Defender vs Patrol

[Mrowka]

Ah, but Kevin that is almost not a problem anymore!

You can now buy on E-bay genuine L***s replacement smoke! All you need then is the special tool to insert it again.

Dodn't you know, you are not supposed to say that word around women, children or Rangey owners. Sheesh, I can't take you out in public anywhere.

[Peter Connan]

Kevin, I have owned a Lotus and been mechanic for a Mini and a landy. I feel I have earned the right to use that word.

Like if you shoot yourself in the foot, you are allowed for a short period to use the f-word.

My apologies if I have stepped on anybody's delicate sensibilities.

[Mrowka]

Kevin, I have owned a Lotus and been mechanic for a Mini and a landy. I feel I have earned the right to use that word.

I think that qualifies as "post-traumatic stress disorder." It must be so hard for you, living with those memories, the starting, the repairs, the electrical arcs grounding to exposed and sensitive body parts, the toodling down the highway everything seeming to go well but unable to get that thought out of your mind "It's quiet...too quiet. What is that blasted automobile planning to do next?" all the while just knowing that your vehicle is waiting to pull its next nefarious stunt for when you least expect it and are least able to deal with it.

I only wish I had known earlier.

Snark aside, there is a lot of good to say about Landys, in the sense that they were a dedicated builder of mostly off-road vehicles and they had a lot of unique and clever features designed around that purpose. Stuff like sleeve-lockers, body panels fitted using fasteners, recessed radiators, center winching, driving position, and lots more.

The problem with the Landies lies in the execution of the stuff that makes the car do mundane things like "go" and "stop" and "not overheat" or "not strand a poor schmo in some place that looks like something out of 'Borat.'"

[Peter Connan]

Kevin while we are confessing to our sins: when I was a laaitie (just working on your Afrikaans, that word means "little boy"), one of the first books I ever bought was a Landy manual. I was crazy about the things, and my particular favorites were the 1/2 ton and the 101" forward-control. I even built a radio controlled model of the 1/2 ton.

I think you are right about the execution, and I think the reason is that everything is (hopefully was) built to the lowest possible cost in order to remain competitive in a market that was rapidly being taken over by easterners.

There's a lot to be said for Lotus too, and on the right day on the right road it was magical. I will probably miss that 1996 Europa until my dying day.

[OB1]

Pieter you are kidding. A radio controlled Landy?
wow

Did you not get spanked if the toy left some oil marks on the carpet?

That discovery ad is the best. Everything is replaced, makes it the best Landy in mint condition. Pah. That is a classic case of a poor sucker that was taken for a ride by the agents. I wonder what they charged. Agents replace stuff untill they get the right thing replaced by accident.
Puma Defender turbos are supplied with a lower pressure for running the motor in. When the owners complain about power loss the agents replace the turbos by the hundreds because they are too stupid to test the boost.

I agree. Good car great concepts brilliant innovation let down by overpayed underworked workers, agents etc. Jeremy Clarkson said it best in that Top Gear South America special. Classic Range Rover was decades before its time. Total lateral thinking, paved the way for SUV as we know it. But it was built in the Midlants. Everything is done to a point where it is just good enough

[Tinus lotz]

BUT PIET after all that at least you have seen the light!!!!!!!!!!

[Mrowka]

I am not a big Landy expert, but I did not think Landy reliablity was the result of cutting corners to meet a price point, so much as Rover was a small-volume manufacturer trying a lot of specialized and innovative features which cannot be designed or tested adequately.

Besides Rover, a lot of British car makers have had similar problems, compounded by antiquated management structures, goofy engineering, and wretched industrial relations.

The Japanese worked by building in volume, based on tried and tested passenger car systems, and they knew from general experience what worked and what didn't. Rather than build ground-up off-roaders like Rover (great concept, underengineered, unsteady execution) the Japanese took they had learned about engineering, production cycles and quality control from building passenger cars and modified them to work in an off-road vehicle (average concepts but overengineered and flawlessly executed). Where necessary, the Japanese just over-built as well.

The result is something less innovative, but also something that works. Having faced a few -40C winters, I have decided that I prefer cars that start.

[Grant]

Got this post from the community form. One very upset Defender owner


Last year, I posted a problem with my Landie Defender regarding the replacement of a new wiring harness at a cost of R16,200.

Well, in the last 8 months since then, I had to replace the engine (second hand) at a cost of R58,000 and in October 2010 the Tubo blew at a cost of R8,900. In April 2011, the head developed a crack in the injector port and the fitting of a new head and other parts cost R51,000.

This is my first and last Land Rover ever!!!!!

If this is true about Land Rover, I can relate to everthing that's being said.
- 90% of Land Rovers ever built are still on the road the other 10% have arrived at their destinations.
- All Land Rovers are like women - They moan on long journey's, embarrass you in front of friends and you spend more money than you ever expected once you've commit yourself to one.
- Police officers shake your hand when they issue you a speeding ticket
- Why do most Defenders have jerry cans and gas bottles fitted?
So that the driver can make coffee while waiting for a breakdown.
- Landrovers have the best fuel consumption of all 4x4's.
That's because they are always being towed by something else.
- Why do LR's always drive in convoy?
The are playing 'Who's the weakest Link'
- I always wondered why landrover called their models, a Series 90, Defender 110 etc. But this weekend I found out, those numbers in the model name are the top speeds.
- When you drive on a toll road, you get these yellow emergency phones next to the road. Stop and look closer. On the phones there are emergency numbers like; police, ambulance, doctor, Landrover SA etc.
Q: What goes on pages 4-5 of the Landy’s user's manual?
A: The train & bus schedule.
Q: What is the sport-version of a Landy?
A: The driver wears Nike shoes.
Q: What do you call a Landy with brakes?
A: Customized.
Q: What do you have to do if your Landy gets in the way of a
swarm of killer bees?
A: Stop pushing and take refuge in the car.
Q: How do you make a Landy go faster uphill?
A: Throw out the passenger.
Q. Why do the latest models have rear window demisters.
A. To keep the hands warm when pushing.

That's my unfortunate experience with a Land Rover over the last two years.
Cheers everyone

[SRXy]

Geez...Grant! What model and engine was it?

[Grant]

It Was a TD5. The post on the community for has pointed out tha this chap did not maintaine his vehicle very well.