Which Defender 110

Hello all, I am a new boy here and could do with a little help.

After many years of longing for a Defender a change in job has meant that we can finally justify getting one as our only car. The only problem now is which one. We will be buying this on some form of finance therefore we can be quite flexible on the price (£7K to £13K). It needs to be family and dog friendly - so a 110 station wagon seems would work best.

Question 1 - I am thinking that a TD5 would fit the bill for us, as I have said this is are only car therefore it will be use for long motorway journeys. What issues does the TD5 engine have? Is it worth saving up a little bit more for a 2.4 TDCI? or spending less and going for a 300TDI.

Question 2- Mileage - am right in thinking that mileage is not that important? Most of the 110's I have looked at so far have 100K + should I hunt out a lower milage one?

Question 3 - Rust - seems that Defenders chassis have a tendency to rust away. Is there anyway I can check condition - I am worried that someone could easy paint over rust and I would be none the wiser. Do any specialist defenders inspectors exist?

Question 4 - Spec - Thinking of trying to get an XS version because it has Air-con. Is air-con in a defender any good? Also should I seek out one with ABS - I am used to driving newish safe cars (Volvos etc) is ABS worth having? Any other options worth having?

Any advice would be gratefully received, I really want to buy the right car and not get a lemon.

So far I have looked at

Used Land Rover Defender 4x4 in Heswall, Wirral | J Stuart & Co - Garages - Ltd

Land Rover Defender 110 XS TD5 9 SEATER [NO VAT] 2.5 2005

What you think

Simon

1. cant answer, but my 300tdi is fine on motorways, comfy about 60, even the newer ones aint made for motorway bashing.
2. as long as its been serviced TDIs go on for ever, no reason to think the td5 will be bad either
3, take a ball pein hammer and hit it... outriggers and reas Xmember are the first to go, check bulkhead too.
4. TD5 AFAIK has abs/traction control 300TDI doesnt. aircon, mine has it, 2 little flaps in the front...

Have a search around on here pal, there's loads of advice on buying, fill in your location as well, you never know someone may offer to come and cast an impartial eye over any prospective purchase in exchange for chips (They are actually currency round here)

Good luck

Welcome, good luck and read this

Defender Buyers Guide

don't expect to find your perfect vehicle within 20 miles, search nationwide and be prepared to travel would be my advice.

OP sounded so promising until the aircon q. You should do what the guys say it is good advice. A solid chassis and bulkhead is the main thing, it should take a good ding with a hammer, try and loook at the vendors face as well as the chassis!
I know nothing about 95 on vehicles but the tdi are well rated by mates that have them.
The perfect vehicle is not an idea I find easy to apply to landrovers, my current vehicle has had thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours spent on it,I have restored and reconditioned all that I can find,and I will still always be finding little jobs to do.And all my landys have been the same!They have also got me outof the **** countless times,earned a lot of money and provided huge pleasure! If you cut me in two it would say landrover all the way through!
The point I am trying to make is that you dont get these in the hope of buying, driving for a year and putting it up to the garage for a service,it may not work out like that.Maybe the late model vehicles are different but I doubt it the habits of 50 years are hard to break.
Best of luck with your search

Thanks for the great advice.

I have equipped myself with a hammer and a little bit more knowledge and now searching for the perfect 110.

S

As a new 110 owner (new to the site as well, Hello Everyone) my best advice is to find someone local who will loan you a defender for a day, at least a Full Day. Even if you need to go to the local stealership and pretend your going to buy a brand spanker and need a 24 hour test drive.
Then use it. Go everywhere in it. Get the wife and kids in it and go to ASDA. Visit the relatives or maybe a nice trip to the seaside etc etc just use it.
If by the end of the day your not sick of the sight of it, if your wife's still speaking to you, if you kids are not all weeping in the foetal position then you might be ready, you might be willing, and you might be able. If this is not the case then consider it a lesson learned and buy yourself a nice comfortable Disco.
Alternatively I could be persuaded to part with a very nice 110 Puma utility wagon happy hunting.
Cheers J

What ever model you get...it'll still leak if you have a sun roof. Everytime it rains in a certsin direction you'll have a puddle in one or both of the footwells. You won't hear yourself think and it'll have the turning circle of the QE2. Your windscreen wipers will still be rubbish and your heater...if it works at all will cause you to have heatstroke whilst your children get frostbite in the back.

As for air con....i have it...if you like watching the fuel needle go from right to left really really quickly ...go for it.....truthfully havent used mine for about 5 years...windows and vents do the job for me.

No idea about anything else...just my td5 has been really reliable and has a good omph to her on long motorway trips .

Good luck