The one to get, discovery or defender?

[sidekickdmr]

Hey all,

This will be my first land rover ownership, my first 4x4 ownership actually.

I have a weekend toy (the Clio V6) and we have a motorway mile muncher.

This will be used for weekends away, dogs, and getting too/from work when the weather turns.

Guess about 10,000 miles a year?

I'm 6'6 tall, no kids, just me the OH and 2 dogs.

We may be looking into a business in the near future that will involve some towing too.

Which to get? A discovery like this one?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Or a defender like this one?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...

Thanks

[sidekickdmr]

Ok so the general consensus is the discovery is better in every way, better built, more comfy , more economical, more reliable etc

And for that reason I should get the Defender?

I like it

Might go see the defender listed above this week, any thoughts on it?

Spec/engine etc?

[sidekickdmr]

Here is the one I'm considering:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...

Thoughts?

[sidekickdmr]

skyrover said:

My money would go on something like this,

If your going to be towing you would want a 110. Much more practical as a family car as well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-DEFENDER-110-...

I appreciate the link and understand the 110 may be better but a standard and tired looking 16 year old car with over 100,000 miles isn't for me.

As ill be using it as a car most of the time, I'm trying to squeeze as much refinement out of a very un-refined car as possible.

Plus I like the look of the jacked up modified ones.

[sidekickdmr]

skyrover said:

Okay... just trying to save you a headache later down the line

Have you driven a defender at all?

You can jack up/modify a Defender easily yourself for very little money. It's a tinkerer's car, a factory built kit car, a blank canvas to do with as you please.

You can literally take a 20 year old Defender and make it look like a brand new one (hence the reason for the massive sh!tstorm kicking off in the USA due to faked VIN's and imports)

I understand some people might prefer a "sorted" car with as little involvement as possible.

The Defender is probably not the ideal car for that sort of person to be honest.

Yes fully appreciate that they are very easily customisable, however I would prefer to buy one thats had the work done, that way I don't need to "experiment" with a car I'm brand new too and would probably work out cheaper than doing it myself anyway. Then i can use this as a base and once i get to know the car/avalible mods further upgrade/swap parts over if i want to change/upgrade.

Re the 20 year old thing, One of the most appealing things about the defender is that it hasn't changed since the 80's, so, as you say any defender can look brand new, however the same can't be said for the newer engines and interiors.

[sidekickdmr]

culminator said:

Mine's a genuine CSW and so has proper soundproofing

What does CSW mean?

[sidekickdmr]

Ok then does anybody that knows what to look for want to have a go at finding me one that:

A) Looks smart
b) Low milage or a recent rebuild
C) 90 4 seat or 110 5 or 7 seat
D) Prehaps a Station wagon so it has the sound deadning etc.
E) A good solid engine, people keep mentioning the 300CDI but most I see have the 2.5.

Happy to spend £15,000 for a fully mint and upto spec newish one, or £5,000 for an older one as a good starting vehicle to modify/upgrade.