Scully Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Mentioned a while ago I had been mulling over a tax exempt 90,but was put off by the fact it is a V8 as it will be used on a daily basis as my work vehicle.Went to have another look at it today and took a mate who is a mechanical wiz(rebuilds and sells VW campers among other goodies)and he said I would be hard pushed to find a better chassis.It has had a lot of work done on it regarding being raised and is already set up for off-road,on coil springs,and huge off-roads on pepper-pot rims,and has a LPG kit in it but the tank in back is so big it defeats the purpose of the vehicle,so that would have to go.Have discussed swapping the 300TDi from my Disco' for the V8(which I would keep to sell on)but on way home mate has shown me a 04 plated Mitsubishi Warrior crew cab that he knew someone was selling,and is in mint condition with superb low-profiles and stunning alloys which would easily sell to buy some town and country wheels/tyres. My 300 TDi has done 138k,the Warrior has 105k on the clock.The 90 is 2000 quid plus the engine swap,(made an offer including the swap,on the basis I keep the V8 but he was reluctant to be drawn on price) the warrior 4800 but I reckon he'll take less. I'm leaning heavily towards the 90 as I'm a Landrover fan,and am thinking that even though the Warrior is a beauty,that body in time,is gonna decay,whereas the 90 wont if properly looked after,as it is aluminium.Either one will be put down against my business but would also be my shooting/off-road vehicle. What to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defender.90 Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 go for the landy. a mate has a mitsi . he say its a piease of ****.it shouldnt cost to much to convert. id go for landy anyday. also insurance is less than half the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 First thing i'd say is that a tax exempt 90 is likely to be dodgey to begin with seen as 90s were not made untill 1986 and they need to be made before 1973 to be tax exempt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 by 90 do you mean defender or SWb series landy. As mentioned above there is no such thing as a tax exempt defender by sound of it its an older series chassis with defender body parts on and possibly running gear. Personally i would stick with a less utilitarian vehicle for my daily drive and either look at another discovery or pick up truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RED BEARD Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 i doubt it'll be a series chassis,it'll most probably be a 90 chassis and running gear with a swb series body on top and a tax exempt logbook,which is all well and good as a money saver with cheap insurance,free tax and less stringent MOT test,but if you happen to have serious accident the insurance company will wash their hands of you,claiming that your un-insured because what you've claimed to be driving is nothing like what they insured you to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted March 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Thanks lads,am aware of the disecrepancy of the 'tax exempt 90'.Red Beard is just about spot-on with his summing up of the situation,which is something I will have to clear up as this vehicle has to be 100% legit' before I take it on.Think the logbook is the sticking point but 'wiz' mechanic mate has lots of experience of this as he deals with a lot of so-called 'classics' as part of is business,and says it can be sorted. This aside,I would still value opinions as to the choice between the two vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Have a look here https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/radically-altered-vehicles If it is just the series body, with everything else being a defender then it won't meet the 8 points and quite rightly should not be tax exempt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 my opinion on the land rover would be the novelty would wear off very quickly especially in winter, my mate has defenders at work and hates them with a passion as he has to drive it everyday. I have no experience of the mitsubushi pick up truck but the earlier L200s do not seem to stand the test of time and have issues with engines and drivetrains from what i have read on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 I personally wouldnt have a landy as a work vehicle that i hadnt rebuilt myself. Chances are it'll break down at some point, you don't know the quality of the work done it etc etc. And this comes from a guy who has a landy, its usually my daily drive but engine "problems" has arrisen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 I have no experience of the mitsubushi pick up truck but the earlier L200s do not seem to stand the test of time and have issues with engines and drivetrains from what i have read on here. Like everything they do occasionally require maintenance, in this case you would have a legit vehicle not a collection of spare parts of unknown origin bolted together. Drive wise there is no comparison as a daily driver you can drive the mitsubishi 200 miles and get out and not feel like you have been to hell and back. Not sure what drive train problems you are on about as i have to say in about 80K miles of driving two of them I've not experiences any drivetrain issues. My last one was an ex SHB hire vehicle and that did come with a cylinder head crack which is what they are famous for but new heads are £200 if you swap your bits over so not quite the huge issue its made out to be. The current one I had as a 2 owner 60 k vehicle and I think I've had it 2.5 years now with nothing major done, approaching 40k done in it and used it to renovate this house so its had some fair loads in, towed mini diggers and a caravan a reasonable amount and been lamping a few times a week. I've changed the springs and front brake discs and its had normal servicing, for me it makes them a bargain. What I think kills them is being thrashed on the motorway so really you do have to be a bit careful when buying but these get used a lot more than the average landy simply because they are a decent daily driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Chances are it'll break down at some point, you don't know the quality of the work done it etc etc. I have personally known for a lot of years the bloke who has rebuilt this Landrover.Landrovers are his business.He has a good reputation for rebuilds,and his current project is a 1927 Sentinel steam wagon.This will be the second he has restored. I have bought this vehicle(the Landrover,not the Sentinel!)this morning.I am keeping the gas kit and the V8 to sell on.Gas kit has already been spoken for by mate who is mechanical 'wiz'.He is going to take out the V8 and swap it for a 200tdi with low mileage and take my Disco' in lieu of payment. Thanks for all the input gents;much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) He has a good reputation for rebuilds,and his current project is a 1927 Sentinel steam wagon.This will be the second he has restored. Off topic but what sentinel is his? We had a large gathering of steam lorries at Bedfordshire steam rally last year. Edited March 8, 2013 by ferguson_tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennett Posted March 9, 2013 Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 I drive a landy as a work truck, and an l200 as my own truck. The landy is rattly, has woeful heaters, drafty, slow and cramped but is hard as nails, basically a girder on wheels! My l200 animal is a much better more comfortable vehicle, especially for a daily commute. And on a set of insa turbo rangers will go any where in the course of normal gamekeeping/lamping etc but as I found last week does have a lot of plastic bits of trim that crack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.