Defender Station Wagon TD5

[Phil Davies]

Originally Posted by peteb

Are you guys real or 'google spiders'?

What the hell is a 'google spider'?

And while we're at it what do HTH and LOL mean at the end of some posts?

What's Codprawn on about when he refers to streaming videos and the opposite ones!? What's the difference?

Why do people connect VHF's to chartplotters?

How do Richard B and other techno whizzkids insert multiple quotes from other posts in their own posts? I can only work out how to do one quote at a time and if you cut and paste from the lists below you don't get it in a nice little grey box with the name of the person quoted from.

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Phil Davies

What the hell is a 'google spider'?

And while we're at it what do HTH and LOL mean at the end of some posts?

What's Codprawn on about when he refers to streaming videos and the opposite ones!? What's the difference?

Why do people connect VHF's to chartplotters?

How do Richard B and other techno whizzkids insert multiple quotes from other posts in their own posts? I can only work out how to do one quote at a time and if you cut and paste from the lists below you don't get it in a nice little grey box with the name of the person quoted from.

Don't worry about it - just dream of Aston's instead they are FAR more fun!!!

[peteb]

Do you have to be a trade member to advertise launching and recovery services? (well I have to learn somehow )

Vehicle is here, picking it up at 12noon then to the accessory fitters, I will post pictures about 5pm if it is finished

[eupa]

Vehicle is here, picking it up at 12noon then to the accessory fitters, I will post pictures about 5pm if it is finished [/QUOTE]

I hope you still have kept your membership to the AA/RAC?

Jonathan

[peteb]

Well here she is

Before and after accessories, no snorkel I decided that I will wait until I find out if you lose power with it. Ran out of time to fit rear work light so still some jobs to do, so what do you think of it?

P.S. A little problem with the wrong seat colour, but they will be changed on Tuesday.

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by peteb

Well here she is

Before and after accessories, no snorkel I decided that I will wait until I find out if you lose power with it. Ran out of time to fit rear work light so still some jobs to do, so what do you think of it?

P.S. A little problem with the wrong seat colour, but they will be changed on Tuesday.

Very nice - they do look quite compact compared to a 110 though - better off road though - not too much to stop them!!!

Does it have traction control and ABS fitted???

[peteb]

Well I have just done my first 100 miles, what a brilliant car. It has some quirks but not much has changed since I used to drive them in the 70's, the TD5 feels very powerful goodness knows what it goes like with the extra 35bhp when the ECU is re programmed.

It doesn't have ABS, neither does the County, only the new XS does, I don't know if they do any of them with traction control, but mine doesn't have that either. Blimey what do you expect for £17,500

I looked at the 110 but it seemed scary to park, it is the recommended vehicle for longer towing distances, what put me off was the passenger accomodation, I have done plenty of journey in those in the back and didn't like it. The 90 will do me as I only really want it as a tractor unit for pulling the boat, but after the fun I have had in it this evening I can see some other uses starting very quickly

Someone gave me free locking wheel nuts, I didn't ask for them

All in all it went very well and the guys are real gentlemen, I would not hesitate recommending www.lapworthassociates.com to anyone in the market for one, mine has been registered with a UK dealer today, so all the 3yr warranty and Land Rover assistance is now in place, piece of cake, I just cannot understand how anyone in their right mind would give a UK dealer another £5,800 for the very same car. Mine will be serviced now like all others bought in the UK with no difference whatsoever.

What is AMAZING is that from discussing this in my first post on the 16th June, I thought about it, oredred it and it has been PDI'd in Italy and shipped and delivered to me here in the UK, 8 days Total, I bet a UK dealer could not do that much quicker. BRILLIANT So thanks to everyone for their kind help and the thought provoking moments

[gavin]

The very best of luck with your new motor, I hope it goes well for you and does everything you ask of it, it looks the part cheers gavin

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by peteb

Well I have just done my first 100 miles, what a brilliant car. It has some quirks but not much has changed since I used to drive them in the 70's, the TD5 feels very powerful goodness knows what it goes like with the extra 35bhp when the ECU is re programmed.

