Used Car of the Day: 1997 Land Rover Defender 110

by Tim Healey

Published: March 20th, 2024

used car of the day 1997 land rover defender 110

I've said it before, but I have a weak spot for 1990s Land Rover Defenders.

So this one has me considering lottery tickets. It's a pricey 1997 Land Rover Defender 110.

It's left-hand drive, so it will be easy to wheel around these United States -- and Canada. The turbodiesel engine apparently runs well, and the mileage is an estimated 127,000.

Updates and upgrades include LED lights, 16-inch Land Rover alloy wheels, a new steering wheel, and a complete replacement of fluids and filters about a year ago.

It's a five-speed manual -- be still my heart -- and in addition to the engine, it appears the brakes and power steering function properly. The headliner is new and the gauges work.

There's apparently no rust and there is an aftermarket Bluetooth stereo.

There are relatively new mud tires on the rig.

Are there flaws? Just a few. Minor fluid "weeping" on the differentials and smoke puffs upon start up.

If the price wasn't similar to a Dark Horse Mustang, I'd be all over this Texas-based four-wheeler. Click here if you feel similarly.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 14 comments

Kwik_Shift_Pro4X on Mar 20, 2024

I like this. About the age (and older) I'd look for in a Land Rover.

Like Reply
ToolGuy on Mar 20, 2024

"this one has me considering lottery tickets"
• If you had taken half my advice you would own the building you live in by now.

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