"Does your Defender have any modifications" - Insurance
Discussion
Eyeing up some leggy Defenders as a potential runaround.
Most of them are 90s models and a lot the ones that take my interest are lifted with 33" tyres
Some of the mods are obvious, but others less so. How do you qualify a lot of the mods? and how do i know some may not have been factory options?
Another thing I'm confused on is declaring the number of seats. There are a bunch of models, for example, with 2 seats. But with scope for either a third front seat, or benchs in the rear.
And ideally, I would want at least 4 seats. So if I was to buy a two seater and retrofit a rear bench, would this cause issues with insuring it?
Most of them are 90s models and a lot the ones that take my interest are lifted with 33" tyres
Some of the mods are obvious, but others less so. How do you qualify a lot of the mods? and how do i know some may not have been factory options?
Another thing I'm confused on is declaring the number of seats. There are a bunch of models, for example, with 2 seats. But with scope for either a third front seat, or benchs in the rear.
And ideally, I would want at least 4 seats. So if I was to buy a two seater and retrofit a rear bench, would this cause issues with insuring it?
I turned my 90 from van spec to station wagon with the addition of inward facing rear seats and side windows.
All dead easy thanks to LR’s Meccano principle.
I notified my insurer and all they were bothered about was whether or not the windows were tinted.
I also sent the V5 back to DVLA so it’s now listed as “Car, estate” instead of “Van/commercial” which means I don’t have to pay TfL their poxy LEZ charge even though I haven’t done a thing to alter the emissions.
Tread carefully with fitting seats though.
To be entirely legal they have to be correct for the model year.
Very old Defenders had plain bench seats, with no individual seat per passenger. This is how they started as nine seaters. Three in the front and three squeezed down each side in the back.
Then they went to individual inward facing seats in the rear, losing a seat space per side, before finally switching to the most recent forward-facing rear seats (which are utterly useless as they take up so much space).
You can fit newer seats to an older truck, but not vice versa.
And avoid anything with lift kits and big wheels.
Unnecessary tat.
All dead easy thanks to LR’s Meccano principle.
I notified my insurer and all they were bothered about was whether or not the windows were tinted.
I also sent the V5 back to DVLA so it’s now listed as “Car, estate” instead of “Van/commercial” which means I don’t have to pay TfL their poxy LEZ charge even though I haven’t done a thing to alter the emissions.
Tread carefully with fitting seats though.
To be entirely legal they have to be correct for the model year.
Very old Defenders had plain bench seats, with no individual seat per passenger. This is how they started as nine seaters. Three in the front and three squeezed down each side in the back.
Then they went to individual inward facing seats in the rear, losing a seat space per side, before finally switching to the most recent forward-facing rear seats (which are utterly useless as they take up so much space).
You can fit newer seats to an older truck, but not vice versa.
And avoid anything with lift kits and big wheels.
Unnecessary tat.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 13th August 09:58
Interesting thread. I'm currently looking at an old Defender to use as weekend toy / occasional commute and was wondering about the situation with rear seats. The current one I'm looking at is advertised as a station wagon conversion and as it has no Alpine windows, I assume it was a van. On the London ULEZ site it comes up as being liable for the charge, so if I checked the log book and changed it to car / estate I would be ok ? Saying that, the proposed Bristol ULEZ would just exclude all diesels, so I'd be buggered anyway !
Agreed about the big wheels and lift kits too. I'm hoping to squeeze mine in the garage, so standard all the way for me !
Agreed about the big wheels and lift kits too. I'm hoping to squeeze mine in the garage, so standard all the way for me !
Being TfL, the “rules” regarding exemption from the LEZ are somewhat vague and ambiguous.
The level of proof they demand varies with the age of the vehicle and simply relisting the vehicle with Swansea isn’t enough. TfL have their own special database all to themselves, and regardless of what you and DVLA have agreed, TfL will want their own proof because they consider themselves a bit special like that.
For mine, all I had to do was send them proof of a revised logbook.
Older vehicles, for some reason that only someone at TfL with nothing better to do fully understands, require a revised logbook AND photographic proof.
It’s all b
ks anyway. They insisted on photographic proof of my conversion (despite their own website stating otherwise) and it took the thick end of twenty emails including screen shots of their own website before they relented and “used their discretion”.....which was astonishingly nice of them, don’t you think?
