CaptainBeaky Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 I think you'll find there are plenty of 20-plus year old Hiluxes still driving around... My Surf is 20 in December, currently at 122k miles, and no sign of wearing out any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonmick Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 If you dislike it that much, Ford and Isuzu have been towing 3.5t legally for 3 years now! Iv owned my current Defender for 13years. I will tell you like it is... im 6'1" and find driving position pretty comfortable - iv done a 5hr round trip and felt better getting out of it after that, then I have in some of the cars iv had!! The only break down its ever had, was 100% the drivers fault (my old man). It has served us bloody well and we will be sad to see it go. Nothing on the market comes close to the Defender as an all out workhorse. Yes, it's beyond basic with zero refinement... but thats what I want from it. When I'm working and covered in mud and ****, I'm glad of its basicness. Your right, when it comes time to chop in the Defender we will move on to a double cab pickup... But I will tell you now, my Defender is 21years old - no Jap pickup will be on the road at that age! i am many years past the stage of liking or dis-liking any make of vehicle.i only require them to do a job.the defender i currently have does this but that does not mean i should forgive the shortcomings of the quality of the build.my defender is in very good condition but that is mainly due to me spending several hundreds on aftermarket items to keep it looking good,a couple of instances the radio code was lost i got it back from landrover only to find it was wrong so asked if i brought it in could they sort it to be told no sir we can sell you a new one for around three hundred but in all honesty the £80 one from halfords is much better than the one factory fitted.the door seals that are to short at the bottomm of the doors i asked for them to be changed so i could not see the road from inside the cab but again was told we can only replace with the same so the fault would still exist,they did very kindly give me the name of a company that would supply correctly fitting seals,why i ask could the factory not have fitted these in the first instance.the door hinges with the rust running down the bodywork from the pin,why could they not have used stainless.they may all seem like minor things to a lot of people but if they were on any other make people would be screaming at the dealers to put it right but for some reason with these the common response is well it is a landrover.my toyota trucks all look good they get a wash every week or so the oil gets changed twice a year and that is it. no need to renew seals and change bolts or hinges,so there is no confusion my defender does its job and does it well but i do believe after seventy years they could have and should have been a lot better on the attention to detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanj Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 I think you'll find there are plenty of 20-plus year old Hiluxes still driving around... My Surf is 20 in December, currently at 122k miles, and no sign of wearing out any time soon. a whole 122k in 20 years !!!! not exactly likley to wear out , rot possibly............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 (edited) Why would it rot? Properly undersealed on arrival in the UK, since when it's done a hundred k of those 122k with me in the last 10 years. No rot anywhere. Edited September 20, 2016 by CaptainBeaky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Why would it rot? Properly undersealed on arrival in the UK, since when it's done a hundred k of those 122k with me in the last 10 years. No rot anywhere.Well you're a lucky lad, I've seen some of the Jap stuff disintegrate when challenged with uk conditions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonmick Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Well you're a lucky lad, I've seen some of the Jap stuff disintegrate when challenged with uk conditions Of course as we all know there has never been a case of a land-rover rotting.well as I have said my defender is in excellent condition but this is only because I am continually looking at it and treating any rust that I see.i can tell you a friend bought a new 90 that has just reached two years of age and has less than two thousand miles on it.it went back with only four hundred on the clock to have the steps changed due to rust and the front bumper was removed and repainted for the same reason as was the rear crossmember.he like myself has also changed all the bolts on the outside of the body for marine grade and the hinges as well.another friend a farmer has a 12 plate swb and as he has never painted or treated the rust the rear crossmember of his has rotted through and will no doubt have to be changed before next MOT.i myself run several hilux a couple of vans and one defender and I keep a book on time and money spent on each and the land-rover is by far the largest cash and time consumer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Callahan Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 Of course as we all know there has never been a case of a land-rover rotting.well as I have said my defender is in excellent condition but this is only because I am continually looking at it and treating any rust that I see.i can tell you a friend bought a new 90 that has just reached two years of age and has less than two thousand miles on it.it went back with only four hundred on the clock to have the steps changed due to rust and the front bumper was removed and repainted for the same reason as was the rear crossmember.he like myself has also changed all the bolts on the outside of the body for marine grade and the hinges as well.another friend a farmer has a 12 plate swb and as he has never painted or treated the rust the rear crossmember of his has rotted through and will no doubt have to be changed before next MOT.i myself run several hilux a couple of vans and one defender and I keep a book on time and money spent on each and the land-rover is by far the largest cash and time consumer. Like I said - the newer Defenders are not like the old ones. 95 M-reg here. Never undersealed, rarely washed. No time/effort spent on it. It usually needs a small bit of work on the chassis for MOT and the usual replacement parts - track rod end ties, steering absorber arm, bushes etc. Had a new rear X-member 5 years ago, and a new rear door at the same time. Needed a new out rigger this year. There's no streaky rust run marks anywhere (mind you, it is red so maybe hard to tell from a distance). Door frames are now starting to rot though... Oh aye - it's a farm vehicle and spends 90% of its life towing a 12ft IW livestock trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-dot Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 Our grouse moor keepers ran TD5 110 crewcabs then 2.4 and recently 2.2's but they got a lease package on 3 Toyota Invincibles with canopies for their kit. They all agree this was a big mistake due to getting bogged and bottoming out when braking downhill, so much so one 'keeper has started using his own 110 daily. It's an 04 TD5 with no bells or whistles but it gets him home every night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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