1996 Land Rover Defender 300 TDI Question

[Lacisnot]

Hi,

I am in the market for a defender. I've found one for $15k but it has 266000km and it has an upgraded intercooler and a rev counter and some other mods.

It's got some rust in the bolt holes on the body work and in some of the hinges (its more of a rust discolouration but the metal is OK).

My question is: how many KM's does a well maintained 300 TDI get out of its life? and is it worth $15k?

I am quite new to this and am not really sure what to look for - something I did notice was a bit of white smoke coming out when I turned it on from cold.

Thanks for your help

[87County]

Condition and year model have some bearing on this but it would have to be exceptionally good.

If all mechanicals have been well maintained, the gearbox and clutch may be the first thing you could expect problems with, because you cannot know how they have been used (abused).

It would be best if you could have it inspected by a person with LR Defender knowledge.

[Nomad9]

Hi Lacisnot,
About six weeks ago I picked up a 2001 110 with a TD5 motor, has done 269k with a full Land Rover service history for $17k, got a bull bar and winch, needed some rubber and has an oil leak and did have a diesel leak, had a new clutch in December 2012, in my opinion it was good value for money.
Personally I'm a bit over the 300 tdi motor with the timing belt, for that sort of money it would have to be good, good service history. The 300 tdi motor is a good solid motor, I drove one back from Sydney to Perth on three and a half cylinders, the top ring had disintegrated, I only found this out when I took the motor out when I got back to Perth, I might have thought twice about it had I known.
I've had two 300 tdis go past 400kls with no real issues.