I ordered a Defender 110 X- Dynamic last February. It was expected to be delivered in November, however in July the dealer let me know they had a 110 X-Dynamic SE available that I could purchase while waiting for my ordered Defender. I happily took this Defender and drove it until my HSE version arrived in November. While going over the ordered Defender HSE, I saw several things on the build were incorrect. The A-frame pillars weren't black, the tow hitch wasn't installed, squares on the side weren't black, the interior dash/steering wheel powder coat was the wrong color, third row seat was missing, smaller nav screen to name a few. The dealer pointed out the build constraints with JLR as the reason for the Defender to be built as it was. Since they were ordering me another Defender I took this one and was happy to wait until the corrected order arrived, UNTIL.......I tried to set the access setting on the suspension the following morning and discovered it didn't have the air suspension, which of course meant it didn't have the advanced tow package as well. I met the dealer two days later and found out they had contacted JLR and JLR agreed to pull my newly ordered Defender and start building it. I have to say, the air suspension provides a superior ride as well as driving dynamics and would never buy one without it. Two weeks ago I was called by the dealer and they were unexpectedly allocated a Defender HSE 110 X-Dynamic and it was very close to my build so they offered it to me and I gladly accepted it. I was pleasantly surprised to see it had the 11" screen, Clearview mirror, and the Interactive display. In case your wondering, the deal I worked with the dealer did not change from our agreement when the Defender was first ordered so no money changed hands after the first Defender was purchased. As for the first Defender, they put it for sale at $120K, $40K over sticker and it has sold.

 

Wow. What a journey there. I will admit, I would be really consider ordering another one if I could guarantee that I'd get all the specs that I ordered and not "Supply Chain Dropped" (either knowingly or not). If they could honor what I spec'd, I would definitely order another. Even if I had to go thru the PITA to transfer over some of the customizations (bull bar / winch / etc) I've already applied. However, I really think it will be a couple more years. Maybe I should just order the Defender and keep passing each time it came back shorted. I'm sure they will GLADLY sell it to someone who walks up. Likely at a Markup, too!