Buying my first Defender! (Old)
Discussion
Looking to buy my first Defender.
Prefer a 110.
Won’t be a daily, a bit of fun, light green laning, camping, etc.
Other than chassis rot and door rot, what are the main points?
5 or 6 speed?
Which engine?
Budget about £15k?
I know it’ll be terrible, but I use to daily a 72 Spitfire in Germany and had an old Freelander, I’m thinking it’ll be a combination.
Thanks
Prefer a 110.
Won’t be a daily, a bit of fun, light green laning, camping, etc.
Other than chassis rot and door rot, what are the main points?
5 or 6 speed?
Which engine?
Budget about £15k?
I know it’ll be terrible, but I use to daily a 72 Spitfire in Germany and had an old Freelander, I’m thinking it’ll be a combination.
Thanks
I’d go for a td5 but prices are utterly nuts right now. As long as you know the ‘joys’ of ownership (hating everything, but loving everything) maybe a 300tdi in that price point as it’s for lanes n stuff.
Prices really really are nuts. Whatever you pay, they won’t be worth that money, but that’s how much you have to pay… crazy.
I’ve had probably 30-40 90’s and 110’s and cannot get my head around current values. Your money will be safe, however.
I’ve vowed to never buy another Defender, unless it’s a new shape. Late (old) Defenders are fetching more than new Defenders!!
But i do, and always will own my 90 and will never part with it.
Prices really really are nuts. Whatever you pay, they won’t be worth that money, but that’s how much you have to pay… crazy.
I’ve had probably 30-40 90’s and 110’s and cannot get my head around current values. Your money will be safe, however.
I’ve vowed to never buy another Defender, unless it’s a new shape. Late (old) Defenders are fetching more than new Defenders!!
But i do, and always will own my 90 and will never part with it.
Prices are mental for anything at the moment, but at least they went a bit mad with defenders before all this rubbish.
I can’t see a £15k car being worth less than £10k in 5 years time, so I don’t mind £1k pa (plus running costs!).
Is there anything specific I should be looking for?
Does age / mileage way matter or am I better going off condition?
Heated seats would be nice
I can’t see a £15k car being worth less than £10k in 5 years time, so I don’t mind £1k pa (plus running costs!).
Is there anything specific I should be looking for?
Does age / mileage way matter or am I better going off condition?
Heated seats would be nice
Looks nice and original, pre 02 td5’s suffer with headgasket issues, due to plastic dowels in the block, though as a friend of mine said, you just go buy another engine for £300!
With Defenders, it’s buy by condition, most people do their own servicing.
Just look out for chassis and bulkhead rot.
Doors are crazy expensive for decent condition and are sadly, most likely to have been stolen. Check the sellers out thoroughly, make sure they have provenance, don’t feed the thieves families and keep the scum taking Defenders from our driveways. Good luck.
With Defenders, it’s buy by condition, most people do their own servicing.
Just look out for chassis and bulkhead rot.
Doors are crazy expensive for decent condition and are sadly, most likely to have been stolen. Check the sellers out thoroughly, make sure they have provenance, don’t feed the thieves families and keep the scum taking Defenders from our driveways. Good luck.
I’ve had 4 Defenders (two were Ninetys rather than Defenders) - current garage is a 2001 Td5 110 and a 1984 V8 Ninety. The Ninety technically belongs to my son and the 110 is my daily driver.
I bought a previously owned 90 new and had the chassis Kleentected - apparently it’s still going strong with no chassis issues after 20 years. Every other Dedender has been re-chassied. And every door has been replaced. So you’re on the money with chassis and doors.
My favourite engine is the Td5. It blows the 4.0 V8 away in performance (remapped) and economy but the sound is obviously not as good. Watch for injector looms leaking oil into the ECU. Changing the loom is an easy 1 hour fix.
I’ve had every one updated with a Disco transfer box - the standard ratio is dreadful and if you combine it with a remapped Td5 or a torquey V8 it makes no difference. I tow heavy trailers from time to time and I’ve never regretted changing the final drive ratio. I had one Defender remapped by JE Engineering and the current one by Empire tuning. Both highly recommended.
My 110 was bought as a DCPU in 2017 for £6k and I’ve spent £8k on it. I reckon it’s worth £14k all day long so no money lost. Work done:
Re-chassis
New bushes
Remap
Transfer box
New doors
eBay roof and rear panels
Hand painting!
Leather heated seats from Exmoor trim
New wheels and tyres
Before:
After:
It’s done 203,000 miles with no major niggles. Love it.
I bought a previously owned 90 new and had the chassis Kleentected - apparently it’s still going strong with no chassis issues after 20 years. Every other Dedender has been re-chassied. And every door has been replaced. So you’re on the money with chassis and doors.
My favourite engine is the Td5. It blows the 4.0 V8 away in performance (remapped) and economy but the sound is obviously not as good. Watch for injector looms leaking oil into the ECU. Changing the loom is an easy 1 hour fix.
I’ve had every one updated with a Disco transfer box - the standard ratio is dreadful and if you combine it with a remapped Td5 or a torquey V8 it makes no difference. I tow heavy trailers from time to time and I’ve never regretted changing the final drive ratio. I had one Defender remapped by JE Engineering and the current one by Empire tuning. Both highly recommended.
My 110 was bought as a DCPU in 2017 for £6k and I’ve spent £8k on it. I reckon it’s worth £14k all day long so no money lost. Work done:
Re-chassis
New bushes
Remap
Transfer box
New doors
eBay roof and rear panels
Hand painting!
Leather heated seats from Exmoor trim
New wheels and tyres
Before:
After:
It’s done 203,000 miles with no major niggles. Love it.
Sorry - one more thing. The bulkhead has started to rust (they all do that sir) so I reckon some weld-in panels will be needed in the next 2 years.
Too much detail now… I have a C5 RS6 as a weekend toy and I’ve just started a new job where I am meant to have a respectable car. I’ve thought about selling the 110 to buy a more modern mad estate but (a) I do a lot of hillwalking and I can park the 110 anywhere, and (b) my wife loves the Defender to the extent that she prefers driving it over our Disco 4 HSE. Make of that what you will! In the meantime I’ve ticked the corporate driver registration box as being ‘within policy’. Let’s be honest - it probably isn’t.
Too much detail now… I have a C5 RS6 as a weekend toy and I’ve just started a new job where I am meant to have a respectable car. I’ve thought about selling the 110 to buy a more modern mad estate but (a) I do a lot of hillwalking and I can park the 110 anywhere, and (b) my wife loves the Defender to the extent that she prefers driving it over our Disco 4 HSE. Make of that what you will! In the meantime I’ve ticked the corporate driver registration box as being ‘within policy’. Let’s be honest - it probably isn’t.
Edited by w1bbles on Wednesday 7th July 00:47
Fantastic, thanks for all the info.
How have you found the DCPU conversion?
Is it just the ‘trim’, so the load bed doesn’t go all the way through I assume?
I use our ML to regularly transport stuff and it’s fantastic as you can put the seats down and you’ve got loads of room all the way from boot to front.
How have you found the DCPU conversion?
Is it just the ‘trim’, so the load bed doesn’t go all the way through I assume?
I use our ML to regularly transport stuff and it’s fantastic as you can put the seats down and you’ve got loads of room all the way from boot to front.
You’re correct - I didn’t change the rear tub so the load space is like the back of a 90 only a bit smaller. It’s not a problem for me as a roof rack takes about 2 mins to bolt on. I think having the enclosed rear tub is better for the dog and I have a permanently fitted dog guard behind the rear seats.
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