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spudfan



Member Since: 10 Sep 2007
Location: Co Donegal
Posts: 4646

Ireland 
Think yourself lucky that you have the luxury of debating as to whether you should buy a Puma or not. Over here since July 2008 the road tax on a passenger Defender is the equivalent of £1744 per year. It is not possible to tax a vehicle with glass behind the B posts as commercial so even a 5 seat utility stationwagon will run you £1744 per year road tax-trhe load bed is too short. A 130 crew cab is commercial but not ideal for a family car.I bought mine in June 2008 so I only pay £826 per year.
The Puma is a fine machine. Any problems I have had were sorted by the dealer. I drove a 200 tdi for 14 years before buying the Puma. Though "basic" the tdi did give some bother over that time. I did have "the gear box problem" but I got that sorted. Though I had wind up windows one of the regulators needed replacing. Though religously serviced every 3,000 miles I did have a timing belt go-1500 miles after being changed. No doubt this was bad work by the garage but it was hard to prove but not much damage was done.Stalk switches went, clutch cylinder was changed, uj's were changed-basically "normal" things will go no matter how "basic" the car is. I have a truly basic series 111 in the garden currently missing reverse gear.
People say that the brake vacuum pump on the Puma WILL go. So what, if it does I will get it sorted.
The Puma is a wonderful machine to drive and to live with. If you are waiting on Land Rover to come up with a purpose built engine and drive train in the replacement model - don't. Owing to ever tightening emissions and noise regulations things will only get more complicated. Even if TATA bring out a basic 90/110 with a different engine for sale in India, China and other places you will not be able to import it into Europe as it will not meet a myriad of standards set by bureaucrats. What we have is the best you will get so do not wait too long. Look at post by Eduardo and others on this site. You will never treat you vehicle should you buy one like these guys.They had problems but kept the faith as the Puma is simply the best out there for a vehicle that can be used everyday yet still do things others only dream about. Not too keen on the electronics myself but given the choice of having a Defender with them or not having a Defender at all, I'll take them anyday. Besides as one truck driver told me as he admired the Puma, compared to his truck the Puma's electronics are really quite simple. I had a look at the Australians and their views on the Puma before I bought. If it's good enough for them it was good enough for me. One person on their site is over 1000 kms from any maindealer. You will have a three year warranty and AA breakdown. Me I am converted. There are always bad examples of any make of car. My advice before you buy is to talk to the workshop manager before you buy-not the salesman. Once you have a good workshop manager on your side any bother you have will be quickly sorted. The salesman only wants to shift units.Maybe you should talk to a good independent and let them source you a model and service it for you. Anyway it is your decision but I made one of my better decisions when I bought the Puma. 1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali
2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu
2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai
Post #52431 11th Jan 2011 8:07pm
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PaddyAlgiers



Member Since: 11 Jan 2011
Location: UK/Algiers
Posts: 6

Spud I feel your pain
spudfan wrote:
Great vehicle all round. My major problem being that the Mrs. has the funny notion that it is hers. Sadly that is not covered by the three year warranty.


Spud I hear you my missus suffers from the same delusion but at least she gets it and doesn't want a Passat estate...
Post #52438 11th Jan 2011 8:42pm
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TallPaul



Member Since: 28 Aug 2007
Location: Nr Reading
Posts: 270

United Kingdom 
All MY2011 are commercials, even the CSW with 7 seats, I though since 2008 (there was an article in LRO, and some change to chassis number) USW was commercial however?

Its all a joke of course, as the tax is about profit not ecology or emissions... Disco 3 gone but the memory of the bills remain...
XS 110 Utility maybe one day..... (did they fix the quality yet?)
Post #52457 11th Jan 2011 9:36pm
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pdv



Member Since: 07 Feb 2014
Location: Asse
Posts: 26

Belgium 2008 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 CSW Bonatti Grey
we have 2 defender puma's 2008 and 2009 that did serious offroad trips (romania...) last year our 90 was on its side en when restarted the engine was running on oil and the RPM went above its limit. half of the oil was burned, topped it up en good to go 15K later still running like a sun shine Whistle

regular service and sometimes I drive it like I stole it

never needed a tow ca with the 2 defenders both vehicles have now 100K km on the clock.

YES EGR problems but i unplugged it
Post #461614 8th Oct 2015 5:25pm
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dgardel



Member Since: 30 Nov 2008
Location: Veneto (Heart & Head)
Posts: 3586

Italy 
A part the 2 clutches, 108000km trouble free (with 180CV and 490 Nm from new....) Discovery 5 td6 HSE Stornoway Gray Outback Engineering Limited Edition

IID Pro MV License
Post #461620 8th Oct 2015 5:44pm
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custom90



Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20328

United Kingdom 
EGR, 1 clutch and about it really. Other than that just little niggles but that's mainly caused by my own fiddling or something loose.
Post #461622 8th Oct 2015 5:48pm
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Green Machine



Member Since: 19 Nov 2010
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1226

United Kingdom 2005 Defender 90 Td5 CSW Tonga Green
Wow! What a thread resurrection! 4 and a half years! 2005 Td5 | 90 Station Wagon | Tonga Green
Post #461629 8th Oct 2015 6:26pm
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Jukathy



Member Since: 25 Jan 2015
Location: Berlin
Posts: 170

2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 SW Keswick Green
Yeah. They're awaking like frozen fish in spring ... Shocked
Post #461648 8th Oct 2015 7:12pm
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bpman



Member Since: 21 May 2008
Location: Oslo
Posts: 8069

2008 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SVX Station Wagon Santorini Black
I have a 2010 2.4, it's had the hand brake fix and the vacuume gasket .. No issues albeit not used much, although did 1,000 miles last weekend, UK to CH to UK, no issues.



