DPG213
Member
Morning all,
Need some advice from people that will empathise with my plight.
At present I have a V8 LWB Series 1 that I use as a daily driver; a car I'd longed after for years until I was finally able to get my hands on one. In the year that I've owned it I've spent approx. £10,000 bringing it up to scratch mechanically (much more than I'd originally expected) and maintenance costs are proving to be relentlessly high what with the recent fuel price hikes and the general wear and tear associated with a 60 year old LR driving upwards of 10,000 miles a year. To top it all off, my girlfriend is now pregnant and isn't convinced this is a suitably safe mode of everyday transport; she also yearns for a little luxury after spending the last few years cradling various smiths heaters.
She wants a Tdci Defender, a car I really like and have had in the past, however as prices have recently ballooned I couldn't justify buying one as a stablemate to house alongside the Series 1 - and so here the dilemma begins. I'm in complete agreement that this would be a more competent, practical and safer vehicle, undoubtedly more suitable for our changing circumstances, but I have a few concerns.
With the new Defender gaining popularity and the Ineos Grenadier becoming available, will the classic Defender's start to decrease in price, especially now the government is pushing for greener vehicles? I think Series and early models will remain exempt (although E5 is getting annoyingly harder to obtain) and that their values will continue to steadily rise but the more modern and late model Defenders I'm not too sure about their futures? I live in a village but work in the cities of Nottingham and Lincoln, 5 days a week.
I'm very aware that if I sell the S1, I'll find it very difficult, if not virtually impossible, to find this model again.
Also, there's a rewarding smugness that comes with owning a classic Land Rover and keeping it on the road that you don't get with later models - however they are in turn equally infuriating. I had toyed with the idea of getting a battered Series 3 to run alongside mine so that the mileage could be shared but in all honesty, I can't say I enjoy working on them when there is a deadline and they need to be used the next day, so adding another money pit to an already substantial hole is a little off putting.
I have also thought about a Defender Wolf or a well sorted tdi as some of these are still reasonably priced but if I'm abandoning the classic I'd rather have a clean break and get something with heated seats and a stereo I can listen to.
So there we have it, I'm not sure what to do. Any advice would be much appreciated - a real head over heart issue.
Need some advice from people that will empathise with my plight.
At present I have a V8 LWB Series 1 that I use as a daily driver; a car I'd longed after for years until I was finally able to get my hands on one. In the year that I've owned it I've spent approx. £10,000 bringing it up to scratch mechanically (much more than I'd originally expected) and maintenance costs are proving to be relentlessly high what with the recent fuel price hikes and the general wear and tear associated with a 60 year old LR driving upwards of 10,000 miles a year. To top it all off, my girlfriend is now pregnant and isn't convinced this is a suitably safe mode of everyday transport; she also yearns for a little luxury after spending the last few years cradling various smiths heaters.
She wants a Tdci Defender, a car I really like and have had in the past, however as prices have recently ballooned I couldn't justify buying one as a stablemate to house alongside the Series 1 - and so here the dilemma begins. I'm in complete agreement that this would be a more competent, practical and safer vehicle, undoubtedly more suitable for our changing circumstances, but I have a few concerns.
With the new Defender gaining popularity and the Ineos Grenadier becoming available, will the classic Defender's start to decrease in price, especially now the government is pushing for greener vehicles? I think Series and early models will remain exempt (although E5 is getting annoyingly harder to obtain) and that their values will continue to steadily rise but the more modern and late model Defenders I'm not too sure about their futures? I live in a village but work in the cities of Nottingham and Lincoln, 5 days a week.
I'm very aware that if I sell the S1, I'll find it very difficult, if not virtually impossible, to find this model again.
Also, there's a rewarding smugness that comes with owning a classic Land Rover and keeping it on the road that you don't get with later models - however they are in turn equally infuriating. I had toyed with the idea of getting a battered Series 3 to run alongside mine so that the mileage could be shared but in all honesty, I can't say I enjoy working on them when there is a deadline and they need to be used the next day, so adding another money pit to an already substantial hole is a little off putting.
I have also thought about a Defender Wolf or a well sorted tdi as some of these are still reasonably priced but if I'm abandoning the classic I'd rather have a clean break and get something with heated seats and a stereo I can listen to.
So there we have it, I'm not sure what to do. Any advice would be much appreciated - a real head over heart issue.
