Save me from the dark side!!!!

[cucinadio]

As many of you may know, in a couple of months l may well be in the position to purchase a defender. At this stage it will be a Puma, 07 onwards.

I have a burning love for the defender but after three years with my D1 which didn’t end nicely, my resolve has been tested and l must be honest when l say, I am considering other vehicles in the time I have to procrastinate....

The defender will suit best for my requirements to set up a vehicle for long extended travel with the family, but with quotes like



My vehicle is going OK at the moment - but after 3 years of ownership, the vehicle hardly inspires confidence.



In my favor, as everything bar the windscreen has been changed under the original warranty, I should be OK!



Yeah - mine goes to the dealer every 8 weeks so I'm all good there too. file:///C:/Users/owner/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif(I have had an annual LR corrosion inspection done).





My air-con will only blow cold for about 30mins then it starts to loose coldness. iv'e taken it to the dealer 3 times and they seem to be at a loss


The defender is hardly inspirering confidence in spending @50k at the moment...thank god l don’t have the money at hand to go through with the purchase because at the moment it would be purely based on my adoration and not common sense.
As they say “Common sense is not always common” what kind of advice could owners of the Puma bestowal on me to keep faith in my decision and not to be ensnared to purchasing a vehicle l know in my heart of hearts won’t be passionate about.

[incisor]

go buy a jeep... they are cheap as chips right now

:p

you feel better now?

no ?

unrequited love can suck :(

when you buy a new defender you get three years of warranty time to get it sorted.

that is the way it seems to be.

if you don't think you could cope with that sort of thing then you need to buy something else. eg a used d3 or change to another brand and pray you get a good one.

from what i have seen and heard, when you buy a defender, you should bank on it being a bonding experience :p

same can be said for a couple of other brands at the moment as well according to some of the feedback i have been hearing so sounds like it could be a fun experience however way you decide to go.

[VladTepes]

Looked at Jeeps the otehr day. Rubbishy yank over-proced (for what you get) rubbish. The Grand Cherokke is only available (currently) in petrol with fuel consumption of 16l / 100kms. Yeah thats right. Almost as bad as my 1994 V8 Range Rover.

The Wrangler was "OK" but for the ACRES of bloody plastic that is the front bumper (the damn thing is like a cow cathcer on a steam train) and the guards. They'd be a fun beachcar but the interior space is less useful than in a LR I reckon.

Went away less than impressed.

I;ve been looking at small SUV's so can't comment on the bigger ones - except to say that you won't get anything else Defender sized for Defender $.

[jc109]

Cucinadio,

I've had similar concerns, and can admit to quite some trepidation about what I may have gotten myself into (new Defender has landed and I take delivery soon), but I take comfort in the belief that this forum attracts certain people and that many more are out enjoying themselves in trouble-free vehicles. People will always talk more freely about negatives than positives. Those with problems have time to write on here about them, and those without are grinning away and getting on with life.

I might be kidding myself but it's all I've got.

[one_iota]

Sorry mate I can't save you from the darkside because I'm already there. :twisted:;)

Having been there for two an a half years I wouldn't know what else I'd do...the choice on the other side isn't exactly inspiring.

Inspite of the bad press (see red quotes) my Defender isn't that bad.

[Drew90]

I had my Puma for a 4 days an love her to bits. Not sure about the problems, non yet! Some of the finish is not perfect but that's what I love. It's got character. I love the shape, I love the engine, I love the simplistic of the vehicle. Life is to busy and hectic these days and when I get in my Defender, and it's always windows down, l smile and life seems easier. My 2 cents. Of course if I have lots and lots of problems with her, yes it willdrive me nuts. However, you always here more about bad things than good things, it's just the way humans are. We should all be happy with being fkn healthy and living in the greatest country in the world. Go with the one that you really want. Life is too short.

My 2 cents B)

[Ricey]

The other good advice out there is to do a lot of tyre kicking. There's good & bad ones out there & driving them, climbing under & going over them is still the best way of sorting the good from the bad. I'm happy with my new 90, it feels sound & drives well. Good luck!

