Hey guys,

I'm after my first car and I'd LURV a 90 (dream car, so cool ) but I've got no idea what to look for cos I dont really know about this kinda stuff. I was initially going for a turbo diesel but I've been advised against it cos they've "got problems"? !!Surely this cant be true!?!
The only thing thats definate is its gotta be 2nd hand and around 3 to 4grand ish

PS I'm doing ok on insurance quotes of £500 annual with lancaster but if you know any better sites please let me know

Any help would be soooo great, please speak slowly; I'm a div what dont know the jargon.

3-4k will get you a nice 200tdi station wagon.

1st though. some more questions for you...

ok, you decided to go for a 90. do you have a wife and kids? will you need seats in the rear or will 2 suffice?

do you want load space in the rear or arnt you bothered?

By turbo diesel, are you looking at the 2.5TD circa 1985 or the later 200/300tdi?

all land rovers have "got problems"

G

No wife and kiddies, so 2 seats is fine

not really bothered about load space in the back i dont need a lot.

as for the engine bit...eh? sorry, that might need a bit of explanation; I don't really understand the differences pros/cons etc
I'm a complete novice.

Ta

oops, got confused; worked it out now:

no wife or kids so 2 seats is fine

small load space if fine

if I could get a 200 tdi then I will cos its no doubt better but I was originally looking at the 2.5TD until I was advised by a Landy owner that they are renowned for packing in pretty badly... is this true? SURELY NOT??

well the TD's arnt as good, reliable, or economical as the 200tdi. with your price range you can afford a good 90 with 200tdi. TD's usually go for less than £2500

station wagons have seats in the rear and windows, the vans do not. i have a 90 station wagon without seats so i get the benifit of windows and load space. its great for going camping in, driving is easier cos you can see all around.

station wagons usually carry a higher price than vans though. so there is another decision for you

just do a lot of reading before you part with your $$$ checking the chassis and other things. from your initial post, this is your 1st motor? so am i right in saying you dont know your cross member from you wheel nuts?

my 90 was my 1st and i didnt have a clue what i was looking at when i bought my 90 i was pretty much putting my faith in the seller. luckily it all went well and touch wood, nothing major wrong with it. its taken me 8 months to know my way around and im still learning. lucky for you, you have spotted landzone before buying, so you will get some great adice and hopefully buy the best motor for your budget and maybe able to knock $$$ off for things which arnt quite right, which you may have otherwise missed if not been told what to look out for.

where are you based anyway? there might be someone here willing to go along and have a look with you if your unsure.

otherwise, search the net, and check the posts here for info. there is loads to learn if you know nowt about motors!

G

Thanks,

200tdi station wagon or van both sound good to me.
you right, this will be my first car so dont have the faintest idea what I'm doing. based in royston herts

is there anywhere well known for good deals I should look?
any pitfalls or foibles I should keep and eye open for?

Hopefully this will save you a bit of time searching on here - all info in this reply is '2nd user' - kudos to the originators of lots of threads on LZ.

The expensive bits are the chassis, bulkhead and driveline. If these are ok, then you're probably on to a winner.

A little surface rust on the main chassis isn't likely to be a problem - take a wire brush with you and make sure it's only surface rust. It's normal for the rear cross-member to have either been replaced, patched or to need replacing. Replacement is £500 to £600 at a good LR indy. Holes in the chassis or body outriggers, probably best to walk away. Likewise, holes in the bulkhead means walk away.

If the driveline is particularly noisy, any squeeling/screeching/screaming from gearboxes or if it won't engage low ratio - walk away.

Don't worry overly about more incidental suff like brakes/exhaust/interior - they're either cheap to replace or easy to tart up yourself.

I used to have a Toyota that cost me a grand to replace the front brakes on - I've just done all 4 corners on the the Landy for a grand total of about £250

Have a look here for a really good check list of stuff, definitely take it with you when looking at a landy:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f7/buying-2nd-hand-90-a-33194.html

Cheers,

wow cheers for the help thats great I'll have look around!