Thread: Help: What to look for when buying a Defender

Depends what you are looking for... 90, 110, 130, old/new, V8, Tdi, Td5.. Tell us more. And most importantly, drive one for a decent distance before you decide you want one. You'll either love it or hate it! Tell us more and we'll all give you loads of good and bad bits!

Originally Posted by Sitec

Depends what you are looking for... 90, 110, 130, old/new, V8, Tdi, Td5.. Tell us more. And most importantly, drive one for a decent distance before you decide you want one. You'll either love it or hate it! Tell us more and we'll all give you loads of good and bad bits!

I would be looking at the 110 and TDi. We are a family of 6 hence the upgrade. The other requirements is it has to be a diesel, be able to handle the drive out from Nhulunbuy to Darwin comfortably, power steering, air con and being used for camping.

I am also open to other options as well

What are you upgrading from ??

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Are you speaking about what /technically/ to look for? As in, a pre-purchase inspection? Check out these threads:

buying a second hand defender, what to look out for?

Defender pre-purchase inspection tips required

Buying a Defender- what to look for?

..there are more if you search around for them.

Ok, the 110 is a good all rounder. Tdi came in two forms, the earlier '200 Tdi' (200nm of torque), and the later '300 Tdi'.. (300 nm of torque). Both were 2.5 litre 4 cylinder Turbo Intercooled. Good solid reliable simple engines with mechanical fuel injection/pump assy (check and change timing belt once you have one..) Following those came the Td5. 5 Cylinder turbo intercooled.. Overhead cam, operating valves and injectors. ECU and 'fly by wire' throttle controls amount of fuel delivered. Some love them, some hate them. I have a 130 Td5 and initially had a few probs but now love it, they're also very chippable. Guess if you are doing a lot of bush work the Tdi might be better tho. All Defenders leak and rattle.. Take someone who knows Land Rovers with you when you go and inspect possible purchases! As for the aircon, mine works ok to a point but if you want cold car like cooling then I'm told the new Puma's are the go! Room between you and the door is limited. If you are solid, then you will always drive with the window open and your arm hanging out! Look under the mats for trapped moisture.. This leads to rust. All the usual driveline checks and cooling system checks. You can check the play in the axle shafts between the shaft and flange on the rear axle. Just prise the rubber cap off and rock the vehicle back and forth with the handbrake on. Watch for movement between the two. Good luck!