EdoubleD
Member
So I currently own a SORNed R Reg D1 with lift kit and general off road mods, R18/285's etc. It's been off the road for a couple of months with a stuck starter which burnt out (I think). I also drive a 3.0l BMW Z4. I use the D1 for work in the Events Industry in the summer and for general fun. The Z4 is my daily drive for fuel economy (believe it or not!....compared to the D1!!!!) I probably need to spend a load of money on the D1 plus do some work myself to get it through it's next MOT. At a ball park at least £500 and it's probably only worth £1500. It's really showing it's age and doesn't give off the doing well in events vibe!
I'm starting to think about selling both and getting a D3 as a work and daily drive. Ideally I'd buy a defender but as a daily drive I'm not really sure it's right for me as I do a lot of road miles and they are so thin in the cab.
At a push I've probably got £10,000 to spend. Ideally I want a manual as I hate auto's but I don't know if that's a bad idea?
In terms of use I'll be doing 60% road with some towing and then 30% light off road muddy/very muddy fields with a little bit of proper off road if time allows. I probably average at least 15k a year.
I've not paid much attention to the D3 reliability etc but I know I won't be able to do any maintenance myself where as at least the D1 I can do 50% of it. I realise that with any vehicle at this price/spec there's going to be ongoing costs but obviously some are worse than others and there are plenty of £10k vehicles which then become a total nightmare. Am I opening myself up for a world of costs at this price point for a manual D3 or in general are they ok? Any vehicle I buy I'll get my friendly mechanic to look over it but he's definitely given me a slight word of warning. He's offered some other ideas but for me it's always been about LR. Any advice would be very much appreciated!
I'm starting to think about selling both and getting a D3 as a work and daily drive. Ideally I'd buy a defender but as a daily drive I'm not really sure it's right for me as I do a lot of road miles and they are so thin in the cab.
At a push I've probably got £10,000 to spend. Ideally I want a manual as I hate auto's but I don't know if that's a bad idea?
In terms of use I'll be doing 60% road with some towing and then 30% light off road muddy/very muddy fields with a little bit of proper off road if time allows. I probably average at least 15k a year.
I've not paid much attention to the D3 reliability etc but I know I won't be able to do any maintenance myself where as at least the D1 I can do 50% of it. I realise that with any vehicle at this price/spec there's going to be ongoing costs but obviously some are worse than others and there are plenty of £10k vehicles which then become a total nightmare. Am I opening myself up for a world of costs at this price point for a manual D3 or in general are they ok? Any vehicle I buy I'll get my friendly mechanic to look over it but he's definitely given me a slight word of warning. He's offered some other ideas but for me it's always been about LR. Any advice would be very much appreciated!
