Buying Defender?

[dages]

After agreeing to pay the advertised $20,000 for a 1999 Td5 Defender the owner has decide they want $24k, four thousand more than advertised.

Just hoping anyone that has brought one from around Aust recently could give me an indication of wether I'm getting ripped, or it's average for over east. It's the only one for sale in Perth at the moment so not too much to compare it too.

1999 Td5 Defender
180,000 km and FSH
Bull bar, reece hitch, steps.
Worn tyres and play in back axles
Just had full service and rego
Very good condition, used as a family city runner.

What would be the going price from anyones experience? Any comments would be appreciated. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

[incisor]

i wouldnt buy anything from them if they move the price 4k after you have agreed on a price...

sheesh!

for 4k you could ship 3 from melbourne to perth...

[dages]

Yeah I know, not happy. Buying a fender has been one long experience, going to make it sweeter when I finally get my hands on one but.

I wonder if it's the current fuel prices and thier fuel economy that has suddenly made them hot property?

[abaddonxi]

5 tyres, minimum $1000 and usually $1250 or up. Rear axle business could be anything but not cheap.

$20,000 sounds like a bloody good price, $24,000 is quite as much of a bargain.

And sneaky raising the price after negotiations. If they're going to behave like that, what other surprises have they left in store for you.

How much off road?

Get under with a torch and see exactly how much mud is in the crevices, are the chassis drain holes blocked is there any rust.

Freight plus an NRMA inspection is only going to be $1200 or so from the east coast.

Good luck

Cheers

Simon

[CraigE]

I would be teeling them to go to buggery and then report them to the ministry of fair trading after agreeing to a price. Post the details of the vehicle so no one else will touch it either.

[dages]

To clarify we never shook on 20k on price. They advertised it at that and, after two test drives and thorough time on both our behalfs, when I went to talk price they asked what add I'd seen. And then that they wanted more than they had advertised for!

Still figure if I can get it for 22k it a good buy, but the prinicple of the thing. Just hoping to suss out what people are paying. Dealer prices on the net don't really give a good guide.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Check this out. I presume it is not an extreme as you have not mentioned it.

1999 td5 fender
http://www.redbook.com.au/vehiclesearch/pr...sp?key=LAND99AJ

1999 td5 extreme
http://www.redbook.com.au/vehiclesearch/pr...sp?key=LAND99AK

Redbook say the range is 17600 - 21000 and average km between 120 and 150. Looking at this I would say even 20k is expensive. at $24 your being taken to the cleaners for a car with that many k's. At 24k I would expect a absolutely perfect car with less than 100k and a factory history... Even if it's a xtreme it's still over the top.

This is very common in defender land. Problem is there isn't many of them so people think they can charge the earth. In reality, there aren't many buyers either. You'll have to leave them for months till they come to the market :roll: :roll: :roll: Just give them your phone number and look elsewhere.

[septimus]

I paid $19,000 for my 99 TD5 Defender 215,000km with LR bull bar, Warn Winch, tow bar. Needed two new tyres, steering wheel (coating had worn off and left fine rubber bits on your hands). SO I thought this was OK but when driving it back from Adelaide to Melbourne got only 50km and the radiator hose blew. Had repairs done and about four days later continued on the journey but after a couple of hundred km found there was excessive pressure in the cooling system.

Caught a bus back to Melbourne, hired a ute and trailer then drove non-stop to Bordertown and back to pick up the Defender. Had the engine repaired and then it was OK so drove it to Cairns. After a couple of weeks lost the clutch and had to pull the master and slave cylinders out and have them refurbished.

Seems to be OK now. I guess the point of the story is that the great deal at $19,000 ended up costing me around $28,000 by the time I had finished. So whatever the price they are asking get a proper check done by a qualified and experienced in Defenders mechanic. Price should not be much above red book for a good one. If they keep trying to push the price walk away as they will get next to nothing off the dealers (I recently considered trading mine on a new one. Chatting to the sales guy about what I had he thought I spent too much at $19,000 - didn't dare tell him the full story).

Of course we all get top eager to spend when we buy a Defender - after all only enthusiasts buy them so our heart is ruling, not our head!

Whatever you do, good luck and enjoy.

[septimus]

Oh, also, bear in mind that the 99MY had the engine with the plastic doolackies holding the head in place (good mechanical terms based on my extensive knowledge). I had mine replaced when the engine was repaired after the head cracked and warped.

Suggest you look for a service entry that shows the present owner had this work done or else ask on this forum the significance of it not being done. Then consider that in relation to the price.

And finally, make sure he has had the wiring loom to the injectors replaced because of the problem they had with it acting as a wick and sending oil down to the ECU. Again, if not consider that in the price discussion.

[George130]

There was a 1999 TD5 130 in canberra a couple of weeks ago for $24,000. 101 thousand on the clock, totally stock and only had marks in the tray.