Replacing a TVR with a Landie
Discussion
We are looking at moving away shortly to a fairly remote area, tarmac roads but many single lane/passing places and some poor weather.
I am looking to sell my 95 TVR Chimaera and replace it with a CHEAP to buy and reasonably economical to run (self maintenance) vehicle. Need the balance of the cash to initially fund this move. I will initially need to do a series of 700 mile round trips to carry goods/furniture etc. Then it'll be local trips only.
Always fancied a Defender type Landie but all I get is
stories of poor reliability, uncomfortable etc. etc. Include the TVR Dealerwho reconned that Landie make TVR look reliable. (Mine has been 100% by the way)
Should I forget it and buy something more car like, EOriginally planned for this time but likely to put back because of Drybridge to Pear Tree Emergency Workstate or similar, or get a Landie. Folk on PH have been raving about Cherokees recently. A better bet?
Value of TVR about £12k, likely purchase price of successor up to £2k.
Any thoughts and considerations would be appreciated.
Regards
Tony H
I am looking to sell my 95 TVR Chimaera and replace it with a CHEAP to buy and reasonably economical to run (self maintenance) vehicle. Need the balance of the cash to initially fund this move. I will initially need to do a series of 700 mile round trips to carry goods/furniture etc. Then it'll be local trips only.
Always fancied a Defender type Landie but all I get is
stories of poor reliability, uncomfortable etc. etc. Include the TVR Dealerwho reconned that Landie make TVR look reliable. (Mine has been 100% by the way)
Should I forget it and buy something more car like, EOriginally planned for this time but likely to put back because of Drybridge to Pear Tree Emergency Workstate or similar, or get a Landie. Folk on PH have been raving about Cherokees recently. A better bet?
Value of TVR about £12k, likely purchase price of successor up to £2k.
Any thoughts and considerations would be appreciated.
Regards
Tony H
Poor reliablilty 
, my G reg one was absolutely fine, including the beasting it kept getting off road, only thing that I had a problem with was the ball joint seals. If something breaks, a part is cheap, you unbolt it and bolt another one on.
Yes, they're uncomfy but it's not as if it's a roller is it? It's a no-frills off roader.
How about a Disco or Toyota/Mitsubishi thing?
, my G reg one was absolutely fine, including the beasting it kept getting off road, only thing that I had a problem with was the ball joint seals. If something breaks, a part is cheap, you unbolt it and bolt another one on. Yes, they're uncomfy but it's not as if it's a roller is it? It's a no-frills off roader.
How about a Disco or Toyota/Mitsubishi thing?
I'm no expert (But I looked into this a great deal a couple of years ago), so IMHO...
As I understand it Landies do have reliability/build quality problems, but on the whole if it's likely to go wrong it will have done by 50k. And so been sorted by previous owners. If they're looked after they do (apparently) go on and on.
But for £2k you're looking at the bottom of the heap, and the newer ones are uncomfortable enough. If you really want a Landie, I'd hire a van for the move.
Price wise the same goes for most 4x4s, unless you're lucky it'll be an old car with starship miles.
And bear in mind, that as they age the 90/110s hold their value much better then the V8 Discos and RRs.
(I'd hire a van and spend £1500 on a Range Rover)
As I understand it Landies do have reliability/build quality problems, but on the whole if it's likely to go wrong it will have done by 50k. And so been sorted by previous owners. If they're looked after they do (apparently) go on and on.
But for £2k you're looking at the bottom of the heap, and the newer ones are uncomfortable enough. If you really want a Landie, I'd hire a van for the move.
Price wise the same goes for most 4x4s, unless you're lucky it'll be an old car with starship miles.
And bear in mind, that as they age the 90/110s hold their value much better then the V8 Discos and RRs.
(I'd hire a van and spend £1500 on a Range Rover)
How about the new Jaguar S Type ?
See here for a report - you can pick them up from £10k, fully serviced. Has 4 wheel drive, comfortable, and relatively quick. Good family and business car too.
Have driven 2 now and was impressed by their 'non British feeling build quality'.
Or how about a Scoob ?
£12k gets a good late one. Or even look for the estate if you need the extra space.
edited to say: Oops forget this, I didn't read the original post in its entirity doh!
>> Edited by ultimasimon on Tuesday 27th April 13:50
See here for a report - you can pick them up from £10k, fully serviced. Has 4 wheel drive, comfortable, and relatively quick. Good family and business car too.
Have driven 2 now and was impressed by their 'non British feeling build quality'.
Or how about a Scoob ?
£12k gets a good late one. Or even look for the estate if you need the extra space.
edited to say: Oops forget this, I didn't read the original post in its entirity doh!
