 | Home > Off Topic > ADVICE - Do I sell up and go Vogue / Sports or keep and mod? |
 
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) but given that there many MANY people have chosen to modify their Defenders, and equally many people also have - or have had - Vogues / RR Sports, I thought I may get some informed answers.
| Stacey007 Member Since: 25 Sep 2015 Location: Cheshire Posts: 3693  
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Hello
I've had my Defender for over 3 years the longest car I have ever had... Swapped an auto everything Mercedes E class estate for it. Love driving it and the waves from others... no other car will give you that smile. We use it though, camping, carry stuff, towing, etc etc. I have no issues driving it to France and back. 550 miles in a day over to Annecy a few time now. I do look at other cars on my travels and The only car I would consider is probably a RR Sport, however I would not sell the Defender, just have the RR Sport for comfort, However that seems a bit silly, as like you we have the wife's car (and my Series 3). I would be very surprised if you would fit more building stuff in a Sport rather than a Defender? It's a box at the back, I've had all manor of things in mine. Let's be honest you're going to lose on a RR sport, a £38K one now will be probably under £30K in another year. It's just how it is with cars. The Defender seems to be the exception. I doubt the value of mine has changed much in 3 years. Does your wife Drive / like the Defender? I'm, lucky mine loves it, but if it's just for 'you' and she does not get it then another option is get the RR sport and buy a Series for you / Dog. If your only driving round the local lanes near you a series is fantastic. Difficult one but if your not using it, why not? not comfortable enough? you can fit softer springs, cruise, smaller steering wheel, double din radio to make it more 'car' like. My dad has a Full fat RR and its lovely, I see that when I'm older yes I will probably have something like that, but the Defender for now with Kids and our lifestyle its Awesome  If I want to go quick and sit in comfort I can take the wife's car out |
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30th Apr 2019 9:47am |
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| K.M Member Since: 28 Apr 2016 Location: Salisbury Posts: 300 
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Morning Stacey, thanks for the reply!
When I first bought the Defender I was always planning on keeping it forever... it was built a week before the production ended and I had to fight tooth and nail to get it (not sure if I posted the entire story on here or not..) and for nearly 18 months I used it daily on my commute from the centre of Birmingham to Gaydon (Aston Martin or JLR) and never had an issue with it! When I then moved to where we are now, it became a lawn ornament due to the BMW. The car is mine and to date the Mrs hasn't driven her (shes only just turned 25 so I intend on getting a quote to add her at renewal time in August). That said, she absolutely loves Dolly! So much so that if I do end up making the decision to sell, I'll still have to get it approved by her! That'll be more difficult than May and Brexit! I've thought about taking the 2 rear seats out of the back of Dolly which then gives me a bigger load space. In reference to plasterboard... I could get it through the door uprights but then the load space can't accommodate the 1.8m in that orientation. It needs to be laid horizontal and that can't be done due to the door width. In comparison, the 5 series saloon swallows the full sheets with no problem! I don't find the Defender uncomfortable to drive... I'm lucky and have the premium seats which are surprisingly comfortable and even after long journeys, I don't have a numb bum! I really do like driving her as despite it been the worst 'car' in the world, it's packed full of character and personality and for that reason I love it! My commute to work now is 130 mile round trip so although I have started bringing the Defender to work 'for a run' it's simply uneconomical to do this regularly and again it's become something of a task rather than a desire... The other concern is the damage been caused by her just sitting there. When in Birmingham she was covered constantly so didn't get wet when it rained etc... now she's out in the open to all the elements! With her 'end of warranty' period coming in May, I've started walking around and making my list. So far - and from a quick inspection - I'm looking at corrosion to the alloys, rear sliding window blocks, underfloor in the middle row seating, leak from the bulkhead in to the footwell, window regulator in passenger door etc... the windscreen blocks have already been done as has corrosion around the roofline on the front window and a few other bits and bobs... If she isn't getting used... how much further damage is going to be caused and subsequently cost to fix.... It's a difficult one! |
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30th Apr 2019 10:07am |
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| jonny Member Since: 10 Mar 2013 Location: North Wilts Posts: 143 |
If you can get a BMW estate as a company car, I'd go that route and keep the Defender...
My logic: The defender is likely to go up in value. If you only use it at weekends it's not really going to be affected much, and it will remain low mileage for if you do decide to sell it. Put a trickle charger on it and it should be fine being left for a while. RRs do seem to get affected by not being used much - the ones that seem to cause problems are the ones that are used irregularly, popping down the shops at weekends, short trips. RR running costs are fairly steep, and when something does go wrong (and it will!) the repair bills can be HUGE. If you have to put a mucky bit of plasterboard in the back of a car - would you rather put it in a company estate car or your luxury RR barge? 
Part of the fun of the defender is that it's different (ie. noisy / cramped / uncomfortable) but it's got character. If you swap if for a RR then you are going to lose that - you get a comfy car, but it's not that different to a big BMW estate. I'm in a similar-ish situation to you - Have a Defender as a weekend / fun vehicle, missus has an impractical car, and need a 'normal' vehicle for every day use, but have no option of a company car. Previously we had a RR as the 'normal' vehicle but the running costs were pretty high (both fuel and maintenance), and we had some major issues with it.. Now we've got a normal-ish estate car for daily usage, and the 110 gets used for pootling about and occasionally when I want to take something different to work... |
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30th Apr 2019 10:32am |
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| TJH1985 Member Since: 22 Aug 2016 Location: Midlands Posts: 238
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I have had a L322 Vogue for 5 years or so, Defender and until recently a Merc c350 estate.
