GTP Cool Wall: Land Rover Defender 90

[GranTurismo916]

I would take a Defender over an American offroader, but unfortunately those are really rare around here.

 

[Antonisbob]

I take it you are joking

No. Dead serious.

Which is why if you want to go offroad you buy a $500 Blazer that can do the same thing and has way more aftermarket it available for it.

This side of the pond, it's completely true. Nobody's going to spend $30,000 - $60,000 on a Defender 90, 110, Discovery, or Range Rover and risk "Scratching the paint" off road.

It's a British Jeep, dude. The Blazer is just a truck.

But it's classified as an SUV. The military used them as well over here. For those who don't know.

 

[Slash]

It's classified as a "Suburban" IIRC.

 

[Wiegert]

I knew they weren't that common in the States, but it sounds like I underestimated how rare they really are over there. I see all sorts of Defenders either in town or out in the nearby countryside. Many older models I see appear to be in pretty good condition for their age, even the ones in rural parts.

While I've always liked the 90 (though not quite as much as the 110), there's only one properly cool version of it out there in the form of the Tomb Raider LE.

 

[Slash]

I knew they weren't that common in the States, but it sounds like I underestimated how rare they are over there.

I see all sorts of Defenders either in town, out in the nearby countryside, or the rural area where I work. While I've always liked the 90 (though not quite as much as the 110), there's only one properly cool version of it out there in the form of the Tomb Raider LE.

I think it's more dependant on location in the world. As said for other cars, whats common for you might be rare somewhere else. I for one have never even seen a Defender in person. Cost wise, it's more efficient to go and buy a beater and fix it up, at least around here. For under $10,000, you can have this with enough power to melt all 4 tires:

I'd like to see a Defender go where this can, for as cheap as this can.

 

[Joel]

No. Dead serious.

This side of the pond, it's completely true. Nobody's going to spend $30,000 - $60,000 on a Defender 90, 110, Discovery, or Range Rover and risk "Scratching the paint" off road.

People don't buy Defenders for a status symbol. Range Rovers, yes, but a Defender isn't fancy enough to be a status symbol. When the average person thinks of "Land Rover" as a status symbol they think of the Range Rover.

Do you think people don't buy trucks or Jeep Wranglers for a status symbol? There's tons of Jeeps and trucks that never go offroad for the same reason, people don't buy a brand new 60,000 truck and go climb rocks with it, but they'll put a lift kit and big tires on it to make it look like they do. IMO a soccer mom's Land Rover is logically consistent with a big lifted truck that never goes offroad.

I think it's more dependant on location in the world. As said for other cars, whats common for you might be rare somewhere else. I for one have never even seen a Defender in person. Cost wise, it's more efficient to go and buy a beater and fix it up, at least around here.

But what does that mean to the cool wall? You can use this argument forever and there's no end to it. You can buy cheap cars and tune them to beat anything around a track, doesn't mean they're cool.

 

[Slash]

But what does that mean to the cool wall? You can use this argument forever and there's no end to it. You can buy cheap cars and tune them to beat anything around a track, doesn't mean they're cool.

More or less it was just a reply to what was previously said.

 

[Joel]

More or less it was just a reply to what was previously said.

But you keep harping on it in most of these threads. "You can buy an old beater and do more". Does that mean a Chevy Blazer is a cooler car? Stock vs. Modified just doesn't really make sense in these comparisons because it just gets silly and there's almost always something you can buy cheaper and mod.

I'm sure a lot of the Europeans on this forum could mod the hell out of a Defender for a lot cheaper than they could to do the same to an F150 and a Wrangler.

 

[Slash]

But you keep harping on it. "You can buy an old beater and do more". Does that mean a Chevy Blazer is a cooler car?

To me, yes. To others, not necessarily. It was basically a point I was making from the start. Its part of the reason I voted the way I did. I cannot justify the price of it when I can simply get something more appealing to me, and IMO, better, for cheaper.

That said, I think it's better for all of us if we end this now. 👍

 

[Famine]

Brain fart on my part. I ment to type defender.

