Outside the UK, in contexts where reliability and durability were essential, buyers largely dried up in the early 80s. By the mid 90s, it was very rare indeed to see a Landrover on the road in most of Africa, and the ones you did see were either kept going for sentimental reasons or run by people who just couldn't afford to replace them. They were marginally more common in the cities, but as soon as you got out into the bush, it was almost all Toyotas or Nissans. I don't think I saw a single Landrover in the Northern Cape of South Africa after about 1998.
The land rover defender probably the best 4x4 ever built
- Thread starter geoffrey
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Outside the UK, in contexts where reliability and durability were essential, buyers largely dried up in the early 80s. By the mid 90s, it was very rare indeed to see a Landrover on the road in most of Africa, and the ones you did see were either kept going for sentimental reasons or run by people who just couldn't afford to replace them. They were marginally more common in the cities, but as soon as you got out into the bush, it was almost all Toyotas or Nissans. I don't think I saw a single Landrover in the Northern Cape of South Africa after about 1998.
Couldn't agree more. By the late 60s they were disappearing in the rougher parts of Botswana, (The less rough bits road wise would raise your eyebrows) but the PHs and people who worked out in the outer areas gave up on Landrovers very earlyl
David.
David.
Sidewinder
Well-Known Member
I completely understand why defenders suck! My rem 700 also sucks...
But this is my defender, and although there are many like it, this one is MY Defender. My little man calls it the papa car and enjoys all the landy children's books by Veronica Lamond. And when he grows he wants to drive the defender and hunt with papa.
Now how many people can say that about the Jihadi Isuzu or Toyota Hilux
Enough said!
Z
But this is my defender, and although there are many like it, this one is MY Defender. My little man calls it the papa car and enjoys all the landy children's books by Veronica Lamond. And when he grows he wants to drive the defender and hunt with papa.
Now how many people can say that about the Jihadi Isuzu or Toyota Hilux
Enough said!
Z
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We moved to Maun just before the tar road came in. My god the drive from Nata seemed to take a life-time! I also remember driving from Tsabong to Ghanzi and thinking 'this is where we die and they never find the bodies'.
My Dad once took a week to get from Francistown to Maun, that was 315 miles, because the roads were a little bit bad at the time. It involved 5 different vehicles as they had to wade the rivers and change trucks. I remember taking 25 hours for the same trip. I managed not to get stuck once (Chevy pickup no four wheel drive or low ratio) just driving old style, but had to stop frequently to allow the engine to cool enough to add water. 5MPG for the trip, quite a lot of time in low gear.
David.
David.
TOMMO.B
Well-Known Member
LOVELY i know what you are saying. Its just a shame it will be dust by the time the wee guy grows up
landkeeper
Well-Known Member
i'd agree!! as a machine for someone who wants a repairable vehicle that you can get parts for nearly anywhere, that most mechanics anywhere in the world can fix with a basic toolset then the defenders perfect .
A zillion parts suppliers with a worldwide network , thousands of aftermarket parts manufactures ,replacement parts available from a chassis to a wheel nut with everything inbetween , simple construction meaning each and every part is replaceable thats the attraction for so many its like triggers broom if thats your pleasure and for tens of thousands it is , its a maintainable vehicle not a throw away comodity !!!
whats to hate i don't understand the anti lr camp i have had hilux's land cruisers ,and many other jap 4x4s they do what they are designed to do and do it well , they rust just as fast as any land rover product (most things do on salty british roads) trouble with most of the jap stuff is its steel body when its rusted its rusted you either start welding like a champ or bin it
A defender in standard guise on factory tyres will out perform nearly all others in the mud and crap it might be 80s tec but it worked then and continues to do so even today
Its a shame production has ceased but i bet a pound to a penny somebody else picks up the marque and runs with it especially post brexit
A zillion parts suppliers with a worldwide network , thousands of aftermarket parts manufactures ,replacement parts available from a chassis to a wheel nut with everything inbetween , simple construction meaning each and every part is replaceable thats the attraction for so many its like triggers broom if thats your pleasure and for tens of thousands it is , its a maintainable vehicle not a throw away comodity !!!