>> Edited by ultimasimon on Tuesday 27th April 13:50
NoSimon,
Maybe you should read his posts
He wants a car with carrying capacity for £2k
Mate of mine just picked up a 93 diesel defender for £1500, it was written off because of a tiny dent to 2 doors (really small scrape)
That would suit you down to the ground, they're out there, you've just got to look
Maybe you should read his posts
He wants a car with carrying capacity for £2k
Mate of mine just picked up a 93 diesel defender for £1500, it was written off because of a tiny dent to 2 doors (really small scrape)
That would suit you down to the ground, they're out there, you've just got to look
Sagalout,
So, you're going ahead with it, eh? All the best mate - I hope it works out.
Landies are not cars. I used a very early series 2 90inch petrol model for a summer, and loved it. Did about 5,000 miles in 3 months, and it was faultless. I haven't heard of any serious reliability problems concerning the newer ones, and as has been said, if it breaks, you find a large hammer or two and fix it. Could save a packet. Don't expect performance, but do expect fun. Boatloads of it. And if it is a little pricey to buy, it will retain the value when you sell it. The other advantage is if you are in a truly out-of-the-way place, land rovers are possibly one of the few vehicles you can get spares for. But this may apply more to remote foreign climes than remote bits of the UK.
Jag and scooby are both too pricey for you (jag for sure) and are not really self-fixable for most people.
Oli.
Edited to add: Hire a van for the long trips. It'll save you on juice and headaches. (LR's are neither economical on fuel nor refined.) And you may get all your junk in on one run, which would save you more still. LR's are not *that* practical when it comes to carrying capacity. Very high so hard to load, and not well thought out luggage area. Too many lumps of metal.
>> Edited by zcacogp on Tuesday 27th April 13:56
So, you're going ahead with it, eh? All the best mate - I hope it works out.
Landies are not cars. I used a very early series 2 90inch petrol model for a summer, and loved it. Did about 5,000 miles in 3 months, and it was faultless. I haven't heard of any serious reliability problems concerning the newer ones, and as has been said, if it breaks, you find a large hammer or two and fix it. Could save a packet. Don't expect performance, but do expect fun. Boatloads of it. And if it is a little pricey to buy, it will retain the value when you sell it. The other advantage is if you are in a truly out-of-the-way place, land rovers are possibly one of the few vehicles you can get spares for. But this may apply more to remote foreign climes than remote bits of the UK.
Jag and scooby are both too pricey for you (jag for sure) and are not really self-fixable for most people.
Oli.
Edited to add: Hire a van for the long trips. It'll save you on juice and headaches. (LR's are neither economical on fuel nor refined.) And you may get all your junk in on one run, which would save you more still. LR's are not *that* practical when it comes to carrying capacity. Very high so hard to load, and not well thought out luggage area. Too many lumps of metal.
>> Edited by zcacogp on Tuesday 27th April 13:56
Join the club....
My Boxster is going on Friday and being replaced with a Defender 90 Anniversary with a rather nice 4.0 V8 and a ZF 4 speed Auto box (all standard on the Anniversary). The defenders have been developed over a number of years and are much more reliable than the newer RR / Freelander / Disco. If they do go wrong I am reliably informed that all you need to carry are;
1. 4lb Lump hammer.
2. Duct Tape.
3. Big spanner.
Sorted...
I apparently live in the second highest density area of 4x4 ownership in the country. There are four defenders within half a mile of me going back to an N reg. Ok it's brush painted but it goes everday and it copes with the god damn awful state of the roads around here (which incidentally necessitated a 5 week and £3.5k suspension rebuild on the Boxster recently = getting rid of it). There are absolutley loads of old defenders around here still pottering along.
They are a bit 'characterful' to drive but tremendous fun. Oh and they will get you anywhere. The off road ability is formidable - perfect for the school run. And in my humble opinion they are gorgeous to look at too somehow the more beat up they are the better they look! If you can cope with the idiosyncracies like getting dripped on and the heater taking an age to work etc. I think a defender will serve you well.
Good luck mate
My Boxster is going on Friday and being replaced with a Defender 90 Anniversary with a rather nice 4.0 V8 and a ZF 4 speed Auto box (all standard on the Anniversary). The defenders have been developed over a number of years and are much more reliable than the newer RR / Freelander / Disco. If they do go wrong I am reliably informed that all you need to carry are;
1. 4lb Lump hammer.
2. Duct Tape.
3. Big spanner.
Sorted...
I apparently live in the second highest density area of 4x4 ownership in the country. There are four defenders within half a mile of me going back to an N reg. Ok it's brush painted but it goes everday and it copes with the god damn awful state of the roads around here (which incidentally necessitated a 5 week and £3.5k suspension rebuild on the Boxster recently = getting rid of it). There are absolutley loads of old defenders around here still pottering along.
