Thread: Buying a MY12 defender.... honest help please

Originally Posted by troyfyn

Hi everyone

Ok, so im about to purchase a 110 (2.2) defender.
Ive had a 80 series, Tdi disco, troopy, hilux, Pajero... so had my fingers in a few pies..

The one thing the dealer has told me.... "dont read forums" so i thought ide contribute instead ......

I love the defender, have driven a few..... BUT i do honestly want opinions on reliability.. totally not being rude but i dont want to throw almost $60k (with accessories) into something that i cant trust in the wetsern desert, Kimberly or Cape York... this is totally not a slander as i really want to drive it out the door next week but no point just reading good bits, i want to know the bad bits (if and i hope) few.....

I know the 2.2 has also had the gear box altered to cater for change and its a new model but surely not too different from the 2.4

Thanks for all your help and guidance !! MUCH APPRECIATED

Cheers
Troy

I picked up my spanking new MY10 and drove it home proud as punch, the following week it went back to LR for 2 weeks. I drove it again for a week and then it went back to LR for 4 weeks while they scratched their heads on what was wrong with it.
The whole ordeal nearly broke my spirit. I thought I had spent 60K on a lemon, and to make it worse my car is actually made April 1. I thought I'm really stuffed here, what a disaster.
However I had faith in the warranty, and a belief from this forum there is no reason a Defender can be any less reliable than the next motor car.
43K on it now, I have had some awesome 4 week trips in it. We go 4x4 camping all the time, my family love it, I love it, my work mate are envious.

Would I drive it through the desert, to the cape, or anywhere else for that matter, yes I would in a heart beat.
I feel odd say it but I believe it, a Defender has soul, you don't get to enjoy it for free. It will test you somewhere somehow. Prove yourself of ownership, and look after it, and it will serve you for years. I know it's a bit hocus pokus feel good garble, but I bought an old 55 model Land Rover recently, and yes, there was a proving of ownership with that one as well.

you'll be right, don't worry about the knockers, they wish they had the balls to own a Defender, but are too worried about the flack from others.

Thanks Jason

That would almost have broken me as well!

i understand sometimes these things just happen....
Any troubles since though..??


Should a new car have to go back like that..... mmmrrrr
Totally get what you mean re soul! guess i just dont think new cars should have to go back with problems (as ive read from owners).

I service all my cars (oil, oil filter and fuel filter) every 5k...... its the electric's that i know so little about, but any new car will have that!

Gday Troy,

I don't pick my 130 up until the beginning of July, Its actually being built next week, so I can't comment from first hand experience. From the homework I did before deciding to buy I would say the following. Don't try to put a 2 inch lift on the vehicle, for quite a few people it has caused hassles. Get the dealer to check and tighten the clamps on the turbo hoses - they seem to be the first item that people have trouble with.

As far as them needing to go back to the dealer for repairs, I think you'll find that that impression is around mainly because people on this forum are quite honest and open about what happens with their vehicles and tend to share the information. I would also imagine that there are far more Defender owners on this forum in terms of the number of 'fenders in Australia than there are 70 series Cruiser owners on the toyota forums.

New vehicles are always going to have mechanical problems, I bought a suzuki 4x4 quad bike for the farm and within the first month the rear brake housing sheared from its moorings and disintegrated. Suzuki said it had never happened before - if you make something out of a heap of moving parts you have to expect that at some point something has got to go. Just ask the V8 70 series owners whose engine oil seems to disappear at alarming rates.

Anyway, I've rambled enough, hope it helps somewhat.

In the end it had some mystery electrical fault. Apparently LR world wide were a bit miffed, and believe it or not I had approval that if played up once more it was to be replaced.
In all those weeks I didn't have it they replaced all major electrical components from immobilisers to ECU's to starter motots.
No I have had no problems since. Well except for water ingress which has been stopped, and a bolt that holds the window glass fell out so the window didn't work for a bit. And way back in first week of ownership I spotted a helper spring not seated properly. So a good lie under it for a bit and stare at it, run a spanner over things if you like.

Folks will bag the motor, and more so yours as it's a first. My 2.4 had been used millions of times around the world in transit vans, so it's ribbing is perhaps because it was a ford and something new. The 2.2 is not put in there to fail either, but perhaps with EU5 requirements there may be some uncharted experienced with recycling emissions to a new standard. Who knows.

As mentioned before lifting a Puma seems to be problematic with standard running gear. By replacing the front drive shaft with a double cardian version the problem is fixed. Drive it for a while and you may find you don't have to lift it anyway.

Water is a modern vehicles enemy. Mulgo do a Xbox wich mounts under the cubby box. It allows you to transfer your electrics 250mm higher from under the drivers seat. The extra space can then be used for tool or what you like. But the days of driving with your lap full of water are gone for Land Rover. Get it that wet and it's going to the wreckers. Make sure you heat proof under the box before fitting.

Luv mine,drove it off the showroom floor and straight across Oz doing 15K in four weeks.Haven't regretted buying,I've just regret not having the time to do all the ings in it I want to do.Luv the puma. Pat

Just be aware that Defenders are really only 95% complete when they roll out of the factory. The owner usually has to endure the remaining 5% finishing off in the first few of thousand km of ownership. How arduous this is depends entirely on how good your dealer is.

Crap dealer = major hair loss and high blood pressure.
Good dealer = plenty of nice loan cars and hopefully a better vehicle at the end of the teething process.

Make sure you have no mission critical work for the new vehicle before the first service.

There are many independent and very reputable Land Rover mechanics in Oz and some of them members in this forum.
I would ask them what is their opinion about the Puma and in what they are base it.
You will have a very comprehensive information in this way based in not only one vehicle or particular year but based in many.

Land Rover were forced to do some R&D on the Puma after release due to the budget contraints Ford put on them. We are no 5 years down the line and with the exception of a few individual "problem" cars, there are very little wrong with the latest models.

Every brand has their difficulties and my company has now completely abandoned Toyota due to their attitude towards waranty work, price of servicing and repairs and the vast number of "hidden" issues with some of their models (eg the oil issue on 70 Series Cruizers).

My own car (MY2010) has now done 30,000km and the only waranty repair on it to date has been a minor issue with the LHS door handle. I take mine offroad just about every weekend and do some pretty remote travelling in the Pilbara (as does most of the guys up here) and I have enough faith in my car to do so with total peace of mind.