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In 2002 you could buy three new Defenders for the price of a Range Rover. Today, you could buy three 2002 Range Rovers for the price of a 2002 Defender

For the price of a 2002 Defender you could buy not one, not two, but three Range Rovers from the same year

I can think of no better way of spending an afternoon then wandering around a Land Rover dealer's forecourt. not a franchise dealer, I hasten to add: there are too many shiny and expensive models there for my pocket and taste. no, I prefer the independent dealers who have older and more interesting models on display.

That's how I found myself idling away an hour the other day at a large independent Land Rover dealer. There were plenty of tyres to kick, including the inevitable large selection of Defenders of all ages and conditions, plus a few overpriced Series motors, lots of Discovery 3 and 4s, several Freelanders, a couple of Range Rover Sports and even a Forward control. But, weirdly, there were no full-fat Range Rovers at all. I can understand there being no Range Range classics, because they are now getting really scarce. I can also understand the lack of P38 Range Rovers, because they aren’t very popular. But why were there no third-generation L322s?

This was a model only launched in 2002, and sold extremely well during its decade in production, so I was a bit surprised – and sought out the man in charge to ask why. He wasn't at all backward at coming forwards.

"Why no L322s? That's an easy one. I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole!"

"Why's that?" I asked. "Surely they are popular? They seem to be everywhere these days."

"Yeah, if I was to put them on the forecourt they'd sell all right. The trouble is, they'd be straight back within a month or two because something expensive had gone wrong. It doesn't have to be anything serious – just a simple electrical problem – but nothing comes cheap on an L322 and as I offer a six-month warranty on everything I sell, that would be my profit margin gone every time.

"Sure, I take in Range Rovers in part exchange, but I always sell them on within the trade or put them into the car auction. I won't have anything to do with them."

That was a bit of a shocker to me. Of all the new models I have seen launched in the last two decades, it was the third-generation L322 Range Rover that impressed me the most. Perhaps it was because I was the first journalist allowed behind the wheel to put it through its paces on- and off-road at Land Rover's Gaydon test facility, or maybe it was because it was such an advance on anything that had gone before. Remember, when the L322 was launched, it replaced the unloved P38 model. The newcomer was a massive departure from its predecessor and groundbreaking in every way. I will never forget using one to tow out a stricken Defender from a deep mud hole at Vince cobley's Tixover off-road site. The 90 had got hopelessly stuck, but the clever electronic off-road gizmos on the new model ensured it would get through to places that even the mighty Defender couldn’t reach.

Back in 2002, I was looking forward to the day when I would be able to afford an L322 of my own. after all, at that time a Range Rover cost three times as much as a Defender 90. I reckoned ten years or so down the line, I'd be able to afford one. But of course I didn't factor in the high running costs.

These days I could afford to buy one. You can buy a nice L322 and get change out of £3000. But whether I could afford to run one is a different matter. They are complicated cars with a lot to go wrong and parts are expensive. Servicing is also expensive and the V8 petrol models are thirsty beasts, returning around 17 mpg.

When I got home from the dealer, I went online and checked out the going prices on ebay. and that's when I got my second shock of the day. The first 2002 Range Rover I found was a cracking 4.4 V8 Vogue that would have cost a fiver under £60,000 new. Fifteen years down the line it was on sale for just £3690.

Then I searched for a 2002 Defender. The first one that came up was a 90 station wagon, which would have cost £19,930 when new. Fifteen years and four owners later, it was for sale for £13,550.

Both vehicles were below-average mileage. The Range Rover had done 113,000 miles; the Defender 108,000. Both had full Mots and were for sale without a warranty.

In 2002, you could buy three Defender 90 station wagons for the price of a Range Rover Vogue. Today, you could buy three 2002 Vogues for the price of a 2002 Station Wagon. I think that tells you everything you need to know about inflated Defender prices and the lack of enthusiasm for L322 Range Rovers.

But it also tells you about the enduring appeal of simple vehicles over those that have an over-abundance of complicated electrics. It is that above all else that makes the timeless Defender more popular than ever.

Will all of today's complicated and expensive Land Rover models be equally unwanted 15 years down the line? That is the danger of investing in all-singing, all-dancing modern vehicles. Defender is dead; long live Defender.