refined.

Pretty much my experience.

By the time you've bought (and sustained the depreciation on) a second car, taxed it, insured it, maintained it (and a lot of spare parts are considerably dearer than the equivalent Land Rover item), maybe covered the interest on loan repayments with interest if you've not bought it from savings, you're not going to save much by having a supposedly more economical second car. I tease several of my friends about this and make them tell me just how much all this costs. It always works out more than if they'd gone everywhere by Land Rover in the first place. However, they think they're being economical.

Sometimes people find me rather wearisome company. I can't imagine why.

nesponge · Aug 21, 2015

An interesting point about engine type.

inline 4 diesel's (specifically 200tdi's and to a lesser extent 300tdi's), are incredibly rough and noisy so are probably not the engine of choice.

Inline 5's are a far smoother and less harsh layout as the engine is better balanced, so more suited to refined cruising.

Personally I am going the petrol route as they are night and day smoother and quieter than any diesel defender I have been in.

Oldseadog · Aug 21, 2015

Mine is a 1989 110 2.5NAD hard top with a lot of air resistance on the roof

I get 30+ to the gallon and she is nice and quiet even on the motorways where she will cruise at the legal speed limit all day whilst I listen to the radio or a CD, and regularly does a 500 mile round trip in a day!
Mechanicall, she is almost perfect, so much so that I am in the process of getting a new galv chassis for her, so that I can enjoy her for many more years to come!
She's my baby!

lynall · Aug 21, 2015

200tdi proper land rover
300tdi start of the nancy boy spec
td5 full on nancy boy spec!
Still **** cars.

nesponge · Aug 21, 2015

Petrol V8 is where it's at

Chevy V8 that is... non of your nancy boy rover (buick) rubbish

Actually i'm going for the 4.0 litre petrol inline 6 from a jeep. Smooth and quiet with enough poke until I can upgrade to the Chevy.

james6546 · Aug 21, 2015

After commuting from Ashbourne to Birmingham (110 mile round trip) a couple of days in mine this week I reckon it wouldn't be too much of a problem and am considering getting rid of the mini to free up some cash for adventures and just using the 90.

Things you would have to do for it though:
- Lots of soundproofing (you can have a civilised conversation in mine now)
- Decent seats not from a Defender
- Get rid of any rattles
- Higher geared T/box (and no roof tent in my case)
- Decent stereo

I think as others have said a TD5 would be a better choice, it is a much more refined engine. Thirstier though...

Comparing it to using other cars I have used, the defender is more tiring to drive long distances, but also more interesting and rewarding.

LUKBENPHI · Aug 21, 2015

Paul D said:
Don't get me wrong, I love me Landy, I've driven from Doncaster to the Lakes just to go laning for a weekend, similarly to Salisbury Plain etc etc and I can't see me ever not having one, the smiles per mile amount for way more than diesel mileage .. but to use one for what's an essentially on-road commute seems just wrong to me and not much of a pleasure.

It wouldn't just be for the commute I'd be using it for off road use too as the mrs's parents live right near some brilliant derbyshire lanes that we did on the recent vintage tractor run

Thanks for the advice everyone definitely food for thought, not sure my budget would stretch to a td5 but an ex mod one sounds appealing if it will do the legal limit!

Would 18k annual mileage a year kill a Defender?

lightning

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Brown

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nesponge

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Oldseadog

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lynall

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nesponge

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james6546

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LUKBENPHI

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