Hi D5-communtity,
As newbie to this forum (but long time member of d3/4 & defender forums), I would grateful for your input on a decision I need to take.
Our up-to-now trusty D4 SDV6 HSE Lux has served us well for the last 4 years and 50 thousand miles. We bought it early 2018 with 50k miles on the clock. Last weekend when travelling home from holidays, the engine ate its crankshaft on the Autobahn and we continued our adventure home by train. Our "weekender" TD5 110 is now our family car, which has its charm - up to a point.
We use the D4 as family vehicle for our family of 5 + big dog. We love the relative comfort, overall space and third row, which allows us prevent our siblings fighting our WW3 during our numerous road trips
Also the rough-and-tumble design appeals tremendously to the main driver, SWAMBO. We do do mild off-roading, but that it mainly reserved for the Defender.
Our dilemma is: repair or replace. We know the cost of installing a new engine, but a the same time we were offered a great deal on a 40k miles 2017 TD6 HSE Lux D5 with 2 years Land Rover approved guarantee. And in the exact same colour combo we now have: Montalcino red with Black Pack.
We test drove the car, loving it in general. The main gripes are "image" and the low second row seats - I do not want car sick children. If we rebuild the D4, I realise we will probably end trading the car in a year or 2 for a D5 (or Rivian R1S) and having some major additional maintenance on the D4 in the mean time.
As per the defender, I know there are seat risers for sale for the 2nd row of the D5. So that leaves image, which I think we can overcome.
Any other things to take into account? Any input would be highly appreciated. Cheers!