gurus5000 Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Hello All, I am considering a couple of options as I need a 4x4 again and would really appreciate your opinions as I am totally confused. These are my options; 1. Keep my current BMW 3 series and buy a Defender for approx £5000 for shooting/off road/bad weather/dogs etc? 2. Sell my BMW and buy an newer 2.4TDCI Defender and have that as my only car? 3. Sell my BMW and buy a Disco 3 and have that as my only car? I do approx 12000 miles a year and love the defender and discos but I know they both have positives and negatives so wanted peoples opinions who may have these cars and can give there thoughts on everyday use etc. Thanks in advance:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 I would love a defender but being 6' 4" rules that out. Although doing any sort of mileage the noise would drive me mental. I have a Disco and although it is an old one it is quiet comfortable and good off road. I would go down the Disco route if you are having one car. If you are keeping your beemer then get a defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Hi,had to consider those options myself,ended up selling the volvo,buying a car for wife and daughter to use and bought myself a frontera to go shooting,put dog in,reserve for work and general spare vechicle when daughter is using car. So far its worked out well,plenty mud in and out,smells of german sheperd and the car is kept clean for the girls,think if i had gone down the other route of buying one motor they would moan about the muck/smell and keep folding the rear seats back down,hoovering out dog hair and using my petrol. Just my opinion,hpoe it helps. ATB Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurus5000 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 I would love a defender but being 6' 4" rules that out. Although doing any sort of mileage the noise would drive me mental. I have a Disco and although it is an old one it is quiet comfortable and good off road. I would go down the Disco route if you are having one car. If you are keeping your beemer then get a defender. What year is your disco and how do you find the reliability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 (edited) I have a Discovery 3, and sold my D1 and my evo to buy it. On road - it's great, does 30MPG, wafts along nicely and is very comfortable inside, enough poke to keep you moving with traffic too. Off road it's awesome. I have GG AT2 tyres on which helps, although all the gadgets on it (especially the terrain response) are there to keep you going. I have a dog guard, hatchbag and rubber footwell mats all round to keep it clean, although I still jump in and out of it when I've been up to my knees in mud, doesn't really bother me if it gets scratched dinged or muddy - it's a landrover. I've had it 6 months now and it's cost me a turbo at £1300 fitted by Nene overland or quoted £1900 at LR. No other faults so far other than ones I introduced while changing the battery They are VERY sensitive to low voltages, so I put a RR TDV8 battery in. So, running it is pretty expensive but nothing compared to running the evo and the D1 together. I expect the defender will hold its money better and be more "usable" to some people, but I still couldn't live with the fact that they are very very basic for an only car. I like comfort and toys! Defender is smaller inside by a long way too. Edited March 3, 2010 by J@mes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC45 Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Number 2 for me. If I could afford one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker3 Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 (edited) swap you for the bmw m8 the defender all day long easy to clean i had a disco 2 and it was a night mare to keep clean with dogs and mud and all so i bought her a mondeo and got me this no probs now chuck dogs ,deer pigeon shooting gear it the back hose out after easy Edited March 3, 2010 by cocker3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITCHF Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 12000 a year and "for shooting/off road/bad weather/dogs" Doesn't sound like "one car" is the sollution. £5k get's you a late 300TDI Defender.................just the job. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reidzer Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 I like my D3 so much I'm just waiting for the number transfer to go through to get my new one!! Personally I think there really good. Real comfy for long distance at good speeds, massive amounts of room inside, can tow good weights at any speed!! Can carry 7 people incomfort! Once the heated seats are fired up or the air con blasting (if the snow ever goes away) there a good mile muncher. I think there well impressive off road too. The defender crew will shoot me down with the fact that there not as good off road as a defender, which they are not due to weight, but I think you'd be suprised at how good they are. The fact that you can drive big miles in comfort at a decent speed all day I think makes it a better all round motor. Defenders are awsome if your maily offroad and aren't doing much road miles! (except the bruised elbow). