Good day to all, I've spent a fair amount of time reading various posts here and I think this has led to my problem.

Me and my Girlfriend are travelling through Mexico next Sept with a view to staying there for a while. I need to get a vehicle to take us on our way in as much of a hassle-free way as possible.

I had in mind a decent low milage 90 XS defender 2002 onwards (XS because of the air con and power stearing, remote locking etc). I've never owned a landy and am not a mechanic, but their go-anywhere attitude and ruggedness coupled with the britishness of the vehicle made my mind up.

But since reading up on these vehicles I'm now in two minds. These are my concerns, are they unfounded? Am I worrying over nothing?

- They need regular, good servicing.
This is always a problem for non-mexican cars and expect that a Landy in a foriegn country will be something of a rareity. Will a standard service from a regular mechanic be fine?

- They need Waxoyling or else they will rust through.
I must admit I'm quite shocked by this, is it true, will a standard Landy be ok throughout it's life without Waxoyling, are they rust buckets?

- They're underpowered.
I'm not pulling anything, will a standard TD5 be ok for general mooching-about-ness and motorway driving? I'm not touring the globe, but I will be doing > 5,000 miles.

- The factory alarm system is crap and needs replacing?

- The Air Conditioning is only good for cooling your knees?

- They're easy to rob.

- They're loud and uncomfortable.

There's an amount of Landyness that I am expecting, in fact I think it's part of it's charm, I like the bolt-on'ness of the defender and it has an unmistakeable striking image wherever you go and this I love about it, but the last thing I need to take away with me is a liability.

I've read bad things about the Defender wherever I look, and am getting a tad worried. I know this is probably not the right forum to ask if a Landy is a good thing, but taking into account my trip and situation am I better getting something that is easily servicable in latin countries (and a bit more secure and more comfortable) like a landcruiser?

Sorry for such naive questions, but it really is important for us and having no prior knowledge of these machines - I thought they were bullet proof! - any objective advice would be apprecieated.

Thanks.

Orm.

You gonna be only on road get something else.A toyota coralla better mpg, better reliblitiy, better seats.Mind numbingly boring.90 will go most places you want, td5 will keep up with traffic(dunno wot the speed limit is in mexico but if its 5odd like the states then defo)If you get hot-open a window AND the vents.It aint gonna rust away inb front of yer over 5000 miles.If yer gonna keep it then look after it!Can they be nicked?Yep.Can any car if they want it enough?Yep!Take sensible precautions and you'll be fine.

Id say that was a very pessimistic way of looking at it! TD5 90's go like greased weasel **** off the end of a shovel!

if you look after it it will look after you, as long as you know what kind of oils you need etc and make sure the mechanic understands you it will be fine, mexican mechanics are allright.

Where abouts are you going to go? (I lived there for a bit)

TheVengefulElephant said:

Id say that was a very pessimistic way of looking at it! TD5 90's go like greased weasel **** off the end of a shovel!

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Can tell you got a NA:lol:

goonarmy said:

Can tell you got a NA:lol:

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oi foocough she almost heard that!! shis a td I shal have you know

Oh yeah, a 2.5 na wiff a bolt on!Still going alreet tho?

IMO, if you're mainly road driving then defender may not be the best choice, maybe a freelander if you're set on getting a landy, but TBH if you're not gonna be off roading I'd say you might as well get a motor that's common in mexico. Will be easier to get fixed/get parts for if anything does go wrong, and means you won't stand out so much as a foreigner.
Don't know mexico in particular but generally when I'm abroad I try not to draw too much attention, plenty of people round the world that'll look to screw the tourist. Certainly if you got down into parts of S America being obviously foreign is asking for the cops to stop & fine you for bogus motoring offenses.

Thanks! - I'm not intending to go off-roading, but owing to the geography of mexico, I may be wander off the roads sometimes. I'll be mainly calling in at some beaches, through rougher trails. We're dive instructors and we'd like to pick up work as we go, so I could do with a rugged vehicle for working wherever we are.

