When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
After months of looking, I finally secured a 2020 110S that checked the major boxes for me: Tasman Blue, White contrast roof, tow hitch, and leather interior with heated front seats. Some warranty remaining was critical, CPO a plus. Mine came with add-ons that were great, but the above were the "dealbreakers" for me, I was agnostic on the engine, but realize that some have strong feelings about the differences. I test drove several. A few lessons learned:
As noted on this forum, there are a lot of these available so don't rush to buy one that's missing a major piece of the puzzle for you (I almost did, and glad I didn't).
Prices are coming down considerably, I was watching several in various areas and they largely started in the mid-$50s and keep dropping, CPO and regular.
Look at the fine print. One CPO I was considering had a $2,000 mandatory upcharge for ceramic coating. Thing is, the dealer sold this car new, and then a second time as a CPO already. So, the same dealer was charing $2,000 at each sale. They said it was necessary to maintain the ceramic coating warranty, even if I didn't want it. I passed. In fairness, another dealer had the same line item, and when I balked they removed it immediately from the sale. So some folks still acting like it's 2022 when sellers were fully in command, others realizing things have largely returned to normal.
Ask for any maintenance records, prep for sale etc. If they won't provide anything, move one. Those details can also be telling: one dealer only changed the front brake pads when their service specs advise pads and rotors, and their tires were barely in spec for a CPO.
A lot of them seem to come with the third row -- upside is the 2nd row tilt, and often heated seats, downside is the additional weight and loss of the storage area (in the 20L). I had no use for one, and wanted to avoid, if possible.
Maintenance reporting to CarFax is wildly uneven, some dealers don't even report at all. When I was doing research on the particular car I purchased, most service departments were happy to verbally provide some details, but not all, citing privacy. Just ask nicely.
Call LRNA customer service to get the exact warranty expiration and anything else they have on the vehicle (open campaigns, etc).
I love BADVIN because it's pretty inexpensive relative to CarFax and will show lots of records and often auction postings and results. That helped me settle on my final car, seeing a lot more of it's history (including photos).
Even with a reputable dealer, a mobile PPI was helpful to ensure the photos and description matched.
Adding a tow hitch is expensive ($3,000+), and some dealers don't want to do it. If you need it, like I do, consider waiting for one that already has it. I would have expected all of them too, but that's not the case.
In the end, I found one at a Mercedes dealer that had been on the lot for a few months, had the front brakes (pads and rotors) replaced, as well as the fluid, had a set of new tires mounted, had an alignment and some other basic prep work. It also had about 10,000 miles and 10 months left on the factor warranty. They happily provided all the receipts, their original intake assessment etc. It had the extended Windsor leather (nice), tow package and electronic diff and the ACC, which is awesome and not something I ever considered essential, but is now. They could not have been more professional to work with. It went from $55K to $48K over a four month period.
Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps folks thinking about making the leap, and I am very appreciative of all the recommendations and guidance received thus far. After 1,000 miles I'm thrilled, and it's already been to my local LR dealer to have some of the campaigns closed, a few software updates, etc.
Sorry, I hat "post" too quickly. To clarify, the visit to my local LR dealer found everything to be in order, save the few open campaigns that only they could complete on-site. It took about 3 hours for everything to download (they explained some things are layered and have to been done one at a time) but worth knowing all is 100%.
Congrats on your Defender. I believe heated seats are standard on all Defender trims. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that, been a while since I've been in the configurator. Heated steering wheel and heated windshield are options. I would recommend both of the latter if anyone is shopping up north.
Thanks, you're 100% correct, I meant to say the heated steering wheel, which isn't standard but part of the Cool Climate Pack. Fortunately, mine also came with the heated and cooled front seats. Thanks for the correction.
Congrats, glad you found what you wanted. Love my 24 tasman xd. I took my time to find the features I wanted including vintage tan Windsor, meridian surround, terrain response 2, these rims, clear sight mirror, heated steering wheel, tow hitch, air suspension, v6 mhev, and 18 way seats.
Last edited by Defendher; Mar 19, 2024 at 07:55 PM.
Congrats, glad you found what you wanted. Love my 24 tasman xd. I took my time to find the features I wanted including vintage tan Windsor, meridian surround, terrain response 2, these rims, clear sight mirror, heated steering wheel, tow hitch, air suspension, v6 mhev, and 18 way seats.
Nice looking. I had Carpathian with white roof and white steelies. It was unique. There's probably an old pic still out here somewhere when I took delivery.
Really nice, mine is an S with the 2.0L -- I tried both and found them equally suited for my needs. There is a very slight, but barely noticeable, lag in city driving in the 2.0L but I'm OK with that, I find it to be very responsive and pleasant to drive. And I really like the lower weight and extra storage. Here's the rundown of additional features on mine:
2020 Defender Purchase Journey
