110 Test Drive complete - made the purchase

[Col 110]

Well - I took my test drive today - call me nuts but I drove out to Dubbo to take a test Drive. They had the 110 that I was looking for - and I felt I needed to drive 'that one' to be sure.

It was a great experience and I am grateful for the time the Sales Rep spent with me.

I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about how the test drive would go - especially as I had no experience with a landy and I had no idea if my sales rep would do it justice.

So my first issue was getting into the passenger seat - I was hardly graceful and looked awkward to say the least - then I sat there pondering if I could ever get comfortable in the seat and sitting position.

Anyway - my Sales Rep was brilliant - he really knows Defenders and how to drive the 110 - before long we were having a chat travelling down a country road at 100kph with a car that looked easy enough to drive - and by now I was starting to warm to my seating position.

We stopped to take a look around the car - and then it was my turn. I have to admit to another awkward entrance and I found myself sitting in a drivers seat feeling a bit perplexed - asking myself if this will behave and will I ever find it comfortable? The Sales rep realised this and was actually very helpful and supportive.

It took no time to be doing 100kph down a country road and I was feeling quite comfortable - with all the undulations and unevenness that a country road provides. What a great way to test drive a car rather than on a perfectly even road.

We did a U-Turn using the unmaintained shoulders and I got to feel the anti-stall feature at play - very nice.

I must say that the trip to the dealer was a really great experience. The Sales rep gave me the confidence the vehicle would perform - all I needed to do is learn to drive it the way he did. It wasn't long before I was driving around and feeling quite happy - it is not a hard vehicle to drive!

I will be picking up my Montalcino Red 110 with White roof 110 in due course. I am getting a Hayman Reece hitch and tinting done

Cheers,
Col.

[Col 110]

Here is a photo of the vehicle per the advert

http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/std/car/dealer/cd5264710359399418588.jpg't=42&width=460&height=345&aspect=FitWithin&padColor=f8f8f8

[jon3950]

Congratulations, I think country dealers are the way to go, especially for Defenders. I went to Tamworth for mine.

I reckon one drive is all it takes. You get out either loving it or hating it.

Cheers,
Jon

[mattp]

It looks great, congratulations!

[tact]

Way to go! ;)

[EastFreo]

Well done Col. Very exciting and you won't regret it. Make sure you post some more photos.

[JayBoRover]

Congratulations, I think country dealers are the way to go, especially for Defenders. I went to Tamworth for mine.

I reckon one drive is all it takes. You get out either loving it or hating it.

Cheers,
Jon
Actually I have to disagree with you Jon. I bought my D90 without driving one at all (credit card deposit to the dealer over the phone!) and when I picked it up a week later I was a little stunned when I first drove it. It was lucky I had a 400km drive home because it started growing on me, while a typical short test drive might have seen me walk away. Luckily it's been growing on me more every day and it's been 2.5 years now.:cool:

Congrat's Col, welcome to the 'Fender family:). They take a bit of getting used to but get better all the time. Enjoy.

[TasD90]

Nice to hear a good Land Rover agent story rather than the bad ones we have been reading lately.
Cheers,
Peter.

[jon3950]

Actually I have to disagree with you Jon. I bought my D90 without driving one at all (credit card deposit to the dealer over the phone!) and when I picked it up a week later I was a little stunned when I first drove it. It was lucky I had a 400km drive home because it started growing on me, while a typical short test drive might have seen me walk away. Luckily it's been growing on me more every day and it's been 2.5 years now.:cool:


True, it takes a decent drive. It was about 3 hours for me. The first hour wasn't too good, but by the end I didn't want to get out.

Cheers,
Jon

[Col 110]

Nice to hear a good Land Rover agent story rather than the bad ones we have been reading lately.
Cheers,
Peter.

I did have a positive experience which was nice.

To paint the picture - I had just driven 4 hours in a Holden Crewman 5.7 Cross8 (AWD) auto that I have owned for 11 years - I got there and after a quick chat we then went out in a Defender 2.2 Diesel (totally different driving experience)

I have never driven a diesel before - and it has been a while (11 years) since I have driven a manual for any period of time.

So the support from the Antony to guide me through the gear changes at the start of the drive (when to change up and down) - and just the way he handled the situation was really easy. We did plenty of changes in speed and gears to look at what the vehicle can do in different situations i.e. a slowdown to 80 and then get back to 100 - just simple stuff but effective in raising confidence.

It could have gone the other way if it wasn't for the fact that the drive out in the 1st place was so smooth that I stopped worrying about the vehicle and started to think about how I could drive it the same way.

[Col 110]

True, it takes a decent drive. It was about 3 hours for me. The first hour wasn't too good, but by the end I didn't want to get out.

Cheers,
Jon

I spent maybe 30 mins out and back - and I didn't want to get out! I also didn't want to drive it back into the car yard as there was all those Disco's waiting to be crumpled by the anti-stall feature (just kidding).

I am going out to Dubbo to pick it up rather than having it delivered to Sydney - I want that trip home in it!
Cheers,
Col.

[alan48]

just my two bobs' worth re Dubbo or Clancy Motors-- we bought two cars from them a year or so ago and they were absolutely tops--great knowledge as main fellow is an ex UK LR man with MOD background, and their pricing was best we could find by a long way. Only problem is the the 110 we got has now has had so many issues, is on its third set of axles, gearbox been out twice etc but the 130 has not missed a beat--guess the issue is varying quality from UK not the dealer. Go Dubbo!

[jon3950]

I am going out to Dubbo to pick it up rather than having it delivered to Sydney - I want that trip home in it!
Cheers,
Col.


Me too. Already have a few nice back roads planned.

Cheers,
Jon

[Col 110]

just my two bobs' worth re Dubbo or Clancy Motors-- we bought two cars from them a year or so ago and they were absolutely tops--great knowledge as main fellow is an ex UK LR man with MOD background, and their pricing was best we could find by a long way. Only problem is the the 110 we got has now has had so many issues, is on its third set of axles, gearbox been out twice etc but the 130 has not missed a beat--guess the issue is varying quality from UK not the dealer. Go Dubbo!

So -
1. The "ex UK LR man with MOD background" is the guy that made the difference - he can really drive them and also has a great understanding of what people are looking for. His advice has been outstanding so far!
2. I can only hope the 110 I get is like the 130 you have - I can't blame the dealer for how the vehicle was produced - only how they handle fixing the issues the vehicle has (touch wood my Red one is OK)

[El Rey]

Congratulations and well done. Enjoy it.

Also well done to the sales person.

[cuppabillytea]

Good work Col. I'll keep an eye out for that one next time I head west. It Looks really good.

[Col 110]

Thanks to all for the positive comments - I head out to Dubbo on Wednesday as planned to pick it up - can't wait!!!!

I am sure the trip home will add to the experience - I have around 350k of interesting up and down hill bitumen with some hard dirt road works that I know of from the last trip - will just take it easy.

I am sure the handover with Antony will answer a lot of my questions.

[Col 110]

I drove her back this afternoon - I'll write some commentary up later

Very happy with the decision - nice Truck!

[SG1 Bones]

That is a very nice truck. I hope you have many years of enjoyment coming your way.

Nathan.