Defender Extreme

[greengumby]

Hi everyone
I am new to this forum but need some unbiased (as in salesperson) advice. I have always liked the Defender for its practicality but have always been put off buying one because of the reliability (or lack of) factor. Are the stories as bad as they say ? I am looking at buying new and have heard Ford has ironed a lot of the dramas with build quality. Could any owners of these vehicles give me their personal opinions - good or bad ?

Thanks
Gumby of the green kind !!

[bigbugga]

Welcome to AULRO

Dont have a defender but I think from the owners that are in here you will find they are not as bad as everyone thinks they are.

[Phoenix]

Welcome to AULRO GreenGumby style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

From what I have read and been told, stories about defender unreliability is a hangover from the days of poorly maintained series landys.

Don't let the hype put you off, they are an excellent machine. I'm sure some defender owners will be along in a moment to tell you about theirs, but in the mean time, have a look at the second edition of our newsletter (you can get it in the download center) for an account of Expats first outing in his Defender 90.

[Defender200Tdi]

Hi Greengumby and welcome!

As a (hopefully soon to be) fellow Defender owner, let me say...just do it! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

It's true that Defenders in the past have suffered from some reliability issues (so have all manufacturers at times), but those belong to the early '90's and should be sorted by now for anyone wanting a used one. But you're looking at buying new and I reckon you're likely to get the best Defender ever. Bear in mind that Defenders are far more single minded in their pupose in life than any other 4wd so it'll be the most capable 4wd you can get off the shelf, but the TD5 power makes it far more livable on-road than any Defender before it. Just do it...I bet you'll never look back! :mrgreen:


Paul style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[VladTepes]

Defender200Tdi: What the heck are you talking about? You already HAVE a Defender. :?

GreenGumby: I have a 93 Defender Ute and I love it. It has had a few problems but nothing too major (touch wood, touch lots of wood). If I had the cash I would buy another Defender - a TD5.

The TD5 is a great engine but as you are buying new you apparently have a bit of cash so MR Automotive in Brisbane (Kippa Ring) can put in a mod chip for less than $1000 which will turn it into a rocketship. Who needs a V8 ? Nobody, now.

[Defender200Tdi]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Defender200Tdi: What the heck are you talking about? You already HAVE a Defender.[/b][/quote]

I know! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif My meaning was that hopefully Greengumby will also buy a Defender so that we then may be fellow Defender owners. :roll:

Come on Vlad, catch up! :wink:


Paul style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[Expat]

GreenGumby..

Bit bizzie at the mo to answer this one with the time it deserves , promise I will get back to this topic and post an honest pro/con opinion in a while.

Cheers

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Originally posted by VladTepes
MR Automotive in Brisbane (Kippa Ring) can put in a mod chip for less than $1000 which will turn it into a rocketship. Who needs a V8 ? Nobody, now.

Excuse me a minute greengumby ( and Welcome!)

so do I get to spend $1000 on the Mighty V8???

Warp Factor 9.9

still want to compete Vlad???

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Expat]

Alrighty...

As promised heres my un-biased opinion of the Defender 90 Extreme.

We have had this motor since Oct last year and its now done just over 8,500km on the clock.
Have also taken onto Fraser Island to play on the beach (no problems at all) and also a few other 4wd excercises,its superb fun,if its this you are solely after trust me you wont be dissapointed.

But anyways..I am assuming that you arent going to be offroad 100 percent of the time and its the day to day stuff your looking at...so here goes.

Around the city as well as motorway driving its simple , of course your driving style needs to be changed a tad to accomodate what you are now handling but that takes only a short while,of course your not going to 'burn' anything away on the red light drag race but your not going to slouch around like a juggernaut,the TD5 see's amply to that,only fault with motorway and general driving is the view is somewhat touch and go with the wing mirrors when overtaking (yes this happens in this motor!!) this can be easily fixed by just attaching a simple circle mirror onto the mirror itself.

One thing you will develop though is a instant memory of car parks,by this I mean where and where not to try to park..never trust anything below 2.10m on the barrier, parking is a doddle with the power steering and we actually find it easier to park this thing than most other motors.

The aircon is "okish" but after being left on for a period of time starts to drip condensation,you also have freezing knees as the vents are stuck right in at this level..this usually is cured like the rest of us driving these machines by simply having one arm out of the car at all times (its a trait actually),another thing about the driving/passenger position is that its a tad on the uncomfortable side if you are an 6 foot 6 ex-basketball player,you adjust to the steering not the other way around.