9/10 Vogue is the choice; it has a dog cage in which is enormous and yet we still have loads of room for other stuff. It's comfy, has a parking heater for winter, you can park it literally anywhere without worrying if it will be there when you get back.. sit on the rear tailgate with a flask of coffee or towel the dogs down before getting in. We have some AT3's and its towed a horse box across fields, taken the caravan to CL's and been used as a wedding car it's so versatile. Mind you if I had to sell one the L322 would go and the defender would stay 
Oh and you can get a 3 seater sofa in the back of a L322 try that with a 110  Last edited by TJH1985 on 30th Apr 2019 12:13pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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30th Apr 2019 11:52am |
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| K.M Member Since: 28 Apr 2016 Location: Salisbury Posts: 300
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You haven't helped TJH1985
...but your comments represent my mind vs heart at the moment! |
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30th Apr 2019 11:54am |
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| TJH1985 Member Since: 22 Aug 2016 Location: Midlands Posts: 238
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 Sorry!
In summary don't buy a Sport, do buy a Vogue and don't sell the defender. My other half drives the Vogue day to day, I got rid of the new c350 and just have a Octavia VRS as my work car  |
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30th Apr 2019 12:10pm |
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| Snowy90 Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 482 
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We run both a 54 Plate L322 3.0 td6 its a must when buying look for low owners and excellent service history, low mileage less important as they like to be used.
Prices of the Full fat RR are falling dramatically across the range with exception of the supercharged, so they seem good value now. But I would part with the L322 before that defender, the family love it and it just makes every journey feel like an adventure, even long journeys the misses says she is comfortable. I say get both! or get an estate company car next time round and keep the defender, whilst nice, the L322 wont give you the same feeling a defender does, plus people let you out at junctions in a defender and stop and chat, no one does in the L322! or not in Surrey anyways. Be strong and keep it, oh and i assume u dont keep it on the lawn! keep it garaged nice and safe and dry! |
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30th Apr 2019 12:26pm |
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| TJH1985 Member Since: 22 Aug 2016 Location: Midlands Posts: 238
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Agreed on prices, mines a 3.6TDV8 fantastic car and compared to what I paid 5 years ago it’s a absolute bargain, allot of car for the money. Takes a fair bit of work to keep it tip top mind.
I’ve been looking at a L405 but it’s quite a jump in price, and the L322 is at a point where you are not scared of using it properly. Today I would look at a end of model L322 4.4TDV8 Westy I think, I’ve never used the rear screens etc that come with the Vogue SE. |
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30th Apr 2019 12:57pm |
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| K.M Member Since: 28 Apr 2016 Location: Salisbury Posts: 300
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Dolly isn't currently on the lawn (mainly because I've recently hired a digger and dug all the front lawn away to make some parking) but she is currently parked on mud and clay: the most off-roading she has ever done!
Sadly a Defender and RR isn't an option... unless the other half has starting defecating gold and hasn't told me Your point (Snowy90) is a good one... get an estate CC for those long journeys with the dog etc and the Defender for fun... but the infrequent use and continued weather damage still reminds...
The house restoration / renovation doesn't allow for a garage... we're actually removing a garage / carport as it just doesn't work with the house :/ I'm not sure on the RR model codes but (as a quick browse) these are the sort of things I've found... What I should add is the money to fund something like this would only come from selling the Defender... she would castrate me if I bought another car when the house is still a building site haha! https://used.landrover.co.uk/search?t=1556...ls/2893284 https://used.landrover.co.uk/search?t=1556...ls/2935870 |
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30th Apr 2019 1:26pm |
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| boxoftricks Member Since: 06 Feb 2019 Location: Home Counties Posts: 745 
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I'd get the 5 series estate for long motorway journeys and keep the Defender for fun unless you need to sell from a financial perspective. Keep it, grab a roof rack or trailer for the plasterboard or get it delivered to the house
If you sell it you'll regret it. |
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30th Apr 2019 1:35pm |
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| Snowy90 Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 482
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KM those are what is knows as the L405 newest version bar a few small updates in 2018, still very pricey but falling all the time, the L322 is the shape before, still a great car but run untill 2012 the last of those can be had anything from £14k to 23k ish, and like all RR falling all the time.
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30th Apr 2019 3:21pm |
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| Snowy90 Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 482
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for what its worth, i would keep the defender which is probably holding its value at the moment, get the building work finished and by that time RR prices would have dropped so much that you will save 5-£10k on a 40K RR.
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30th Apr 2019 3:23pm |
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| Bows Member Since: 07 May 2012 Location: Wales Posts: 510  
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Sell now, while defender prices are still ridiculously high. 2006 TD5110 station wagon
1995 300Tdi 90 truck cab 1989 90 hard top with 200 tdi 1983 110 hard top 1983 110 Hi cap 1954 107 pick up |
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30th Apr 2019 6:01pm |
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| Sulisuli Member Since: 30 Oct 2016 Location: South west Posts: 4789 
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Am I right in thinking Dolly is that beautifully waxed wet look one I’m thinking about?
2015 HT XS 90
2008 SVX 90 2000 XS TD5 90 |
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30th Apr 2019 8:54pm |
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