I think you just have to judge what is in front of you when looking at MOD Land Rovers, some are good, some are in a shocking state, with parts harvested. MOD are getting shot of the 90's and I have seen a couple of clean 300tdi 90's on eBay over the last few months listed at around 5-6k.
 
Hi, J.A. and welcome.

Thought i would wade in on the "giving the young'en advise" :D
First off i am 24 and bought my landy just over a year ago to learn in a similar fashion to you. I have loved every second of it. I did spend a great deal of time looking for the right land rover. i almost bought 3 or 4 before finally finding mine (ended up getting an ex mod one.) Two were written off and not advertised as such, and one had had some heavy work done just not very well, just be patient. In terms of things to look for there is a wealth of knowledge on here and other places online so won't go over it all again.
For your money though, i don't know if you will find something that isn't going to cost you as much or more in the long run than saving a bit more and buying a better one. If you have the space though, what might work well for you is to go out and get a nonstarter or something that does need a bit of work. Gett it home, then SORN it and spend a year or so working on it. Spend the money that you would use to insure the thing on getting a better one or and getting it fixed up. Then you don't have to worry about getting it up and running every time you need to go out. Take your time, and get it up to a good standard, as stated earlier there isn't really anything on a landy that can't be repaired or replaced. After a year or so, your insurance will be cheaper, you will have a good amount of knowledge of the workings of your vehicle and assuming you do a good job, you could end up with a tidy motor. Obviously the down side being, you won't have a car for another year which i know is crap when you have just learnt to drive, but it might work out for you, just a thought. Oh and join your local 4x4/landy club, you can make great contacts there to help with the work and get advice. It’s also a good way to find actually find a landy too.
 
oh and feel free to put up photos of ones your interested in on here and we can advise on rust issues etc
 
That budget should get a decent S3. Suggest a late model SWB, 1980 onwards. They have 5 bearing engine, servo brakes The safari
/ County versions nice but rarer . Avoid the 2.25l diesels, their nothing but a hassle. Anything that age check the chassis and main bulkhead. If they are ok you can do the rest. Avoid ebay and look in your regional advertising / listings.Good luck.
 
I am a mechanical numpty so I can only offer my opinion from my bit, Given that you only need it for the countryside and not for cities or commuting etc i would recommend a series 3, I have a 2.25 petrol 1972 SWB pick-up, and thanks to its age it is road tax free, which is a massive bonus as paying two vehicle taxes would be expensive for me. Although we've had a few problems, which is understandable for the age we have been able to get them sorted out, as others have said plenty of parts about. The fact that your dad has experience on them is of great benefit. Leaf springs certainly don't make a nice ride on a pot-holey track or uneven road but who cares if you plan on doing a lot of driving, the pick up has been most useful for moving, sacks, rubbish, hay whatever, you just throw it in and it doesn't matter how messy, muddy, wet, or smelly it is.
Mine came from a decent chap who advertised it on auto-trader
 
All are riising in value now, so finding one may get more difficult.

If you want one now the most affordable is a Discovery 1. But you sound like you want what used to be called a Land Rover, basically the series, the 90/110, and the Defenders.

Looks like you could get a reasonable series 3 for that money.

S2 and S3 are similar in quite a few ways, but the Diesel is slow, I would go for the petrol engine.

Remember tax exemption is now rolling again, so may be worth buying one and sorning until free.
 
My advice - don't go alone - take someone with you who knows what to look for. Lots of posts come on here 'I have just bought a Land Rover - how does it work?' or similar. You will want to see that the gearboxes are ok (4-wheel-drive and low ratio), engine doesn't smoke too much (old diesels are very hard to get through an mot, unless they're so old the tester does 'visual' smoke test only (I think about 1969, but am open to correction)). Leaks from axles, diffs, swivels, under engine etc are usual, and most are fairly easy to fix. Also they all let the rain in, so don't be surprised if the floor is wet. Good luck!
 
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