Looking at getting my first land rover

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

so really what your all saying is DONT buy a land rover?

 

buy jap?

 

only prob is insuring a jap 4x4 is costing in about 2k where as a defender is about 800 - 1k disco is costing about 2k as well and a freelander is about 3k.

 

i would be using it for homers when i start doing them, a bit of off roading here and there and it would be my daily run about

 

You guys have really put me off getting a land rover now.

 

might just wait til im 25 and my insuance has come down and i can afford to insure pretty much anything.

 

Shop, shop, and shop around.

 

Be prepared to jump on a train to go get the right vehicle. I currently have a 2004 Mitsubishi L200 4Work Double Cab Pickup which would have cost me circa 7-8 grand down here in Devon. A 40 quid train to York got me the above vehicle for only a little more than 3k. Bargain I know, but the vehicle itself seems to be unbreakable. Double cab useful for locking saws etc and also the rear pickup bed is 6" longer than the double cab hilux. My L200 was owned by a Pig Farmer who wrote off 25% per annum thus traded it in to his local dealer after 4 years - they in turn passed it to the following - might be worth a ring - you never know.

 

http://www.jwtrading4x4.co.uk/

 

Impecabble service from above outfit.

 

Got mine insured with NFU for 500 quid.

[penfold]

if you do get a defender look into its history ie has it been used on a pig farm and been driven through slurry as pig slurry is corrosive as hell because of the urea in it so check the chassis.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

if you do get a defender look into its history ie has it been used on a pig farm and been driven through slurry as pig slurry is corrosive as hell because of the urea in it so check the chassis.

 

Just to add! My ex pig farm machine wasn't rotten; partly due to no expense- spared maintenance which I'm now the happy beneficiary of and JW thoroughly checking and sealing it. Maybe it was luck...

[penfold]

sorry tcd i wasn't implying yours was but i was just warning alasdair that some farmers aren't quite as scrupulous as the previous owner of yours was and thrash the bejeezus out of their vehicles before selling them.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

sorry tcd i wasn't implying yours was but i was just warning alasdair that some farmers aren't quite as scrupulous as the previous owner of yours was and thrash the bejeezus out of their vehicles before selling them.

 

Indeed indeed...

[Chris Sheppard]

I'd strongly recommend not getting a hilux surf unless it was the 3ltr - the heads are made of plastecine (sp) and have a tendency to crack very easily I also had a mark three hilux on a K and it looked really nice but was gutless and unusually for a hilux - it dropped a big end and then 20,000 miles later on another engine cracked it's head (yes - it was a surf type engine )

 

If you're work is going to take you off road a fair bit then a defender would have a tendency to sustain less damage, cosmetically and catching bits underneath.

 

Discoveries are nicer to drive on the road and will go pretty much where a defender will go. They tend to look nice from the outside but can hide rot quite well on the inside.

 

I don't know about every one else but I tended to find it was more niggly little things with the defenders - think the biggest job I had to do so far was swap an axle over and that didn't take long. £60 for a complete axle with calipers, swivels the lot.

[Mike Hill]

The last landy I had in the UK was a 1996 110 Defender,it had covered 80 000 miles when I got it.It had lived on an estate.

In one year I replaced.

 

Gear box

Front CV joint

Rear wheel bearings

Rear wheel seals

Ball type joint that sits on the diff and is part of the suspension.

 

I used this Landy pretty much all on road,sometimes towing a chipper.

 

Then I returned to NZ and bought a 1986 Highlux that had done 220,000km.It had the 2.4 non turbo.

 

I used this frequently to go hunting and general off roading.I used to drive it often on loose shingle and sand beaches,thats very hard work for a 4X4.Especially when its loaded with your mates and gear.

 

In about eight months I had to take out the fuel tank as the filter on the end of the line had come off.And would somtimes stick over the end of the fuel line.

 

That was it.The Hilux was used far more often off road than the Defender,it had also came off a farm.So probably had been loaded and used in 4x4 often.

 

I like landrovers but as a first 4x4 that is mostly used on road.I'd pick a Japanese one.

[garth mc garth]

alasdair, shop around for insurance as you can get some great deals, nfu were great to insure my defender but ridiculously expensive for my hilux even when it was standard. i looked around for insurance and got a really good commercial policy that included my trailer for £350. im only 24 so for my age its not that bad.

[penfold]

for insurance look at one of the specialist firms such as lancaster or footman james, they all advertise in the back of the land rover magazines.

[Tree cutter Stu]

might just wait til im 25 and my insuance has come down and i can afford to insure pretty much anything.

 

Insurance doesnt go down that much i swear they just say that and when you get to 25 they say when you are 30 the insurance will go down.