Just remember, when conversing with TfL you’re not dealing with DVLA, you’re not dealing with a police (traffic) Officer, you’re not dealing HMRC or anyone with any authority to comment on the classification of your vehicle - you’re simply dealing with an admin clerk in an organisation that’s made up its own “rules” about who can come in to London and who can’t and unfortunately has sufficient legal power (and funds) to bully people off the road.
The really stupid bit is when you consider a TD5 Van is subject to the charge as it’s classed as a “commercial” vehicle yet the same TD5 once converted to Station Wagon spec isn’t subject to the charge as it’s classed as a “car”.
But this is the silly bit.....the van is actually lighter and thus theoretically more fuel efficient/less polluting than the equivalent car.
I told the TfL monkey this and the phone line literally went dead for so long I had to ask if he was still there.
The level of proof they demand varies with the age of the vehicle and simply relisting the vehicle with Swansea isn’t enough. TfL have their own special database all to themselves, and regardless of what you and DVLA have agreed, TfL will want their own proof because they consider themselves a bit special like that.
For mine, all I had to do was send them proof of a revised logbook.
Older vehicles, for some reason that only someone at TfL with nothing better to do fully understands, require a revised logbook AND photographic proof.
It’s all b
ks anyway. They insisted on photographic proof of my conversion (despite their own website stating otherwise) and it took the thick end of twenty emails including screen shots of their own website before they relented and “used their discretion”.....which was astonishingly nice of them, don’t you think?Just remember, when conversing with TfL you’re not dealing with DVLA, you’re not dealing with a police (traffic) Officer, you’re not dealing HMRC or anyone with any authority to comment on the classification of your vehicle - you’re simply dealing with an admin clerk in an organisation that’s made up its own “rules” about who can come in to London and who can’t and unfortunately has sufficient legal power (and funds) to bully people off the road.
The really stupid bit is when you consider a TD5 Van is subject to the charge as it’s classed as a “commercial” vehicle yet the same TD5 once converted to Station Wagon spec isn’t subject to the charge as it’s classed as a “car”.
But this is the silly bit.....the van is actually lighter and thus theoretically more fuel efficient/less polluting than the equivalent car.
I told the TfL monkey this and the phone line literally went dead for so long I had to ask if he was still there.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 16th August 20:51
Who is going in the rear seats? This is probably more critical than the actual layout of the seats.
I would almost prefer to buy a van body defender and then fit forward facing fold up seats. Yes, they expensive at around £800 for a set and then there is the fitting a seat belts.
the side facing benches are pretty useless and the belts will probably cause a bit of internal bleeding in an accident rather than perform any safety function
I certainly wouldn't hold the factory fitting in any high regard if I'm honest. I have fitted side facing individuals in my series I recon my mountings are considerably better than what ever the factory did. If you really want the sideways facing seats, then they are pretty cheap at £90 for a set and only a day to fit and I recon you could pause for lunch in that time too.
OP: Are you Defender familiar? Have you owned/driven one before. Yes, they look cool, but they are an acquired taste when it comes to driving.
I'd say now is a good time to buy as the prices are becoming more reasonable IMO.
I would almost prefer to buy a van body defender and then fit forward facing fold up seats. Yes, they expensive at around £800 for a set and then there is the fitting a seat belts.
the side facing benches are pretty useless and the belts will probably cause a bit of internal bleeding in an accident rather than perform any safety function
I certainly wouldn't hold the factory fitting in any high regard if I'm honest. I have fitted side facing individuals in my series I recon my mountings are considerably better than what ever the factory did. If you really want the sideways facing seats, then they are pretty cheap at £90 for a set and only a day to fit and I recon you could pause for lunch in that time too.
OP: Are you Defender familiar? Have you owned/driven one before. Yes, they look cool, but they are an acquired taste when it comes to driving.
I'd say now is a good time to buy as the prices are becoming more reasonable IMO.
Had my 90 since 2008 (31k miles)
Originally in 2003 it started life as a hard top and the original owners had rear windows installed ....., I then purchased it and had 4 inwards facing seats with lap belts installed before handing the keys over to what was then Td5 Alive.
Td5 worked thier magic (Hybrid Turbo / Intercooler / Exhaust etc......).Had a fantastic 350 mile drive home and also had many a cheeky mile to this day (113k) toying with Joe public as they dont expect a defender to have some pace about it.
Always been fully comp with NFU (All mods recorded) and yearly premium has sat around £450 a year mark...........Only went up by £100 when i added our son when he was learning to drive (17) and when he passed NFU kept premium exactly the same........Result..
