Buying my first Defender
Discussion
Hello everyone,
I'm Lucas and I'm 26. I'm from France and I will be working for JLR in Gaydon by the end of 2020.
As you can all figure I'm a car enthusiast, I drove a Saab 900 Turbo from 1988 during 5 years, it's now sold because... Money.
One of my dream cars of all time is the Defender. And I'm willing to get my first one when arriving in the UK.
I looked for some topics about Defenders but I would like to gather infos and advices on my personal one, as I am not a professional in mechanics.
I especially like the 90, greenish, greyish or blackish. But I still don't know about the price range I can accept for the offers I can see on websites.
I would like to use it as a daily driver. Sometimes going back to France with it also (approx a 6 hours drive including the 1h30 pause in the ferry).
My basic questions would be about :
- The engine : TDI/TD5 ? What about their reliability ?
- The maintaining cost ?
I can see a huge amount of price range when I browse websites. So I don't really understand if some engines are really better or is the price sometimes simply justified by the hype the Def can create in city centers?
I must say that I don't really mind about the miles my used Defender will have, but should I?
Finally, I would be on a budget of £10000 max (maybe a bit more if I fall in love at first sight).
Thanks a lot for your feedbacks,
Hope to read from you soon!
Cheers
I'm Lucas and I'm 26. I'm from France and I will be working for JLR in Gaydon by the end of 2020.
As you can all figure I'm a car enthusiast, I drove a Saab 900 Turbo from 1988 during 5 years, it's now sold because... Money.
One of my dream cars of all time is the Defender. And I'm willing to get my first one when arriving in the UK.
I looked for some topics about Defenders but I would like to gather infos and advices on my personal one, as I am not a professional in mechanics.
I especially like the 90, greenish, greyish or blackish. But I still don't know about the price range I can accept for the offers I can see on websites.
I would like to use it as a daily driver. Sometimes going back to France with it also (approx a 6 hours drive including the 1h30 pause in the ferry).
My basic questions would be about :
- The engine : TDI/TD5 ? What about their reliability ?
- The maintaining cost ?
I can see a huge amount of price range when I browse websites. So I don't really understand if some engines are really better or is the price sometimes simply justified by the hype the Def can create in city centers?
I must say that I don't really mind about the miles my used Defender will have, but should I?
Finally, I would be on a budget of £10000 max (maybe a bit more if I fall in love at first sight).
Thanks a lot for your feedbacks,
Hope to read from you soon!
Cheers
I'm lead to believe the 300TDI is a pretty bullet proof unit and can be made to produce a good chunk more power with basic tools on the fuel pump.
Main thing to look out for would be rust. Body panels are aluminium I think bu the chassis is steel and prone to abuse with salty UK roads. Be careful as that won't be a cheap repair. Be prepared to lose a lot of creature comforts too, depending upon which year you go for.
Main thing to look out for would be rust. Body panels are aluminium I think bu the chassis is steel and prone to abuse with salty UK roads. Be careful as that won't be a cheap repair. Be prepared to lose a lot of creature comforts too, depending upon which year you go for.
Thanks for this first info,
I don't really care about interior comfort as it's not my main concern about buying a vehicle like this. What I'm looking for is to get adventures and stories with a car I want to keep for years
I don't need AC, cruise control or leather seats... and I always loved manual windows !
I don't really care about interior comfort as it's not my main concern about buying a vehicle like this. What I'm looking for is to get adventures and stories with a car I want to keep for years
I don't need AC, cruise control or leather seats... and I always loved manual windows !
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