hdj90

Member
Hi everyone, well after a long term lurking and 18 years dreaming it seems as the day has finally arrived. At the ripe old age of 22 I’m looking to purchase my first defender tomorrow.

move fantasised and read up since I first got smitten at the age of 4. So I know a fair bit but obviously not as much as most on here.

vehicle I’m hoping to pick up is a 2004 90 CSW XS in java black with 115,000 on the clock. It all seems in good nick chassis, rear crossmember, outriggers bulkhead etc. Just needs a little tidying up on the paint work and both front door skins doing which are shot. Now just as me and the old man we’re leaving tonight after having a good look at it the bloke selling mentioned it had a remap done, stage 1 he said and by a Portuguese guy After a bit of digging I am wondering if this is someone called Jose at td5inside?

the seller also mentioned it has a little bit of smoke when the foot is down. Normally I’d run a mile of a car was kicking out smoke but this is a landy after all. I noticed a small spot on the gravel where the landy was parked also and not history suggests a minor oil leak. I appreciate this I’d massively vague but should I be concerned and hold back from the purchase at all?

can a remap do any long term damage to the engine? I think I’ll either have it back to standard or pay through the nose to get it done bysomeone more mainstream if I do purchase the car but I’m hesitant to buy a leaking smoking landy for the best part of 20 grand (I know they all do it)?

what do you guys think, Something to be concerned about? Or have my lifetimes dream of ownership finally come true after years of waiting
 
Joses maps tend to be quite smokey which his down to the way he maps.

A decent map will cause no long term damage.

£20k is well over priced if the doors are shot.
 
to replace 2 doors to second hand puma doors which wont rot like the standard td5's will cost you at least £1500 plus paint.
some maps are Smokey but nothing to worry about, a good tuner can tune this out and still give the performance. mine is 2005 110 at 200bhp and only a tiny bit of smoke if foot is flat on the floor spinning the wheels.. empire tuning.
 
It's your money but if I was spending £20k on a Land Rover I'd expect the doors to be pristine...and no black smoke. How many LR's have you test driven? Really recommend viewing a good few for price/condition sanity check. Car and Classic website is normally a good source for proper LR's...this one looks very smart/good history for the price.

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1305221

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/cla...e=&max_price=25000&country=1&region=&S=Search

Thanks for the advice we've looked at about 6/7 now a couple from foleys and a couple from silkstone 4x4 up near barnsley.

Good point about car and classic they do seem to get less s*&t than ebay, I would be put off that one in particular you sent with the earlier 10p engine.
 
£20,000 is far too much, sounds like it's worth around £13,000 if that.
Although a warranty on a Defender TD5 will increase the amount many people are prepared to pay by £1-2,000 (over a private sale)

lf the doors are "shot" then it must have had a hard life.
Keep looking.
Someone on here sold their dark grey 2005 XS 90 SW last month and it was on Pistonheads for £14,500
No corrosion or door issues at all and actually the same mileage....118,000

lt went for £14,250. lt's easy to get fed up looking and buy one that's sat in front of you, but good ones do come up. We sold our pristine 106,000 mile 2005 XS 90 SW last year for £17,000.
 
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lf you turned up with the cash l bet you could get it for a bit less maybe £18,500

lt's still a fair amount for a TD5, but the warranty is worth £1,000 and it needs nothing doing.
 

that piston heads one is very similar to mine but in rougher condition. I bought mine for a lot less than that around year and half ago. Prices are nuts. The green one is sooo nice!

I don’t believe that any of them won’t need work. 15 years old and if used as land rover intended things get tired!

OP - before you buy anything fancy, get security sorted promptly!
 
To the O/P glad you found one!

Insurance,
Depends on where you live.
Also a tracking device can help, but it has to be a professionally installed one.
 
22yrs old in 20k 90, what is the ins premium?

actually not bad at all If it’s genuine CSW as classed as an estate.

before this I had an 04 focus the landy is £800 more for the year. Also helps massively it is on a multi car policy And obviously no claims bonus too
 
actually not bad at all If it’s genuine CSW as classed as an estate.

before this I had an 04 focus the landy is £800 more for the year. Also helps massively it is on a multi car policy And obviously no claims bonus too

Enjoy, but watch out for the tealeafs.
 
To the O/P glad you found one!

Insurance,
Depends on where you live.
Also a tracking device can help, but it has to be a professionally installed one.

Many insurance companies only recognise certain brands of tracker too. So it's worth checking before spending money on getting one. Mine's not on the pull-down list on the insurers website so I can't use it to claim a discount. However, it is useful in that it allows me to draw diagrams of journeys on a map.
 

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