A Discovery is an SUV, a Defender isn't.

For under $10,000, you can have this with enough power to melt all 4 tires:

I'd like to see a Defender go where this can, for as cheap as this can.

You could at least make it challenging...

£5.4k ($8.4k)
£4k ($6.2k)
£3k ($4.7k)
£1.5k ($2.3k) - though it won't end for that little.

 

[Slash]

A Discovery is an SUV, a Defender isn't.You could at least make it challenging...

£5.4k ($8.4k)
£4k ($6.2k)
£3k ($4.7k)
£1.5k ($2.3k) - though it won't end for that little.

I wasn't aware they could be had for that low of a price. I was under the impression that they carried their value for a long time. Thanks for that 👍

 

[Badasp5.0]

It's classified as a "Suburban" IIRC.

Nope those are "CUCV" '84 to '87 Model year The CUCVs came in four basic body styles: pickup, utility, ambulance body and chassis cab. The M1008 was the basic cargo truck, the M1010 was the ambulance and the M1009 ¾-ton utility rig, which was a stripped Blazer uprated to 3/4-ton capacity

M1009 CUCVs are pretty cool we used them for farting around post @ Fort Sill, OK as recently as 2010 right before I got out of the Army. I would love to have one as a camping rig.

 

[Slash]

Nope those are "CUCV" '84 to '87 Model year The CUCVs came in four basic body styles: pickup, utility, ambulance body and chassis cab. The M1008 was the basic cargo truck, the M1010 was the ambulance and the M1009 ¾-ton utility rig, which was a stripped Blazer uprated to 3/4-ton capacity

M1009 CUCVs are pretty cool we used them around post @ Fort Sill OK as recently as 2010 right before I got out of the Army. I would love to have one as a camping rig.

That surprises me as just about all SUV's, full size or not, as far as I know are registered as "suburbans". Even my old Bronco II was.

 

[Famine]

I wasn't aware they could be had for that low of a price. I was under the impression that they carried their value for a long time. Thanks for that 👍

You can still buy them is the thing.

If you get a REALLY old one, you'll be paying lots. If you get a really new one, you're looking at £35k. But there's so many of them from, say, 1982-1995 that you can pick them up for nothing - people often give them to each other as currency.

 

[Badasp5.0]

That surprises me as just about all SUV's, full size or not, as far as I know are registered as "suburbans". Even my old Bronco II was.

Not here in NM titles for Jeeps, Suburbans, Explorers ETC are registered as a "light truck" or "SUV" its probally state dependant.

 

[Wiegert]

I think it's more dependant on location in the world. As said for other cars, whats common for you might be rare somewhere else. I for one have never even seen a Defender in person.

I know that. It doesn't change the fact that I assumed the NAS Defender sold in slightly greater numbers across the pond than it did in reality. The fact that you haven't so much as seen one in the flesh makes it all the more surprising.

I wasn't aware they could be had for that low of a price. I was under the impression that they carried their value for a long time. Thanks for that 👍

A decent late-80s/early-90s Defender can be picked up for the same price as the third one Famine linked (anywhere between £2500 and £4000). If you're after at anything under 5 years old, you're looking at spending well over £30k.

 

[Badasp5.0]

I know that. It doesn't change the fact that I assumed the NAS Defender sold in slightly greater numbers across the pond than it did in reality. The fact that you haven't so much as seen one in the flesh makes it all the more surprising.

.

They are super rare I have NEVER seen one in person as well. And since they havent been sold in the US for a long time they are getting even rarer.

 

[Wolfe]

@Wiegert: I've never seen a Defender, or any classic LR -- I would notice if I did. I have seen a Willys Jeep Wagon, and an International Harvester Scout, not to mention all the CJs still rolling around. My dad recently bought a '79 CJ-5.

I can't even recall the last time I saw a Range Rover; somewhere in Madison multiple years ago, I'm sure.

