4x4 Noob - Please help me buy 2nd hand

[Mr Pompey]

Hi, I am a 4 x 4 noob. I want some help please choosing a LR Background Currently a 2 car / 2 adults 4 kids family. If we all go out we need 2 cars and my partner gets really panicky on the motorway and has been nagging me fo get a MPV. We live out in the sticks in the Forest of Dean, Gloucester and often are affected by floods and snow. I thought I could kill 2 birds with one stone and consider a 4 x 4 that would carry the 6 of us and if going on hols could have a 4 x 4 with the safari type rack on top for the luggage etc. The 4 x 4 wouldstill have the security of mobility in the bad weather. It may also give us opportunity for some instructed off-roading before perhaps pursing this as a small hobby What to buy Well the missus would have the run of it during the day (while I use my civic type r). I thought it best to avoid the toy roady 4x4. Lookingfor a minimum6 seater I'm thinking of a Defender 90 (county station wagon) as the 110 may be a bit too big. I think we will have a 5k budget. Could anyone help with validating my selection / giving alternatives please Clearly main dealers ask top prices so for 5k there is little choice Could someone give me advice as to buying private / trade, type of vehicle condition I could get for 5k, things to avoid? I'm worried in spending 5k and getting a pig in a poke or something that will become an expensive thing to fix in a few months Sorry if I sound nooby but this really is my first venture into the 4 x 4 market. I'm ok with cars! Thanks for reading this and hopefully you can let me have any advice

[Mr Pompey]

Oh man, is this forum not so popular or is my question so noobish you are all ignoring me

[Adz]

This isn't the fastest forum in the West Pompey... you just have to bear with it

Only choose a 90 over a 110 (for 6 people) if you're putting people in the back you don't mind losing in an accident! For the sort of budget you're talking the 90 will have side facing seats in the load area which means no seatbelts. A 110 CSW has a second row of forward facing seats, much better for kids etc. £5k will get you some nice Tdi's but some pretty ropey TD5's come in at that sort of money. I'd steer well clear of the TD5's with this sort of budget. Nothing to choose between the 200Tdi and the 300Tdi - 200 is slightly easier to fix yourself and the 300 is very slightly quieter is about it.

What's wrong with a Discovery? 6+ seats, a degree of motorway practicality and they're more or less as capable off road as a 110. You should be able to get an absolute minter for £5k - look for a late 300Tdi as the best of the bunch. Check the rear floor and seatbelt mountings very carefully as these are the bits that commonly fail.

Let me know if there's anything else you need,

[Mr Pompey]

Hi Adz,

Thanks for the reply.

I guess if i sold my type R, and had the vehicle as my main one I could then stretch to 10k tops (Type R sale would make me cry but I suppose its not really a country type vehicle!). This may be the best option in hindsight in that if I go 4 x 4 I can do it properly

The 110's and Disco 7 seaters just seem such monsters in terms of size. Perhaps I should ask my question a bit better.

I've been a petrol head in the past with boy racer cars and the latest I've had is a TYPE R for the last 2 years is more likley to get my a speeding ticket these days. I can see there will be a big culture change for me if I go 4 x 4 interms of driving styles!

Recent events in Gloucester / Forest with the weather seem to have re-inforced my view to get a 4x4, plus it seems I could develop an interesting hobby.My partner has 2 children plus I have 2 of my own who live with their mum. Its rare but I need the option of a 6 seater for the few times a year we all go out. For the most part I think there is at most 5 of us who go out. In general terms its mostly me, plus the weekly pick up of 2 girls.

I want the security of something stronger on the country roads and something that is weather proof in terms of road conditions. The CTR is like bambi on ice in the wet and frost

Woulda newer LR 90 (SCW?) not have seat belts around my revised price range

Do you still think Disco is best?

Thanks

[Adz]

CSW = County Station Wagon... one with windows and seats in the back, rear and side steps, as opposed to the commercial van or pick-up models.

The very new 90's have forward facing seats and lap and diagonal 3 point seat belts... but you're still looking at the better part of twice your budget to afford one and there's only 2 rear seats instead of the 4 side facing ones. You can retro fit lap belt type seatbelts to the earlier models... but a lap belt on a side facing seat is a waste of time really as likely to cause injury in the event of an accident as it is to prevent it.

