jaco11b
SILVER Star
Dealer was asking 118k, negotiated to 105. We made money on the defender too so it ended up not being too much over MSRP (89ish for this one).
So i test drove a Defender today….
- Thread starter stonepa
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jaco11b
SILVER Star
Basically! The Bellevue location had it but it's the same owner as the Seattle (actually in Lynnwood) location.
Well done - good move.
jaco11b
SILVER Star
I'd like to start off by saying that the first 10k or so miles of owning it were great with no issues. I've always had a love for the classic 110 and thought I would fall in love with this one, but never did in the 27k we owned it.Wow - 454 miles? I guess the previous owner didn't like driving it or something.
As @MRego asked, it would be interesting to know what the "getting weird" details are. Land Rover is so incredibly frustrating. On paper, they generally check most of the boxes the many of us are looking for (looks, features, overall design, etc.), but they just can't figure out what the heck quality control and reliability are.
About the 15k mile mark weird electronic glitches started to happen. One instance the windows were on a 5 second delay from the switch. Only happened once but made me start worrying.
About once a week after that whenever we would put it in reverse the screen would just be red and green lines. It went away after putting it in park and shutting off and back on, but also started to make me worry.
Next I was getting a TPMS light for each tire saying low. The screen shows the PSI they need to be inflated at next to actual pressure, and each tire had the correct amount of pressure.
Finally we got a "Coolant Level Low" light, and I topped it off (was actually low) to see what happened, thinking maybe an air bubble in the system somewhere. Sure enough a week later the light came back on and there was a distinct coolant smell under the hood. Topped it back off and called the dealer who said we could bring it in and leave it with them but they might not be able to touch it for 2-3 weeks and did not have a loaner. The other option was to schedule a service appt which was about 3 months out which we did, constantly topping off with coolant. Once we brought it in for service, my wife went to pick it up and they told her it just needed a simple software update. That made me lose enough confidence to start looking at other options.
Dealer offered us 8k more than we had paid so the search was on. My company had recently traded in a 200 series that my business partner drove for a new Tundra (AluCabin install was completed yesterday). I own an overlanding/offroad parts and accessories company called Evergreen Offroad -evergreenoffroad.com
The stars aligned and the dealer had the new LC so we took the plunge with the intention of keeping this one forever for our future kids and grandkids to drive. The tech is super outdated but everything else says refined and bulletproof. I have attached some photos below of our last comapny 200 series build. I'm a dealer for every part on it so if something piques your interest let me know and I'll see what I can do for your! What's not pictured is the Dobinson's suspension which completely transformed the ride and we will be putting the MRR resevoir kit on our new one.
The MRA is my next setup as well. Have you experienced the Bp-51? If so, curious to hear the comparisons
Very well timed photo I took today. Jag/Rover dealership with the ever present flatbed sneaking in behind that Bronco. These hook drivers must be on a first name basis with the service department, maybe even have their own locker in the tech locker room.
Love me some Defender looks - what a beast…but my common sense keeps me loving the 200 much more.
Love me some Defender looks - what a beast…but my common sense keeps me loving the 200 much more.
jaco11b
SILVER Star
We have experience with both, and prefer the MRA. The adjustments seem to make more of a difference, the rebuild intervals are super long for the MRA, and they just work great. We spent a couple weeks in Baja with the last 200 we had and it just rode like a dream the whole time, even when we sent it a bit too hard!
