8k-10k to spend
Discussion
Fancy a disco, but told not to get a td5
Fancy a defender, but not great for long trips (so I think!)
Want a pathfinder, but out of budget
I've come up with a list of possibilities, but there's good and bad about them all...
Disco 2
Defender 90 or 110
Landcruiser (expensive for age?)
Shogun (not as good as above)
"others"
CRV
X-Trail
Rav4
Manly "soft-road" but tricky roads in the winter to and from work
Towing a boat or two to sailing events (all over the country)
Camping weekends etc...
Any thoughts? Something with "toys" would be good and pref an auto
Fancy a defender, but not great for long trips (so I think!)
Want a pathfinder, but out of budget
I've come up with a list of possibilities, but there's good and bad about them all...
Disco 2
Defender 90 or 110
Landcruiser (expensive for age?)
Shogun (not as good as above)
"others"
CRV
X-Trail
Rav4
Manly "soft-road" but tricky roads in the winter to and from work
Towing a boat or two to sailing events (all over the country)
Camping weekends etc...
Any thoughts? Something with "toys" would be good and pref an auto
Edited by size13 on Thursday 21st January 15:53
why were you told not to get a TD5???? imho they are by far the best engine to get!!
defenders if you are used to them arent that bad but are very ultilitarian (spelling) inside with no toys and can get a bit much for long drives, personally i would look at a disco 2 td5 as has more toys and comfort!
you could get a 02/03 range rover for that money as well, just a thought?!
defenders if you are used to them arent that bad but are very ultilitarian (spelling) inside with no toys and can get a bit much for long drives, personally i would look at a disco 2 td5 as has more toys and comfort!
you could get a 02/03 range rover for that money as well, just a thought?!
shimmey69 said:
why were you told not to get a TD5???? imho they are by far the best engine to get!!
I read the Land Rover section of this site 
Quinny said:
You can buy a lot of JEEP with £8k
Thought they had a bad rep for build quality and reliabilityEdited by size13 on Thursday 21st January 20:33
Quinny said:
You can buy a lot of JEEP with £8k
Yep you could spend 4k on a Jeep Cherokee, then the other £4k fixing what will be broken on it, and what will break on it, couple that with Jeep servicing costs, they may be good off road, but they just cost far to much to fix when they break, and if you can get parts for them which don't cost billions.Quinny said:
size13 said:
Quinny said:
You can buy a lot of JEEP with £8k
Thought they had a bad rep for build quality and reliabilityMostly from people who've never had one....
In saying that the dealers are crap, spares are expensive. They're dated..... But at the end of the day, you get a lot of truck for you £'s
Engine- fantastic
Comfort- Excellent
Reliability- Never broke down
Build quality- utter s
t.What puts me off getting another Jeep
Dealers- are s
t, and cost loads when your Jeep needs to go there, they tried to give us a bill of £1200 just to take the diff out, tell us there was something wrong with it, didn't know what and return it with an oil leak.Spares- Horrific when it comes to prices £500 for A wheel bearing and thats if you can get hold of the bits, cheapest I found was to go to America for bits of Jeep places not Jeep themselves.
Build quality- Complete s
t to be honest, the electrics would fail in the lighting system, the interior fell to bits, it was just badOurs died spectacularly to be fair to it.
Remember one thing with them, they Just Eat Every Penny
Td5 is an excellent engine. Land Rover are reknown for using new customers to field test their new vehicles (look at the current Defender Tdci). By the third year they have ironed out the issues 
Defenders are uncomfortable, over priced, cold, draughty, noisey, harsh and did I mention uncomfortable? However, they are superb off road (which is fun), cheap and easy to fix, cheap to insure and you will gain a whole new world of friends who will wave at you like you know them (ok, that might not be a plus point). I also happen to be on my 4th Defender in 20 years!
£8k-£10k? If you want a LR, Go for post '02 Disco 2. Avoid the auto as it's sluggish and needs the sport button leaving in, which will knacker an already unpromising mpg. Spec is important - you want HDC and ACE.
Hope that helps
Defenders are uncomfortable, over priced, cold, draughty, noisey, harsh and did I mention uncomfortable? However, they are superb off road (which is fun), cheap and easy to fix, cheap to insure and you will gain a whole new world of friends who will wave at you like you know them (ok, that might not be a plus point). I also happen to be on my 4th Defender in 20 years!
£8k-£10k? If you want a LR, Go for post '02 Disco 2. Avoid the auto as it's sluggish and needs the sport button leaving in, which will knacker an already unpromising mpg. Spec is important - you want HDC and ACE.
Hope that helps
Edited by JohnnyRevPants on Thursday 21st January 22:56
We have just picked up a cracking Jeep Cherokee. Paid £6.5K for an 06 plate, 3.7l V6 (sounds nice), only 11,000 miles, one previous owner, FJSH. Also has leather, air con, spack nav, sunroof. Its a 3rd car. When I check it over, it had an oil leak. I bypassed the Jeep dealers who want £400 for a full service, and got it done by a local garage (who are wonderful). Cost all in, including the leak, service, and VAT - £300.