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurus5000 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Thanks everyone for their replies it gives me a lot to think about but on another note how do people find the Disco 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurus5000 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 swap you for the bmw m8 the defender all day long easy to clean i had a disco 2 and it was a night mare to keep clean with dogs and mud and all so i bought her a mondeo and got me this no probs now chuck dogs ,deer pigeon shooting gear it the back hose out after easy What did you think of the disco 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker3 Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 What did you think of the disco 2? great car to drive took it to nice ran great all the way but do tend to fluck up fuel pump starter rear air bags +pump but might just have been mine realy capible off road with the right boots on it .but for shooting too much money to get mancky all the time with mud and dogs in the back never looked back from the defender m8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble without a cause Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Right, as a landrover nut, I have 3, I have a disco 2 facelift which in nearly 4 years of ownership is brilliant, none of the horror stories experienced, cheap to run yagayaga, got it chipped and runs brilliantly. Will do a;; the usua; thing and boot is massive. With rubber liner in the back, no probs to keep clean and great motorway cruiser. Defender 90 truck cab...drove it up from Wales to Shetland, the noise drove me nuts. now here it is briliant, mud, rabbits shooting gear, dogs all no problem. A must buy if all you are doing is short distaces in it, but very uncomfy and when purchased need lots spent on it about £1k, now running great but think small tractor. It was called defender because over 60mph you will need ear defenders. Disco 3, great all rounder, early ones have electronic problems, eats tyres, but awesome on and off road. Which is why it has won so many awards. but will do anything. I chose a road car for the miles and the Defender for shooting locally. My favourite is the Disco 2 as it just does it all very well, but nothing brilliantly and you can pick up a cracker for £5-7k. Thats it, your choice, good luck which ever you choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble without a cause Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 meant to say, great looking truck gurus5000. 300tdi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 my only input is what kind of driving do you do and do you like to get there quickly or sensibly. If you don't enjoy a spirited drive then the defender is an option and one that won't depreciate much. The Disco will be better on motorways and is a very smart motor and again depreciation is pretty good. Personally I'd buy a decent jap moter but thats me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurus5000 Posted March 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Thanks again for all your helpful replies. I just need to think which is gonna be best and have a drive in disco 2 & 3 as I have only driven the defender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurus5000 Posted March 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Right, as a landrover nut, I have 3, I have a disco 2 facelift which in nearly 4 years of ownership is brilliant, none of the horror stories experienced, cheap to run yagayaga, got it chipped and runs brilliantly. Will do a;; the usua; thing and boot is massive. With rubber liner in the back, no probs to keep clean and great motorway cruiser. Defender 90 truck cab...drove it up from Wales to Shetland, the noise drove me nuts. now here it is briliant, mud, rabbits shooting gear, dogs all no problem. A must buy if all you are doing is short distaces in it, but very uncomfy and when purchased need lots spent on it about £1k, now running great but think small tractor. It was called defender because over 60mph you will need ear defenders. Disco 3, great all rounder, early ones have electronic problems, eats tyres, but awesome on and off road. Which is why it has won so many awards. but will do anything. I chose a road car for the miles and the Defender for shooting locally. My favourite is the Disco 2 as it just does it all very well, but nothing brilliantly and you can pick up a cracker for £5-7k. Thats it, your choice, good luck which ever you choose. Cheers for the reply it has helped what you have said. What year and engine defender do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 What year is your disco and how do you find the reliability? It is a 1997 300 TDi I have not had a problem in 5 years and 80,000 miles. The only issue it had was a cam belt breaking but as it was only 30 miles since I had it changed all the repairs were down to the garage and they rebuilt the engine for me. There is a couple of niggles with it like the rear wiper not working and a couple of bulbs needed in the switches but other than that I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 I'd like a Defender, but they're built for dwarves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Keep the beemer and buy a cheap Japanese 4x4. There is no such thing as a "do all car", it's horses for courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble without a cause Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 My Defender is a 1995 300TDi, best engine Landrover made, but not the quietest. From the Landie forums there are reports of it doing 300k miles + regularly but you must keep it in top nick, regular service and timing belt changes. My mate has a 110 which he uses for everything, motorways, off road, travel, dogs in and out, he has done about 190K and it runs a dream and is much quieter than the 90. He tells me that it is a harmonic problem with the 90 chassis and running gear and because the 110 drive shafts are longer they are less prone to the noise. Jap cars are great, but from what I have seen the spare bits and bobs aren't that well catered for. I used Pajeros when I worked abroad and they were very rugged. I liked, but accessories were short on the shelf. I love the truck cab as the back is very useful. adice is get 2 cars. The truck cab is £180 road tax and about £200 to insure. If you get a pre-1973 series 3 with a galv chassis no road tax and about £150 to insure. Doesn't get much cheaper than that? Petrolenine delivers about 20 mpg though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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