Australian Defenders?

[jik22]

OK, on the slight chance I might be allowed a Defender on a corporate lease scheme (should prove interesting if they get me one and see the state it will be in by the first service, not to mention all the extras it will likely have gained) I've been looking at new ones.

Not much in the way of model choice, is there? TD5 110 or TD5 110. :D

No sign of the new model on the .com.au website either, so does anyone know when we're getting it here and if it's orderable yet?

Oh, and finally....why do the ones here have white roofs regardless of body colour?

[hiline]

you'll find a few guys have theirs already ordered on here :D

[nornalup]

And don't worry about the white roof. 5 know it does not look as good, I have it on a 2001 Extreme that is dark metalic green. But on a hot day with a decent window tint your sure appreciate the practical colour on top.

[jik22]

And don't worry about the white roof. 5 know it does not look as good, I have it on a 2001 Extreme that is dark metalic green. But on a hot day with a decent window tint your sure appreciate the practical colour on top.

I have a white roof on my otherwise blue 110, and don't really like it there either. If I got a new Defender, it would be grey or silver, and I think the white roof would look even worse. Plus, I'm hoping the new Defender has Aircon that actually gets the cab cool, so it would be less of an issue than with the current cars. (Though I'll confess I didn't even think of the climate here as a possible upside of the roof).

Does anyone know why they do it though? I can't imagine it's for the climate...

Will also be intersting to see if the new model is offered in the same 3 trim options as the UK ones, or whether we get an Xtreme again?

[dullbird]

i like the white roof's allways have and up until recently in the uk all the defenders had white roofs

the best thing about a white roof and can tell you this from experience

when you smash your roof in on a tree like we did:o and smashed all the alpine window you can just get another roof to replace and dont have to worry about matching the colours up;)

when we smashed in the roof of the 90 including the alpine window it was actually more expensive to replace the alpine window than it was to put a second hand roof on:D and being white it was a straight swap

[jik22]

i like the white roof's allways have and up until recently in the uk all the defenders had white roofs


I vaguely remember seeing somewhere it had to do with where they were built....I remember the older Defenders in the UK had white roofs, but can't remember seeing a TD5 with one....

As for crashing them...well, I was going to try not to! :D

[p38arover]

OK, on the slight chance I might be allowed a Defender on a corporate lease scheme (should porove interesting if they get me one and see the state it will be in by the first service, not to mention all the extras it will likely have gained)

See if you can build those into the lease. Some lease companies will allow accessories, especially bull bars, tow bars, etc. perhaps even long range tanks.

Ron

[Pedro_The_Swift]

so whats an Extreme in the UK?

is there a comparable model?

[solmanic]

According to Austral in Brisbane the first batch of 07 Defenders will be August build arriving in September. They say that they'll have a demonstrator on the floor then as well and are assembling a list of all those wanting a test drive.They also said you just have to request a colour matched roof if you don't want a white one.The Xtreme spec. is half-way between the UK County and XS spec. Basically we get a County spec. without carpet heated seats heated front windshield and leather seat inserts.

[Snapper]

When I bought my TD5 last year, there was a new complete black TD5 in the Newstead yard also. My theory was also wgere it was built but have nothing to back that up.
Were the Extremes built in South Africa?

[scrambler]

I think that in Oz the SA built models had coloured roofs while UK-built it was a special order.

[numpty]

Yes, the Extremes were built in Sth Africa. All imported from UK now and when we bought ours last year if you wanted any colour other than white, it had to be ordered. that's why it took 4 months for ours to get here. BTW air con in the new model should be better, but all old stock has the same crappy air con they've been using for years.
Re lease, ours is leased and the Bullbar, Towbar and Snorkel were added as lease items.

[jik22]

so whats an Extreme in the UK?

is there a comparable model?

UK has Base, County and XS. Specs for the current version have vanished form the website though, so I can't compare with what I now understand an Xtreme to be out here, but XS level had things like part leather seats, leather steering wheel, etc. so quite a high trim level for a Defender!! :D


They also said you just have to request a colour matched roof if you don't want a white one.The Xtreme spec. is half-way between the UK County and XS spec. Basically we get a County spec. without carpet heated seats heated front windshield and leather seat inserts.

Thanks, that clears it up a bit. I probably need to pop into a delaer and see what is orderable for the new model here, then compare that to the UK versions again.

[jik22]

Re lease, ours is leased and the Bullbar, Towbar and Snorkel were added as lease items.

OK, thanks. Good to know, though at work we are stuck with a single leave company if we want to do salary sacrafice (The only thing making me consider it so I can save some tax) for the lease payments.

4 months and special order to get what I want is fine with me too, if it's that simple. Wonder if the lease lot would add air lockers and 2" lift plus MTR's? ;)

[Tyrepower]

My Extreme is a late 2001 (December) Java Black 110 made in England, and has a black roof. On hot days I wish that it was white or that the air con worked better. The only real complaint I have with the thing is that it is so hard to keep cool on 35+ days let alone 45 deg days. And with the air con on full it sounds like an F18 taking off using the bonnet as an aircraft carrier. So during summer it just stays in the garage and I really only get out in it during the winter months. The advantages of having a company car.:D:D
Cheers Richard AKA Tyrepower

[p38arover]

Wonder if the lease lot would add air lockers and 2" lift plus MTR's? ;)

Probably. The'd build it in to the lease payments - more money for them.