It doesn't have ABS, neither does the County, only the new XS does, I don't know if they do any of them with traction control, but mine doesn't have that either. Blimey what do you expect for £17,500

What is AMAZING is that from discussing this in my first post on the 16th June, I thought about it, oredred it and it has been PDI'd in Italy and shipped and delivered to me here in the UK, 8 days Total, I bet a UK dealer could not do that much quicker. BRILLIANT So thanks to everyone for their kind help and the thought provoking moments

Never mind the extra 35bhp - it WILL get a lot quicker anyway over the first 10,000 miles - at least the Discovery TD5 I had did - it was quite slow at first but got quicker and quicker!!!

If you spec ABS you get traction control with it - they work together - applies the brake to the wheel that is spinning - really does work VERY well.It is a costly option though.

The Discovery doesn't have as much axle articulation as a Defender so will lift a wheel earlier - a mate filmed me driving offroad and you could see the wheel lifting but nor spinning at all - very impressive - a Defender with it would be the ULTIMATE!!!

Amazing service you had from these people - may be tempted later on but will feel guilty about "cheating" on my old E reg!!!

[peteb]

Gavin, thanks for the kind words and thanks for keeping up until 3am most mornings researching Defender faults I must be a Defender talked about web site expert now

Codders, you have been an inspiration I kept my faith in you even after the 'nutter' scare story, bas...ds I really thought I had been had over, more sleepless nights

Anyway the hard part is over, it is such a relief to get it in one piece as I have never imported before and after hearing all the scare stories about imports I was a bit concerned. I must say that the saving of £5,800 blew away a lot of that as in the car being labelled an import as there is more than enough cash saved to cover that. The log book has a tiny stamp on the dealer page which does not state which country it was sold from, after a few local main dealer stamps it will look no different to a UK supplied one. The log book shows me as the first registered owner and says nothing about it being imported.

Peter Allport Tel :- 01564 795090 is the guy at Lapworth Autos a true gent who imports 40 or so a month, the stress is taken out of the mass of paperwork as they do it all for you. I am sure that at the price he sells them for he is just taking a small amount of commission on each vehicle. If anyone has questions feel free to PM me.

You can see current vehicles on their way over at their site www.lapworthautos.com or for some reason the link appears at the bottom of some of the thread pages. I would say that with the accessories he puts on the basic Station Wagon like mine, makes it the best value, the County for £1,300 more only gives you carpets (I wanted the big mat in the back for boating gear so suits me), tinted windows, electric windows (they would have been good as it is very difficult to reach across to open the passenger window as I found out yesterday when asking directions ), colour coded roof (I preferred the classic white), deletion of bulk head between front and rear (Iwanted this as it prevents gear flying forward in case of braking sharp, funny thing is they sell a dog guard type contraption to place there at silly money so why have it deleted?) 4 x individual rear seats (I prefer the two benches in mine as you can easily remove the bottom pads to give greater room) and front mud flaps.

My basic one I got came with these Land Rover original additional options :- Boost alloy wheels, CD radio, heated rear screen a w/wipe, cloth seats, centre front seat, alarm, central locking with remote and metallic paint, all sensible options with my Defender 90 Station Wagon £17,500 on the road including 3yr Land Rover Warranty and 3yrs Land Rover assist.

I hope my experience will inspire others to take the leap and perhaps get the ultimate 'dream vehicle' (for Gavin ) they never thought they could afford at the moment, some times I think you just have to take the plunge you only live once!

As for 'Google spider'

Cheers

P.S. Now what about a Thread on importing a RIB in 8 days

[peteb]

Safari Snorkel.

Be warned if you buy a Safari Snorkel for a R/H drive Defender vehicle and have a radio aerial on the drivers side wing then you have to remove it and drill it into the opposite wing, the kit supplies a bung to put in the whole and a template to cut the other hole. This feature has put me off getting the Snorkel, same as the daft chequer plates that seem to have no real use at all, both mean drilling holes in your vehicle, not for me thanks

[Kernow Buoy]

same as the daft chequer plates that seem to have no real use at all, both mean drilling holes in your vehicle, not for me thanks

Pete, my 110 has chequer plate on top the front bumper, wings and bonnet its for standing on when your loading/unloading the roof rack and is very useful!

