Values on the up, Down Under

IT feels like lots of people have suddenly woken up to how cool Land Rovers are. I am really only talking about Series’ and old Defender / 90 / 110 models (not the new-fangled stuff that none of us can afford). Here in Australia, Series vehicles that would have been $2-3k barely five or six years ago are now commanding significantly higher prices. Just recently I saw a rusty, run of the mill 109 on Facebook Marketplace with an asking price of nearly $8k. It sold within a couple of hours.

Defenders are fetching big money too. We bought our 2012 110 for $45k six years ago and I have no doubt we could sell it today for at least $10k more than we paid. When do you ever make money on a car?

I wonder how the newbies buying up Land Rovers find them? Be it a Defender or a Series, neither are what you might describe as comfortable – especially if you are city-based (and many seem to be ending up in the hands of Sydneysiders). How long before the novelty wears off and people put them back up for sale? I have seen a few change hands pretty rapidly.

Neither of my Series are reserved for weekend cruisers. I use them both more or less daily (it’s important to exercise them frequently of they start returning to nature). I just got back from a weekend away down the coast in Old Girl, my 1968 Series IIA. In total it was around ten hours of driving and nearly 500 miles. Was it fun? Yes! Well the trip down was, provided I ignored the jumping out of fourth gear which happened every five minutes… a fault that I have been living with for three years since the Land Rover 70th Celebration in Cooma.

My return trip was slightly less enjoyable – the clutch became less and less responsive and when we hit traffic she decided she would stall. Ah the delights of a vintage Land Rover. Luckily I have amassed quite a hoard of spare parts so the following day I was able to replace the clutch slave cylinder and give the carburettor a bit of a tweak and we are all good. As for the gearbox issue? Well I have a replacement ready to fit, it’s been sat ready to fit for several years now but we all know how painful a gearbox change is on a Series Land Rover. We are talking a million nuts and bolts.

Going back to my road trip, I spent two nights camping in the back of Old Girl and it reminded me exactly why I bought a 109.

They are the perfect camper! Before the trip I created a platform in the rear to bring the level of the floor up level with the seat boxes. Turns out a fence panel from Bunnings (big DIY store here) is the exact size. I attached a few wooden legs to the underside and we were in business. Total cost for my camper conversion, about $30. I had a few people comment that I should have added a drawer system under the platform but they clearly haven’t seen my carpentry skills, and sometimes, the beauty is in the simplicity. I rocked up at the campsite, pulled out a chair and a cold beer from my car fridge and that was it, campsite set. I think 109s deserve more praise. Everyone seems to love the aesthetics of an 88 but are they really that useful? The load space is tiny in the back. Have you ever tried sleeping in the back of one? I have. Never to be repeated.

Those of you that follow me on Instagram may have spotted my recent mini rant about unboxing videos. Have you noticed how many people are getting free stuff then posting an unboxing video? It really is wearing a little thin.

Does anyone really enjoy an unboxing video? You get the obligatory, “It is well wrapped…” “Wonder what is inside…” C’mon people, I want to see more original content out there.

In fairness, there are some fantastic Instagram Land Rover accounts and I love seeing the different things people get up to and there’s definitely a fun sense of community. My pet hates are the aforementioned unboxing videos and those that choose to recycle the content of other people. Where is the skill in reposting content and how many times have we seen that scuba diving photograph with that sunken Series III? I also wonder, how genuine are the reviews we are getting? If a company gifts a product, will the recipient provide an honest review? I have been guilty in the past – I was once loaned a Discovery 5 and in my Insta review I completely neglected to mention how loathsome the back end was. It took some skill but I actually said nothing about the booty. Why? Well, because I wanted Land Rover to continue to provide me vehicles for loan.

I guess the moral of the story is to be pretty subjective when you see someone promoting a product on Instagram. If they got it for free, how honest will they be?

“Just recently I saw a rusty, run-of-themill 109 on Facebook Marketplace with an asking price of nearly $8k. It sold within a couple of hours”