Thread: Opinion on the Defender 130 TD5 - buy or avoid?

Oh no, you've started another Tdi vs. Td5 debate...

Prepare for a load of answers completely contradicting each other, followed by the suggestion that a Puma is the best...

You will be even more confused!

Personally I'd buy a cooked Td5 and fit a Duramax...

Will

he he he yeah I'd buy a Puma if I had anywhere near enough cash.

The last thing I need is the hassle of rebuilding a car, fitting a new engine etc.




Edit: I just spoke to a mate who used to work for LR and he said he wouldn't buy a TD5 if I paid him!


If I could get a good Tdi I would definitely go that way.

I bought a 2002 TD5 a few years back it has never let me down but has cost me quite a bit over time.
I think a well sorted TD5 is a good thing but a bad one is to be avoided the fact that mine had been poorly maintained cost me over $7K something as simple as the wrong coolant can be expensive,
This is not a uniquely TD5 issue.
I don't believe that they are overly complex or the nightmare that the naysayers said back in 1999.

Would I do it again? Yes but only because its a hobby which is why I keep spending.

If I wanted to buy a second hand TD5 and drive it for years without spending money I think I would be deluding myself. This would apply to any vehicle that I buy apart from my wife's car that just gets driven around town.

Service records are vital in your case in my opinion.

Seriously do a search... there must be a million threads on this.

Consider:

Before I got mine I didn't know anything about engines, apart from the fact that they went bang and the wheels turned.
Td5 is dead easy to work on and a far superior engine to the Tdi IMHO.
As said, do a search, this is becoming flogging a zombie horse it's been done so many times.

Originally Posted by VladTepes

he he he yeah I'd buy a Puma if I had anywhere near enough cash.

The last thing I need is the hassle of rebuilding a car, fitting a new engine etc.




Edit: I just spoke to a mate who used to work for LR and he said he wouldn't buy a TD5 if I paid him!


If I could get a good Tdi I would definitely go that way.

We used to own a well respected (it no longer exists) LR dealership in Sydney, we've run 3 Td5's for 10 years...

And yes it was a workshop too, so we saw all the problems.

But they are the vehicles we've kept the longest, 1 is sold, replaced with a D4, the other two still rack up daily driving k's, I had a Tdi, a Td5 is better all round, unless you aren't interested in power or doing maintenance at all.

I'd suggest your mate hasn't actually driven one properly.

Will

Well everyone is entitled to an opinion - he worked for LR for MANY years from the time he apprenticed there and worked his way well up the ranks. Anyway...

I am quite happy with my Disco Tdi engine wise so the outtright power etc of a Td5 (or lack of it for a Tdi) is not a deal breaker for me.

The relative cost of injectors etc on a CRD probably is !


Discomuppet - Zombie Horse resurrection !

There's a difference between driving and working on them. I doubt he worked there since 1960 though... haha

If reliability and longevity, with simple maintenance is your thing, I'd go a Tdi, I miss mine, however I prefer DD'ing the Td5, I do a lot of highway driving.

Will