E

Eastlancashire

Member
Currently doing my homework on purchasing a defender, and was curious to know if anyone has just been lucky and picked up a cheap £5-6000 landy and just been able to use it as is with noth major repair bills in the first few years?
I only ask cos im worried im over thinking things with regards to rotten chassis,bulkheads,crossmembers and engines.
 
5 to 6k - that will get you a 20 year old car. There will always be things to do! Some will be cheap. Others won't.

In answer to your question - mine was 4k, but it turned out to need a clutch, and a rear 1/4 chassis, never mind the maintenance issues, and its 1996 vintage :)
 
Yes.
I bought my ex-MOD 90 direct and it required nothing doing to it other than a full service (as you would with any new to you vehicle). I had done my homework first and checked the vehicle thoroughly but from then on it was completely reliable with the only work being what I WANTED to do, not what NEEDED to be done.
 
Im still debating whether to get a landy as a weekend car (budget 5-6k) or sell my Vw T5 kombi to give myself a bigger budget and use the landy as my daily. Im thinking cheap beater to start with then if I love the landy experience I can sell both the beater and the T5 and upgrade to a nicer defender
 
Litch said:
Yes.
I bought my ex-MOD 90 direct and it required nothing doing to it other than a full service (as you would with any new to you vehicle). I had done my homework first and checked the vehicle thoroughly but from then on it was completely reliable with the only work being what I WANTED to do, not what NEEDED to be done.
Click to expand...

Exactly like mine.

Everything I have done I have either chosen to do or has been regular maintenance. Like any car.
 
My motors are always cheap & rolling restorations.
But have full rebuilds( over many years) So any money you save, makes a better motor.
 
It’s a lot of money for an old vehicle and that is the first thing to get your head around! After that it’s accepting that it’s an old vehicle and it will have issues. The biggest expensive issues are easy to find and see though (rust etc) and there are loads of vehicles out there to look at so just keep looking and take someone else with you to keep your head level and also to be a second set of eyes!
I got fed up with looking at crap being sold by chancers and advertised as better than they were. I ended up going ex mod and spent a day at Blanchards rummaging through their vehicles until I found mine. It’s been great in the 3 years I’ve had it. The only real expense being the engine transplant from 2.5na to tdi. I only did that because I wanted to!
It wil need footwells this year but that is the first biggish repair job it’s needed since I got it.
 
callisr said:
It’s a lot of money for an old vehicle and that is the first thing to get your head around! After that it’s accepting that it’s an old vehicle and it will have issues. The biggest expensive issues are easy to find and see though (rust etc) and there are loads of vehicles out there to look at so just keep looking and take someone else with you to keep your head level and also to be a second set of eyes!
I got fed up with looking at crap being sold by chancers and advertised as better than they were. I ended up going ex mod and spent a day at Blanchards rummaging through their vehicles until I found mine. It’s been great in the 3 years I’ve had it. The only real expense being the engine transplant from 2.5na to tdi. I only did that because I wanted to!
It wil need footwells this year but that is the first biggish repair job it’s needed since I got it.
Click to expand...

Sounds like mine and the reasons I brought ex-mod except I went to withams. Looked at about 10 and went on chassis condition as my number one with running gear being next and bodywork after that!
 
It was a fab way of choosing my Land Rover! Pure indulgence!!
I used the same method......chassis, bulkhead, mechanicals then body. Body is still shabby:D:D
 
callisr said:
It was a fab way of choosing my Land Rover! Pure indulgence!!
I used the same method......chassis, bulkhead, mechanicals then body. Body is still shabby:D:D
Click to expand...

Mine had had passenger footwell welded and the bulkhead corner replaced in its past, rest is solid.
It was lots of run poking around a whole bunch of them in one go, was easy to compare differences and spot the crap as they were all virtually identical!

2.5na to 200tdi was my only real big expense but wasn’t necessary particularly, the na was actually okay
 
Mine didn't cost a lot as someone wanted to get rid! In the 15+ years I've had her, she's been an ongoing project and almost completely rebuilt, keeping the original 2.5 N/A engine, but I've recently had to have the gearbox rebuiilt by Ashcrofts due to one of the detemnts failing and goinmg into 1st and reverse at the same time ... it wasn't pretty!
She has a galv chassis and she also havd a pretty paint job.
She is well known to the police and emergency services to the degree that, when I loaned her to a friend for the day, he was stopped four times because the boys in blue didn't recognise the driver!!
She will cruise along the motorways at the full legal speed limit, and return around 30mpg unless I'm in a hurry, when I get around 26mpg at 85 (but I never do that (cough cough!))
 
Mine was a 1986 110, direct (via a dealer) from the military, came in at just under £3K delivered.
The advantage was that it had been well maintained, no catching up on ten years of neglect, no raging rust and it had been fitted with a new bulkhead at some stage.
The disadvantage being that there is the minor inconvenience of registering it and ideally you need to fit PAS and a TDi engine to bring it up to date.
You may also want to factor in modifications to make it more civilised (hard top in my case), not sure that I would want one as a daily driver though.
110.JPG
 
Spent 5.5 on mine spent 6 months test driving and viewing turds. was in great condition and had a good few years hassle free even 12 years down the road im still quids in compared to depreciation on a newer vehicle.
 
Bought mine as a non runner on someones drive where it had alledgedly been stood for a few months. Think nearer 18..lol that was in 2011

Knew it needed a plate in battery box and one on rear cross member.

Trailer it home, towed it up the farm road started in 30 yds.

Discovered it needed an exhaust system.

Spent £300 getting her MOT'd
headlights from sealed beam to bulbs, starter motor, full exhaust system. £30 to get a winch remote and that worked

Been running it ever since, gets a lots of abuse in the shooting season and around the farm

Still on the 2.5n/a which has been good a s gold til today....will post that in a separate thread.

Have added PAS, then odd and sods along the way, polybushed it, springs and shocks, front drive stub axle( ambitious towing of trailer through 2ft of mud)
New radiator and heater matrix
Clutch

So not much really for the use it gets.

Wont tell you what i paid for it as you will cry..!!

would buy another at that price now blind...lol

So very lucky i think
 
Saw mine in a local ad for £5.5K and eventually got it for £4.25K with some minor MoT work included. Solid chassis, some small holes in bulkhead-windscreen corners but rest of it and door pillars solid, recent new rear x-member and outriggers, one plate on a main rail. Door bottoms ok for now but will need some attention in the future. Drives beautifully & starts on the button now (had some initial ignition issues). Very good condition inside but scruffy outside! Came with Disco steel wheels, swingaway, dog guard, & rear step. Some chequer plate painted Trident Green like the body. With a full service not spent more than £600 on her and some of that was on new battery, coil, electronic ignition, lights, locks, seat covers and a cubby box.
All in all one of the best I've had..this is no7 (6x Landys, 1x RRC) since 1980 :rolleyes:.
Whatever you do check, check and check it over thoroughly, including DVLA MoT records, HPI etc, and if in doubt walk away...there'll be another one ;)
Remember 'buy in haste, repent at leisure' :eek:
 
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