My other car is an 09 Lexus RX400h. Now, the difference in build quality between the Lexus and Jeep is quite obvious BUT...the Jeep is a huge amount of car for the money, the underpinnings are very strong, and when I am snowed in in future, I won't be! (The Lexus is astonishingly good in the snow, but absence of low ratio makes me nervous of going down snowy hills - that's what the Jeep is for).
I was looking at Grand Cherokees, but an 02 plate with 70,000 miles is £6-7K, so I opted for the low miler Cherokee - and its a minter! Already had a play in the snow and love it.
My other car is an 09 Lexus RX400h. Now, the difference in build quality between the Lexus and Jeep is quite obvious BUT...the Jeep is a huge amount of car for the money, the underpinnings are very strong, and when I am snowed in in future, I won't be! (The Lexus is astonishingly good in the snow, but absence of low ratio makes me nervous of going down snowy hills - that's what the Jeep is for).
I was looking at Grand Cherokees, but an 02 plate with 70,000 miles is £6-7K, so I opted for the low miler Cherokee - and its a minter! Already had a play in the snow and love it.
I run an agricultural contracting business, and over the years have had a fairly large selection of 4x4's.
There's nothing wrong with the TD5 engine SO LONG AS YOU GET ONE WITH A FULL SERVICE HISTORY. I've had 2 Landrovers with TD5 engines - both bought second-hand.
The first was a 3 year old TD5 Disco with full service history - still going strong (now 10 years old). Apart from servicing and tyres, the only expensive item was the clutch, but as it spends most of its life towing, I don't mind.
The second was a (very cheap) TD5 130 twin-cab which I bought when our mobile workshop (Mitsubishi L200 Pickup) was off the road after one of the lads had a bit of a mishap. This one had no service history, high mileage and has been a complete pain. It's parked up at the mo, and if I'll swap the engine when I find one.
I've also owned and run the following:
Daihatsu Fourtrak: Unbreakable engine and gearbox. Rusts like a bd. Terrible fuel economy (2.8 Turbo Diesel). Not the best machine to tow with (gets a wobble on if you're too enthusiastic). Goes pretty much anywhere. You should get 2 or 3 for your budget! Still running 2 of these.
Nissan Patrol (old model - 2.8 TD): Very good indeed. Tows well. Quite expensive for parts. Probably much too old to consider now. The new model doesn't seem to be so well regarded. Crashed!
Toyota Hilux: What can you say? Brilliant but agricultural! Swapped to Mitsubishi L200.
Toyota Landcruiser: The best 4x4 I've ever owned. Only stopped using them because the road tax system over here (Belgium) made it too expensive (nearly €1500 per year tax!).
Mitsubishi Shogun: Drove well and was capable off-road. We've had the 2.5 TD (old model) and the 3.2 DID. Really liked the 2.5 TD (ours was stolen). I bought the 3.2 DID because I was offered it at a very low price, and sold it at a profit. It seemed OK, but I didn't really have it long enough to really have a good idea what it's like. Had loads of power.
Jeep Wrangler: 2.5 petrol. Great fun in the summer (roof and doors off). Not brilliant fuel economy but who cares? Very capable off-road. Daughter still uses this now (and I nick it once in a while).
Jeep Cherokee 4 liter petrol. A very competent machine but appalling fuel consumption. I swapped to this from a Range Rover and the fuel consumption nearly ruined me. I had mine in 1999 when LPG wasn't really so well-known. Maybe with a LPG kit it would be OK.
In your position I would look at a Toyota Landcruiser or Landrover Discovery.
There's nothing wrong with the TD5 engine SO LONG AS YOU GET ONE WITH A FULL SERVICE HISTORY. I've had 2 Landrovers with TD5 engines - both bought second-hand.
The first was a 3 year old TD5 Disco with full service history - still going strong (now 10 years old). Apart from servicing and tyres, the only expensive item was the clutch, but as it spends most of its life towing, I don't mind.
The second was a (very cheap) TD5 130 twin-cab which I bought when our mobile workshop (Mitsubishi L200 Pickup) was off the road after one of the lads had a bit of a mishap. This one had no service history, high mileage and has been a complete pain. It's parked up at the mo, and if I'll swap the engine when I find one.
I've also owned and run the following:
Daihatsu Fourtrak: Unbreakable engine and gearbox. Rusts like a b
d. Terrible fuel economy (2.8 Turbo Diesel). Not the best machine to tow with (gets a wobble on if you're too enthusiastic). Goes pretty much anywhere. You should get 2 or 3 for your budget! Still running 2 of these.Nissan Patrol (old model - 2.8 TD): Very good indeed. Tows well. Quite expensive for parts. Probably much too old to consider now. The new model doesn't seem to be so well regarded. Crashed!
Toyota Hilux: What can you say? Brilliant but agricultural! Swapped to Mitsubishi L200.