Ron

[jik22]

Probably. The'd build it in to the lease payments - more money for them.

Ron

I'd actually be very happy with that, and of buying the car at the end of the 3 year lease (By which time the next lease will be a new D3/RRS for the wife) and keep it till it fell apart. I just thought when they saw serious offroad gear being added they may get concerned about how I might be intending to use it - and they'd be right! ;)

I'm amazed all this is possible though - in the UK, I doubt any of the big lease companies would allow this, and personal leasing there isn't even tax deductable the way it is here with salary sacrafice.

[jik22]

My Extreme is a late 2001 (December) Java Black 110 made in England, and has a black roof.

Java black...nice.....well, if I can't get a new one, and you ever want to sell it, just shout. :)

[worldsrival]

just spoke to LRA, they said theyre still undecided on whether they will re-issue the 90 with the release of the new model. shall we help them make up their minds? petition anyone?

[spudboy]

I spoke to an LRA bloke in Adelaide earlier this week (he was from Melbourne) and he said that they ARE bringing in the 90.

He was from Spare Parts I think, so maybe he knows what has been ordered to service the new models.

He also said that LRA deliberately waited for some time before bringing in the new Defender so that any little bugs in the production would be sorted before we got ours.

[Frenchie]

When I leased mine the lease company would not pay for any add on extras at all, just the base vehicle.

[disco-bob]

OK, on the slight chance I might be allowed a Defender on a corporate lease scheme (should prove interesting if they get me one and see the state it will be in by the first service, not to mention all the extras it will likely have gained) I've been looking at new ones.

Not much in the way of model choice, is there? TD5 110 or TD5 110. :D

No sign of the new model on the .com.au website either, so does anyone know when we're getting it here and if it's orderable yet?

Oh, and finally....why do the ones here have white roofs regardless of body colour?


can i ask who you plan to lease thru?


thanks rob.

[JDNSW]

My Extreme is a late 2001 (December) Java Black 110 made in England, and has a black roof. On hot days I wish that it was white or that the air con worked better. The only real complaint I have with the thing is that it is so hard to keep cool on 35+ days let alone 45 deg days. And with the air con on full it sounds like an F18 taking off using the bonnet as an aircraft carrier. So during summer it just stays in the garage and I really only get out in it during the winter months. The advantages of having a company car.:D:D
Cheers Richard AKA Tyrepower

Now you know why most sold here are either white or at least have white roofs - in this country black has to be the worst possible colour for a car!

John

[George130]

Mine is a lease vehicle:twisted:.
With the accessories you just need to get then specified as part of the vehicle. So get your quotes with any of the extras and lease it with them supplied and you are right. After that you can add things but can't claim them on the lease. You can replace broken bits though so if worst comes to worst maybe you need to break you diffs out the front of Maxi-drive:twisted:

[jik22]

can i ask who you plan to lease thru?


thanks rob.

There's only one lot we can use, and I'm not even sure they do Defenders. Will let you know.

[mark2]

.

He also said that LRA deliberately waited for some time before bringing in the new Defender so that any little bugs in the production would be sorted before we got ours.

After 20 years they still havent sorted out the 'little bugs in the production':D

[Signal1]

Question is, does your lease company specify that the vehicle needs to be Australian Made/Owned or do they specify a category of vehicle? Is it part of your package where your company supplies the car? If so, then you may be pushing it up hill!

I'm with NLC (Novated Lease Company) and I can specify any car I want because I'm salary sacrificing. You can even have a Ducati as your daily commuter. Need to move down to Black Rock and talk to them about a Yamaha Waverunner FX160 :p

[tombraider]

Yes, the Extremes were built in Sth Africa. All imported from UK now and when we bought ours last year if you wanted any colour other than white, it had to be ordered. that's why it took 4 months for ours to get here. BTW air con in the new model should be better, but all old stock has the same crappy air con they've been using for years.
Re lease, ours is leased and the Bullbar, Towbar and Snorkel were added as lease items.

My extreme (2001) is a UK build :cool: I checked!

[jik22]

Question is, does your lease company specify that the vehicle needs to be Australian Made/Owned or do they specify a category of vehicle? Is it part of your package where your company supplies the car? If so, then you may be pushing it up hill!

I'm with NLC (Novated Lease Company) and I can specify any car I want because I'm salary sacrificing. You can even have a Ducati as your daily commuter. Need to move down to Black Rock and talk to them about a Yamaha Waverunner FX160 :p

No clue at the moment, as I'm waiting to talk to the lease company rep.

Basically, I know we have to use this one company for a novated lease, and there are some conditions about what cars are deemed suitable by the business, but as my entitlement is a car allowance (As opposed to a supplied car) as a perk of my grade and not a "business need" arrangement, I'm hoping I can have roughly what I like. If we weren't tied to this one company for the salary sacrafice bit, I'd have gone and got a Defender and a Yamaha R1 already, as we can salary sacrafice two vehicles at once. :D