The general noise from the Defender can be a tad alarming at first if you are not used to it , however after a period of time you do eventually come around to it..think of it as living next to a rail line...after a while its second nature and you never notice it.

Build Quality is in my opinion not a problem certainly not for our one that is..how many other makes have problems we never know about and far more servere.

The warranty and servicing by LR is excellent in my opinion , we have had the motor back to them more than once (will detail this later) and on not one occasion have I had a gripe about their customer care issues,they also give the thing a lovely valet..so time every service after a 4wd run style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif One thing though on the servicing issue...take no notice of the dealer/handbook regarding the timing..they all purport to the first service being 20,000Km ignore this and take it in after 6 months for the once over.

So here goes with the short Pro's and Con's bit.

Pro's

Its a cracking piece of equipment that will always leave you smiling.
Great to drive.
Will go anywhere.
Unique.
Wont fall apart
Good Warranty and Customer After Care.


Con's (Will include the bits we went in for as well)

If your 6 foot 6 plus its going to be cramped.
Aircon is passable.
Mirror view when overtaking
Will need to adjust driving style slightly.

Fixed/amended.

Steering mount headlight stalk replaced.
Clutch Pressure Plate replaced.
Battery also died after six months and was replaced (under warranty) this was due to the stuff LR coat the engines in when importing.
Awareness of parking in multi-story car parks.



And thats it....overall its a superb piece of LR history and me and the other half still fight tooth and nail on who's turn it is to drive it!!.

Anything else you need to know please dont hesitate to drop me a message.

Cheers

[RR5L]

Nice one Expat.

Regards
RobG65

[lrdef110]

Greengumby, I have owned a 2002 model Extreme (Update model) since March 2002 after trading up from a TD5 Disco 11. Also have a Defender 300TDi ute and a 1957 Series 1 (in parts at the moment). I tell you this to help you appreciate that I might be biased but I will try to be honest.

The Extreme has been a totally reliable vehicle with only one exception and that was a clutch master cylinder at 35,000 km. Now done 70,000k but I have serviced the vehicle every 10,000k. I did 90,000 k in the Disco with a similar totally reliable result. In fact the Disco was the cheapest vehicle to operate I have ever owned. The Extreme uses more fuel than the Disco (Boxy shape).

I have no issues with build quality and the door closure etc is far superior to earlier models. They can have dust problems and the first thing I did when I got it home was put a light in it in the shed at night and filled all the gaps light was coming from with Sikaflex. It is now relatively dustproof. They can be a bit noisy but with a bit of accoustic matting this can make a heap of difference.

I dont get to do any sand driving but the vehicle is exceptional in other terrain. ETC DOES work well in these circumstances and makes for fairly effortless driving when other makes are working hard. IMHO the lack of torque at low revs is a bit of worry but you will learn to compensate for this.

Defenders are suprisingly easy to park but the comment about carparks and mirrors above should be noted. They are also not as agile as other makes around town, but if you are after a town car you would not have made the post. I assume you are looking at new. If you are considering second hand I would not buy a TD5 pre mid 2000. (Before this they had plastic dowells in the heads - might not be a problem but doesn't impress me.)

As I said I'm probably biased, but If the magazines shut up about the supposed poor ergonimics etc, and concentrated on the functionality of these vehicles we might see more on the roads.

Anyway thats my two bobs worth.

Best of luck with your decision.
Barry.

[bigbugga]

Well done guys, its no wonder that AULRO is growing in leaps and bounds when people can get answers like yours.

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[VladTepes]

Paul: :oops: Got me. I don't know WHAT I was thinking.

Pedro: Since I only have a 200Tdi then no, I don't want to compete. Not unless you want to play the fuel economy game. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[greengumby]

As I said, I have always liked the look/functionality of the Defender and your experiences have gone a long way to making my mind up about getting one. When I was looking at the other options like the 3.0ltr Patrol I would have to take it straight from the showroom and modify it with hi-lift suspension, diff locks etc just to get it to the Defenders basic configuration.... so I think my mind will be made up. Will keep you informed......
Thanks heaps

Gumby of the green variety !!!

[Phoenix]

Glad that we could help style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[rmp]

Here's my view:

http://www.gpsvehiclenavigation.com/RMP/de...nder-patrol.php (http://www.gpsvehiclenavigation.com/RMP/defender-patrol.php)