Thoughts on 1997 Defender 90 NAS ?

[KND]

Hello everyone ,

I need some opinions and thoughts on 1997 Defender 90 NAS in Alpine white, it has 63,000 km, very nice looking and low mileage. Wife really love it because of the automatic transmission.

The problem is I just bought a 1996 Defender 90 in Coniston green, very nice car too, no rusts and fully functional, it has 142,000 km on it. I bought and paid it off for 37,000 $ Canadian. I really like this one very much because of manual but no so much for my wife.

I got a call today and offer a deal to return the green defender and add 40,000 $ for 1997 Defender 90 NAS.

My questions is should I go for it or keep my 1997 defender 90 for now.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers!
Philip.

 

[JimC]

40k is a lot for an automatic transmission...

 

[1of40]

Price and mileage is the wrong way to buy a vehicle, especially a 20+ something vehicle. I would suggest take the vehicle to a trusted and experienced independent mechanic for a thorough inspection to determine its condition then have the mechanic list for you what will need to be repaired/replaced and how much it will cost to keep it in the road for the length of time you plan to own it and how often you plan to use it. Then you can decide if it’s worth the cost of ownership. Defenders and other classics have a personal premium attached to ownership but that only you can really determine. None of us here can estimate the value of that 97 bc all we know is the color and mileage.

 

[Reese_D90]

there Is a joke in there somewhere about keeping the 1996 and trading in the wife. Seriously, convert the 1996 to an auto. Check out Ashcroft.

Ashcroft Transmissions

Ashcroft Transmissions is a UK based company specialising in the supply of rebuilt manual and automatic gearboxes, transfer cases and differentials to suit Land Rover, Range Rover, Discovery and Freelander 4x4 vehicles.

www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk

I did this to one of my trucks and was very happy with it.

 

[blueboy]

There is a nice write up on ECR regarding the swap:

 

[Parrie]

So basically $77k for the '97...not an absurd price for a low mile original truck in good condition. Like what 1of40 says, get it checked out top to bottom by someone that knows what they are looking at...could be a gem, could be a money pit.