[peteb]

Ah that makes sense, because I guess you can't access all the roof rack from the rear ladder. I could not work what they were for, I saw an XS model in the showroom with them all drilled and countersunk, I just could not get the nerve up to drill the bodywork of a brand new vehicle when I could see no use for them, but the loading makes sense. I took some advice from here re the roof rack and am glad I didn't get one straight away because it does limit where you can go height wise, at my gym I can 'just' sneek under by an 1", I will have to check some of the NCP car parks or I could get a shock one day when I am not too alert

Car is going great I can't believe the power and speed it has 'unbelievable', it is also dead quiet when you have a few revs on, the light weight alluminium body certainly gives you the acceleration

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Kernow

Pete, my 110 has chequer plate on top the front bumper, wings and bonnet its for standing on when your loading/unloading the roof rack and is very useful!

The old Series vehicles were so tough you didn't NEED chequer plate all over it!!!

[peteb]

I was told today that if ANY non standard original Land Rover part e.g. roof rack is fitted it invalidates the warranty, is this correct? Strangely I was told this by one of the accessory dealers in Land Rover International, I will try and check with Land Rover tomorrow but it seems strange when not actually making any holes. Thank goodness I didn't fit the chequer plates that would have invalidated my 6yrs paint and rust warranty 'apparently'

[Jono]

Originally Posted by peteb

I was told today that if ANY non standard original Land Rover part e.g. roof rack is fitted it invalidates the warranty, is this correct? Strangely I was told this by one of the accessory dealers in Land Rover International, I will try and check with Land Rover tomorrow but it seems strange when not actually making any holes. Thank goodness I didn't fit the chequer plates that would have invalidated my 6yrs paint and rust warranty 'apparently'

Fitting a part from a supplier that supplies LR does not invalidate your warranty. Ie Buying direct off Safety Devices, Warn Etc.... I have this in writing somewhere when I refused to pay LR's huge mark up and had cage and stuff fitted at Safety Devices direct....

[peteb]

Jono, I saw a roof rack advertised as 'Original Manufacturers', on speaking to the company selling them they said they had to make it clear that these 'were' original manufacturers parts until Ford took over and changed supplier, so technically they are now 'not' the ones you would get from Land Rover. All seems a bit daft but I don't know where I would stand, obviously there are loads of Land Rovers going a round with these particular ones on as they were bought when they were the preffered supplier. Any suggestions?

Cheers,

[codprawn]

Maybe should be in the Gallery section but thought Pete may want to see why Land Rovers have a hard life!!!

Just look at the bloody tides!!!

Tractor there to show the only other vehicles safe to take out there!!!

[peteb]

God! makes my marina look dead posh Well I do not imagine my pride and joy will go anywhere near sea water, just bought a great long rope to attach to the trailer for launching

Having the waxoyl treatment done tomorrow, the only thing is the plonkers who posted me the stuff have put in a mixture of black and clear, is there any difference apart from the colour? And is there any particular places that you think I should have them shove it (secret holes or places that rust), the garage that is doing it is not a Land Rover dealer but very efficient and old school type guys.

Any advice greatly appreciated,

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by peteb

Having the waxoyl treatment done tomorrow, the only thing is the plonkers who posted me the stuff have put in a mixture of black and clear, is there any difference apart from the colour? And is there any particular places that you think I should have them shove it (secret holes or places that rust), the garage that is doing it is not a Land Rover dealer but very efficient and old school type guys.

Any advice greatly appreciated,

Waxoyl do 2 kinds of black - underbody sealer and cavity was - the cavity wax is a lot thinner and is the same stuff as the clear so doesn't matter - the
underbody sealer is just that - basically a type of schultz mixed with waxoyl - can be used in cavities but much better underneath!!! Ideally you want BOTH

Either thin the stuff with white spirits or stand tin in hot water - in this weather will be ok though!!!

Inside doors - especially rear one.

Bulkhead - through door switches - ideally drill some holes by airvents as well but not good idea on new vehicle!!!

Inside chassis rails and rear crossmember - especially above it.

Don't use normal waxoyl on underbody - just wont last - use underbody sealer - 5 schultz style tins enough - don't use Schultz though - waxoyl underbody sealer - most motorfactors will have it - get them to spray it all over - they will have a schultz gun.

You will get a burning smell for a few days as it gets over the exhaust etc - don't worry about it!!!

As i said before though - far more important is to wash the salt water off afterwards - especially in the winter with all the salt on the roads!!!