whats to hate i don't understand the anti lr camp i have had hilux's land cruisers ,and many other jap 4x4s they do what they are designed to do and do it well , they rust just as fast as any land rover product (most things do on salty british roads) trouble with most of the jap stuff is its steel body when its rusted its rusted you either start welding like a champ or bin it
A defender in standard guise on factory tyres will out perform nearly all others in the mud and crap it might be 80s tec but it worked then and continues to do so even today
Its a shame production has ceased but i bet a pound to a penny somebody else picks up the marque and runs with it especially post brexit
timbrayford
Well-Known Member
Well lets put it this way, I didn't buy a second one after being ripped off with the first.
sit back and watch it rust.
landkeeper
Well-Known Member
Dan Newcombe
Well-Known Member
Dont have any great love for a Defender, had one in my early 20s and since changing to an L200 i would never go back.
However, numerically how many cars do you see on the roads that are a comparable age to a lot of the Defenders. 10 years ago when i had mine it was nearly 20 years old, there aren't many vehicles that age around these days, certainly not as many Jap pickups.
There was always something wrong with it (fuses, bulbs etc) but it never once failed to start and go in 3 years.
Having said that, no plan to have another any time soon.
However, numerically how many cars do you see on the roads that are a comparable age to a lot of the Defenders. 10 years ago when i had mine it was nearly 20 years old, there aren't many vehicles that age around these days, certainly not as many Jap pickups.
There was always something wrong with it (fuses, bulbs etc) but it never once failed to start and go in 3 years.
Having said that, no plan to have another any time soon.
Chasey
Well-Known Member
Id love a defender but no way would I pretend its the best 4X4 any more than I'd pretend a TVR was better than a Porsche
Its a SERIOUSLY flawed car but id still like one.
I don't own one because I have to do 25-30K miles a year, I need it to start every time & just work and my 53 year old spine couldent take the strain.
100K in a Grand Cherokee and nothing went wrong except 1 UV joint failed on a full lock turn
80K in my Shogun nothing went wrong period just consumables like pads and disks
98K in my current Toyota and nothing except pads and disks in all those miles and surprisingly (especialy to me with all my previous far more serious off road cars) despite being up to the axels more than once I have yet to get stuck in it.
I have no love for my Toyota and I hated the noisey engine on my Shogun (and the 25mpg) but I cant fault them
Nor do I lust after them
Be the proud owner of a Land Rover but don't pretend its a great car. It just isn't. Its a labour of love and a bit of an Icon
Its a SERIOUSLY flawed car but id still like one.
I don't own one because I have to do 25-30K miles a year, I need it to start every time & just work and my 53 year old spine couldent take the strain.
100K in a Grand Cherokee and nothing went wrong except 1 UV joint failed on a full lock turn
80K in my Shogun nothing went wrong period just consumables like pads and disks
98K in my current Toyota and nothing except pads and disks in all those miles and surprisingly (especialy to me with all my previous far more serious off road cars) despite being up to the axels more than once I have yet to get stuck in it.
I have no love for my Toyota and I hated the noisey engine on my Shogun (and the 25mpg) but I cant fault them
Nor do I lust after them
Be the proud owner of a Land Rover but don't pretend its a great car. It just isn't. Its a labour of love and a bit of an Icon
RTreble
Well-Known Member
Its a marmite situation of love or hate.
I had a Navarra for 6 months, just bad luck, rocker arms needed replacing 3 times in that short period. Since then i've never looked back from getting my 110 workhorse. Un-relaible, not really, but at that age and the abuse you need to keep ontop of it. What else is still on the road at 17 year old. TD5 engine, remove egr and just about every electrical sensor it still goes. Not like new engine where a fault light puts you into limp home mode.
Meanwhile my tax exempt Series is just as reliable, modified to it tits and goes anywhere a quad will. Because you can!
I had a Navarra for 6 months, just bad luck, rocker arms needed replacing 3 times in that short period. Since then i've never looked back from getting my 110 workhorse. Un-relaible, not really, but at that age and the abuse you need to keep ontop of it. What else is still on the road at 17 year old. TD5 engine, remove egr and just about every electrical sensor it still goes. Not like new engine where a fault light puts you into limp home mode.