Looking at taking the Landy to the Nurburgring for a giggle mid Sept......create some memories...
Originally in 2003 it started life as a hard top and the original owners had rear windows installed ....., I then purchased it and had 4 inwards facing seats with lap belts installed before handing the keys over to what was then Td5 Alive.
Td5 worked thier magic (Hybrid Turbo / Intercooler / Exhaust etc......).Had a fantastic 350 mile drive home and also had many a cheeky mile to this day (113k) toying with Joe public as they dont expect a defender to have some pace about it.
Always been fully comp with NFU (All mods recorded) and yearly premium has sat around £450 a year mark...........Only went up by £100 when i added our son when he was learning to drive (17) and when he passed NFU kept premium exactly the same........Result..
Looking at taking the Landy to the Nurburgring for a giggle mid Sept......create some memories...
jdmave said:
Had my 90 since 2008 (31k miles)
Originally in 2003 it started life as a hard top and the original owners had rear windows installed ....., I then purchased it and had 4 inwards facing seats with lap belts installed before handing the keys over to what was then Td5 Alive.
Td5 worked thier magic (Hybrid Turbo / Intercooler / Exhaust etc......).Had a fantastic 350 mile drive home and also had many a cheeky mile to this day (113k) toying with Joe public as they dont expect a defender to have some pace about it.
Always been fully comp with NFU (All mods recorded) and yearly premium has sat around £450 a year mark...........Only went up by £100 when i added our son when he was learning to drive (17) and when he passed NFU kept premium exactly the same........Result..
Looking at taking the Landy to the Nurburgring for a giggle mid Sept......create some memories...
Sounds good. Any pics ? Originally in 2003 it started life as a hard top and the original owners had rear windows installed ....., I then purchased it and had 4 inwards facing seats with lap belts installed before handing the keys over to what was then Td5 Alive.
Td5 worked thier magic (Hybrid Turbo / Intercooler / Exhaust etc......).Had a fantastic 350 mile drive home and also had many a cheeky mile to this day (113k) toying with Joe public as they dont expect a defender to have some pace about it.
Always been fully comp with NFU (All mods recorded) and yearly premium has sat around £450 a year mark...........Only went up by £100 when i added our son when he was learning to drive (17) and when he passed NFU kept premium exactly the same........Result..
Looking at taking the Landy to the Nurburgring for a giggle mid Sept......create some memories...
I'm hopefully picking up a 1987 soft top 90 with a 300tdi motor in it this week to replace my New Beetle cab as a weekend toy.
If they'd let me on at Le Mans i'd go round thats for sure lol...........................,
Over the next couple of week's, I'm planning to upgrade discs / pads / brake lines, replace all the bushes with OEM landrover rubber rather than the polybushes and possibly re new the suspension (Bilsten B6's) as then when i put it up for sale it will be as sound as can be....
Last month i had the head skimmed, Re-newed all manifold bolts etc... and the Hybrid Turbo serviced....
i'll pop some pics up once i've been over to the Ring......Maybe add some big shiny graphics or logo on the side to make it stand out just a little more.......
Aka ("One Life" or "Freedom") or if someone wants to advertise their website etc.......drop me a mail....
Over the next couple of week's, I'm planning to upgrade discs / pads / brake lines, replace all the bushes with OEM landrover rubber rather than the polybushes and possibly re new the suspension (Bilsten B6's) as then when i put it up for sale it will be as sound as can be....
Last month i had the head skimmed, Re-newed all manifold bolts etc... and the Hybrid Turbo serviced....
i'll pop some pics up once i've been over to the Ring......Maybe add some big shiny graphics or logo on the side to make it stand out just a little more.......
Aka ("One Life" or "Freedom") or if someone wants to advertise their website etc.......drop me a mail....
List everything, few threads about it on defender specific forums,
and with how ripe theft is when it comes to defenders, inc just parts better to tell the insurers everything... i pay a fair premium over if mine was standard but worth it for the piece of mind,
I have about 2 pages of bullet pointed upgrades i submitted to the insurers...
try 'a plan' hear they are good for defenders... might try them next
and with how ripe theft is when it comes to defenders, inc just parts better to tell the insurers everything... i pay a fair premium over if mine was standard but worth it for the piece of mind,
I have about 2 pages of bullet pointed upgrades i submitted to the insurers...
try 'a plan' hear they are good for defenders... might try them next
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