RE: Defender. What to look for when buying?
Chassis rails and bulkhead are the only real killers - surface rust on the chassis is normal provided they 'ring' rather than 'thud' when hit with a plastic mallet - investigate anything that looks like a hole in the chassis rails or the bulkhead with a screwdriver - if the owner isn't keen on you doing that, walk away as it's probably a bad 'un. Paint bubbling on the bulkhead above where it meets the bonnet is a bad sign as that's the only steel panel on the car and the first thing bolted to the chassis so replacing the whole thing is a nightmare. If they're not too far gone they can be patched relatively cheaply.
Other areas that will cause problems, but which won't need a full teardown and rebuild to rectify:
Rear cross-member
Chassis outriggers
Slack in the driveline (usually a clunk when taking up the drive - this can range from worn driving members at around £20 and half an hour to replace, to a worn mainshaft in the main gearbox which will be the best part of a £1,000 fitted so check carefully if it clunks when you lift the clutch)
Brakes take a beating if it's used off road - check for seized calipers and unevenly worn discs
V8 models can suffer head gasket problems unless they're well maintained.
Tdi models should have the cam belt replaced every 60,000 miles as a maximum - don't let this put you off if it hasn't been done, but get a quote for it and beat down the price by that much.
Look for things which give you a clue as to how the vehicle has been used - off road mods are usually easy to remove (snorkel etc.) if it's been deep wading check the bulkhead very carefully inside and in the engine bay.
Things to ignore in terms of general condition:
Interiors on these get used and abused, it's a Land Rover after all.
Bodywork panels are all aluminium - what looks like rust bubbling under the paint will be electrolytic corrosion caused by moisture trapped between an ally panel and an iron framework - doors tend to suffer particularly badly for this but are easy to replace once they fall apart enough to need it.
Paintwork - if it's been properly used it will get scratched - open scratches down to the metal form an oxide skin very quickly which will resist further corrosion.
Hope that helps,
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