Tim4x4

Tim4x4

Well-Known Member
I have had by 110 Defender TD5 csw now for six years, I know this is not an extended length of time but is that time I like others have had to purchase spare parts to keep it in good roadworthy condition. The things I did before making the decision to get a Defender was look on this for what ownership was like, priced up spare parts, talked to other owners and had a good look at the market for prices. It came as no surprise that it would turn out to be high maintenance.
It was apparent that the spare parts supplied by independent outlets was a mixed bag and that you need to choose carefully the make of parts you purchase. Yes I have tried the blue bagged ones some have worked as they should some have failed early (days) some were broken out of the box. For safety critical parts and anything electronic I have used only genuine LR and paid a considerable amount of money for the privilege.
Today I needed a new crank position sensor with prices from £17.00 to £287.64 I had plenty of choice but I went with LR at yes you guest it £287,64. You know what, it did not work out of the box but the £17.00 my wife fetched me worked a treat. Now that's an ECU, key fob, yellow relay and fuel all new from LR gen parts that did not work out of the box. I am giving up selling the Defender and change it for a good pair of walking boots if I can get enough for it.
 
flat said:
Stop buying the expensive bits from LR.

You could buy loads of the cheap crank position sensors and keep them in the glove box! Change when they fail and it will still be cheaper!!
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No it has to go. I have plenty of spare parts just in case but it's always something that I don't have that fails. Sods law.
 
Island have gen crank sensors for £160.

However from recent knowledge intermotor ones work just as well.

Things do fail and they do go wrong but its a car designed and built 20 years ago...
 
bankz5152 said:
Island have gen crank sensors for £160.

However from recent knowledge intermotor ones work just as well.

Things do fail and they do go wrong but its a car designed and built 20 years ago...[/QUO

I know things go wrong but new parts should be good not total tat. No excuse for putting junk in a box and letting the customer be the final inspection. Yes they will change them for you but it is unnecessary and totally unacceptable.
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You are missing the point saying the design is 20 years old. It's the new parts sold today that are total scrap. A raw carrot would have been just as useful as the crank position sensor they sold me.
 
I have an early 200Tdi 90, It is an almost constant source of needing to do something or other to keep on top of things.
If I was having to pay a garage it would not be practical, BUT, I do everything myself (except clutch replacement) and it is just the cost of the parts. My time is worthless as I am retired so I don't take that into account.
Anyway, what I am getting round to say is the constant purchase of serviceable items like uj's, track rod ends, even brake calipers, is far and away cheaper than taking the hit of depretiation (sp) of almost any other vehicle. And I like driving it.
Just had an A frame ball joint delivered, in a box so Britpart, but with suffix G so a good one I trust. Need to be realistic when ordering bits, as to be what is safety critical.
 
Tim4x4 said:
I have had by 110 Defender TD5 csw now for six years, I know this is not an extended length of time but is that time I like others have had to purchase spare parts to keep it in good roadworthy condition. The things I did before making the decision to get a Defender was look on this for what ownership was like, priced up spare parts, talked to other owners and had a good look at the market for prices. It came as no surprise that it would turn out to be high maintenance.
It was apparent that the spare parts supplied by independent outlets was a mixed bag and that you need to choose carefully the make of parts you purchase. Yes I have tried the blue bagged ones some have worked as they should some have failed early (days) some were broken out of the box. For safety critical parts and anything electronic I have used only genuine LR and paid a considerable amount of money for the privilege.
Today I needed a new crank position sensor with prices from £17.00 to £287.64 I had plenty of choice but I went with LR at yes you guest it £287,64. You know what, it did not work out of the box but the £17.00 my wife fetched me worked a treat. Now that's an ECU, key fob, yellow relay and fuel all new from LR gen parts that did not work out of the box. I am giving up selling the Defender and change it for a good pair of walking boots if I can get enough for it.
Click to expand...


I have said as much to other people, on a normal car you will replace a wheel bearing once in its lifetime, on a land rover expect to do that very same wheel some time in the near future and that pretty much applies to the whole car.
 
lynall said:
I have said as much to other people, on a normal car you will replace a wheel bearing once in its lifetime, on a land rover expect to do that very same wheel some time in the near future and that pretty much applies to the whole car.
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I strip and regrease and adjust my wheel bearings every 8-10k (or so), not needed to replace one yet at 7yeaes ownership

I do about 4K miles a year
 
Parts on non-Defender/Disco 1/2 cars are still ridiculously expensive and still break, are harder to fit and tend to require an electrical degree to program computers etc. I bought a BMW that had just run out of warranty, cost me £2k in repairs in just a year, and that's just parts not including the the other £1.5k I paid in labour. Classic cars can be fixed using good used parts, a box of spanners and a heynes manual. You might spend a lot of your free time doing it, but hey, what else are you going to do with your spare time?
 
Look at a land rover as a hobby not a means of transport, have a second car for transport and a landy to spend your fun vouchers on.
 
Please, please, please don't miss my point.
It's not that parts have a useful life span and dependent on how hard the vehicle is used that life span will vary.
It's That parts sold new boxed and ready to be fitted to the vehicle are useless, not fit for purpose. Then the time it takes to get your money back.
 
Not much goes wrong with my series 3. It's had a couple of starter motors and a set of ball joints for the steering and I had to replace the horn cus I thought it was too rusty to make a loud noise, then I found out, they don't make a loud noise anyway so as not to scare the cows! Admittedly, I don't do thousands of miles per year and it always sounds like a catastrophe is about to happen but I absolutely love owning, tinkering with and driving it. I can drive around locally for months and not see another one. All landrovers are a labour of love, some people get it and some don't, if you are one of the latter it would be better to get rid and put it all behind you. As for buying genuine LR parts, they can't make reliable cars, what makes you think their parts will be any better


Col
 
lynall said:
I have said as much to other people, on a normal car you will replace a wheel bearing once in its lifetime, on a land rover expect to do that very same wheel some time in the near future and that pretty much applies to the whole car.
Click to expand...

My hard worked 1990 90 has done a hundred and eighty thousand miles with much off road work and I have yet to replace a wheel bearing.
 
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