Happy birthday, Land Rover: 70 years young.
The company had a birthday bash to celebrate. I wasn’t there. It was wet, windy and cold where I was on the day, but I had to take some members of the family on an errand.
When I suggested taking the Lorry, I was outvoted and we instead took the Porsche Cayenne, also known as the Flying Pig. Hardcore Land Rovering must be a niche pastime, then; old stuff is for old boys like me who don’t mind discomfort, and then there is everyone else who wants Range Rovers. Actually, there is a hybrid category of sub-artisan buyer who will pay through the nose for a modern Defender with knobs on.
So what is the off-road market like from a 70-year perspective?
Question one is: can you still buy a Landie for buttons? Well, possibly. This is a regular topic of conversation and the cheapies now seem to be Series 3s. Restoration projects are about a grand but, if you need a chassis, then you will add at least £5000, especially if you upgrade the suspension. And it goes on from there, of course. Entry level for an MOT’d runner is £2500 and there seems to be some okay ones out there from the late 1970s to early 1980s. I’ve seen tidy tax-exempt ones for £5000.
You really need to go and see them and not just buy off the internet because any sub-£10,000 vehicle is going to have some sort of issue – usually a rusty one. That brings us to actual Defenders, and at £2500 you are now looking at examples without even a few months’ MOT. Yes, we are in ‘project’ territory here. The sellers suggest their vehicles may need a chassis and that means lots more money. Oddly enough, pay a grand more and you get ones that may even have a spotlamp bar on the roof. There are some Disco mongrels around and bobtailed things that are probably a bit too niche. So £4000 is the bottom line and that’s so much better than a run-out £30,000 example.
It is time to talk ‘Poshfenders’. They are everywhere. I quite like the look of some of them, but I have watched one with high-back seats, gloss black paint and a £50,000 price tag fail to leave its place in a car supermarket showroom for six months. It is still there, but they don’t advertise it any more. A Flying Huntsman at £150,000? A 2005 Icon at £27,500? These make the entry-level Series 3s and Defenders look like absolute giveaways. And they are, of course, what Land Rovers are all about: water leaks, noise and discomfort. So stuff the bucket seats and air-con and keep it real.
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Better to import?
Best bargains I have seen are Japanese reimports - RHD, often rust free and well looked after with low mileage, eg 90V8 50th Anniversary LE as new £25k.
There is a market for a simple tough easily repairable 4x4 but I suspect the new Defender will not be that. If someone could re-engineer/Type Approve and import vehicles made in Asia such as the BAIC range or Force Gurkha they could make a killing.
Chris
Not long ago I invited others interested in such a venture to all put money in. I was keen. But the Ineos Defender has probably scuppered that idea. He's going for exactly that; a simple, tough, 4x4 that can be hosed out.
I'm afraid not
The thing is, if you want a really nice Defender then you have to start with something decent, and I mean decent, with a really good chassis. Then you might want to start adding an auto box, and maybe a V8, plus many other creature comforts. And NEVER forget that you MUST have a rollbar. A defender without a rollbar is just a mobile coffin. So, the final bill (getting someone to build it all for you, and including the donor vehicle) is going to be about £35,000-£38,000. I know that because I've done the figures for myself. For that, and if you wait for six months, you could have a new Jeep Wrangler when it's released in Britain. Now, as much as I love Defenders, a new Wrangler has the edge, in fact, more than an edge, as the new Wrangler sounds as though it is perfect. The new Defender, I hear you say? Well, that's going to be £40,000+ - given JLR's pricing. I'm afraid the Defender's time is past. And if I'm honest (remember, I have Defender oil in my veins) it's time was past 15 years ago, if not longer.