Used Defender

[335man]

I live in central London and am thinking of spending a few grand on a Defender 90 to toy around in. Am I mad?

I hear they all leak oil - is this much of a problem? How is reliability otherwise?

Is an ex MOD one worth considering?

[Furyous]

Ex mod will only have a an old turbo d motor, which is a slug, tbh.Better bet is J plate on , they will have 200tdi motors, which are way better.

They dont all leak all, but they can be a bit agricultural tho.That said, I miss not having one about the place.

F

[barreti]

You won't get a J-plate on for a couple of grand will you?
Don't be put off by the slug comment about the 2.5TD's - they're not as bad a people make out if they've been looked after.
Mines 20 years old in Feb and I'd not be worried about bombing around town in it.

One added benefit of the older landy is the 'girder' type front bumper. Its amazing how many people suddenly decide their car will fit into that small space after all when they see you coming through!

[335man]

Interesting you mention parking dents - thats one of the reasons I fancy something a bit sturdy.

I'm fed up coming back to discover scratches on my car. I want something where the scratches don't show or matter.

Sainsbury's carpark is a warzone.

I'm not too bothered about speed so the slower engine might be ok. Sturdyness and some carrying capacity are what matter.

[bluespanner]

Furyous said:

Ex mod will only have a an old turbo d motor, which is a slug, tbh.Better bet is J plate on , they will have 200tdi motors, which are way better.

They dont all leak all, but they can be a bit agricultural tho.That said, I miss not having one about the place.

F

Actually the army never used the TurboD, so it would be a 2.5NAD.

[BLUETHUNDER]

The only M.O.D Defenders fitted with a turbo are the latest spec (WOLF)defenders,being fitted with the 300tdi.But these arent a cheap proposition,with a rolled and wrecked one being around the £6500 mark to a fully up together road worthy one being around £13000.

[Furyous]

bluespanner said:

Furyous said:

Ex mod will only have a an old turbo d motor, which is a slug, tbh.Better bet is J plate on , they will have 200tdi motors, which are way better.

They dont all leak all, but they can be a bit agricultural tho.That said, I miss not having one about the place.

F

Actually the army never used the TurboD, so it would be a 2.5NAD.

Correct, I forgot.Makes it even less attractive in my eyes.

[nervous]

Furyous said:

Correct, I forgot.Makes it even less attractive in my eyes.

in fairness, any defender in the eyes is going to be unatractive. far beter to take it in the shins.

[topsparks]

Try to spend as much as you can afford stick to a 200/300 tdi as they are great engines and cheap to fix,try to avoid any that have been heavly offroaded and check for rusty bulkheads and rear crossmembers,goodluck

[nervous]

my 300tdi runs ace but is thirsty as fook (60 quid to fill, 300 miles range). can they be tuned electronically or are we still talking manual set up on a 300tdi?

or is that what i should be getting?

[bluespanner]

nervous said:

my 300tdi runs ace but is thirsty as fook (60 quid to fill, 300 miles range). can they be tuned electronically or are we still talking manual set up on a 300tdi?

or is that what i should be getting?

Manual, sorry. You can get bigger intercoolers and turbos though.

Our 300tdi disco averages 25-28 mpg.

Edited by bluespanner on Sunday 31st December 16:49

[nervous]

bluespanner said:

Our 300tdi disco averages 25-28 mpg.

Edited by bluespanner on Sunday 31st December 16:49

forgive me BS, whats 300 miles for 60 quid? im hopeless at this sort of thing.

[Furyous]

nervous said:

Furyous said:

Correct, I forgot.Makes it even less attractive in my eyes.

in fairness, any defender in the eyes is going to be unattractive. Far better to take it in the shins.

[bluespanner]

nervous said:

bluespanner said:

Our 300tdi disco averages 25-28 mpg.

Edited by bluespanner on Sunday 31st December 16:49

forgive me BS, whats 300 miles for 60 quid? im hopeless at this sort of thing.

I have no idea, sorry. some mathmatician will work it out for us, hopefully.

[topsparks]

The Bosch manual injection pump can be adjusted,but don't overdo it or you can melt the pistons.On my 300 90 I wound up the main fuel adjuster on the back of the pump and it was like driving a V8!-but I was laying a smoke screen any destroyer would have been proud of!

[touching cloth]

bluespanner said:

nervous said:

bluespanner said:

Our 300tdi disco averages 25-28 mpg.

Edited by bluespanner on Sunday 31st December 16:49

forgive me BS, whats 300 miles for 60 quid? im hopeless at this sort of thing.

I have no idea, sorry. some mathmatician will work it out for us, hopefully.

Assuming a pump price of approx 93p per litre then I think that equates to around 65 litres or 14 gallons and hence somewhere around 21-22mpg.

Christ I know how to party on New Years Eve, next I am going to balance my cheque stubs against my bank statements

[falcemob]

topsparks said:

The Bosch manual injection pump can be adjusted,but don't overdo it or you can melt the pistons.On my 300 90 I wound up the main fuel adjuster on the back of the pump and it was like driving a V8!-but I was laying a smoke screen any destroyer would have been proud of!

How does that affect the fuel consumption............or shouldn't I ask?

[topsparks]

Veg oil 50p a litre!-you will smell like a chip shop,happy new year.

Edited by topsparks on Monday 1st January 00:03

[greenlandy]

You might be better off looking for a 110 hardtop a lot of landy here for not that much cash.

[landy_girl]

greenlandy said:

You might be better off looking for a 110 hardtop a lot of landy here for not that much cash.

Thats what i need something cheap to go off raoding and a sports car