Sad day RIP Defender

[csservices]

I take it this means only 40% got home?

 

 

Seriously though, the 60% claim is from LR themselves.

We've had three and all three have been broken for spares....Chassis rotting and bulkheads rotting were what done for them. Sure a galvanised chassis and bulkhead can be had for about £5k, then there's stripping down the old one to fit the new one, add another thousand to the bill to replace what gets broken when doing this conversion and very quickly you realise an Isuzu Rodeo is great value

 

Model T fords were once great, then came Austin A7's then Mini's then Escorts. Motoring history's littered with great cars that have had their day, Defenders are just the next ones

 

Just totalled up I've had 1 series 2a, 3 series 3's, 6 defenders and 5 discovery 1's including the one I'm still running and out of those I've scrapped 2 one was the 2a as it was before I learnt to weld and the other was one of the series 3's which was a British Leyland basket case and had only been bought for spares.

[Billhook]

Hi BILL is that yours mate thanks Jon

 

 

You have a short memory Jon, I showed you "Sandringham Sydney" in "Show us yer tractors" some time ago

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/picture-forum/10361-show-your-tractors-206.html#post1264354

[mendiplogs]

You have a short memory Jon, I showed you "Sandringham Sydney" in "Show us yer tractors" some time ago

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/picture-forum/10361-show-your-tractors-206.html#post1264354

 

Hi mate well done great truck thanks Jon

[aspenarb]

The talk of landrovers being scrapped bolsters the point of the percentage of those still in service which according to some figures is as high as 75%. They are never really scrapped in as much as put through a crusher , if you took your rusty old landrover to a scrap yard it would be put to one side and sold on for or stripped for spares. Virtually all of it other than the rusty chassis or bulkhead will get reused, rightly or wrongly even the identity will get reused ,especially if its a tax exempt one. There are thousands of landrovers and landrover specials out there build out of just spares. They will be around for ever Anyone out there still running a 1948 jap pickup?

 

Or 1988 for that matter

 

Classic Land Rover - Telegraph

Bob

Edited January 31, 2016 by aspenarb

[flatyre]

You can pretty much make any vehicle last for ever if you keep replacing the scrap parts. And the fact that there is such a demand for landy parts says something. My point is given the price, LR could have done a much better job. Whats the point in bolting a non corrosive body to a corrosive chassis? I would say the Landrover has the biggest profit margin or any other vehicle, Its not like LR ploughed millions into its various re-designs, interior comforts, safety features, hell they couldn't even stretch to slapping a drop of filler over the spot welds. If I can get a Landrover chassis galvanised for £200 (Leeds Galvanisers) i'm sure LR could have done it for a lot less in house. They could easily have absorbed the extra cost without making the Defender financially uneconomical to build. I'm sure the bigwigs at LR are laughing their asses off!

[Matthew Storrs]

Have to agree- i could never understand why the defender wasn't built as standard with a galv chassis- I always imagined they secretly wanted them to rust out otherwise who would buy a new one. Then again people still buy new ifor trailers...

[openspaceman]

Have to agree- i could never understand why the defender wasn't built as standard with a galv chassis-.

 

At the beginning the ally bodywork was cheap because there was surplus aircraft aluminium production capacity.

 

My understanding is that galvanising distorts the chassis slightly, so it needs a bit of fettling to make things fit, which may have been a bit difficult on a production line.

 

Chassis was easy to repair, I agree the rusting bulkhead was the problem.

[R Mac]

You can pretty much make any vehicle last for ever if you keep replacing the scrap parts. And the fact that there is such a demand for landy parts says something. My point is given the price, LR could have done a much better job. Whats the point in bolting a non corrosive body to a corrosive chassis? I would say the Landrover has the biggest profit margin or any other vehicle, Its not like LR ploughed millions into its various re-designs, interior comforts, safety features, hell they couldn't even stretch to slapping a drop of filler over the spot welds. If I can get a Landrover chassis galvanised for £200 (Leeds Galvanisers) i'm sure LR could have done it for a lot less in house. They could easily have absorbed the extra cost without making the Defender financially uneconomical to build. I'm sure the bigwigs at LR are laughing their asses off!

 

That clearly explains their demise, how important that must have been to prospective owners

 

Virtually none of the things you mentioned is of any relevance to those who actually went out and bought a Land Rover, I'd suggest that the fact that they didn't come with a plethora of features was one of the reason people did buy them, they were unlike any other 4x4, if they had been clones of Jap Pick-ups then what reason would there be to buy one rather than one of the alternatives.

 

You just don't get it but that's fine, but don't think that because you don't like them it means that everyone else has to agree. Those who have owned them and in many cases have owned more than one knew exactly what they were buying, I hardly think they need educated on the error of their ways.

[flatyre]

That clearly explains their demise, how important that must have been to prospective owners

 

Virtually none of the things you mentioned is of any relevance to those who actually went out and bought a Land Rover, I'd suggest that the fact that they didn't come with a plethora of features was one of the reason people did buy them, they were unlike any other 4x4, if they had been clones of Jap Pick-ups then what reason would there be to buy one rather than one of the alternatives.

 

You just don't get it but that's fine, but don't think that because you don't like them it means that everyone else has to agree. Those who have owned them and in many cases have owned more than one knew exactly what they were buying, I hardly think they need educated on the error of their ways.

 

"none of the things you mentioned is of any relevance to those who actually went out and bought a Land Rover"

 

so if its not build quality, extras, reliability, low maintenance costs, what is relevant when buying a £20K+ motor?

I have mentioned a few times that I actually like them, my argument is simply that they were grossly over priced, I get value for money which is propably why I don't get defenders. And i'm not trying to get anybody to agree with me, its just my opinion, sorry if I've offended anyone.

[HertsWood]

The LR Defender: "best4x4xFar"

Yes, it hasn't got airbags, comfortable seats, cruise control like the Japanese pickups BUT it does exactly what it says on the tin. Day in, day out...