Click image to enlarge


Last edited by bpman on 9th Oct 2015 12:18pm. Edited 1 time in total
Post #461662 8th Oct 2015 7:31pm
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X4SKP



Member Since: 29 Nov 2013
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 2295

United Kingdom 2010 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 SW Stornoway Grey
Yes... Thumbs Up (so far Shocked )

MY2011 2.4 tdci 21,000 Miles

Warranty Work
None

Fixed
Fuel Tank Breather Hose 7,000 Miles / 3 Years
Near Side Lights and Dashboard Illumination Fuse F18
Rear Number Plate Lights

Land Rover
Recall for Seat Belt Bolts (2013)

ECU
Engine Light (MIL) showed once, Fault Code P1103 (14,000 Miles)
Mass Air Flow Sensor In Range But Higher Than Expected
Reset it'self after a few Stop-Start Engine Cycles
(ScanGauge now fitted)

Fuel Consumption
Average over the last 12,000 Miles 25.6MPG

Longest Journey
Berkshire to the Highlands

Vehicle Rescues
Snow X3
Water X2
Mud X1

Service Intervals
6,000 Miles

Major Work
Corrosion Prevention
Security
Interior

Plans
Scottish West Coast
Berkshire to Italy SKIP
https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic83242.html
Post #461678 8th Oct 2015 8:10pm
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Happyoldgit



Member Since: 14 Sep 2007
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 3471

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Corris Grey
Best ask the OP Whistle Steve.
Owned numerous Land Rover vehicles of all shapes and sizes over the decades.
Current Defender: A non tarts hand-bagged Puma 110 XS USW.

[Insert something impressive here such as extensive list of previous Land Rovers or examples of your prestigeous and expensive items, trinkets, houses, bikes, vehicles etc]

http://forums.lr4x4.com

I used to be Miserable ...but now I'm ecstatic.
Post #461702 8th Oct 2015 9:28pm
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blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17362

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
Interesting, I reckon my Puma has been pretty reliable. In a little over 175,000 miles it's had:

Front diff
Transfer box
Four clutches
Two sets of rear halfshafts and drve flanges
Radiator
Rear wheelbearings
VCV
Fuel tank breather pipe (both breathers)
Wiper rack and wheelboxes
Several light switches and dip/main switches
Vacuum pump
Door harness repairs (all four doors)
Rear crossmember repaint (twice)
Driver's seat back foam repair
Several door hinges replaced

This is allI can remember and doesn't include normal wear items.

By comparison, by the time it had achieved the same mileage, my Disco 2 had had one clutch/flywheel change and that was all!
Post #461705 8th Oct 2015 9:35pm
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ericvv



Member Since: 02 Jun 2011
Location: Near the Jet d'Eau
Posts: 5816

Switzerland 2009 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SVX Station Wagon Santorini Black
Answer to the OP question. Yes, at least as reliable, if not more reliable, than my previous Audi 100, and subsequently 4 Volvos 940 and V70 Cross Country.

All those cars had their issues, the Audi had repetitive replacement of the steering servo, 2 of our later Volvo V70s had various issues like blown gaskets/needing new engine in warranty, auto gearbox after 100k km starting to deteriorate in operation, so we sold it while still possible without gearbox replacement, we had electric window issues, etc...

So the SVX in 7 years and 78k km has mainly had a EGR replacement when it was still very new, it has had a rear diff seal which had given away and which was succesfully replaced all under extended warranty, it had a split turbo hose which was replaced under warranty, (now again replaced by SS Entreq version), and it had its fuel breather pipe replaced preventively before it could start to leak, which I decided to do when seeing it was cracking at the top end. The most serious problem I have had after just under 6 years was play in the halfshafts, also replaced by dealer under extended warranty. That's about it for real problems.

Frankly, compared to the problems I had with all those previous first class high end cars, the SVX has not been worse, often much better. By the way, still running the original clutch too.

Oh, and when I hear about the problems that people I know who are driving the two last versions of the FFRR are having, my Defender issues have been a mere pleasure. I know one gent who has had serious problems out of warranty with the air suspension of his previous generation FFRR, which to correct would cost the price of a brand new small city car. And then JLR still needed 3 months to get the replacement parts lined up. Now, he understandably just abandoned the brand when that happened.

Eric You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation.
http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o
https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I
https://vimeo.com/201482507
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw
Post #461726 9th Oct 2015 4:36am
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tomdaprince



Member Since: 23 Feb 2015
Location: IJmuiden
Posts: 54

Netherlands 2007 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 HT Tonga Green
2007 210.000km Puma and never had any issues or failures. Very well serviced though and undergoes preventive maintenance.
Post #461768 9th Oct 2015 9:25am
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CrazyIvan



Member Since: 01 Sep 2015
Location: Heist-op-den-Berg
Posts: 1

Belgium 2008 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SW Blenheim Silver
Mine had a loose nut at the steering wheel...


Click image to enlarge


Kidding aside,

I had some brake problems, overheating and locking up after a couple off weeks offroading. Changed the servo and cilinder, and I'm going to replace the pistons in brake calipers. It's a non ABS car, so that's basically the whole system replaced...

Just out of precaution I took the transfer box and gear box off, to check the intermediate shaft and the clutch (still the original ). Clutch springs were f*cked, intermediate shaft was OK, but dry as a 73 year old. Hopefully good to go now for another 100K...
Post #461787 9th Oct 2015 10:24am
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