Thread: What to buy? (I know this might open a can of worms)

Originally Posted by Dougie81

Hey Bojan thanks for the info mate -

This might make you laugh but I have (pratically) no mechanic capabilties at all. The main reason I am thinking Defender is me and the missus are starting a family (so I need a dual cab for our trips) and I'm a chippy (so I need a ute).

I have a cruiser at the moment, but as I'm sure you know - no dual cab option other than a custom setup and all the other dual cabs (hilux, triton etc) are just not my cup of tea.

Going by your information (about spare time) and a previous reply that the average maintenance costs are around $2500 per year (guessing if that's doing the work yourself) it's starting to seem like a Defender may not be a great option if my time is taken up with a new bub and I don't know a great deal about mechanics?

Neither did I - AULRO and AULROians have been a great source of information. Most of what I know I've learned alongside others, more often than not fixing my truck(s)!

Thanks Ben!

Given it's primary purpose will be business, I'd probably go brand new - you get most tax breaks with new vehicles and you have 3 years waranty to sort out any niggling issues (of which there can be a few I understand). I would ask what happens if/when your truck has to go back to the dealer. If they won't / cant provide a replacement, I'd look for a well sorted Td5, which would have most issues ironed out, and likely offer trouble free motoring for years to come.

Having never owned a TD5 or a Puma, I can't speak of maintenance costs, however $2500 a year seems a touch high (unless it also incluides insurance / rego and other such costs). Well looked after, it generally only requires maintenance - and $2500 buys a hell of a lot of oil. I'm sure you'll get plenty of other (experience based) advice on maintenance costs.

In any case, I don't see it being any more or less costly than maintaining a Cruiser.

Best of luck with your decision.

Originally Posted by abaddonxi

Just having a thinking about $2500 per year. That figure is based on a very generous division of m receipts for five years of owning a 1996 Defender 130, and something I read in an NRMA mag a while back.

Starting with a ten year old vehicle in good condition but not serviced by a specialist Land Rover mechanic.

In three years of ownership I'd reckon that you spend something like this-
$1250+ At least one set of tyres
$1000 Front and Rear brake pads and rotors
$300 Front and Rear brake pads
$1000 Radiator and hoses replaced
$300 Clutch Master and Slave cylinder
$1100 Timing Belt and Bearing replaced
$3000 2 Services per year - oil, filters, etc.
$1200 Front end - wheel bearings, swivel pins, maybe a CV joint
$400 Replace axle drive member/flanges front and rear
$150 Fuel lift pump
$1200 Clutch

Total
$10,900

On top of that I'd reckon in that time you'd have one major component failure - steering box, fuel injection pump, air con, gearbox, transfer case, head gasket, etc. setting you back anything from $1000-$4500

The above are a combination of actual costs and numbers pulled out of the air from having bought the parts and done it myself. The prices would be for getting it done rather than doing it yourself.

I'm sure that the more experienced will have a better idea of actual components and costs, but I don't think I'm too far off. It'll be interesting to see comments.

[ouch!!

Here are some actual cost for doing the work yourself. Buying oil in bulk (20 litre drums from Penrite wholesale outlet). And buying some parts locally & others from the UK.

$700 set of tyres (I shopped around for Maxxis 751s locally, but you can pay less by importing tyres from the US now)
$140 Front and Rear brake pads (less if you import)
$120 Clutch Master and Slave cylinder (local retail prices)
$300 Timing Belt and Bearing replaced (I bought a spare timing belt kit - Dayco - ex UK for about $60AUD. The timing cover bearing may be more expensive if you buy a new timing cover with it - which I did last time)
$400 4 Services per year - oil, filters, etc. [Filter Kits (Oil, Air, Fuel) work out at about $30AUD per kit, including frieght if you order from UK]
$70 Fuel lift pump (local retail price)
$150-$350 Clutch (I did my clutch - bought locally a couple of years ago for $350. I just bought a H/Duty Defender clutch kit & fork for a 300Tdi for a mates Disco 1 from the UK for under $150 delivered.

I've got a couple of friends with Defenders, so major jobs like clutch & timing belt, or pressing out suspension bushes, are done as a team effort, otherwise all the small stuff you can do on your own.