Defender 90 1993 200TDI

[gurus5000]

Hi All,

 

Just wanted your thoughts, I have been looking for a Defender 90 Hardtop between £3000-£5000.

 

I have found a couple which look good but just wanted to know which is the best engine in terms of reliability to go for and with the type of budget I have will I be able to buy a Defender that will be reliable or will it be constantly in the garage having repairs?

 

Any advice would be great.

 

Thanks

[lister1]

for that sort of money you can get a good one.

the only thing you can do is have a look round.

with that budget you should be able to get a later 300tdi ( or a very good earlier 300tdi before they went electronic ) just before they went to the td5.

have a look at some dealers you may get a warrenty for a bit of piece of mind.

[lister1]

just had a look on autotrader and there is a few on there. some are very over priced. with the bad weather we had recently prices have seemed to have gone up a bit but there is a 300tdi one owner from new full history which was in budget.

 

the thing with land rover defenders is they a relativly cheap to repair ( just got a pair of rear springs for my 1985 lr 90 project for £15 a piece ) but its labour charges that cost the most.

 

when looking at a defender make sure you check the chassis and the bulkhead and then check them again because a rotten chassis or bulkhead are expensive to get sorted and the most common problem. say ing that though get a good new galv chassis will always get its money back ( well nearly but there are always people looking for new chassis )

 

if you are good at mechanical work then a defender is the best thing to work on.

 

if you find a good vehicle i would recomend spending a bit more and get it waxoiled inside the cahssis aswell as out. and if you can find someone get the bulkhead cavity and footwells done aswell.

 

well i've dribbled on a bit. go on to the landrovernet forum ( i'm on there aswell ) and speak to a few of the guys and gals on there. they will know most the answeres to most questions.

 

if i can help anymore i'll do my best.

[gurus5000]

just had a look on autotrader and there is a few on there. some are very over priced. with the bad weather we had recently prices have seemed to have gone up a bit but there is a 300tdi one owner from new full history which was in budget.

 

the thing with land rover defenders is they a relativly cheap to repair ( just got a pair of rear springs for my 1985 lr 90 project for £15 a piece ) but its labour charges that cost the most.

 

when looking at a defender make sure you check the chassis and the bulkhead and then check them again because a rotten chassis or bulkhead are expensive to get sorted and the most common problem. say ing that though get a good new galv chassis will always get its money back ( well nearly but there are always people looking for new chassis )

 

if you are good at mechanical work then a defender is the best thing to work on.

 

if you find a good vehicle i would recomend spending a bit more and get it waxoiled inside the cahssis aswell as out. and if you can find someone get the bulkhead cavity and footwells done aswell.

 

well i've dribbled on a bit. go on to the landrovernet forum ( i'm on there aswell ) and speak to a few of the guys and gals on there. they will know most the answeres to most questions.

 

if i can help anymore i'll do my best.

 

Thanks a lot for your help I am not particularly mechanically minded that is why I wouldnt want one that needed a lot of stuff doing to it by myself. I seemed to have gathered that the 2 best engines are the 200TDI and the 300TDI for reliability etc. So price wise you think I could get a decent one for what I want to spend? Is there any other bits that you would consider before buying one?

 

Thanks again

[lister1]

engine wise 200tdi or 300tdi are both good. 200tdi is a bit older so chances are it will have seen more action.

300tdis had a better gear box ( r380 i think is the model number ) has a better crusing speed i think.

 

its worth checking the bushes in the trailing arms etc although cheap to replace.

 

its the same with any car have a good look round and see whats what.

 

regards to the chassis mud and underseal can hide many problems so make sure you look properly and have a good poke.

 

if its been a farm vehicle then i would say its had a hard life.