Buying Defender - How many km is too many, other "watchouts"?

[ashhhhh]

Hey guys,

Im considering buying a used Defender and was hoping for some advice?

There seem to be some cheaper examples around with 200,000 or so on the clock, is it worth getting involved with something like this?

How many k's are they good for?

What else should I be on the lookout for?

I really don't want to spend any more than about $16K, is this enough to get a "good" Defender?

Bear in mind that this will be my only vehicle and my daily driver.

Cheers!
Ash

[JDNSW]

There is no "magic mileage" for Defenders. Some are going great, little more than run in by 200,000km, others on their last legs. It all depends on how they have been treated, so the service history is much more important than the actual mileage.

Specific things to watch for :-

Rust - bulkhead or chassis, particularly rear cross member. An inland one is likely to have no rust, one that has done a lot of beach work or lived right by the sea could be beyond economic repair.

Engine has been overheated. Particularly with the TD5 engine, this can mean very expensive repairs.

Tdi engines - when was the timing belt changed? Neglect of this can be very expensive, if there is no proof of when it was done, do it as soon as you buy it.


Less important, but bargaining points:-

Suspension bushes worn, steering box leaking, check rear axle drive flanges. With Td5, oil in the engine wiring harness.


Any relatively high mileage car you buy will have some faults, so you should keep some money to cover them rather than buying right up to your limit.

And of course, there are all the things that apply to buying any second hand car.

John

[jacked130]

something like this perhaps??

Used LAND ROVER DEFENDER Private Seller Cars For Sale - carsales.com.au

[BilboBoggles]

There is no "magic mileage" for Defenders. Some are going great, little more than run in by 200,000km, others on their last legs. It all depends on how they have been treated, so the service history is much more important than the actual mileage.

Specific things to watch for :-

Rust - bulkhead or chassis, particularly rear cross member. An inland one is likely to have no rust, one that has done a lot of beach work or lived right by the sea could be beyond economic repair.

Engine has been overheated. Particularly with the TD5 engine, this can mean very expensive repairs.

Tdi engines - when was the timing belt changed? Neglect of this can be very expensive, if there is no proof of when it was done, do it as soon as you buy it.


Less important, but bargaining points:-

Suspension bushes worn, steering box leaking, check rear axle drive flanges. With Td5, oil in the engine wiring harness.


Any relatively high mileage car you buy will have some faults, so you should keep some money to cover them rather than buying right up to your limit.

And of course, there are all the things that apply to buying any second hand car.

John

A LandRover - in particular a Defender will go for as long as you choose to fix it. Mechanical bits are relatively easy to fix and fairly low cost if you do it yourself. For me, cosmetic issues such as bad paint or rust will be very hard to fix, and would turn me off.

Lift the Floor mats, and look at the floor panels - Are they wet? If so then this is a factory installed rust creation device. The leaks are hard.. impossible to fix.


Rear Axle Drive Flanges - These only seem to last 70-80k's. You'l notice this because the gear changes will start to become clunky, the car starts to feel old and worn out. Not a big deal - very easy to fix. But buy hardened after market flanges. I bought a set from Paddocks in the UK , cost $200AUD landed. Made a HUGE difference to my Defender, became a new car again!

TD5 Radiators are also now a wear item - seems 100,000ks is old for these. Dealer $$$$. You can buy these for much less from the alternative parts places.

Check the play in the Engine Fan. Any play at all, replace ASAP.... The Viscous unit sits on a bearing located in the timing case. If the fan starts to wear out, or the viscous bearing gets noisey, then replace it before the bearing in the timing case is shagged. Don't ask me how I know... The official fix is a new timing case - which is a head and sump off event. You can do the bearing in situ if you find someone to do it.

[weeds]

my tdi has 250k on the clock....apart from normal wear and tear i'm more than happy

[MinniTheMoocha]

I bought my Defender at 225000km but made sure it had been fully serviced.

It turned out really good but I still have had to do a few things like timing belt, fan belts, hoses etc.

Then come all the improvements which also start adding up.

But more than happy with the purchase.

Now nearly at 240000km and going strong.

[PAT303]

Mines got 404k and it's going strong.Things are wearing out as you would expect but as mentioned above parts are 1/2 jap prices. Pat

[cewilson]

I'm now well over 500k in my 200tDi - it's had a few problems along the way, but most of it caused by my driving off-road.

As already mentioned, keep on top of the maintenance and they'll keep going forever in a day. The maintenance side of it is relatively easy (and there is a lot on this site). And it is a whole lot cheaper doing it yourself - I mean a WHOLE lot cheaper.

Cheers
Chris

[Blknight.aus]

given that is an evolution of the series and Ive been in series rovers with over a million miles on the clock...

they go forever..

they bolt together like meccano, and the chassis is almost always legally repairable so even rust is just a case of getting to it and installing a new part or doing a cut and paste

average bottom end engine life providing you do the prescribed maintenance IMHO should always be at least 250K Km for the v8s and 500k Km for the diesels yes that includes the TD5 but Im not sure on the puma,,,, the earlier transit van donks it was based on were usualy good for 300K Km but then they usually coped a harder and less loved life than your average landy donk.

diffs axles and drive flange will be the biggest weak link (including seals and the aframe joint) with the main transmission a close second depending on its previous treatment.

[jerryd]

I purchased a high mileage TD5 Dual Cab with fsh, but I got it approx $7k cheaper than the going rate. My thoughts being that if anything major went wrong then monies saved on purchase would pay any repair bills.
In my care I spent approx $3k on the engine / maintenance, and I sold it for a $1k more than I paid for it. Mileage was 275,000 when I sold it.

My present County has covered 430,000 kilometres, but again has full history back to 1997. Most of the drivetrain has been replaced, gearbox rebuilt etc. etc. and it drives just as good as the TD5 did.

So I'd think service history is more important than kilometres.