Thread: Just Curious...

Hi Relay, this is as good a thread as any. There are several opinions around as to which Defender is best to buy.I run a 130 TD5 with which I am basically pleased.Several friends prefer the 300 Tdi because it is less electronically dependant and there is a case for the 200Tdi on the same basis.What is most important is condition for the money being asked.Check out E-bay or the various on line land rover sales sites for an idea of what is being asked for the respective year models.Try and avoid vehicles that have been usd on beaches.My previous LR 110 needed quite a bit of rust repair over the years because of this.Service history is a good guide if it is available.Some extras can be an incentive to buy a particular vehicle but only if the basic cindition is good.Mine came with all the extras I could want except diff locks,so I was prepared to take a risk on its condition, so far so good.There is a club for landrover 4 wheel drive vehicles only in Newcastle, called the Newcastle Rover owners 4Wheel drive club that meets on the third Tuesday of the month at the New Lambton RSL club.Full of enthusiasts and years of experience.The Newcastle Landrover club is an all makes club despite its name. Cheers, 130man.

Nyeh well, I just wanted to check and make sure I'm in the right spot. I've looked into one that'll be on the market very soon (we get first chance at it).
The other half has had a look-see, and tells me such things:

--1985 model
--approximately 340,000 on the clock
--8 cyl, gas/petrol
--noisy bearing in gearbox (suspect input shaft bearing)
--comes with driving lights, bar and winch, 4 new tyres (dunno what they are), 12 months rego
--has...oil leaks heh, surprise?!
--has spots of chassis that have been repaired from rust (plate welded)
--has some rust in the rear bar area (not totally positive where)
--something about a 2 inch lift...*shrugs*

Asking 5.5k...will I be paying too much?

Don't know what that age is worth.

Hi Relay, if there is rust in the chassis look carefully at the firewall and also at the bottoms of the doors.The firewall can be a difficult item to repair as it supports half the car.$5000 could be OK but I suggest you get a ballpark quote for transmission work before you go any further as it may be half as much again.Wear in one part of the tranny implies wear in others.I have no experience with the V8 motors, so can't comment on that.Cheers, 130man

The problem with tranny work is you dont know what the problem is until you strip it down. I wonder if anyone's had previous experience with em...I'm semi-content to sit down and rebuild it myself if I have to. I have the time, but probably not the tools.

I'll be organising a look for myself later on this week, and hopefully be able to swap cars temporarily so I can take it back to my workshop and give it a good look over and drive. I know the guy, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. And I'll look into that rust! I dont want the thing dying of cancer on me!

assuming its a manual the worst parts quote Ive ever had to pass onto someone was for $2k and that was for the inputshaft, layshaft, all bearings and all seals...

$5.5k sounds a bit much but with the extras it sounds like a good deal. assuming the chassis has been done right (and they found all the normal internal chassis rust hidey holes) the firewalls ok at that age a good stock 110 is worth maybe $3.5k


wether you want to trade the dodgey gearbox up against the extra fun stuff youre getting is your call. (id take it in a heart beat cause I know that on a good week it would take me 3 days to remove strip/rebuild and replace the transmission)

since your the sparky girl why dont you ask if the current owner minds if you drop the oil out of the box and tcase and have a sticky with an endoscope borrowed from work?

If he shirks at that idea Id probabley say that theres something more than a bearing wrong with it.

check the type of oil that comes out, check it for bad stuff (gearbox shards) amd contamination.

best of luck..

...Hah I need it. I've done two head gaskets (both our cars) in 4 months. I figured it was about time we upgraded. Mind you, from the rocky to this wont be an upgrade per-se (same year model)...but then again. It's not bouncy, heavy and gutless! That to me is a bonus all on it's own. And it's a Landy! Yay finally!

I doubt the owner will mind what I do to it. He's pretty good about those kinds of things, and is just too lazy to fix it himself...or inspect it for that matter. And if I do it for him, then at least he knows what's wrong and can adjust the price accordingly.

Thanks for the advice thus far guys. I'll fill ya in later this week when I'm done inspecting. Who knows, I might be out and about in -style- soon!

Tis a hard question..few months ago I bought an Isuzu Diesel county with 280000km on the clock for $5000 and recentley sold it for $10000.
There is an Ebay couple trying to sell a 96 fender for $22000(goodluck)
I bought mine for $15000 after it was advertised at $18000 and have been offered $25000 for it (but I have added lots of $$$ of goodies to it..

You just have to keep looking and not get desperate, the right one will come along..in time..took me 12 months to find mine and I must have looked at 50.