newbie: Should I buy a series as a daily driver?

[Series 3 guy]

Hey there- I use my 109 everyday and have no regrets. Sometimes the heart has to rule the mind on occasion. Sounds like the Dealership is going above and beyond to satisfy you and thats quite rare in this day and age.
Like any older vehicle (as you know) it may have a few niggles that need working out but thats part of the fun of older car ownership. People that can deal with this are Enthusiasts and the rest that cant are people that should stick with your daily everyday runabout car to use to get from A to B.
My personal suggestion is the you dont listen to naysayers and do what you like and follow your passion.
After all this is a Land Rover forum...as far as practical purchases go no one on here that owns one has made one.

[pickuprover]

15 K? Does it have a gold plated frame... for that you can get a modified, rebuild one from East Coast Rovers..... Unless every part on the trcuk has been galvy'd, the engine freshly rebuilt, tranny rebuild I would probably keep looking. I have a nice 109 that you can have for that kind of money....

[Series 3 guy]

Originally Posted by pickuprover

15 K? Does it have a gold plated frame... for that you can get a modified, rebuild one from East Coast Rovers..... Unless every part on the trcuk has been galvy'd, the engine freshly rebuilt, tranny rebuild I would probably keep looking. I have a nice 109 that you can have for that kind of money....

Oh Man I forgot about east coast rovers.They create some stunning works of art there!! You could even get a Tdi option as well in the series!! Before you go to the dealer dude you may want to listen to pick up rover!! However if this 109 is sweet ten go for it.

[jimfoo]

Originally Posted by hermanpj

i'd be shocked if there isnt a ton of rust on that thing. has it been a colorado truck the whole time?

Maybe I missed something, but where does it say it's a Colorado truck? Not that we have anywhere near the rust problems of the eastern states.

[p76rangie]

Originally Posted by Series 3 guy

People that can deal with this are Enthusiasts and the rest that cant are people that should stick with your daily everyday runabout car to use to get from A to B.
My personal suggestion is the you dont listen to naysayers and do what you like and follow your passion.

In summary, it is not suitable as a daily driver. But if you are a Landrover nut, and would drive it even if you had to push it most the way, get one.

[hermanpj]

Originally Posted by jimfoo

Maybe I missed something, but where does it say it's a Colorado truck? Not that we have anywhere near the rust problems of the eastern states.

you know i think i keyed off the wrong member info. kwmpa doesnt list where he's from. must have keyed off of your member info saying CO. my bad!

my point was if the car is 35 years old and has spent its whole life in any state where theres significant snow and ice each year, unless its been restored it will have rust. this is an area the buyer hasnt talked about when describing the truck, so i was curious.

[p76rangie]

I was just checking out a series III stage 1 109 on the weekend. This was a genuine 1 owner and in very good condition. Plus you have the bonus that the stage 1 came with a V8 and constant 4WD. But at $4,500 it was too much and it reminded me of all the reasons why I still hate them.

[Series 3 guy]

Originally Posted by p76rangie

I was just checking out a series III stage 1 109 on the weekend. This was a genuine 1 owner and in very good condition. Plus you have the bonus that the stage 1 came with a V8 and constant 4WD. But at $4,500 it was too much and it reminded me of all the reasons why I still hate them.

Why would you hate a stage 1? The reason why they made the stage was so they could fit a v8 into a Series to make it a possibility for a daily driver for those who have to travel Long Distances. Great truck. Maybe not your cup of tea?

[p76rangie]

Originally Posted by Series 3 guy

Why would you hate a stage 1? The reason why they made the stage was so they could fit a v8 into a Series to make it a possibility for a daily driver for those who have to travel Long Distances.

They are the same as any other series vehicle in regard to diving conditions. That is, unless you are 5Ft tall, you are cramped up with your knees up around your ears. The driving position is offset too far and you end up driving with your shoulder hard up against the roof pillar. Because you are so close to the outside you hit your head on the roof whenever you hit a sideways bump. The windscreen is too low at the top and makes it hard to see into the distance. The drum brakes make stopping interesting. The visibility to the sides and rear makes driving in traffic difficult. The noise inside the cab is too load. The door windows only slide and therefore the ventilation is crap when going slow.

Do I really need to keep on going why any series Landrover is crap to drive.

[greenmeanie]

Sounds like you've had a bad experience. Maybe driving a range rover made you expect too much luxury.

Personally, at 5'11" and 170lbs I don't really find any of the problems you described. Then again I did install modern seats which line me up perfectly with the steering wheel and a molded mat and Roverdrive which reduce the sound level to conversational levels. It is not a modern vehicle and it does not have modern ergonomics but series trucks are far from the torture chamber you describe.

In a well maintained series the drums work just fine. Yes they don't have ABS but I can get the back wheels off the ground in my 101 and leave black streaks in my 88 if I choose. My 109 will be an entierly differnent beast but that is still getting designed. The rubber is the limiting factor.

The nice thing about a series is that if you feel you don't like the visibility, or the sliding windows or the ventilation then you just pull the roof off. I pity you folk trapped in your modern boxes.

If you are like the poster above then you won't enjoy a seriees truck. If, however, you want something that is quirky, slow and demands your involvement then series trucks make great daily drivers.

You'd never guess that I run three series as daily drivers and do about 1K miles a week between them.

Cheers
Gegror

[p76rangie]

Originally Posted by greenmeanie

Sounds like you've had a bad experience. Maybe driving a range rover made you expect too much luxury.

Driving a Series convinced me to get the Rangie. Put up with the series for too many years. But when Rangies came down in price enough to take them seriously bush, I changed. Up to this time Series vehicles were the cheap bush machines.

[zed]

Don't think anyone that's ever owned a coil sprung car would disagree there..

Land rover is a tractor with license plates..
Its fun.. but comfortable? Don't even try to argue that.

I'd think about going range rover... if I actually had a need to travel overland. Series is strictly a project/utility vehicle.

Soon as I'm convinced I'm not going to fry the engine due to my potential oil pressure issue.. I'm putting some nice soft tires on it to try to cut down some noise. Putting up a fume wall.. floor mats to try to cut down the noise.. Going around with camper tape to every vibrating piece of anything...

[jimfoo]

When it's running, I will drive my Series any time over my Rangie unless it involves towing a big heavy trailer.

[Series 3 guy]

Originally Posted by jimfoo

When it's running, I will drive my Series any time over my Rangie unless it involves towing a big heavy trailer.

LOL! Your right there! My Classic could tow all day long without any trouble at all. Come to think of it it "might" be more comfortable than my Series with those leather seats. They still have that cool leathery smell after 17 years.

[zed]

Your series.. series 3 guy.. is a bit more than most of ours I'd wager