2002 Land Rover Defender 90

Welcome to our latest auction, this time for a Land Rover 90 County fitted with the venerable TD5 turbocharged diesel engine. Finished in Alveston Red Pearl Metallic, it’s fully loaded with heated front seats in addition to heated front and rear screens.

Well maintained over the years, it was also treated to a new three-piece clutch and slave cylinder in May 2022 plus recent new LED headlights, a steering drag link bar, and steering and ball joint boots. Last serviced only a couple of thousand miles ago, it’s running beautifully.

For those of you with a hankering to explore the world, you’ll be pleased to see it’s fitted with a Terrafirma ladder and a pair of Thule roof bars.

In his hands for the past couple of years, it belonged to his father-in-law before that. With a family history since 2017, its sale is being forced by the demands of his growing family.

Alveston Red does a terrific job of lifting the Defender from being a farmers’ friend to something far more aspirational. The rear ladder helps the illusion too, and the overall effect is towering competence allied to a city-friendly slickness.

The panels are in a good condition. Yes, there are some minor dinks and dents but would a Defender even be a Defender without them?

A pair of sidesteps and a wide rear step ease access into the Defender, while the aforementioned ladder gives access to the roof.

The alloy wheels are, of course, in a good condition but then the presence of a set of matching 235/85R16 General Grabber tyres means there’s almost no chance of them ever being scuffed thanks to an eight-inch sidewall height that all but precludes inadvertent contact with a kerb...

These tyres are also mud and snow rated, which means they are a great compromise between on-road civility and off-road capability.

Plus, as we will never get tired of telling you, experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The spare tyre, a Maxxis Bravo, is mounted to an alloy wheel and kept clean beneath a soft cover and chequerplate decorates the sills and the top of the front wings.

There is some corrosion around the side steps and the towbar, which could do with being sorted before it becomes more problematic.

There’s also some alloy corrosion here and there including the brackets at the base of the windscreen, the roof panel, around the waistline, and the front panel. Also, some of the fasteners are corroded but sourcing and fitting replacements would be very satisfying.

The Defender 90 has room for three in the front and a further four in the rear, allowing you to carry a surprising number of people in a car with a (relatively) small footprint.

The Defender does have a centre front lap belt installed but this is not in use as there is a cubby box installed. However, it is registered as six-seater and re-instating its full seating capacity would be straightforward.

The front seats are in a good condition and they are heated, like the front and rear screens.

The rear seats are in a similar condition and are fitted with lap belts. They also have the added benefit of folding away, freeing the loadspace for non-human use. This flexibility is a huge part of the Defender’s appeal and allows you to juggle the way the interior is configured to meet your changing needs.

The dashboard is a huge improvement over that of the earlier vehicles and it, along with the door cards and headlining, is in good shape. The instrument binnacle is loose on the right-hand side.

Extra sound-deadening material under the carpets helps minimise ambient noise so you can better enjoy the music provided by the Philips headunit.

As for faults, the seller tells us that the following needs attention: the central locking is not working although all the doors can still be locked manually; the nearside door panel is loose; the stereo surround is cracked; a door lock button is missing its trim; and the interior light in the rear isn’t working.

We’d add the need for the seat bases to be cleaned and repainted.

The engine bay is a little grubby but otherwise in good order. If you’re into off-roading then you’ll probably leave it as it is because it’s going to get dirty anyway but others might like to spend a very satisfying couple of hours in cleaning it up a little.

The underside looks strong but we do notice the presence of some oil, so there may be a leak or two to track down if that sort of thing bothers you.

The seller has only used it for fun days out; it’s a favourite of his son’s, so they use it to potter around and for family picnics, which means it hasn’t been worked hard.

As you can see, it starts well, ticks over as it should, and revs well. The TD5 might not be the most melodious of engines but it’s a strong and reliable workhouse, which is more important in this context, isn’t it?

The Defender’s MoT certificate is valid until the 15th of February 2024, which is handy because it’ll remind you that you need to find the time and money to treat the love of your life on Valentine’s Day – and that you’ll need to get a bunch of flowers from the petrol station on your way home from your date with the man from the ministry.

The service history reads as follows:

• 12.02.2003 and 6,805 miles – ‘A’ service by Paramount Swansea
• 12.12.2003 and 18,488 miles – ‘B’ service by J.V. Like & Sons (Hay) Ltd
• 01.11.2004 and 30,763 miles – ‘A’ service by J.V. Like & Sons (Hay) Ltd
• 14.11.2005 and 46,486 miles – ‘B’ service by Stratstone
• 11.06.2009 and 84,282 miles – ‘A’ service by Stratstone
• 03.08.2010 and 92,436 miles – ‘B’ service by Cotswold Automotive
• 23.01.2007 and 54,684 miles – full service by Egdon Group
• 10.04.2008 and 72,250 miles – full service by Egdon Group
• 10.09.2012 and 103,841 miles – ‘A’ service by Station Road Garage, Chipping Norton
• 11.10.2013 and 110,324 miles – full service by H&C Autos
• 2017 to 2022 – we are told it was home serviced by its owner during this time
• 10.02.2022 and 152,885 miles – oil service plus a new air filter, headlamp, steering drag link, and LED headlamps by Kennington Motors Ltd
• 04.05.2022 and 152,885 miles - new clutch by Kennington Motors Ltd
• 16.02.2023 and 154,240 miles – new headlamp bowls plus steering and ball joint boots by Kennington Motors Ltd

The Defender comes with two keys and the book pack.

Vehicles like this are a rarity; largely original and well maintained, this one only needs a little money investing to bring it back to its former glory. Still very useable and presentable, you could undertake a rolling restoration of the bodywork as and when money and motivation collide.

With all that in mind, we think it’ll fetch somewhere between £15,000 and £20,000. You’ll be adding value with every job you tick off the list too, which means you could do very well indeed when the time comes to pass it on.

Assuming, of course, you can bring yourself to let it go…

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at our HQ near Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.