Thread: New Defender or old Defender?

G'day, and welcome to the forum!

Early defenders had the 200tdi engine, which was by all counts an excellent engine. (AFAIK)
Next came the 300tdi, which many view as being one of the best engines, as they have cheap maintenance costs, can take a flogging and virtually run forever. Only issue with the 300tdi is the timing belt, which requires replacing ever 80k kms or so.
Next up was the Td5, which is what i have (Not in a defender mind you).
Excellent engine, the best IMHO, the Achilles heal that they suffer from is head gasket issue, which can be a pain but besides this they're bullet proof.
Most recent defenders have the Puma engines, which have a smaller capacity but i haven't heard of any major issues with them.
It all depends on what sort you want really. LWB, SWB, tray, cab, etc.
If it were me, i'd find a good 300tdi, 110 or 130, whatever floats your boat, and kit it out for touring.
If you can spend a bit more, find a good Td5 thats been well looked after, and keep it that way.
As i said, it all depends on what you want
This is all from my pretty limited understanding of Defenders, seeing as i drive a Discovery
Some of the more Deefer oriented members will no doubt riddle my argument with holes, but just my two bobs worth
Hope this helps
Cheers
Muppet


P.S oh and why SHOULDN'T you get a LandRover?
Do it, you won't regret it if you treat it right!

Thanks for the quick overview - most helpful! I will, of course, treat the vehicle well, insofar as maintenance goes at least! I want a LWB for long trips to remote locations. I've heard all the usual carry-on about Landrovers being unreliable, but I consider much of that talk unreliable in itself and can't find much evidence to support it. I've found both my Landcruisers very reliable, and I'd like to get something that will carry me on adventures for the next 15 years without much fuss! I appreciate the idea of better fuel economy, which is the main reason for considering a Defender over a Landcruiser at this stage.
Thanks again, I look forward to hearing more opinions.

test driver a defender or two to see if u fit, they are a "commercial" - personally my tdi's vynal seat's & rubber floors work well with gumboot's & and cow mud?
Myself , tdi no wizbang gadgetry. But an old car now if you listen to salesmen (my series3 only needs a battery!)- u just gotta find a good one. Easy to fix, simple and cheap.
For the money of a puma u could have a well sorted tdi, boat & dirtbike ( all with no warranty), but if I bought a good lottery ticket this week I'll be getting a new 110 crewcab puma
Timing belt is normal service with tdi's, can be done at home. Only issue's I've had ,P gasket , clutch master and recently at 190k new fuel tank (my 110 did live near the sea)

Brett

110 300 tdi

Another question: can anyone explain what the "..MY" describes in the model name?

manufacture year

Originally Posted by Gruntled

Another question: can anyone explain what the "..MY" describes in the model name?

Manufacture year.
ie: MY2001 is made in 2001

Thanks, Gentlemen! But then why can I see advertised a "2006 Defender 03MY"? Did it sit in someone's shed for 3 years? Doesn't an 03MY equate to a 2003 Defender?
For example at: http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d...ce:Min,Max~0.5

Hey Gruntled ,

I used to be a Landrover Freak, Its all I used to eat , sleep & work for, then I had a realisation that I was spending more time working on them than driving them and never had any money, sold my pride & joy (worst think I ever did) and went 4wd-less for a few years, took up less expensive hobbies and survived by going bush on motorbikes.

Then I saw a sad BJ40 on the side of the road & had to buy it, followed soon by 3 more 40 series cruiser, then an 80 series and a 105 cruiser. The Toyotas
held up to their legendary reliability status but always something was missing, No Toyota I had was near as capable off road, well they may have been but I was too chicken to try the stuff I would not blink at in the past in a LandRover, What kept me smiling was I never had to work on them, but still something was missing - they were like white-goods, had no soul.

On a round Australia trip I had a Cam sieze on the 80 series & valves went thru a couple of pistons, Then it occurred to me that it was the first time (apart from a rollover in a Series 2) that I ever had to walk away from a 4wd, ( I later drove the Series 2 home after getting it winched back ), I bought the 105 in Broome to finish the trip with & the 80 Series went to the Broome wreckers.

I was so close to buying a new FJCruiser for work, I would have for sure if they came in Diesel / Manual and that would have been a very big mistake because I bought a used 2004 Td5 Defender 110 ( from someone here on AULRO) which suited my work needs better.

Even after a 20 year break from Landrovers I instantly felt at home in the Defender, it was like getting to know a long lost friend again, and we are inseperable now, True my tools have come out of retirement, but I don't mind working on it at all. Not that anything really needs to be done, I just keep fiddling. In fact the Landrover is so good both on and off road I that I found I didn't drive the Toyotas any more so sold them & don't regret it one bit.

After the 80 & 100 series the Defender dosent have much elbow room , the A/C and heater is rubbish & it gets dusty but if your used to a 40 -70 you will be fine. and the Td5, Fantastic, best engine I ever had , The only criticism I can find after being used to a Toyota is that 1st gear is not low enough for starting off on an incline when towing a van.

All I can say is go for a test drive and good luck with your decision.

I hope you don't become Dis-Gruntled

cheers Don link to my website