New guy in Canada looking for 110 tdi

[aclarke]

Hi. My name's Andrew and I live in Ontario, Canada. I'm on the hunt for a LHD 110 station wagon with a 200tdi, 15 years old or older (or already in Canada) that I can import into Canada.

I figured I'd post in the classified section but have to accrue 10 posts until I can do that. I don't know how I'll do that quickly without spamming, which is sort of ironic if you think about it :)

Well, if anyone has some pointers on helping me get something like this, I'd love to hear from you! andrew at clarke dot ca.

Have fun,
- Andrew.

[abyssdj]

hurrah nice choice in vehicle :D i will keep my eyes open.... welcome to the forum :p

[aclarke]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to getting one. I could buy one in the UK which would be a lot easier as they're more plentiful, but my wife isn't sure she'd be able to handle the RHD on a snowy night. I'd want her to test driving RHD here before I imported one, and the closest person I know personally with a RHD vehicle (Range Rover) is a good 4 hours away.

Just out of curiosity, what sort of shape would a max £5000 1991 or so D110 be in if I bought one around where you live? Would it be in pretty good shape or a piece of junk? I'd like to buy one with a decent chassis and bulkhead, or basically have the price discounted enough that I could afford to pick up a replacement bulkhead and/or galvanised chassis.

I suppose I should mention that if you DO come across the "perfect" RHD Defender, I'd sure still love to hear about it :D

Thanks and enjoy your vehicle, you lucky (*^&#$% :)

- Andrew.

[etsdit]

Hi and welcome to the forums

Check out http://www.autotrader.co.uk to get an idea of current prices.

I know Nene Overland (http://www.neneoverland.co.uk/popups/lrlhd.html) stock LHD 110's not sure if they have any 200Tdi's (and I would not reccomend dealing with them) - but at least you can see what you get for your pound

These guys (http://www.exmod.co.uk/) might also be able to help, and so might they (http://www.landrovercentre.com/)

I recall seeing some LHD's on ebay every now and then... but be very cautious when buying off ebay

Why specifiaclly a 200Tdi?

hope you find what you want soon :D

[aclarke]

Hi. Thanks for the links. To legally import a vehicle into Canada, it has to either be Canadian-spec, or manufactured at least 15 years ago. Since I can't get a Canadian-spec diesel Defender (they were never sold here), I have to pick one up that's 15 years old. I don't want a td5, and the 300tdi wasn't put in vehicles until 1994 (IIRC). That rules out the 300tdi unless it was a retrofit to an earlier vehicle.

I have nothing against the 300tdi, but if someone was putting a newer engine into, say, a 1988, they'd be more likely to use a 200tdi than a 300tdi so I just don't mention that engine as something I'm looking for as it's not a very likely vehicle to find. There are other good engines that could be in the vehicle too like an HS2.8, but the most LIKELY vehicle would be a 1991-1992 200tdi, or perhaps an older one with a retrofit.

There is the occasional vehicle like this for sale here, but they can get pretty expensive, like this 2005 for C$70k: http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details.asp?mknm=806&Region=-1&subcategory=-1&CAT=2 . People even try to get half that or more for 20 year old 110s here. It's crazy.

- Andrew.

[aclarke]

Check out http://www.autotrader.co.uk to get an idea of current prices.

Oh yeah ... I've been looking here and see that there are quite a few under £5000 but it's hard to tell what I'd REALLY be getting for the price from one or two small photos. That's why it would be good to get the opinion of someone who's actually gone to look at this vintage/price of vehicle.

- Andrew.

[etsdit]

some listings have good pics :)

for example (http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/CARS_popup.asp?modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=LAND+ROVER&model=DEFENDER&min_pr=4000&max_pr=5000&mileage=&agerange=&postcode=sm6+0ty&miles=1500&max_records=50&source=0&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH&start=2&distance=42&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200619234604726)

[aclarke]

Yeah, that's a nice looking truck, from the photos. I emailed the seller over the weekend, but they didn't get back to me. Maybe they thought I was a scammer since I accidentally mailed them twice (got the vehicle mixed up).

The pictures are good there but they still don't compare to a detailed visual inspection. For instance, they don't show the condition of the bulkhead or chassis.

Thanks for the link though!
- Andrew.

[abyssdj]

our defender was £4000, and looks like this - http://www.landrovernet.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=36358&d=1147307067

the only things we've really done are add some driving lamps, the chequerplate, and wolf rims.

the only real problem is the chassis, which could do with replacing. unfortunately we just hit a bad one. my dads defender cost £2000, and his chassis is spotless, although his paint/body/general aesthetics are a bit... naff

[aclarke]

That's a nice looking Defender. Did your dad get a 200tdi station wagon for £2000? I'd rather have one with good mechanics than one that looked good, since paint is easier to find here than a replacment chassis :)

[etsdit]

The pictures are good there but they still don't compare to a detailed visual inspection. For instance, they don't show the condition of the bulkhead or chassis.


:) it seems you find yourself in a peculiar situation... looks like you have two options if you are sceptical of semi-blind buying (which is not a bad thing at all :D)...

