One of the jobs I would never want to have, well perhaps as my own personal level of hell. Is to be a service rep for Land Rover. If you sit in the service area and listen to the complaints you cannot help but roll your eyes. There is a certain level of entitlement that these "customers" perceive and a hopelessly large level of technical incompetence that comes into play. Statistics, while useful, can be a double edged sword. The Navy, for their own reasons, completely confused why, since I was shameless in my expression to be a civilian. They felt that everybody that test flew aircraft had to go to grad school and study aviation safety. It is essentially applied statistics, aside from the accident analysis and picking through wreckage part. One professor was fond of this illustration of statistical manipulation:
Drunk drivers cause and are involved in 20% of all fatal accidents. Therefore, we must get all those sober drivers drunk, as they cause the majority of the accidents. Proving driving drunk is safer, statistically. Naturally this is a gross manipulation of the statistics but it shows without the rest of the data set, they are kind of worthless, except to the un-informed.

 

So I decided against the Defender. The dealer was great, but I just couldn’t get over the cost and reliability issues. I don’t want to deal with reliability issues after such an expensive purchase. I know that would really get to me, so it’s best avoided.

 

What? Didn't you pick up the Tasman blue? Man, that is a sweet spec. Hard to find I would say.

 

As I said in my previous post, cost and concerns about future reliability. I mean, it’s just a car and the more I thought about it, the less comfortable I was with dropping 90k on a defender, even at that price, it didn’t have a rear locker. If LR wants to overcome its negative reliability view it’s earned over the years, I think they need to offer a longer warranty. An 8 year warranty would be enticing. 4 year warranty doesn’t even cover a standard 60 month loan term. Too much risk of making payments and paying for repairs. I could write the check, but then I realized, if I took 90k cash down to the dealer, I wouldn’t hand it over to the dealer for the Defender when I could wait and get the new GX.

 

Wow, they've gone up! My 2022 D110 P400 X-Dynamic SE with every off-road and performance option checked (except winch, which I added later because of unavailability at time of order) was a few bucks under $80k MSRP and purchase price.

I understand your decision. I wouldn't/didn't do the same because Lexi just leave me cold and look so much more... well, you know -- it's why you were considering other things in the first place. If I were going Toyota I'd make a Forerunner Turd Pro work and give up a little space.

But my comfort level with unreliability might be different than yours. I wouldn't consider it catastrophic if the Dfdr started being problematic; i'd either live with it (I have other transportation) or sell it at a loss if necessary. I'd not like it at all, but I'd do it rather than let it get me down. Hell, I've owned a Wrangler for 10 years -- I'm no stranger to off-roaders falling apart often, including this, the ONLY TIME my wife has ever gone off pavement with me for sporting purposes. An hour out of Moab when the engine blew up at 15,000 miles. The posture captures the mood at the moment

 

Let me preface by saying, this isn't a dig on you in any way! My opinion, you made the right decision because you say it's 'just a car' so this probably isn't your path anyways. Since I've only owned one other Rover (and it was extremely reliable well over 100k miles) I'll try to use my life long Jeep ownership as an example. Certain vehicles almost require you to be an enthusiast to better deal with the ups and downs of ownership. Jeeps for example are slow, poor handling, uncomfortable, bad on fuel, ect but are also absolutely wonderful...to an enthusiast. I entered into Defender ownership already knowing there would be quirks that go with the territory. Why spend so much money when there's questionable reliability? Because of the feeling when you drive it, the connection with the vehicle. If it's 'just a car' then you're probably better in something boring & reliable. Nothing wrong with that!!! Personally, I went down the path of 'let me build a reliable tank adventure vehicle' and built an awesome 200 series Land Cruiser. Man it was cool! Was also soul-less. It did everything I wanted, was a great machine, but was as inspirational as doing your taxes.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate the reminder that some vehicles play to our passions and enjoyment. Here’s a few I’ve owned along the way for that very reason.

BMW z3 Coupe 5 speed, BMW 540i 6 speed, BMW X5 5 speed, Cayman S 6 speed, 2008 Mustang GT 5 speed, 2013 911, 2012 R8, 2017 GT350 6 speed, 2017 Roush GT Stage 3 6 speed, 2017 911 7 speed, 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, 1 fj cruiser, 3 4Runners, 2 Tundras, and my current 23 Tundra limited crewmax.

I’ve owned most of these simultaneously throughout the years but I’m now down to just 2 and I’m not really interested in a third to be a stand by for a Defender. My wife drives a F350 Tremor that we bought new 1.4 years ago and it’s been solid. Just sharing I’ve been the enthusiast all my life and have taken the hit before. I’ve bought and sold over 60 vehicles along the way, so I get it.