P

Potential Defender 90 Owner

New Member
Still looking at different 90's and trying to find the perfetc one for me.... besides the problem of what model 90 to get and the problem with what engine to get..... I still have an issue with milage on motors... lets assume Im only going to be buying a Land Rover with Full Service History and all MOT's present whats the odds of the milage still being fixed ???
 
Potential Defender 90 Owner said:
Still looking at different 90's and trying to find the perfetc one for me.... besides the problem of what model 90 to get and the problem with what engine to get..... I still have an issue with milage on motors... lets assume Im only going to be buying a Land Rover with Full Service History and all MOT's present whats the odds of the milage still being fixed ???
Click to expand...

then get a push bike if your that paranoid or go to land rover an buy a brand new one with no miles :p:D
 
Potential Defender 90 Owner said:
Still looking at different 90's and trying to find the perfetc one for me.... besides the problem of what model 90 to get and the problem with what engine to get..... I still have an issue with milage on motors... lets assume Im only going to be buying a Land Rover with Full Service History and all MOT's present whats the odds of the milage still being fixed ???
Click to expand...

what age depender are you dreaming about buying (complete with FSH and all MOTs) ?
 
check mots for consitency on mileage,but mlieage and full service history means ****,its only condition and test run that will tell you anything
 
It's not all about mileage.

I consider the way it been looked after more important and main dealers can be the worst of them all, as their techs are on bonus the result being easy work is "made up" and the more difficult time consuming jobs are glossed over. Plus main dealers utilies digital mileage correction (Clocking). In a lot of cases they also sell vehicles at a loss to hope to get the manufacture yearly bonus (given if a certian amount of cars per year are sold) and servicing costs, specially now with the economy the way it is. However this isn't all dealerships, and I'm sure there are good ones out there. I've just not found one.



At the end of the day a degree of luck needed. Poking around, checking for the normal signs of wear and abuse will help. But I've brought vehicles which look mint from every angle and end up cost me a fortune a month later.

My two cents
 
Well you ask what age landy I am looking to purchase with FSH and MOT's etc.... ideally I would like a 300 tdi but I understand that finding a genuine model with genuine milage going back to 94-98 is going to be a very tricky exercise...

I have spotted a few sites with perfect ones, but they are asking a silly amount of money, which I would.could potentially pay, but again there is no guarantee that you are actually paying for what you think you are buying...

It seems in order to avoid any discrepancies with a motor being genuine then you have to buy newish, although I have spotted a few brand new tdi 300's again, they want silly money...

Such a difficult game buying a land rover as a newbie !!

Many thanks to all who are helping.
 
I have to say I don’t really understand why mileage is the most important (or only) factor in your decision making.

I mean, when buying any vehicle, mileage is usually just something to take into account that at best only gives a vague idea as to how much wear is likely to have occurred in the mechanical components. For most vehicles, it has an impact on the selling price, only because people have an arbitrary idea in their heads as to how many miles a vehicle is expected to do before it dies.

But you’re talking about buying a defender. Notorious for holding their money anyway, but also one of the most robust, most modified and easily worked on vehicles you can get.

Its commonplace that people will weld them, re-chassis them, swap out engines and other parts, and rebuild or upgrade the vast majority of the running gear during its life. Unfortunately it’s also commonplace that people will neglect them and leave them to rot, and won’t pay anywhere near the attention to maintenance that they would with a normal car.

All this pretty much means that any idea of mileage against mechanical wear to mileage ratio that you might apply to other vehicles really doesn’t have the same significance for a defender.

From my (albeit limited) experience, I’d be looking for obvious issues such as major rot, especially on the chassis, cross members and bulkhead. Then generally look for other things that you think you might need to change or fix, such as suspension components, brakes, tyres that may need doing soon. Then other things you might want to change (e.g. any modifications you’d want to do but don’t have to do). Weigh it up that way.


Also, not sure if you’re anywhere near London, but depending on the year of your landy you may or may not get caught in the LEZ thing.
 
Potential Defender 90 Owner said:
Well you ask what age landy I am looking to purchase with FSH and MOT's etc.... ideally I would like a 300 tdi but I understand that finding a genuine model with genuine milage going back to 94-98 is going to be a very tricky exercise...

