Henry hodgson
New Member
okay brilliant, do i have to ring them up online? what advice do you have car wise, defender 200tdi?
None of us are intersted in how much your term fees are (it was a rhetorical point). My friends (both senior doctors) have their eldest @ Glenalmond.
Fees there are just shy of £12000 a term (£36 a year).
Yes, there are a fair few Defenders around for about the £10K mark but not (probably not) 'good/reliable (for a few years)' ones that would suit you.
There are a good number around for £17K and above. They are just too expensive, although 1 or 2 around the £20/22K mark will be full nut and bolt refub on a galvy chassis with a rebuilders warranty and will be 'good and reliable' - still too expensive IMO, but the rebuilders have to make money somewhere..
If you do buy an early Defender, then you will either need to have a good reationship with a local garage and spend that several thousand pounds a year getting it fixed or learn to do it youself and just spend a few. This is a relatively steep (and expensive) learning curve which will take up most/all of your spare time/cash.
Once started on, after about 15 years or so you will be ok at it.
Many on here have been at this for 20 years or more.
Since you are dealing with specialist brookers/insurance companies then you need to get on the phone. It also helps to do a bit of research and know what you are talking about.
Bear in mind any quote is only live for 30 days, so a quote now is completely irrelevant in 6 months or whenever you pass your test.
You will become broke if you are not willing to work on it, it's an enthusiasts car. My son's has just cost over £2k with nothing really to show for it.
Another thing to point out is an older Defender is more like an agricultural machine than a car.
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Phill
Active Member
Relatively cheap compared to most other vehicles on the road. In my experience, insuring a Series or Defender has been significantly cheaper than any other vehicle I've owned.
And as miktdish states, yes, being handy with the spanners is ideal. The cheaper the Defender, the more mainenance it will need. Great way to learn mechanics though as you won't have that opportunity with modern cars.
dag019
Well-Known Member
I cannot stress the above point enough. You either spend the money up front to buy a good one that will still need work, or you buy a cheap one that will need lots and lots of work. I spent my first student loan buy mine and it was a complete dog, MOT by stevie wonder, and a very worn TD engine, but it was all I could afford. I then spend every student loan afterwards keeping the thing on the road. In the first 12 months it had a fuel tank, rear cross member and an engine swap, along with lots of little things like wheel bearings and suspension bushes. My final year of university it had a new chassis.
I was lucky in that my dad used to work on old motorbikes when he was younger so I had a garage full of tools, all be it some a little smaller than needed for a land rover, and someone who knew what they were doing with vehicles even if not familiar with land rovers to guide me and help out. I started with no knowledge of working on vehicles and no tools if I had not learned how to fix it myself I would not have been able to afford it in the first 12 months let alone the following 17 years.
