hello all,

I am considering a Defender 90 as my new 4x4, but I am unsure of many things.

I live in Houston, Texas, and Defenders are real expensive to get your hands on in the U.S. (they fetch $30-40 grand easy), and I'm worried about the reliability of a Defender and given the price tag, I really don't want to screw up with this.

I currently drive a 95 Jeep Wrangler and it has served me very well and taken everything and kept going, but I've also always longed for a Defender. I do alot of mudding and water crossings (perfect Defender breading ground eh?) and I have had to replace my front axle wheel bearings due to rusting from water entry, that was a $1200 job and that's with Jeep's simplicity. When I picked up the Jeep from this repair, I got to talking with the mechanic about Landrovers and how they fair. He told me doing the same job on a Rover would be far more expensive and this is what worries me, are that repairs for a Defender will be "far more expensive", as I know Landrover hasn't exactly been known for reliability lately, and anything before 1994 is not legal in the U.S.

I also hear that the clutches in Defenders are completely sealed? If so, this is a big bonus for me.

and how high of water can a stock Defender go through? Houston gets insane floods occasionaly, and high water fording is a must for me.

and just in general, how reliable are Defenders? As this will be also my Daily Driver.

thanks for any info.

 

Defenders are great vehicles, yes the are expensive and boy do they hold their value.
A defender that has been set up is a hard vehicle to beat of road and yes they are a little more expensive to repair then a jeep. After being both a Jeep and Rover service writer and or manager I would say they are only slightly more expensive to repair 5 or 10% at worst, but their failure rate is very low overal.
Mike

 

Howdy, Yes Defenders can be kinda pricey to repair. But I do believe the failure rate is low. Yes parts can be kinda pricey, but most can be repaired. You also asked about water crossing in a Defender, if you get the snorkel for it you drive in water as deep as the windows I have had mine through small rivers and no problems with moisture. I drive an older 110 1986, great truck, no speed demon but a hoot to drive. Good luck on your decision..

 

Defender 90 is a good choice. It wouldn't be tagged as 'hero' of the Land Rover range for nothing. And since this is not a common sight here in the U.S., the attention it will elicit wherever you go will be an added enjoyment

 

Also felow houstoian considering a defender.. just heard from a friend who used to own a 'rover that the defender was coming back stateside in '07. I wasn't sure if you had gotten wind of the good news. Good luck!! Hopefully we can both buy our defenders sometime very soon!! Here is a link to an article discussing the return of the defender to the USA

http://www.roverparts.com/VehicleRev...ender_2007.cfm

 

eeek, forgot I even posted here lol

yea, I heard that the Defender is coming back to America, and whats even better is it still looks the same body wise (gotta love those looks), but the interior and engine are altered to meet U.S. regulations.

however, it being a Landrover ofcourse, I can't even begin to fathom the insane price tag a brand new Defender will carry

if you do happen to get A Defender before I do, I would love to meet somewhere and look at it, heck, even put it up against my Jeep at the Spring creek offroad park in Spring and see how much better it really is

 

in looking at the UK site it seems as if it is affordable in comparison to the other LR offerings.. costing about the same as a freelander which used to be sold here in the states. just fyi. obviously the pricing depends on if you are getting a 90 or 110 and etc. i didnt do a conversion as to what that price that would be in dollars. at least not yet i haven't.

ks

 

oh yea, some more questions for the Defender owners.

how well do the axles keep water out of seals and bearings and whatnot?

and I could literally stick a snorkel on a Defender and submerge it in water over the hood, and not have to worry about any electronics whatsoever?

 

Yes they do have snorkles for the Defender. Most items are sealed very well. I don't know about electronics since mine has none. But i'm sure that they are sealed very tight. I just regreased my wheel bearings after going through deep water numerous time and found no evidence of water. I guess as long as you reseal everything when you put it back together you would be fine.

David

 

can anyone tell me how much it would cost to import a Defender from Britain? I'm looking at buying one older then the required 25 year mark, which would make it atleast an 81' year model, which judging by what I've seen (early 90s prices anyway), is very affordable, so much so I could trade my Jeep in on it providing importing fees wouldn't be TOO bad.

Were defenders even in existance in 1981?