[weeds]

if i was in a position to buy a new defender i would also be comparing it to a 78? series cruiser, as the 78 would be similar in size and layout as the fender

[cucinadio]

if i was in a position to buy a new defender i would also be comparing it to a 78? series cruiser, as the 78 would be similar in size and layout as the fender

That is one of the options getting in the way mate.... 76 tho, at this stage the only thing it has going for it is the V8 the rest just doesn't compare... but it is still in the way in the procrastination stakes ;)

[Nera Donna]

If you like/love a vehicle you will take the time and effort to look after it. You will also forgive it’s misgivings more easily. (All vehicle have their problems)
You want more ‘courage in your convictions’? Get onto the Patrol, Landcruiser, Jeep Forum pages and just see for yourself what people are going through with their vehicles. I think you’ll find they’re pretty much the same as what we have here.
I went through the same thing 4 years ago before deciding on a Defender, know what your thinking.
PS. Jeep and H3, towing capacity 1.3tons……………:cool:

[PAT303]

Best way is as above,go on the other makes forums and see how good they are.Or in allot of cases aren't. pat

[robbotd5]

That is one of the options getting in the way mate.... 76 tho, at this stage the only thing it has going for it is the V8 the rest just doesn't compare... but it is still in the way in the procrastination stakes ;)
From all accounts, the V8 diesel is oil guzzling and under powered for its size. Have read some preaty negative comments on this forum from people who have driven these vehicles. Besides, it's a toyota:twisted::D;). Stick to the devil you know.
Regards
Robbo

[newhue]

cucinadio,
I purchased my puma as a work vehicle, in the first 8 weeks of ownership the dealer had it for 5. I was very disappointed, frustrated, and was seriously thinking of selling it when I finally got it back. In my posted grips someone replied, it doesn't make sense in todays world to buy a Defnder, but we still do. It's a decision of the heart not the head.

But as mentioned below, there is a bonding session with every one of them. And I think you will have to go a long way to find an owner who doesn't enjoy driving there Defer every time. As they say it's an experience every time, and for the most a positive one by far. Hell I must have the most anti car park social vehicle in the world, but I'd rather drive it down for fish and chips any day opposed to the wife Ford Focus.

As for the opposition, I have several friends with new Japanese models and, well, Japanese reliability is a thing of the past. It's only the marketing left these days.

There doesn't seem to be a common problem with a puma that you can put money down on, like the oil consumption of a Toyo V8.
Your puma will have issues, be it small or big, and they will be annoying. But there is the warranty and a dealer usually as it seems, willing to accept it's issues.
I agree it's a worrying time, spending 60K on a vehicle that many seem to find complaints with. But I can guarantee you will find happiness and reward as well, far more than frustration.

[P38ace]

at this stage the only thing it has going for it is the V8 ;)

I can put you off the V8 pretty quickly. Could not wait to get rid of the new 200 series I bought because of that seemingly great motor. Won't bore you with all the details but you'll need to put in a litre of oil every time you fill up with diesel and have you priced a full set of replacement injectors for the future? :D

Then there's the appalling fuel consumption nowhere near manufacturers figures. Do some googling for "oil consumption" and then get it out of your mind. ;)

[P38ace]

As for the opposition, I have several friends with new Japanese models and, well, Japanese reliability is a thing of the past. It's only the marketing left these days.

There doesn't seem to be a common problem with a puma that you can put money down on, like the oil consumption of a Toyo V8.
Your puma will have issues, be it small or big, and they will be annoying. But there is the warranty and a dealer usually as it seems, willing to accept it's issues.
I agree it's a worrying time, spending 60K on a vehicle that many seem to find complaints with. But I can guarantee you will find happiness and reward as well, far more than frustration.

I'll second all that.

And further, when you take your Toyota back to the dealer with the well known oil or fuel issue, or any issue for that matter, you'll be told you're the first with that problem. :D

There's a good reason I'm back in a Defender !

[eksjay]

I agree with Nera Donna - check the other Forums. Being from the Yank side of the divide, I can tell you that I have been very fortunate to have a 4WD that has taken me off the beaten track without fault.

My car is 15yo this year and bought it new. In 1995, my other choices were a Deefer, or a Disco. I think I would have done well with any of the three choices -but have absolutely no regrets about the XJ Cherokee with the 4.0L engine.

I don't think my XJ will ever leave my garage but if it did, it would be replaced by a Deefer or Jeep Wrangler Unlimited [with the Pentastar engine]. Both have the same quality issues, IMHO, moreso the Deefer considering its unchanged body/chassis spec.

[clubagreenie]

I've had a V8 diesel block and while this is the first I've heard of it's issues (never really looked at it, was inspected for suitability for using for racing) it's very similar (won't get anyone at toyota to admit it) to the petrol UR series which I'm not impressed with. Unsure of gthe casting process but the UR is die cast and CT scanned for casting errors prior to machining.

It's designation, 1VD is fairly well suited.

[marko66]

Hi All

I have a two moth old defender 110 with 10 000 km on the clock and I love it. Had two warranty issues which I've waited till now to sort out.

One is the aircon switch which is well known and apparently to far from the coil as well.

The other was water coming in from the bulkhead, refitted the plugs, another known problem.

I would have to say that from what I have read a lot of the problems seem to be more dealer related than vehicle related

Would I buy another defender ? yes in a heartbeat. All donations to this goal will gratefully be accepted :):D

Regards Mark