"merkyg" (merkyg)
12/29/2013 at 21:50 • Filed to: None
0
16|
"merkyg" (merkyg)
12/29/2013 at 21:50 • Filed to: None | 0
| 16 |
(Sorry if this is a re-post, still getting used to Kinja!)
VS...
So here's the story: looks like in a few months my GF will be driving for work (dog rescue) a lot and using our only car (2003 Saab 9-5) so I need something for myself for a short daily commute and the odd trip here and there. It'll only need to do about 10-15 miles a day so economy isn't a big thing, but it has to be cheap to insure and be fairly basic so I can keep it going myself. Need room in the back as I play in a band and need to move amps etc). I don't need speed or razor-sharp handling, and I don't want some boring eurobox or identikit Toyota, and don't really feel Ford/GM stuff is made too well. I've come down to a couple of things I can afford and have always had a thing for - a Land Rover Defender or an old Fairway/Black Cab/London Taxi.
I've thought through the pro's and con's I can think of (below) but I'm interested what you good people know or feel about these cars. (I already know they'll both be slow as hell and have agricultural handling, I'm not too bothered about that)
Defender:
PRO'S:
Require a few spanners to keep them going, fixable by a dumbass (my family have owned several old Series Landys - actually prefer the S3 look with the recessed grille but they're just a teeny bit too thirsty and tractor-like -and they'll get drafted in to assist)
Useful in the winter - we have a horse stabled down a muddy & sometimes snowy country lane (we get by but the Saab reacts... interestingly) and being able to throw hay etc in the back would be useful.
Easy to swap body types (soft top, van, pickup) fairly easily and cheaply
Can help my GF with dog stuff as it'll probably already look quite tatty
Zombie apocalypse vehicle preparation: check
CONS:
Might be a tight squeeze in our car park (turning circle, height etc... there is an arch just over 2m tall), can park it on the street but it's pretty cramped.
Will be more expensive to buy
Probably the less reliable of the two
Fairway:
PRO'S:
More comfortable of the two
Cheaper of the two to buy (and insure I think)
Amazing turning circle, easy parking
50's styling with solid modern(ish) Nissan engine, so less of the classic car headaches
Arguably the most iconic (every souvenir shop in the UK has miniature versions of these somewhere despite there being none left as working taxis in London)
Sorely tempted to give it a sort of rat-look (seeing one of these battle through 28 Days Later only endeared it to me more)
CONS:
No front passenger seat
Parts will be harder to get
Not so easy to find manual versions (don't want an auto)
No good in the mud/snow
So whaddya reckon? I'd be looking at about £3.5-4K for a Defender and about £1.5-2k for a decent enough Fairway. I know they're not flamespewing rocketships but I want something that puts a smile on my face...
Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 21:53 |
|
I'd go Defender because usefulness.
TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 21:57 |
|
Land Rover Defender all day every day of the god damn week. How is this even a question?
TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 21:58 |
|
Go with the Defender. I'm already incredibly biased because a Defender is on my wish-list, but even based on your requirements/needs for a vehicle, the defender is the easy choice. The price difference doesn't justify going with the cheaper vehicle with no passenger seat IMO. Also, I think both are pretty iconic, each in their own sense.
|
merkyg
> Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur
12/29/2013 at 21:59 |
|
I do like the fact they're like Lego trucks in as much as you can just bolt stuff on or off, summer soft top, winter wagon, pickup cab when needed - the roofs etc can be got for peanuts.
|
merkyg
> TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma
12/29/2013 at 22:04 |
|
The taxi still seats plenty, and the seats fold up to make it a decent van. I also think they'll probably climb in price now the last ones are out of service. But yeah, been leaning slightly towards Defender.
Trin-Engr
> TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
12/29/2013 at 22:06 |
|
Oh Jesus, how can I click the star on this 2000 more times?
|
merkyg
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 22:14 |
|
I'm just gonna leave this here to play devils advocate:
|
TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
> Trin-Engr
12/29/2013 at 22:15 |
|
Full disclosure, I'm a second generation Land Rover... Um... Addict?
Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 22:28 |
|
Miata is only the answer when you can't get a Defender.
Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 22:47 |
|
too... tractor-like
THERE IS NO SUCH THING YOU HERETIC
/IIa owner, with a PTO on his.
Somethingwittyer likes noisy
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 22:58 |
|
Can the Fairway traverse the most brutal Scottish highlands?
That's what I thought.
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 23:09 |
|
don't really feel Ford/GM stuff is made too well
looks at older British cars
For Sweden
> merkyg
12/29/2013 at 23:37 |
|
Ride the horse
|
merkyg
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
12/30/2013 at 05:04 |
|
Heh, point. I mean feel flimsy and made to a budget rather than the reliability. Every time I close a new-ish Ford door it feels like its made from foil. I'm sure a Defender will pack up more than a Focus, but meh, Focus.
|
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> merkyg
12/30/2013 at 07:10 |
|
Why not older stuff, like a Blazer or Bronco?
|
merkyg
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
12/31/2013 at 06:32 |
|
I'm in the UK, those things are rarer than rocking horse shit over here...