I also think you're underestimating the size of a 90... mine towers over a Disco 1 and is only a fraction shorter. The 110 is a big beast and if you don't need the potential for up to 12 seats then the disco is definitely the best bet - particularly for the money, you get a hell of a lot more Disco per pound than defender. You'd also be able to keep the CTR From a comfort and driving position point of view the disco rivals the early Range Rover - not to be sniffed at since the defender can only be described as 'rustic' at best. They're geared differently too, so much more comfortable at 70 on the motorway than a defender, which cruises best at 60 or less.

I used to drive MR2's, including a 260bhp turbo, before buying a real car (1993 Defender 90 200Tdi), so I know where you're coming from re your boy racerhood. Speaking as one who converted from fast road and trackdays to off road and plodding down the motorway at 55 - there's no looking back.

Lastly, don't be put off the disco because it doesn't look like a 'real landrover' - the underpinnings are more or less identical, hence the great offroad ability - not something which can be said for the freelander, which is a totally different beast underneath.

Cheers,

[Mr Pompey]

Adz,

Thats really great and thanks for your help.

I think I'm torn between my heart with 90, and my headwith the disco. Thats given me a lot to think about. I'll pop back if OK when I have some more questions - Thanks

I realise if I keep the CTR and her indoors gets the disco then with her driving there will be a few bumps

I note your comments on the Freelander and assume this is a pretend 4 x 4 and should be ignored

[Adz]

I wouldn't say 'pretend' but I would say 'light use off road only'... the underpinnings of a Defender or a Disco (or a Rangie Classic for that matter) are all pretty much the same and designed to withstand the most ham fisted of agricultural attempts to break 'em. The Freelander was designed as competition for the Suzuki/Nissan/Hyundai 'mostly road, little off road' 4x4's - which it does very well... but Defender/Disco competition it isn't.

[riko suave]

ORIGINAL: Mr Pompey

Hi,

I am a 4 x 4 noob. I want some help please choosing a LR

Background
Currently a 2 car / 2 adults 4 kids family. If we all go out we need 2 cars and my partner gets really panicky on the motorway and has been nagging me fo get a MPV. We live out in the sticks in the Forest of Dean, Gloucester and often are affected by floods and snow. I thought I could kill 2 birds with one stone and consider a 4 x 4 that would carry the 6 of us and if going on hols could have a 4 x 4 with the safari type rack on top for the luggage etc. The 4 x 4 wouldstill have the security of mobility in the bad weather. It may also give us opportunity for some instructed off-roading before perhaps pursing this as a small hobby

What to buy
Well the missus would have the run of it during the day (while I use my civic type r). I thought it best to avoid the toy roady 4x4. Lookingfor a minimum6 seater I'm thinking of a Defender 90 (county station wagon) as the 110 may be a bit too big. I think we will have a 5k budget. Could anyone help with validating my selection / giving alternatives please

Clearly main dealers ask top prices so for 5k there is little choice

Could someone give me advice as to buying private / trade, type of vehicle condition I could get for 5k, things to avoid? I'm worried in spending 5k and getting a pig in a poke or something that will become an expensive thing to fix in a few months

Sorry if I sound nooby but this really is my first venture into the 4 x 4 market. I'm ok with cars!

Thanks for reading this and hopefully you can let me have any advice

Hey man, not sure what you're smokin', but you'd be lucky to find Defender body panels for $5K.

These things start out at $30K, if you can find one.

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/de...=Defender%2090

[Adz]

Hehe... The World is a bigger place and all that etc. etc.

That's £5k (GBP) so more like $10k (USD)... He's in the UK like me... 2nd hand Defenders, Discoverys, Range Rovers and Freelanders can all be had for that sort of money - provided you can spot the bad ones and avoid them.

Granted, in the US, he'd stand no chance - although a 2nd user Disco 1 should be well inside a budget of $10k wouldn't you say?

Cheers,

[riko suave]

Thanks for the correction.

Forgot that the UK has a helluva lot more Defenders then over here across the pond. Damn our US EPA!

Cheers to you!