Knowledge regarding the Land Rover Defender 90?

I've always had a thing for these. Anyone here ever own one? Anyone here have one that might be for sale? Feedback in general?

There's a reason they're colloquially called "Deafener" in the UK - most of my Land Rover owning friends buy used Discos or Range Rovers if they tend to do any sort of on-road miles.

Other than that, the usual Land Rover ailments - rust under the alloy superstructure, oil leaks that are almost impossible to eradicate and similar fun stuff. These are really, really good offroaders but if any of the Land Rovers deserves the designation of "rides like a truck", it's this one.

I've always wanted one, but they go for a huge premium compared to a similar Jeep. Sure, they're not a Jeep, but they're able to serve similar functions. When you compare a completely maxed out Wrangler to an entry Defender, it's really hard to justify the Land Rover premium.

When I was on vacation in Tahiti, I fell in love with the Defender 110s that were all over the place (in many different forms). If I was going to pay a premium for a Land Rover, I'd import a Defender 110. If you want to be recognized for paying extra money for something unique, might as well go all in!

Bryce

To me they have a lot of cachet and when i see them on the road i give them about the same reaction as i give to 'supercars'.

So for 'look at me' value i think they're a winner. Id love to have one and hate to pay for one.

Exactly! A Defender 110 is on the list of vehicles I will own one day, but honestly the 90 doesn't do much for me.

A Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon makes much more sense from pretty much every perspective, but I still like 110s.

Good general-purpose offroaders but they're quite heavy...their hill climbing & obstacle clearing capability isn't the best. One time I was out wheelin' and all the Samurais drove right up a muddy hill while the Defenders were stuck at a very slick area near the bottom, one almost slid into a ditch further down. On flat ground it's usually the Defenders pulling everything else out though.

Edit: Found a pic, before most of the Samurais had driven up. You can see a Defender stuck in the pit in the bottom left...only thing that stopped it from sliding further:

http://i.minus.com/jApLBB6uPk53G.jpg

And it was not nearly as dry and grassy as it looks.

My dad looked at one new in 1996. He instead got a 3 year old Mercedes Benz for about the same money. When he sold the Benz 6 years later, it had lost about 75% of its value. The Defender would have lost 0, if not appreciated.

That is all I know about them other than they look badass.

My old boss bought one of these last year. They're the Miata hardtop of 4x4s - you buy it for $X and sell it down the road for the same money.

The only gotcha I'll mention, as it needed to be addressed immediately when my boss got his Defender, is that the tops on these things are now quite ancient and may have issues. His top(s) had shrunk so much that they didn't really fit anymore. Better aftermarket versions are available (I believe my boss got his here, that may even be his truck on the front page. NMNA).

Definitely not a highway vehicle, definitely a quirky vehicle.

I drove a Disco once, about 150 feet. It seemed to me like a wonderful tool for pulling a light set of harrows around the quarter section, but completely horrible on a paved road.

Thats all I got, other than the ancient Buick engine drooling oil all over the place.

Wait, a Disco or a Defender?

GameboyRMH wrote: Good general-purpose offroaders but they're quite heavy...their hill climbing & obstacle clearing capability isn't the best.

You must be thinking of a Discovery. A Wrangler weighs about 1000 pounds more than a D90; seriously. Curb weight on a D90 is like 2500 pounds. The Discovery was the turning point when LR abandoned their offroading roots and started selling vehicles to people that felt like they needed to pay more for a Suburban, but weren't smart enough to actually buy a Suburban; see also Escalade, Hummer... I digress. The Defender was an antique when it was new and is quite capable offroad.

I have a Series. A Defender is everything that was awesome about the Series trucks with a hint of modern features like disc brakes,coil suspension, and more horsepower. I know a guy thought just bought a D90 for $32K. Although awesome, I just can't see the justification. It would be much cheaper to buy a Series III and put a Rover V8 in it. You can actually buy a new Series frame that that's a coiler. These trucks are Lego sets, pieces interchange; update, backdate.

Check out Guns and Rovers and/or Rovers North for active forums and for sales.