 

[Downhill Dino]

I know that. It doesn't change the fact that I assumed the NAS Defender sold in slightly greater numbers across the pond than it did in reality. The fact that you haven't so much as seen one in the flesh makes it all the more surprising.

It's like finding the needle in the hay stack. Except there's no needle.

 

[Crash]

Alright, lets say your right. Lets add in some mods. For a cheap Blazer, Bronco, F-150, Ram, Chevy 1500, Wrangler etc, you can get for dirt cheap and with the money you could put into mods would put this thing to shame and then some without even coming close to the price a Land Rover costs around these parts.

And in Europe and in other parts in the world, you can buy a dirt cheap Defender and mod it and it will still cost less than a Blazer or Bronco.

Sorry, but New York is not the center of the universe.

I think it's more dependant on location in the world. As said for other cars, whats common for you might be rare somewhere else. I for one have never even seen a Defender in person. Cost wise, it's more efficient to go and buy a beater and fix it up, at least around here. For under $10,000, you can have this with enough power to melt all 4 tires:

I'd like to see a Defender go where this can, for as cheap as this can.

See above.

I wasn't aware they could be had for that low of a price. I was under the impression that they carried their value for a long time. Thanks for that 👍

Defenders hold their value well in the US, but not necessarily the rest of the world.

I know that. It doesn't change the fact that I assumed the NAS Defender sold in slightly greater numbers across the pond than it did in reality. The fact that you haven't so much as seen one in the flesh makes it all the more surprising.

A decent late-80s/early-90s Defender can be picked up for the same price as the third one Famine linked (anywhere between £2500 and £4000). If you're after at anything under 5 years old, you're looking at spending well over £30k.

They didn't sell a lot of NAS Defenders here, though I've seen a few knocking around. As others have alluded to, when they are for sale, they tend to be quite expensive. Example: there's a 94 Defender 90 for sale locally for $35000 right now.

Doesn't diminish its off-road capability though.

 

[Akmuq]

Because most of the guys I hang out with have the same mentality as me.

Oh dear god...

 

[Joey D]

Sorry, but New York is not the center of the universe.

That's going to be a serious shock to a New Yorker.

 

[Roo]

Uncool, for one reason: I own one*. Anything owned by me is automatically uncool.

(*Well, a One Ten, which is basically the same but longer).

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

As the owner of a 110, seriously uncool

Just kidding, I gave it a cool. The only standard Defenders worthy of sub-zero, in my opinion, are 110 soft-tops and 130 crew-cabs.

As for people doubting the Defenders ability, look at the harshest, most demanding environments in the world - what are they using there? Land Cruisers and Defenders.

 

[Badasp5.0]

That's going to be a serious shock to a New Yorker.

LOL the only way its worse is if they are from California JK

 

[playnthru]

These aren't rare in the US.

You can find one for sale in minutes. Even in upstate New York googled it.

 

[GranTurismo916]

That's going to be a serious shock to a New Yorker.

When did that stereotype come up?

These aren't rare in the US.

You can find one for sale in minutes. Even in upstate New York googled it.

The 1998-present ones are really rare. The pre-1997 ones are kinda rare.

 

[Badasp5.0]

These aren't rare in the US.

You can find one for sale in minutes. Even in upstate New York googled it.

Takes foot out of mouth and found two in NM...

http://www.carsforsale.com/used_cars_for_sale/1995_Land+Rover_Defender_186604301_1

http://www.landroverranch.com/forsale.html (the 110 Defender was for sale for $60k!!!!)

 

[skynyrd]

These aren't rare in the US.

You can find one for sale in minutes. Even in upstate New York googled it.

To be honest, you can do that on the internet with just about any car ever made unless there's only twenty of them left.

Having said that, I don't recall ever seeing one of these before. I think there is an occasional land rover of some sort in the bigger towns around here, but it's mostly just Range Rovers that you see where I am.

 

[playnthru]

I'll give you they're a bit unusual to see in places. Good nice examples can fetch top dollar, but 'rare'?

They imported them for 25 years to the US. A legal 110 is rarer.👍