They are a bit 'characterful' to drive but tremendous fun. Oh and they will get you anywhere. The off road ability is formidable - perfect for the school run. And in my humble opinion they are gorgeous to look at too somehow the more beat up they are the better they look! If you can cope with the idiosyncracies like getting dripped on and the heater taking an age to work etc. I think a defender will serve you well.
Good luck mate
2 and a quarter litre petrol engines are extremely thirst and slow.
If you get an older diesel 2.5 then go for the na verion, think i'm right that the 2.5 turbo can be troublesome?
Can't fault the td5 apart from the servicing costs as many small dealers don't have the diagnostic equipment.
200TDi and 300Tdi are raved about with similar power levels to the td5 but easier to fix.
The range of acessories to tailor your landy is gobsmacking.
plenty of chips are available for the 200, 300 and td5 and will transform the vehicle to something worthy of comfortable and quick motorway cruising.
Character and bags of fun, a landie is one of those vehicles you can't help looking back at when you get out. How many people look back at a shogun?
If you get an older diesel 2.5 then go for the na verion, think i'm right that the 2.5 turbo can be troublesome?
Can't fault the td5 apart from the servicing costs as many small dealers don't have the diagnostic equipment.
200TDi and 300Tdi are raved about with similar power levels to the td5 but easier to fix.
The range of acessories to tailor your landy is gobsmacking.
plenty of chips are available for the 200, 300 and td5 and will transform the vehicle to something worthy of comfortable and quick motorway cruising.
Character and bags of fun, a landie is one of those vehicles you can't help looking back at when you get out. How many people look back at a shogun?
Hi,
I sold my TVR last Saturday and collected my 3.5 V6 SWB Shogun the same day.
What an absolute pleasure to drive (waft) around in compared to the TVR. We did a 300 mile trip into the Black Mountains on Sunday - 4 people and 4 mtb's on the back 4hours worth of biking then the drive back home. I felt as fresh when i arrived home as i did when we left.
Around town and general daily driving the 4x4 wins big time.
A friend of mine recently brought an old '79 swb army look-alike landie just for green laning and a bit of daily driving - it turns out he now uses that more than his V8 Jeep Grand. He's had no problems and has been said before it seems to be able to go places you'd struggle to walk.
Lee
I sold my TVR last Saturday and collected my 3.5 V6 SWB Shogun the same day.
What an absolute pleasure to drive (waft) around in compared to the TVR. We did a 300 mile trip into the Black Mountains on Sunday - 4 people and 4 mtb's on the back 4hours worth of biking then the drive back home. I felt as fresh when i arrived home as i did when we left.
Around town and general daily driving the 4x4 wins big time.
A friend of mine recently brought an old '79 swb army look-alike landie just for green laning and a bit of daily driving - it turns out he now uses that more than his V8 Jeep Grand. He's had no problems and has been said before it seems to be able to go places you'd struggle to walk.
Lee
If I was really going off the beaten track with unmade roads I would only gen a landy. While the toyota etc are more comfortable the parts are more expensive when they break. All 4x4 need maintenace when driven in these conditions and the cheaper more simplier the parts the better. The Landrover with a seperate chasis is more practical and the defenders aren't that unconfortable.
A landrover can be fully dismantleed with only the following hammer, pliers, flathead screwdriver, phillips screwdriver and 10mm,13mm,14mm,17mm,19mm spanners. That will allow you to dismantle the whole vehicle going back to 1948 series 1 the only thing you can't do with those is the hub nuts and gearbox shaft nuts which need a further box wwrench.
All in all a great vehicle..
A landrover can be fully dismantleed with only the following hammer, pliers, flathead screwdriver, phillips screwdriver and 10mm,13mm,14mm,17mm,19mm spanners. That will allow you to dismantle the whole vehicle going back to 1948 series 1 the only thing you can't do with those is the hub nuts and gearbox shaft nuts which need a further box wwrench.
All in all a great vehicle..
Thank you all for your help.
Mrs F for shifting the thread, Mr Fish for his advice. (Don't want to sell yours cheap do you? It looks superb)
Thanks also to Graham J & Mechsympathy.
PSimp7: no to a Cherokee then.
What cost is a Shogun, UIL9794?
zax, yes that is a good possibility.
zumbruk, future Pa in Law has a Volvo and I therefore know it is a great load carrier (beds/wall units and otherinfeasibly large piecesof furniture so thats another possibility.
Bilko, 200 & 300TDi seem a good buy, will go looking down that route.
DRG Where do you now live? Our new home, after a lot of hassle is to be Skye unless there are more complications.
Finally, oli (zcacogp) Yes we are going and I can't wait. It'll be a bit hard at first but we are prepared for that and both have a work plan (or plans).Thanks for your previous comments. Will keep in touch.
Regards to all, now all we have to do is sell the Chimaera, and my house and we are away.
