speedyxjs
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 08:36 AM |
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Why are defenders so expensive?
As we all know, landy Defenders/series have been around for decades virtually unchanged. They have very little technology or performance and i cant
quite figure it out why the very basic model costs £19k plus.
Im not after a new one, its just something im curious about 
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 08:39 AM |
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Very labour intensive to build and they add a premium for it having an alloy body. Can’t see them being sold for very long as there’s several
manufactures around the world making far better copy’s.
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Colnago_Man
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 08:41 AM |
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You would be suprised how many pretty basic and average cars cost £19K. Saw a new shape Astra in a mag last night for £19K, with a 1.4 engine and
pretty average spec!
Not that you'd hope anyone to pay full price for it....
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:17 AM |
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The thing with Defenders, is that they have a captive market.
I had an ex army defender 90, and it went anywhere i pointed it, and walked all over the hybrid range rovers and customs off road.
They are essentially, an agricultural vehicle, which farmers and the likes use. There isnt much that compares with its abilities, unless you go for a
willy's or even a hummer, but then youre looking at huge costs again.
I saw an '09 defender the other day, and i couldnt take my eyes off it. It was a bit rough around the edges, but as you say, it hasnt changed
hardly at all since the original.
If i were going for an off road vehicle, i would definately buy another one. Thames water also use them as their reactive vehicles, all kitted out.
I had a CRV which is supposed to be 4WD, but tbh, it was shite, and i hit a kurb in the ice, demplishing one of the alloys. That wouldnt have
happened in the landy.
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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thunderace
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:19 AM |
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i was sure they were around £30k
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2008-LAND-ROVER-DEFENDER_W0QQitemZ300332308811QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item45ed33594b
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HomersDouble
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:29 AM |
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Look at the whole life costs. If you consider that, unless very badly crashed, a maintained landie should easily be around for 30-40 years £19k looks
much more reasonable. I am sure you could argue that they are some of the most evironmentaly friendly vehicles on the planet.
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MK9R
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:32 AM |
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There is nothing else on the market like them, yes they are agricultural, but thats what they are for, no glitsy interior or silly platic stuff, just
a work horse that will go anywhere. The disco was originally aimed at the same market but just made a bit more user friendly, but as time progressed
they got more and more aimed at the luxury side. I have a disco 2, which can do both, but i wouldn't want to chuck mud covered stuff in the back
of it like a new defender which you can hose out. I'm not even going to mention the disco 3/4 .Hopefully the defender will carry on for another
50 years!!!
Cheers Austen
RGB car number 9
www.austengreenway.co.uk
www.automatedtechnologygroup.co.uk
www.trackace.co.uk
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02GF74
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:33 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
I had a CRV which is supposed to be 4WD, but tbh, it was shite, and i hit a kurb in the ice, demplishing one of the alloys. That wouldnt have
happened in the landy.
too damn right, you'd be waiting for the AA to run up to get it started!!! 
^^^ but wot he says; since they have separate chassis that can be patched or easly replaced and alloy body and bomb proof mechanicals, they will last
for ever.
there are probably more old land rovers on the road than any other make/model of car.
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MK9R
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:36 AM |
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maybe its an urban myth, but i have heard something like 95% of landrovers made are still in existence now??? I'm sure the freelander will
destroy that figure as time goes on!!
Cheers Austen
RGB car number 9
www.austengreenway.co.uk
www.automatedtechnologygroup.co.uk
www.trackace.co.uk
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:56 AM |
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Tbh the four series landy’s I’ve had over the years seemed to show high levels off drive train wear at only 100k and my last neighbours 90 was in a
right state both chassis and mechanically at about the same mileage. The ungalvanized chassis tend to rust very bad due to the fact that there’s holes
all over the place and little or no rust proofing inside so they rust from the inside out. Not only that but the thickness of the chassis metal has
about halved compared to the early series landys, it only takes 2 people to lift a bare LWB chassis now.
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Irony
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 09:58 AM |
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We run defenders at work for very simple reasons.
1. They are 4 wheel drive proper offroad trucks
2. They can tow THREE AND A HALF TON.
3. There is nothing at the moment even close when it comes to price that can do points 1 and 2.
Simples
P.s they are bloody uncomfortable though. We have a 08 landy and 2 09 landies on the way at the moment. On the 08 the handbrake rubs against my leg.
After a couple of hours it starts to chaff
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sonic
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 10:03 AM |
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Having rebuild two Landrovers a Series 2A and 3 the appeal is that they are like a kitcar in some respects,everything just bolts together.they can be
fixed just about anywere and don't cost a fortune for parts like the Jap examples.
For example i bought a complete front wing 3 parts plus the headlight painted in the right colour for £10,half an hour jobs a good un ! bet you cannot
do that with anything else out there.
Plus you can go to motorsport events park in the field near the track and then climb up and sit on the roof for a good view,you wouldnt do that with
much else on the market for fear of getting it scratched or dented.
Going back to the question,why anybody would buy a new one is beyond me,if you stick to anything 20 years old or newer they are basically the same
anything older and they didnt have power steering and that is hard work!!
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NigeEss
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 11:19 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by thunderace
i was sure they were around £30k
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2008-LAND-ROVER-DEFENDER_W0QQitemZ300332308811QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item45ed33594b
That one is a special edition with the fugly light surrounds.
The range does indeed start at
£19k
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.................Douglas Adams.
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scootz
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 11:32 AM |
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Because they are iconic... the rest is just an added bonus!
It's Evolution Baby!
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A1
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 12:04 PM |
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im looking for a cheap used one, but there seems to be nothing much for under 1500
on the subject of cars being pricey, i saw a ford something suv the other day, 5 seats for 28 and a bit grand:O you could have an evo/impreza for
that...or a landy!
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mcerd1
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 01:18 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by A1
im looking for a cheap used one, but there seems to be nothing much for under 1500
the price has alot more to do with condition than there age...
and if you want one that'll last you probably want to at least double that
the 200 and 300 tdi's always seem to be a bit more desirable (as a work horse) - they don't have the complex bits that BMW & Ford have
added to the later ones
my dad's still got his G reg 110 - it had an engine before we got it (@80k 'ish - old TD that always blew up if you wern't careful
- got a 200 tdi now instead)
then he did a new galv'd chassis a few years after we got it (@ 110k 'ish / 12 year old) and a clutch
its just had some brake calipers and dampers etc - and is still going strong
all it really needs is the bulkhead and some doors to make it almost a good as new and thats after 160k
(but thats alot of work so he hasn't got round to it yet)
[Edited on 17/11/09 by mcerd1]
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morcus
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 02:36 PM |
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Every car has a bottom price for a working example in a passable condition, perhaps £1500 is a landies bottom price? I was under the impression that
the Defender was cheap at £19K, all cars seem to be more expensive than I though these days and that seems reasonable.
I read somewhere that the defender is being replaced in the next decade, It saddens me much as the Defender is arguably the last of the Classic long
running designs like the XJ (Up till 2003), the Mini, the MGB and so forth that all hark back to better days.
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MikeR
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| posted on 17/11/09 at 07:07 PM |
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I'd heard about the defender being replaced as well - something to do with it will fail some EU tests + the current model can't be sold in
america. Lots of landy peeps are worried they're going to destroy an icon.
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