Meanwhile my tax exempt Series is just as reliable, modified to it tits and goes anywhere a quad will. Because you can!
bobjs
Well-Known Member
hate them like nothing else on earth.
spent years in them when in the forces and have the scares to prove it,
would be very happy if they slid them all into the sea to form a rotting base for divers to go and explore. dreadful things that where only ever made to keep land rover in business and 100 of mechanics employed keeping them on the road.
the one here on the estate needed a new gear box after 7k, it rattles like the chains in a ship yard, the windows leak, the door rubbers keep falling off, the window controls are on the top of the dash board, leg room was made for dwarfs, on full lock the front wheels catch the chassis the rear door has to be locked separately from the front on the remote......need any more disheartening info speak to many happy owners.
bob.
spent years in them when in the forces and have the scares to prove it,
would be very happy if they slid them all into the sea to form a rotting base for divers to go and explore. dreadful things that where only ever made to keep land rover in business and 100 of mechanics employed keeping them on the road.
the one here on the estate needed a new gear box after 7k, it rattles like the chains in a ship yard, the windows leak, the door rubbers keep falling off, the window controls are on the top of the dash board, leg room was made for dwarfs, on full lock the front wheels catch the chassis the rear door has to be locked separately from the front on the remote......need any more disheartening info speak to many happy owners.
bob.
timbrayford
Well-Known Member
But it was a Landrover dealership, it told me all I needed to know about the standards that Landrover set for their franchise holders.
The sad thing is that Ottons lack of scruples meant that the next 6 vehicles that I bought from new were not Landrovers!
bobjs
Well-Known Member
would that be the salisbury branch....... rings a bell.
Middlebridge
Well-Known Member
Like with most things, it's a case of you get what you pay for. As someone who always buys cheap, I've had my fair share of problems with my 110.
But parts are cheap and it's so easy to work on. Being so basic makes them reliable and easy to maintain compared to other 4x4s, but I wouldn't use mine to get to a wedding.
But parts are cheap and it's so easy to work on. Being so basic makes them reliable and easy to maintain compared to other 4x4s, but I wouldn't use mine to get to a wedding.
I may be slightly bias as I've been a Land Rover fan since I was a child and bought my 1st Landy when I was 13 (a 1976 series 3 88") but it does annoy me when people say that Defenders are "shockingly unreliable" I've owned my 1997 Defender for 14 years, I've travelled all over the UK and Ireland in it, been involved in serious off raoding events, countless hunting trips, towed very heavy loads, rescued friends cars from accidents, floods, heavy snow, been able to do jobs that simply put other vehicles haven't been capable of and not once in all these years has it ever failed to start or not got me home!
The problem I see is that people (mostly farmers) simply don't maintain their Land Rover as they should or fit cheap poor quality parts by a DIY mechanic that doesn't have to tools or experience to do the jobs correctly. Land Rover has been the vehicle of choice for the MOD, police forces, fire and rescue services all over the world for a reason. the Defender was done away with for no other reason that the bean counters sitting in an office that have probably never done a hard days physical work in their lives decided that it didn't make a high enough profit margin compared to the rest of the vehicles in the Land Rover range, all the stories about it not passing safety tests are simply not true. I know this because I used to work for Land Rover experience as an instructor and was told this many years ago while I was at the factory. I think its a sign of the times we live in these days unfortunately
The problem I see is that people (mostly farmers) simply don't maintain their Land Rover as they should or fit cheap poor quality parts by a DIY mechanic that doesn't have to tools or experience to do the jobs correctly. Land Rover has been the vehicle of choice for the MOD, police forces, fire and rescue services all over the world for a reason. the Defender was done away with for no other reason that the bean counters sitting in an office that have probably never done a hard days physical work in their lives decided that it didn't make a high enough profit margin compared to the rest of the vehicles in the Land Rover range, all the stories about it not passing safety tests are simply not true. I know this because I used to work for Land Rover experience as an instructor and was told this many years ago while I was at the factory. I think its a sign of the times we live in these days unfortunately
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