Curb weight on a D90 is like 2500 pounds.

You'll be embarassed when you realize you read the unit of measurement wrong..

Defenders are HEAVY. High 3s for the smallest one you can get and way up from there for the 4doors and almost all 4wd-related 'upgrades' add tons of weight. Dont be surprised if a d90 2dr ends up weighing over 5k lbs when you do a little upgrading and put some gear and a driver and a tank of gas in it.

peter wrote: My old boss bought one of these last year. They're the Miata hardtop of 4x4s - you buy it for $X and sell it down the road for the same money.

Apis_Mellifera: I have a Series. A Defender is everything that was awesome about the Series trucks with a hint of modern features like disc brakes,coil suspension, and more horsepower. I know a guy thought just bought a D90 for $32K. Although awesome, I just can't see the justification. It would be much cheaper to buy a Series III and put a Rover V8 in it. You can actually buy a new Series frame that that's a coiler. These trucks are Lego sets, pieces interchange; update, backdate.

I wouldn't mind paying $32k for one if I was confident I could sell it for around $32k when I decided I was done with it. It would be fun to have for awhile and then move on.

Vigo wrote:

Curb weight on a D90 is like 2500 pounds.

You'll be embarassed when you realize you read the unit of measurement wrong..

Close. I used the conversion for km rather than kg. That did seem light but with the aluminum and such I figured it was close. Mine is spec'ed at 3000 pounds and it weighs several hundred less than that with a cast iron block and head.

Pound for pound, I think a Series is a better choice though. However the lack of depreciation is remarkable.

I am not going to believe any 3000 lb d90 without a lot of supporting evidence. Most of the cars ive ever owned have been around 3000 lb and there's no d90 i know of that would come close unless you simply took large portions of its componentry off.

I mean, there are some old Wrangers that weigh LESS than 3000 lbs.. once you take off the top, doors, windshield, tailgate, bumpers, the other 3 seats, and put stock tiny tires back on it. You could absolutely still call it a drivable Wrangler at that point, but it would be misleading to tell people that Wranglers weigh 3000 lbs.

It wouldn't take a whole lot of armor & goodies to get a Sammy up to 3klbs. Even a lightly specced D90 is going to be well over 4klbs, it wouldn't take much to get them up to 5klbs. I know it takes some lightening to get a relatively flimsy Hilux pickup down to 3500lbs.

2500lbs is a bit more than a Miata or AW11, and less than an S2k or Toyobaru.

I love D90s. I spent plenty on time in my youth riding in on to the livestock auction to pick up sheep and cows for slaughter. It would tow a few cows or a bunch of sheep. I mean it is a basic truck that is basically the farm truck of the UK.

My brother bought one last month. He seems to be enjoying it. I told him he should buy a new wrangler for less money, but he did not listen. I am going to New Oleans next month to him and his kids so I can give a better update then. I do like the looks.

Chris

I would rather have a used D90 than a new Wrangler, but I'm not spending $32k on any vehicle. In the end the D90 would cost about the same - lack of depreciation would be offset by higher maintenance costs. But the D90 would be a hell of a lot cooler.

In reply to dculberson: I agree, but he has no mechanical sense and has 3 small kids and no time for headaches which is why he sold his 64 corvette. It was only a recommendation for ease of enjoyment.

Chris

Further research shows that 1750 kg does in fact equal 3800 lbs. As I mentioned, my Series goes 3000 lbs. Other than the giant can opener shaped linkage to hold the axles on, where's the weight coming from? I suppose it's cumulative across the various updates but that's surprisingly heavy.

The sheet metal in a Defender's body is quite thick, for one thing.

A 4x4 drivetrain and big live axles aren't light either.

The Series has the same pieces, although the axles are 24-spline rather than 10.

It depends what you want from a car. For me Defender would always represent one of the most safest car when driving among crazy drivers out there. One friend had a bad accident, and he has rolled over with his 90 Defender. The car is totally damage but he had nothing vital, just a few scratches.

I was interested in these until I saw the prices they sold for