Toyota Landcruiser: The best 4x4 I've ever owned. Only stopped using them because the road tax system over here (Belgium) made it too expensive (nearly €1500 per year tax!).
Mitsubishi Shogun: Drove well and was capable off-road. We've had the 2.5 TD (old model) and the 3.2 DID. Really liked the 2.5 TD (ours was stolen). I bought the 3.2 DID because I was offered it at a very low price, and sold it at a profit. It seemed OK, but I didn't really have it long enough to really have a good idea what it's like. Had loads of power.
Jeep Wrangler: 2.5 petrol. Great fun in the summer (roof and doors off). Not brilliant fuel economy but who cares? Very capable off-road. Daughter still uses this now (and I nick it once in a while).
Jeep Cherokee 4 liter petrol. A very competent machine but appalling fuel consumption. I swapped to this from a Range Rover and the fuel consumption nearly ruined me. I had mine in 1999 when LPG wasn't really so well-known. Maybe with a LPG kit it would be OK.
In your position I would look at a Toyota Landcruiser or Landrover Discovery.
size13 said:
Fancy a disco, but told not to get a td5
Fancy a defender, but not great for long trips (so I think!)
Want a pathfinder, but out of budget
I've come up with a list of possibilities, but there's good and bad about them all...
Disco 2
Defender 90 or 110
Landcruiser (expensive for age?)
Shogun (not as good as above)
"others"
CRV
X-Trail
Rav4
Manly "soft-road" but tricky roads in the winter to and from work
Towing a boat or two to sailing events (all over the country)
Camping weekends etc...
Any thoughts? Something with "toys" would be good and pref an auto
What do you want it for - REALLY?Fancy a defender, but not great for long trips (so I think!)
Want a pathfinder, but out of budget
I've come up with a list of possibilities, but there's good and bad about them all...
Disco 2
Defender 90 or 110
Landcruiser (expensive for age?)
Shogun (not as good as above)
"others"
CRV
X-Trail
Rav4
Manly "soft-road" but tricky roads in the winter to and from work
Towing a boat or two to sailing events (all over the country)
Camping weekends etc...
Any thoughts? Something with "toys" would be good and pref an auto
Edited by size13 on Thursday 21st January 15:53
If you want it for off road work then it really changes your options to just an AWD on roader.
If its the later I'd highly advise looking at a Subaru Forrester or similar.
BTW
- There nowt wrong with a TD5
- Defender will have no "toys" apart from the headlights
- You won't find an auto Defender unless its been converted (which is possible). NAS (North American Spec) and the 50th Anniversary are the only ones offered with an auto, both V8.
That said.
Go DRIVE a Defender and see if you like it. You'll either fall in love or hate it.
If you still want something rugged with towing ability then Disco II, Jeep Cherkoee (Grand) or maybe a L200 or HiLux is the way to go.
If you don't mind older but more solid don't overlook the ability of a nice Mercedes G-Wagen!!
Grand Vitara is the best value. very good off road. Simple strong reliable, underrated the road. Try one and look at the Year/Miles for 8-10k.
Other big options and excellent car KIA Sorrento. Superb build quality but hold there value.
And as said you can buy a lot of Jeep for that money. Last of the old shape 2.8CRD Cherokee, not to old and low miles.
Other big options and excellent car KIA Sorrento. Superb build quality but hold there value.
And as said you can buy a lot of Jeep for that money. Last of the old shape 2.8CRD Cherokee, not to old and low miles.
Edited by Rum Runner on Sunday 24th January 20:08
JohnnyRevPants said:
Defenders are uncomfortable, over priced, cold, draughty, noisey, harsh and did I mention uncomfortable?
JohnnyRP now I know you got one, but why do you say they are uncomfortable? Cant agree with you there unless you're comparing them to a car, unless of course you are over 6' then it serves you right! 
Not that Im a bitter short-arse!i found my defender very comfortable and great for long distance but that was compared to my series 2 soft top!!. Tho serieously defenders are love em or hate trhem i have no trouble doing the miles in mine a rangie probably would be more comfy all depends on you. I had a disco that gave me back ache after and hour. So try em all repeatedly see what you like.
SmokinV8 said:
JohnnyRevPants said:
Defenders are uncomfortable, over priced, cold, draughty, noisey, harsh and did I mention uncomfortable?
JohnnyRP now I know you got one, but why do you say they are uncomfortable? Cant agree with you there unless you're comparing them to a car, unless of course you are over 6' then it serves you right! Not that Im a bitter short-arse!JohnnyRevPants said:
SmokinV8 said:
JohnnyRevPants said:
Defenders are uncomfortable, over priced, cold, draughty, noisey, harsh and did I mention uncomfortable?
JohnnyRP now I know you got one, but why do you say they are uncomfortable? Cant agree with you there unless you're comparing them to a car, unless of course you are over 6' then it serves you right! Not that Im a bitter short-arse!
Edited by SmokinV8 on Thursday 28th January 22:24
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