Thread: Is this Defender 90 puma 2.2 a good buy?

Good service records are very important,apart from that,the usual oil leaks around the drive line,rust in the fire wall,and rear chassis member,if it has been parked outside or been on the beach.

You will need a torch to look at the rear chassis member,from the front side,is the go.

An inspection by a good LR Indie would also be helpfull.
Price seems not to bad,hopefully some haggle room,good luck with it.

Last time i looked,there were many more Puma 90s than any other Puma model for sale,by quite a margin.


The RS in your sig,one of my brothers sons just wrote one off
Looks like not a lot of damage,but he has been paid out by the insurance.

A great little car.

Apart from all the bull**** in the advert... genuine this and genuine that, the genuine roof racks are poorly made, genuine rear step stupid its listed as its a standard fitment.

If you search through this part of the forum, this question has been asked and answered plenty of times.
I have a "Defender list" not ... faults per say (ok ok its faults) but rather just fine tuning if you will, all the failings from the factory.
A Defender (classic?) is the Land Rover poster child of hodge bodge.

low km's and the price isnt too out there.
but dont expect its built to any expectable standard of something from 2012, mid eighties build quality is being kind.
But dont be concerned, even a Defender thats broken still looks cool.

Best part about a Defender is standing there looking at it.
The next best part is driving it, depending on how old it is, how far you are driving, how hot or cold the weather is... will depend on how much the novelty of driving it wears off.
The worst part about a Defender is working on them.

But the Defender TDCi (2007 - 2016) is the best Defender model and once you have Defender disease you will love it and the nay-sayers and their comments will be water off a ducks back.

Very much depends what your mate is looking for. We all own Defenders for different reasons.

If a city streets cruising vehicle, all looks, etc. with 33" tyres, it's expensive. Look on carsales, you can buy 2015 models for the same price.

If he is looking for a desert expedition vehicle, then why 33" tyres ? (has the gearbox gearing been changed to allow for this), and why a touch screen ipod thingy, with rough roads and corrugations, it will soon vibrate loose. Has the clutch been replaced or the adaptor shaft replaced, half shafts, etc. These are the sorts of questions I would be asking.

The tune you mentioned, has the intercooler also been replaced with something that matches the tune, and the air filter box, and is there an EGT gauge to ensure that temperatures with the tune doesn't cause problems ?

In my opinion, (as you have come onto a forum to ask us for our opinions) if your mate is asking these questions of a friend, to put on this website, your mate might need to spend some more time researching this era of Defenders, and consider his potential use of one. Has he driven one yet ?

And don't let your mate forget, the purchase price (and associated cost, stamp duty, etc) is just the beginning, Defenders require continuous and ongoing maintenance and associated costs.

Defender TDCi (2007 - 2016) with their gearing run exceptionally well with 33" (or rather as the one in this thread, 255/85R16).
If you have never driven a last model Defender with standard tyre size you wont notice the subtle gearing spacing when compared to 255/85R16.

The big downside with 255/85R16 is they only come in a mud terrain pattern and the Defender would be far nicer with a all terrain pattern.

We have had a late 2012 90 since 2017. Issues to date have been failed output shaft, replaced with Ashcroft unit. Ignition barrel failures x 3, replaced with Perentie ignition. Corrosion around sunroof and safari windows. Rear door latch & striker failed due to weight of the spare wheel, different wheel mount installed to put weight on chassis. Hi/lo slipping out of high at 100+ kph requiring transfer box to be removed to adjust a grub screw, and fix leaking seal. Due for a new clutch very shortly so have all that booked in!

no idea why anyone would pay this money for a 10+yr old car. You could have a brand new Ranger or similar for that money. I'm a terminal land rover dude, but $70k+ for an old defender 90 is completely insane.