Defnders: Rare& expensive - why?

[TRex]

Anyone have any background info on why it seems (to me) impossible to find a Defender later than 1997 in the States, when they have new 2008s in the UK that start cheaper than New Freelanders? Very curious, as I like them a lot, but find the going prices to be high...

[galen211]

Very simple, Land Rover brought the Defender over for three years as a marketing tool for the Discovery launch. You can get a '94, '95 or '97 Defender as they were imported and made to meet federal safety and emission requirements.

After the Discoveries were selling; well no more Defenders. Importing a brand new Defender can be done but it will cost you more to "federalize" and get it to pass emissions according to NHSTA and EPA.

The ONLY reason Defenders have such a large price tag is because of their rarity. If this was the UK, they are cheap and readily available.

Now if you really want one, buy a Series. Same thing, readily available, cheaper parts and a ton of fun.

[TRex]

Thanks for the reply.
That's supply and demand for you.
I'll start keeping an eye out...

[Willard]

If you do go for a defender watch out for the Grey market ones. Or ones passed off as legit. Some have had VIN's swapped out with series vehicles, some have been federalized but even these are iffy. When i bought my 109 i originally looked at a Defender, but the hassle of getting into the country or dealing with a grey/ black market one is just not worth it. When you can get one into the US (around 2008) i would look up in Canada. LHD and diesels are around, and the British military base in Alberta always seems to be dumping them.

[tikicar]

Don't forget there were 500 110s imported in 1993. There are two real reasons they stopped importing them. One was that they would not meet safety standards for air bags. Since an airbag is supported by the windshield the design would not accept air bags which were manditory by 1998. Also sales were poor. They were expensive for the time. The cost of a new wrangler limited now but for the mid 90s they were very expensive. You could get a disco cheaper and more options. They did not sell well and 94s were still sitting on lots when the 95s came out. The automatics and the station wagon option helped but I think only around 5000 defenders were sold here over the years. Remember untill 1994 the only rovers sold were Range Rovers (except the 500 D110s in 1993) 1994 the name was changed to Land Rover of North America. From 1987-1993 it was Range Rover of North America. Alot of the wealthy people who were buying Range Rovers bought the first D90s when they came out but soon traded them back in. They thought they looked cool but soon as they realized that they got wet when it rained and heat or cooling wasn't very great they quickly traded them back in. They were not a Range Rover. In 1995 I bought a fully loaded AAyellow 1994 D90 with basically all options and only 3,000 miles at auction for $23,000. About $10,000 off the sticker. When production stopped in 1995 the prices then went back up and stayed up. They dropped alittle in 97 for the automatics but the demand was now there for the sticks and prices have remained high. They have now started to come down a bit. I think especially since the new wrangler is so good people will not pay the overpriced for tired defenders. The right people and perfect defenders will always pay or bring premium prices but well used ones are now falling. Scott 97 XD