How much do you reckon this is worth?

[Ewen]

Hi all,

managed to chance across a 1999 110 extreme defender that a local wholesaler just picked up. He was planning to do some work on it before putting it out for sale but was pretty good to come down on a saturday for me to hve a look at it. Asked me to make an offer I told him I'll think about it first.

Here's the facts:

1999 110 Td5
171000 km (quite low for the age of the car but who's to say it isn't all spent smashing over boulders)
Front bullbar fitted
Tow Bar
Lift kit fitted (he couldn't tell me anything about it except it has been lifted)
Side Steps fitted
2 cracks on windscreen + paint peeling on roof (dealer said he was planning to get these fixed before selling but if i wanted i can buy it w/o. saves me money as i don't really care about peeling paint or the windscreen)

Here's what i found when I saw it:

Rust on the bottom of the front doors. I'll attach a picture. I didn't take off the plastic bezel but I'm sure its not pretty.
Underside chassis looks ok but some spots have 1 - 2cm of encrusted mud.
No smoke visible from exhaust when I started the engine.
Couldn't smell any oil on my finger when I swiped the inside of the exhaust
Little electronic issues - no handbrake lights, no abs lights (maybe it doesn't have? but dealer said it did)

When I test drove it boy the transmission gave me a scare. I was going up the ramp to the freeway when the gears just disengaged going from 1st to 2nd. Stuck on the inclined onramp! Thankfully found the fault. The transmission had disengaged itself from the hi-range to the neutral. Couldn't get it back into Hi so had to climb the onramp in lowrange. Back on flat ground I could then get it back into the normal hi. The clutch and gearbox feels old and unwilling to cooperate at times. Can't feel when the gears are engaged.

I came home immediately after test driving it and as I'm writing this now my nose is still stuffed up with all the exhaust fumes I was breathing in the car. I had the windows up cause I wanted to test the air con + its a hot day today heh.

The dealer was planning to sell it at 19,990 after he gets the windscreen replaced and the roof painted. Talking to him, he did tell me he got the car from another dealer in albany. I'm guessing this car spent quite a bit of time on some farm. Anyway he said to make him an offer.

What do you all reckon?

[Ewen]

oh and it doesn't have a service history. the sticker on the windscreen was from yonks ago. :(

[justinc]

not for 19,990, not even for 10,990,

a cheap defender is NOT a cheap defender.

be warned.


jc

[ugu80]

Just a word of warning on WA cars; I know some eastern dealers will not, or at least don't like, buying them because a lot of them are continually washed or hosed down with bore water which promotes rust (the doors?). Might want to give the firewall a good check. My first thought, reading your post, was don't walk away from that one, run.

[eddy]

Keep looking,they do come up.There was a clean example that drove well in a local car yard for the same year advertised for $17990.Was only there for a week.

[AndrewGJones]

i know your challenge mate, they just are not thick on the ground over here at all, and when they do come up people/dealers want top dollar.

No service history at all? don't risk it, sound like it is in poor condition mechanically, and that rust is not the water, it's plain old neglect.

[Ewen]

thanks guys.. yall confirmed what i was feeling.