TheVengefulElephant - you have given me some hope. We're driving across from Texas up to San Diego then across the border down Baja, across the running down the west coast (roughly) through into Chiapas and on to the Yucatan - with a possibility of venturing on down to Panama. The primary route through is only Mexico to Yucatan.

I'm happy enough If you're saying that as long as we are near a decent mechanic, we're fine. I'm just a little concerned that something will go on the engine and no mechanic will understand what the hell it is.



As for sticking out, unless I buy a Mexican car, we'll stick out due to the foreign plates.


And for opening the vents, when it's nearing 40 degrees, this won't be an option and will be pretty ineffectual unless you're moving. Air Conditioning is a must, is it only the XS that come with Air Con?

I hear they still make 300tdi lef hand drives, are they a better unit than the td5?

Thanks again.
Orm

Orm said:

And for opening the vents, when it's nearing 40 degrees, this won't be an option and will be pretty ineffectual unless you're moving. Air Conditioning is a must,

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Wuss

Orm said:

I hear they still make 300tdi lef hand drives, are they a better unit than the td5?

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Simpler less electricy bits to go wrong, dont mind getting wet so much. if your looking to drive on beachs etc might be an idea to get some experience first ie a training day. If your looking for a bit of luxury and ability get a disco happy mix of both.You buyiong the car here and exporting it?

goonarmy said:

If your looking to drive on beachs etc might be an idea to get some experience first ie a training day.

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Yeah, plan on me and the girlfriend doing an Advanced course and an Off Road course of some type. We went off road once in Panama but we don't talk about that

goonarmy said:

If your looking for a bit of luxury and ability get a disco happy mix of both.

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Hmmm, not keen on Discoveries. I like the shape and presence of the Defender. It's like driving around in a big red telephone box with Big Ben on top.

goonarmy said:

You buyiong the car here and exporting it?

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Yes, getting rough quotes at the minute from Southampton to Galveston, I really need to nail this purchase on the head first before I can get any further. Or at least know what I'm going to buy.

I also want to get some stuff sorted out on the vehicle - lockable storage boxes and the like.

Orm

Most common car in mexico = vw beetle, the old one.

As for opening windows/vents, best way in mexico to keep cool if you ask me.


And serious, when you pass Tecoman (Estado de Colima) Colima state, call through a place called El Chupadero. it's near a little village called tequanillo, and is a turtle conservation camp run by volunteers from all over the world And whilst in Tecoman, call in at El Guerrillero for the best tacos in mexico =p

Actually, next september.. I will hopefully be back in Guadalajara working

Hopefully with the landy too

Just south of Puerto Vallarta? Sounds fantastic - I think we may miss the baby turtle pilgramage, Aug - Oct - we may be there for end of Oct sometime.

We're planning going to Guadalajara, hopefully I will have made a discision by then!... are there many landys in Mexico. I know they have dealerships, I'm assuming that there are service centres in the big cities?

Thats the one just past vallarta To be honest the turtles lay all year round and there are always turtles at the camp so theres always something to see, and the laguna at the end of the strip is a must see, a beer and a swim goes down well. We shall have to swap details, as I'm planning to be there from aug-sep onwards, and I'll be swapping between the city and the camp. (I'll be working for the volunteer organisation)

To be honest with you I didn't notice any landrovers, though this was before I had a license (I've not been driving long) and I was cruising round in an F250 pickup :lol: But there are many garages in the city, and they are (on the most part) v genuine.

TheVengefulElephant said:

I was cruising round in an F250 pickup :lol:

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I was looking at the F150 double cab, but they're stupidly large. 20 foot!

...sent you a PM

Orm. If I were in your shoes I would be blagging test drives of any type of vehicle I was considering buying. Some find the defender a noisey uncomfortable vehicle. Others enjoy the ride. I would pop down your local landrover dealers and tell em that you are interested in that 90/110 TD5 over there but would like a test drive. At least you know how well it does or doesn't go, how comfy it is or isn't.

There's a couple of 90 XSs for sale close to London, we'll go kick some tyres.


I'm still not sure about reliability, but as my co-driver pointed out, we're not driving to Australia.

Thanks

Orm