Buying advice please

[doggoneit]

Hi,

I am considering a land rover and wanted peoples advice on the following vehicle:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =453774778

Should I be worried about this diff noise? I would need to drive it from the top of North Island to Wellington - would that be a stupid risk? What is this model like? I had a 3 series with leafs many years ago and comfort was not its strong suit.

Thanks in advance!

[LR90NZ]

This is an early 110, coil suspension all round although rear brakes will be drum not disc. A vehicle that is good on road and very capable vehicle off road. Basically the same drive line and suspension as early Range Rovers and later the Discovery's.

I wonder if engine overheated when water pump and radiator failed and needed replacing.

Definitely be worried about the front diff.
And definitely not a good idea to attempt to drive it any distance with such a potential problem unless you remove front drive shaft completely and also the drive flanges from both front wheels so that the diff & axles can not turn.

However it needs further investigation as to teh problem, could be diff, CV's or even wheel bearings if bad enough.

The vehicle should be permanent 4WD but I can not see the vacuum switch in the photos that is meant to lock the centre diff.
Looks heavy in the front with that winch bumper set up and why the bumper on the rear? To cover rear cross member rust maybe?

Coming from up north how much beach work has it done is one question I would be asking myself.

[doggoneit]

Great info and advice thanks - I could get it checked mechanically up there I guess. I was concerned about water pump with so few Kms. Mind you it may have crapped out over the years.

Are they stupidly thirsty? Expensive to fix diff or replace engine?

Cheers

[LR90NZ]

I wouldn't be concerned about water pump repalcement at low mileage, more how is the antifreeze which supposedly stops corrosion inside the engine.

As for the repairs, it depends what you can do yourself. The front diff is the same as early RR (10 Spline) so you would need a diff head and gaskets, oils etc to suit and a bit of time to throw some spanners around.

If in good condition and properly tuned then the V8 will be reasonable (for a V8) but if you push it it will drink it faster than an Aussie can drink beer.

If you wanted to replace the engine then a later model 3.9 V8 is a good start either with injection or with carbs, or if you prefer diesel then consider the Land Rover 300tdi found in Discovery, 90/110's from 1994 to early 1999. Depends on how much you want to spend over and above the original vehicle purchase.

[doggoneit]

Thank you again!

I am happy to do some spanner work - does this seem like a reasonable price for this age/condition?

To be honest I was just going to go and buy a nissan or toyota. Something about landys I cant get out of my system though.

Is this model with coils a lot more comfy than the leaf sprung landys?

Cheers

[LR90NZ]

Coils are comfy, that why Toyota and Nissan eventually followed Land Rover and put coils into their vehicles. But if wrong springs fitted to lift vehicle or carry heavy loads then it will suffer accordingly.

There are a couple of early 110's on trade me at present so worth comparing.

As for this one I would have concerns about rust if having lived at the beach all its life. Already he admits rust in door frames, so bulkhead will have some as well. Depends how bad it is. New door frames can be hard to find as they all tend to rust and new ones are approx $1,100 each.

No floor mats to speak of so what happened to those? What's the rest of the interior like?

It is a vehicle that is coming up 27 years old even though mileage might be very low for age. If it sat for so long was it serviced in between, possibly not considering recent water pump and radiator repairs.

As to value for money only you can decide that. If in good condition then possibly a reasonable buy at $6,000. I would be inspecting the vehicle personally before buying though. It been listed for a while now and it makes you wonder why? Distance to view could be one thing holding it back but with damage to drive line I would be very suspect, especially as it has been a "club" vehicle.

[doggoneit]

Thanks LR90NZ - I really appreciate the very helpful info/advice. I don't know if I want to go all the way up there just to view and find it's bad - might give an AA check a go. They can check for rust and do compression test.

[doggoneit]

Would anyone know how thirsty they are - average litres per 100?

[ice4x4]

Is it going to be a daily driver?

If you are worried about fuel consumption the don't even consider getting anything with a Rover V8 in it.

The answer to your question is effinshitloads/100km

Really though I think I get about 20-25 out of mine but shes a bit "tiered"..
Mine is just a toy with next to no use so I dont care.

look for a diesel one much more friendly on the wallet.

[LR90NZ]

Should normally get around 13 to 20 miles per gallon depending on driving style and conditions.
After all they have the aerodynamics of a brick and weigh a couple of ton so you can't expect a lot.

I would also be concerned about why they are various types colours of spark plug leads. A full set is cheap enough to buy and if there is a problem why one from here and another one from there sort of thing. sounds like some one is too tight to properly service and maintain the vehicle.

[doggoneit]

Thanks for your info!

It wouldn't be a daily but we often visit friends and family 100k away - so to use this $100 a time may not appeal.

Would an AA check be any good for this type of vehicle?

Sorry to all landy supporters but I may just go and get another diesel nissan gq safari.

Cheers