What should I look for with £7-8k ?

[li'l pugs]

I'm new to this forum but am looking to change from my TVR to another car and thought about a Defender 90 or similar (Wife wants a conservatory and I fancy a complete change of vehicle for a while).

Anyway, I should have about £7-8k left, so what can I expect to find out there, and more importantly, what should I be looking for ? Obviously I'm not bothered about performance or MPG but I'm a real newby and need to know what to look for.

Cheers for any assistance

Paul

>>> Edited by li'l pugs on Tuesday 11th January 19:53

[Buffalo]

Middle aged discoverys also available for that money. Hard to take on a defender now unless you are really committed, in comparison to a disc.

Whilst i was in the market for a van defender for some serious off-roading, have to admit that the under-rated van discovery is looking more and more the better prospect (talking "series 1" discovery if you will..)...

Take a few test drives and see how it goes.

[Li'l pugs]

I'm looking defender 'cos it's the closest to what I learned to drive in, on private land, aged 14. I just wanna get back and have a bit of cheap, and fun motoring, with perhaps the odd romp cross country thrown in. (I'm only doing about 30 mls a day commuting).
I also have an X3 (wife's kiddie carrier) so getting a disco doesn't really appeal.
Obviously I'm gonna test drive a few before I buy, and have a rough idea of what the driving experience will be like, but need to know what I should be looking for. Should I go for petrol or deisel? Do I need to worry about chassis rot ? What are the likely problems ? That sort of thing.......

Cheers

Paul

[jackthedog]

Hi. I reckon you should be able to grab a really nice Tdi for that sort of money. There are a lot of really nice 200TDi 90s around that price, and there should also be a some good 300TDIs around there too!

For that sort of cash you shouldnt really need to buy one with that much corrosion. Have a good look around the chassis and front bulkhead for rust. Take it for a decent spin and listen for any loud knocks from the drivetrain and suspension. There is quite a lot of drivetrain noise from any defender, but anything too untoward should make itself known on a decent test drive.

Dont worry about damp inside the footwells or anything - they all leak.

There are very few petrol ones about - a few special editions, which should bump the price up, but I believe that in earlier 90s/110s (pre-defender), the V8s can be cheaper as there is not so much demand for them.

I'd be considering a decent 300TDi at about £8k. There should be some nice motors out there for that price. I'd avoid one that is kitted with all the offroad gubbins - it usually means they've had a hard life! A nice, basic pickup or hard top (van) would probably be the best buy?

Buy a copy of Land Rover Owner International magazine for thousands of prices - both dealers and private - on defenders of this age.

[Li'l pugs]

Cheers Jack........plenty for me to research there

Paul