1. Take some time off and visit the lovely UK, go around and check out some vehicles

2. As the forum politely to have a look at some 110's if its local to someone and trust their opinion on the condition of the vehicle

I think you should get a decent 200Tdi for 5 grand...

so when are you coming over? :D

[Dave-H]

No help to your search - but welcome to our forums ;)

[Madoobri]

Hello & welcome to the forums ... good luck with your search :)

[abyssdj]

That's a nice looking Defender. Did your dad get a 200tdi station wagon for £2000? I'd rather have one with good mechanics than one that looked good, since paint is easier to find here than a replacment chassis :)

thanks :) unfortunately his is only a 2.5N/A.. and its just done the clutch fork over lol. it needs its fair share of work doing, but then dont they all?

i would recommend you look here - www.mrmlandrover.co.uk (http://www.mrmlandrover.co.uk). thats where we got ours from... despite the bad chassis, the guy is very helpful and very honest. when we have the funding, he's managed to sort out a galv chassis for us for nowhere near what it would usually cost.

just email him and tell him what you are looking for and he will probably sort something out for you. liveridge 4x4 are also pretty good, but they are quite pricey. they do export, however

[toppa]

Hello and welcome to the forum..........

No help with links...


But have you considerd buying a TD and retro fitting a TDI, not sure what the price difference would be though..

Cheers

[abyssdj]

good idea.. pretty much a take out, drop in replacement isnt it?

edit - thinking about it.. i think i've heard of a few americans that imported newer land rovers by having the engine removed at the origin, then importing the vehicle and engine separately as "spare parts"... then refitting it in the USA

[swag298]

Get a V8 110. They're much much cheaper.
My '83 V8 CSW cost under C$2000 in the UK, and I bought it over here with me when I emigrated (along with my Series1, Unimog, Stage1,......!)
I'm getting about 18mpg average at 2500' elevation. Would probably not get much more than 25mpg out of a Tdi here. I'd have to do a lot of miles to in my V8 to spend the extra $9000 on fuel. And the V8's probably far more reliable in our -20/-30degC winters.

swag

[aclarke]

1. Take some time off and visit the lovely UK, go around and check out some vehicles

2. As the forum politely to have a look at some 110's if its local to someone and trust their opinion on the condition of the vehicle
I'm flying to Amsterdam June 2 and my in-laws are shipping a bunch of stuff from there, so I was thinking of changing my ticket and flying to London March 25 and hoping to pick one up, get it to Holland, and ship it with the rest of our stuff. However, I learned of my wife's concern over RHD. I'd want her to try driving one over here before I committed to purchasing one, so switching this ticket and coming early probably isn't a good idea.

I could get a RHD and "hope" she was OK with it, which I'm 90% certain she would be, or I could convert it to LHD, or I could get a petrol V8 and an engine and convert, but in the end I think I'm better off spending a bit more $£ up front and getting the right one. If my wife tries a RHD vehicle here and is OK with it, then I'd seriously consider a RHD vehicle from the UK. It might take a month or two for us to get her near one around here though since they're not that common! I guess if some amazing deal did come up though, and if someone there could vouch for it, I'd get my wife to try an RHD and if she was OK with it, fly over and pick it up.

Also, abyssdj, thanks a lot for the recommendations on shops.

- Andrew.

[aclarke]

Wow, this has turned into quite the thread! More responses while I was just typing my last one...

Yes people do all sorts of things to bring vehicles into North America. I used to live in the US and had a '67 Innocenti Mini ... that had 1.6 litre EFI engine, airbag, etc. The only "'67 Innocenti" on it was the VIN, and that's not including the newer VIN from the "real" '97 Mini etched into the glass. I bought it in a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" manner, and was lucky enough that the person inspecting it for the license didn't think too hard about what they were doing. The fact is though that all these tricks are fine when they work, but you also hear stories of peoples' cars getting crushed in customs because something wasn't right. I don't want to chance that so I want to keep everything above board.

I could get an older 2.5 n/a diesel and convert it. It is a consideration, certainly, but I'm probably looking at another £500+ for a 200/300 tdi plus the cost of obtaining it, fitting it, etc. That's fine if I can find a vehicle and engine where it makes economic sense, but more likely the best value will be found in picking up a vehicle with the engine already in it. I'm fine with being proven wrong though as it gives me more options :)

As for the V8 option, well swag298, I'm glad you like yours but I just parted out my '96 Discovery because I'd dropped SO much money into that engine and it still failed me repeatedly. The last time the conrods apparently went through the block on both sides and you can see sunlight through the engine. I've always been more of a diesel person ... if I was going to go with a V8 I'd honestly just pick up a 2004 Discovery and be done with it. I'd get a V8 if it was cheap enough that I could convert it to a diesel, but a 2.5 -> 200tdi conversion would likely be easier than a V8 - 200tdi. That having been said, you seem to know a bunch about these trucks and are a fellow Canadian (albeit far away) so hello, pleased to meet you :D

Thanks again to everyone for your input. I really appreciate it all and want to make sure that when (and it is when, not if) I pick one of these up I haven't dumped myself into a hell of bad decisions because between picking the wrong vehickle, customs, spares once you're here, etc. there's a lot to potentially go wrong.

- Andrew.

[Dave Sumner]

Welcome Andrew good luck with the search

[abyssdj]

no prob andrew :)

[Hubber]

Hello, welcome, and good luck ;) ;)

[santana stu]

Hi Andrew, I've just bought a V8 90, also have a 2.25 diesel 88". To be honest its way easier with a gas engine over here (well Alberta anyway).
Good hunting though.

[misterh]

We should have a chat sometime.

[swag298]

You'll have to wait a while.
He's off on an Alaskan cruise. Lazy b*****d!
Then he'll have me assisting with the building of the 90.......

Where are you misterh?

swag

[misterh]

might find a wading kit usefull out there!I'm in less glamourous ontario.