Ex-Military 4WDs – Do you Trust Them?
Every now and then you see an ex-Australian military Defender 110/Perentie surface on the second hand 4WD market.
At first glance, you won’t be able to purchase one for anything under $30,000 (unless you know someone in high places).
It’s widely recognised that the drive style in an ex-military Land Rovers is significantly different to that of a standard Defender.
Most people who buy ex-military 4WDs have driven them before and are aware of the heavy modifications the defence force has made to the engine, diff and suspension. They don’t articulate like a standard Defender which makes them somewhat of a commodity in the second hand 4WD market.
Not long ago, we spoke to now Retired Lieutenant Colonel Keith Simmons, of the Royal Australian Engineers and former vehicles project manager at the Army technology and Engineering Agency. Who told us there were some serious safety concerns with the roll over rate with the Perentie Land Rovers (Defenders). The reason for the increase in roll over’s was directed at the inability of the Perentie’s to handle the suspension upgrades.
“People with Defenders should not fear for their safety, unless they have added the same type of modification themselves. My biggest concern is that Defence may want to sell the end of life Perentie [modified Military Defender] to the public, without first addressing this fundamental safety issue. The public awareness I would like to encourage is to have Defence either scrap the vehicle, or fix it before on-selling them” said Lt. Col Simmons.
But most ex-military Defenders on the market come pre-equipped with some great accessories in good condition: winches, driving lights, suspension lift, snorkel etc.
Image Source: remlr.com
So we ask you the questions, does the level of modification and bang for your buck with these 4WDs outweigh the stress soldiers place the trucks under when out in the field, to make this a legitimate purchase?
Comments
Well, I believe there is two sides to this.
Some people will think "If the Army has has it, it will probably have been abused".
Others may think "If the Army has had it, it must be good".
Without knowing what level of modifications the vehicle has had and how it has been handled, it is hard to make an informed decision.
I think in terms of a Defender you're not going to find one as cheap as an ex-military. But I've never been in the military myself so I can't predict how they've been treated over the years. Either way, a 110 Defender for $30,000. All it needs is a coat of paint and it's good to go. Very tempting!
i used to be in the military, and all the cars, trucks and buses we used all got thrashed. we used the "drive it like you stole it" technique.
I'm an ex-MT Fitter from the RAAF and yes the vehicles got driven hard but they were also maintained to a very high level, if it needed anything, it got it, regardless of cost and they all come with a full service history detailing the entire life of the vehicle including any panel damage that may have occurred which is able to be viewed before auction.
Maybe I was in a different Army, we were taught vehicle sympathy in our training. (20 RACT) yes the 110 had a different suspension but if you drove them like the old series 2 & 3, you could flip it on a corner. With the 11o's you had change down a gear and drive (with acceleration)on cornering. The older 2's & 3's you could just power off and float round the corner. Also if I remember it had a 4 spd gearbox 4th being overdrive. Lot of the old soldiers had to be retrained on 110's.