Tony H
Mrs F for shifting the thread, Mr Fish for his advice. (Don't want to sell yours cheap do you? It looks superb)
Thanks also to Graham J & Mechsympathy.
PSimp7: no to a Cherokee then.
What cost is a Shogun, UIL9794?
zax, yes that is a good possibility.
zumbruk, future Pa in Law has a Volvo and I therefore know it is a great load carrier (beds/wall units and otherinfeasibly large piecesof furniture so thats another possibility.
Bilko, 200 & 300TDi seem a good buy, will go looking down that route.
DRG Where do you now live? Our new home, after a lot of hassle is to be Skye unless there are more complications.
Finally, oli (zcacogp) Yes we are going and I can't wait. It'll be a bit hard at first but we are prepared for that and both have a work plan (or plans).Thanks for your previous comments. Will keep in touch.
Regards to all, now all we have to do is sell the Chimaera, and my house and we are away.
Tony H
i have a TVR Griff and a disco and they have both been extremely reliable, (precautionary alternator change on TVR). I would probably spend as much as you can afford on the land rover whether it be a defender or disco as you gets wot u pay for. Go for a diesel either way. My mate sold his 911 for and landie as resented the bills that were coming in from this allegegly reliable supercar. His main moan is the ride of the landie but has no regrets overall.
Skye eh...Sounds like a dream come true. Just make sure you have internet access! Good luck with it.
You could also look at an ex military vehicle. There are lots of places that do them and although it may have led a hard life it will always have been well looked after. Just a thought...
We live North of Halifax, West Yorkshire, right up on't moors. It's wild but beautiful. My 'drive' is a 200m long cobbled road at around 1:8 with a hairpin halfway up. Slightest touch of snow and the Porsche won't get out! Of course once my Defender is here we will be guaranteed no snow ever again!
Fish - That is an immaculate restoration - Job well done.
You could also look at an ex military vehicle. There are lots of places that do them and although it may have led a hard life it will always have been well looked after. Just a thought...
We live North of Halifax, West Yorkshire, right up on't moors. It's wild but beautiful. My 'drive' is a 200m long cobbled road at around 1:8 with a hairpin halfway up. Slightest touch of snow and the Porsche won't get out! Of course once my Defender is here we will be guaranteed no snow ever again!
Fish - That is an immaculate restoration - Job well done.
Sagalout,
I am a Land rover fan too, we have a few vehicles that originated in solihul from the series/defender, disco and r/r classic range and have had no major problems with any of them.
The most annoying one was the detent spring on 3rd gear on a series 3. This costs about 20p, but means the floor and box has to come out to change it. This happened twice a few years ago on my dad s3 station wagon.
We also have a 2.5 turbo diesel s2a which is an absoloute hoot to drive in the damp. Over steers everywhere in 2wd. We ended up changing to range rover 3.54/1 diffs to try and make it safer!
There are things to look out for and for 2k you are probably looking at the nice series vehicles and early 90’s ( defenders but pre the defender branding ) There a re a few things to look out for but as Fish says everything can be mended with about 10 tools.
Rust / corrosion are probably the biggest headache, both on the chassis’s and bulkhead, and where the alloy panels are bolted to the steel bits. Also springs and bushes on the leaf spring ones can wear out / rust solid, and removing those can be a test of patience!!
They aren’t very big inside though but can tow loads which makes up for it. They are good fun to drive and look great…. Especially the latest td5 90’s which I think look awesome.
Rgds
Pete
p.s yes stay away from cherokee’s and for that matter wranglers. Bloody awful.
I am a Land rover fan too, we have a few vehicles that originated in solihul from the series/defender, disco and r/r classic range and have had no major problems with any of them.
The most annoying one was the detent spring on 3rd gear on a series 3. This costs about 20p, but means the floor and box has to come out to change it. This happened twice a few years ago on my dad s3 station wagon.
We also have a 2.5 turbo diesel s2a which is an absoloute hoot to drive in the damp. Over steers everywhere in 2wd. We ended up changing to range rover 3.54/1 diffs to try and make it safer!
There are things to look out for and for 2k you are probably looking at the nice series vehicles and early 90’s ( defenders but pre the defender branding ) There a re a few things to look out for but as Fish says everything can be mended with about 10 tools.
Rust / corrosion are probably the biggest headache, both on the chassis’s and bulkhead, and where the alloy panels are bolted to the steel bits. Also springs and bushes on the leaf spring ones can wear out / rust solid, and removing those can be a test of patience!!
They aren’t very big inside though but can tow loads which makes up for it. They are good fun to drive and look great…. Especially the latest td5 90’s which I think look awesome.
Rgds
Pete
p.s yes stay away from cherokee’s and for that matter wranglers. Bloody awful.
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