I have spotted a few sites with perfect ones, but they are asking a silly amount of money, which I would.could potentially pay, but again there is no guarantee that you are actually paying for what you think you are buying...

It seems in order to avoid any discrepancies with a motor being genuine then you have to buy newish, although I have spotted a few brand new tdi 300's again, they want silly money...

Such a difficult game buying a land rover as a newbie !!

Many thanks to all who are helping.
Click to expand...

Are you sure, really sure you're ready for a Landy :eek::eek: I don't reccon you are.:scratching_chin:
You're on about buying a 13-17 year old motor, you say you've found some perfect ones at silly money, well if they're perfect you're gonna have to pay silly money for one. You can't have your cake and eat it.
Good luck :D
 
Suris said:
Are you sure, really sure you're ready for a Landy :eek::eek: I don't reccon you are.:scratching_chin:
You're on about buying a 13-17 year old motor, you say you've found some perfect ones at silly money, well if they're perfect you're gonna have to pay silly money for one. You can't have your cake and eat it.
Good luck :D
Click to expand...


Just like a woman they behave and act nice when dating you get married and the honey moon is over, Then the real woman comes out

Is this the first vehicle you have ever bought? How much do you want to spend. Maybe you are the one being silly, and don't know reality and what to expect.
 
Thank you all for your comments some excellent contributions have been provided and I appreciate that. In answer to some points raised I would like to purchase one that I dont believe will need immediate amounts of money being spent on it due to not paying careful attention when purchasing it.

I am torn in my choices from buying a almost new defender in order to avoid the potential pitfalls when buying one secondhand as I am inexperienced with the defender, especially buying one, other than using common sense, intuition, gut instinct and all the buying guides and info I have been provided with from here and elsewhere. To avoid this I could just buy a relatively new one, possibly one just still under warrenty... but this would then give me a TDCi or I could take the majorities of forum users advise and get a tdi 300 avoiding any electrical issues...

This is my preferred choice giving me the potential to learn about my own vehicle, my own repairs with a view to learning how to do a ground up rebuild in the future.

However, If I buy a tdi 300 i feel like I would want to buy the best I could. I have seen some with as little as 25000 miles on the clock but then they want 10 grand for these... do people think that price is excessive ???
 
Last edited:
Potential Defender 90 Owner said:
Thank you all for comments some excellent contributions and I appreciate that. In answer to some points raised I would like one that I dont believe will need immediate amounts of money being spent on it due to not paying careful attention when purchasing it.

I am torn in my choices from buying a almost new defender in order to avoid the potential pitfalls I have highlighted as I am inexperienced with this model, its my first.... or I could take the majorities of forum users advise and get a tdi 300 avoiding any electrical issues and with the potential to learn about my own repairs with a view to learning how to do a ground up rebuild in the future.

If I buy a tdi 300 i feel like I would want to buy the best I could. I have seen some with as little as 25000 miles but then they want 10 grand for these... do people think that price is excessive ???
Click to expand...
no
 
Potential 90 owner.
If you do manage to find the perfect Landy for you, I guarantee within a week of owning it you will be squealing like a stuck pig.
The speedo needle waivers (Oh! No, is the mileage true) the doors don’t fit properly, and if it rains in the first week, water getting into the footwells, the gear stick vibrates, excessive tyre noise, poor MPG and so on.
Landy’s are a way of life for us, kind of an institution if you like.
I’m not intending to be nasty or derogative towards you, just trying to save you a lot of hassle. 90’s and Defenders are not cars, they are work vehicles and damn good ones too!!
My advice is, if you are hell bent on owning a proper vehicle you must drop your hang up over mileage, a 300Tdi is good for at least 300.000 if you look after it, the main thing you need to be looking out for is corrosion.
Again I say, good luck. :D:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

RobertJ
COC data Defender 90 Td5
Replies
0
Views
151
RobertJ
RobertJ
C
2004 Land Rover Defender 90 TD5 XS equivalent in France
Replies
3
Views
480
casey66
C
S
Turbo Hoses with oil
Replies
7
Views
624
miktdish
miktdish
H
Indicators not behaving - any ideas?
Replies
6
Views
787
henrythelandy01
H
styleruk
2.25 petrol rough idle
Replies
16
Views
780
styleruk
styleruk