We haven't had good luck with LR products before. A couple of older LR3s, and a 2015 RRS.

Are the Defenders reliable? Do they leave you stranded?

LR tells us that if something happens, they'll come get the car and then get it back to us, no questions asked. We have an "extra" vehicle in that event. I have a LX600 that I love, my wife wants a GX550 overtrail, but really considering a CPO Defender in the mid $60s.

 

Having owned LR3's and RRS's of that same vintage (L494) - I would say the L663 Defender is a far better product and more reliable product than either. By far.

 

^ This. Defender has far better build quality than the LR3 and LR4. JLR spent a lot of time engineering it and the assembly quality by the robots in Slovakia is very good.
However, from my experience I would get a 2021 Defender and stay away from the 2023's. Our 2021 has been flawless over 4 years and 45K miles. Over 18 months and 38K miles, our 2023 had 2 coolant leaks and 2 electronic module failures, probably due to supply chain issues and subbing-in parts from other suppliers. Plus the 2023 was missing features due to the chip shortage like 700 watt sound system, clearview mirror, electric steering adjustment, USB ports and more. So we kept the 2021 and traded-in the 2023 for a 2025.

You can easily change the oil yourself, no need to have a dealer do it. See this video:

 

I can’t compare my recent experience with my defender to other LR products because my last rover, an old Discovery and wouldn't be a fair comparison. Compared to a brand I recently had (Audi), I would say they are comparable, with no more problems than I’ve previously encountered. One thing that annoys me more than my previous cars, and likely any 2020+ vehicle in this price range, is the excessive reliance on software. I understand that cars have had ECUs and other software controls for a while, but these newer vehicles are letting software control almost everything. On a few occasions, I’ve gone in for routine maintenance, gotten the car back, and immediately found a new unrelated issue. Only to be asked to bring it back because they forgot to install a software patch or overwrote one.

Do they fix these issues easily? Yes, but it’s frustrating to have to make the trip back to the dealer. In reality, I’ve probably experienced this twice in my year and a half of ownership, so don’t take my frustration as an indication that my car has a slew of problems. However, I can’t help but wonder how I would feel if I were 250 miles from a dealer.

One last caveat: at least in my region, the dealers are notorious for having a limited quantity of loaners. This is incredibly disappointing for a vehicle in this price range and with the brand prestige that Land Rover is supposed to have. The best advice I can give is to schedule your appointments in advance and confirm that they’ve set aside a loaner for you before you arrive. It might not be a problem with your specific dealer, but if you mention who it is, someone here can provide you with practices of that dealer.

Despite these issues, I would still buy a Defender, even with the 250-mile distance.

 

I also agree to stay away from 2022-2023 model years because of the chip shortage. I've had my 2021 110 for almost four years now and the only real problems I had was the ECU for the fuel pump went bad a month after I took delivery and the heated steering wheel stopped working last month, both fixed under warranty.

I second @nashvegas and @PaulLR on the build quality. I had a 2011 LR4 for ten years that I traded in for the Defender, and also had a 2017 Discovery 5 for five years, which was mostly problem-free. I have lots of seat time in every JLR product and I can confirm that the build quality on the L663 Defender, L460 RR and L462 RRS are built extraordinarily well.

 

I think you know the answer to this question. My experience with the 2022 was a lot of misc problems popped up that required bringing it in... that was with a brand new one so CPO would be unthinkable to me but to each their own. The issues they did fix were all under warranty. However in my case there were several other issues they did not fix and were unable to figure out the root cause of. The defender was only close to stranding me once but that was until I figured a workaround on what needed to be done to get it restarted after low speed stalling.

Your call but I wouldn't buy anything that far away from my dealership. Even BMW, Audi or Mercedes I wouldn't buy anything that far away but you do you... I'll be honest one of the only reasons I'd consider another JLR vehicle next time is (aside from the fact that they're stylish as hell) I now live just a quarter mile from my JLR dealership and could literally walk home after dropping it off for service if need be.

 

Had the same question when I got my wife her MCS when they first came out. No dealer in Des Moines, with the dealer 240 miles away in KC. Luckily it was very reliable and a blast to drive. Still miss it. Same deal with a Lotus Elise with the dealer in the twin cities.

As for changing the oil- just did it on my wife's 110 V8. Getting the damned under body panels off was a major PITA but otherwise very straight forward.

Go for it- great vehicle!

 

See oil change video above and don't torture yourself with the skid plate removal. Took an LR4 V8 to 200K miles using the extraction oil change method. Zero engine issues and the timing chain guides were still quiet when I sold it.

 

I have a 2023.5 P300 that I bought new in August of '23.

It currently has 19,000 miles on it.

I have never brought it in for warranty work, ever. The only thing that has been wrong was a sticky rear drivers side door. I applied the 3mm foam tape to the door and reinstalled the rubber trim myself and it's completely fixed. That took all of 5 minutes including taking out the roll of tape.

All it's had done is oil changes at the dealer. It's been a very reliable rig. I tow frequently on highways, and am often not on pavement going from field to field, but not exactly overlanding.

250 miles away wouldn't be ideal, but mines an hour drive away and it doesn't concern me.