What to look for when buying a defender ?

[eureka88rangie]

Hi,

I am thinking of buying a Defender, yesterday I looked at a 2001 TD5 trayback dual cab & it drove really well but had a bit of a gearbox noise when taking off.

It was also an ex railways vehicle with 264000 kms on it.

What sort of kms can you get out of the TD5 ?

Do they have any common issues to look out for ?

Cheers Sean

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Sean

An ex-railways vehicle is likely to have had a hard life, multiple drivers and heavy loads.

Check the rear chassis for cracking particularly along the top of the chassis rails in front of the wheels going under the rear of the cab also for cracking up the chassis behind the spring mount.

Also check for signs of rust around the front of the "A" pillars.

Check service history and oil leaks.

Diana

[eureka88rangie]

Thanks Diana,

I think i might give this one a miss and wait a while, I agree it probably had a hard life and the service history was sketchy at best.

Cheers Sean