Newbie Buying Tips--'94 Defender 110

[USDefender]

Just joined today--see intro

I've purchased my airline tickets to (hopefully) go purchase my first Landy in Townsville this coming Tuesday.

Please give me your top 3-5 items to inspect to ensure I don't ship home unforeseen issues. Also, does anyone know where I could check all VIN numbers to ensure they match?

1994 Defender 110
200TDi/5 speed
160,000K
Original owner selling
No mods other than bullbar, roofrack, sidesteps

Cheers

[Andy130]

Hi mate and welcome.

Rust will be the #1 problem for a QLD car.

The main hidden rust trap is between the gearbox cross member and the chassis, so take a good look there for signs of rust 'weld' or swelling between the crossmember and chassis. If its bad, its a big job to fix - potentially rendering the chassis a write off. Take a torch and something to poke around with ( that you can get past the x-ray machine at the airport :-)

Second area to look for rust is the firewall - look very closely inspecting footwells, the seam under the windscreen and the door hinges/ door pillar. Footwells can be repaired, but bad rust in the door hinges, door pillar or on the firewall is once again, a big job.

Third area for rust is the rear cross member. Get under the truck and look back to the backside of the rear crossmember- especially the joint between the rear cross member and the chassis.

Lastly - look closely at the doors - they rust out. if they don't close well, have gaps in the frame, or are rusted out on the bottom edge they could be past recovery - replacements start at $500 each.

Good luck !

[USDefender]

Thanks Andy. I plan to take this one back to the States with me when I return...will certainly restore it someday, but would like to avoid as much rust as possible.