INEOS Grenadier
- Thread starter ERover82
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My wife has a leased Mercedes GLC300 but I'd like to return it here in a few months and not lease her another new vehicle. She hasn't worked since Sept 2022 and she could drive a Land Cruiser or GX or a 911. She can't drive the Boxster because it's a manual but I'll probably sell it this year. It's a shame because it's not worth much dollar-wise (not really even worth selling) but it's a sweet car. If I could find a good long-term storage solution I'd save it for my 8 year old son.
Take no offense, I'm just asking a question. That said do you know that's how much it would cost or are you going by asking price when one sells? The reason I brought this up is because back when I had cable I'd catch this show every once in a while called Counting Cars, I think. Anyway, people would bring their older cars to this guy and he would restore them to almost any condition they wanted. The show I'm thinking of he was brought a probably mid '80s Bronco. As I remember the owner wanted it restored to as close to a modern new vehicle or as close as possible. The end result was pretty impressive and I don't remember 6 digit numbers being thrown around.
Here's an example I found though not the one I was thinking of. 50k
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No matter how you slice it, to obtain a Defender in like-new condition, you're talking $80k+. To obtain one that is both in like-new condition and restomodded, you're talking $100k+. You have to really love Defenders and have a significant budget to go this route. Yet from a pragmatic perspective, it will still be far inferior to modern alternatives by most metrics. Their strengths, which we're all familiar with by now, are more applicable to a slower-paced more rural world than the freeway, fast food, and cellphone riddled world we have to content with in modern America.
No offense at all. Sure, why they hell not for 50k if you got the dough. Better than the 200k rovers going around. I have zero proof, but a hunch tells me that was a while ago and also being sold on TV where the production of the show paid for the truck and they need a happy ending and they would have sold it for more.
This site has some for 250k but if you scroll down there is one for 59k. However, not sure how "restomod" it is verus "resto". Its the mod part of bringing it all up to date that is the expensive bit.
1969 Classic Ford Bronco - Boulder
A 1969 Classic Ford Bronco in Dark Blue paint, with a crate 302 motor and black interior.
classicfordbroncos.com
You know the answer well.
I am going to contradict many things I've said in the past, probably.
Assuming you start with a near-pristine, Southwestern, zero-rust, white Land Rover with reasonable miles (insert the number here) ...
The hard truth is that no Land Rover powertrain up to and including D2 and P38A can offer power budget, fuel economy, reliability, and serviceability of far more modern stuff. The upgrade to something that improves all four of these (LS/6L80E ?) is now in the ballpark of $20k if you do the work (that's in California where you have to retain ALL of emission-related stuff including fuel-tank-volume-specific EVAP). In California, if you somehow don't have a CARB exemption number for the conversion you've done, tack on another 10-15k in having the vehicle CARB certified.
That still leaves you with the axles that couldn't support the power and torque, and suspension which is phenomenally great but you have to replace rubber parts every couple of years because aftermarket is garbage. It also leaves you, cosmetically, with interior body parts that are NLA and reproduced by a few houses at exorbitant prices.
Now you have a vehicle that you're about 50-60k into, but can only insure for its KBB value - unless you find some exotic insurer that would do it for stated value.
This is gist of why I gave up on a dream of owning a ROW 110 here, and plopped my $450 deposit on a Grenadier the second I could.
I am going to contradict many things I've said in the past, probably.
Assuming you start with a near-pristine, Southwestern, zero-rust, white Land Rover with reasonable miles (insert the number here) ...
The hard truth is that no Land Rover powertrain up to and including D2 and P38A can offer power budget, fuel economy, reliability, and serviceability of far more modern stuff. The upgrade to something that improves all four of these (LS/6L80E ?) is now in the ballpark of $20k if you do the work (that's in California where you have to retain ALL of emission-related stuff including fuel-tank-volume-specific EVAP). In California, if you somehow don't have a CARB exemption number for the conversion you've done, tack on another 10-15k in having the vehicle CARB certified.
That still leaves you with the axles that couldn't support the power and torque, and suspension which is phenomenally great but you have to replace rubber parts every couple of years because aftermarket is garbage. It also leaves you, cosmetically, with interior body parts that are NLA and reproduced by a few houses at exorbitant prices.
Now you have a vehicle that you're about 50-60k into, but can only insure for its KBB value - unless you find some exotic insurer that would do it for stated value.
This is gist of why I gave up on a dream of owning a ROW 110 here, and plopped my $450 deposit on a Grenadier the second I could.
The same thing did occur to me. That seems really cheap for the work done. And taking into consideration what Peter brought up about insurance I guess this idea is out of reach for most people. It was just a thought from an old man who prefers a shifter and locking hubs to a button. And don't get me wrong, I have a cell phone, smart watch, etc. But those things aren't going to leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere because there is absolutely no hope of me rectifying the problem.
Well yes, nothing is perfect. It may not "get around town" like a present SUV, but it also may not leave you stranded on a trail, in the middle of nowhere, with no hope of fixing it. It's ironic, because I remember reading that one of the main reason a LR was preferred as an off-road vehicle was their simplicity and ability to be repaired "in the bush". That said I need to let this go. I'm just an old man shouting "get off my lawn".
Ya seriously...my grandparents friends bought this place (They still live in it) for $500 in the '50s
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1465-Kaupakalua-Rd-Haiku-HI-96708/304845006_zpid/
The restoration/restomod cost of entry and insurance valuation are tough hurdles, especially for a vehicle you want to use. My RRC is one of these and I'm pretty much afraid to really take it off-road. When I consider what my wife is willing to put up with (compared to 25years of living in tents and roadside Rover repairs) a new vehicle makes a lot of sense. I can still take the Grenadier on remote trips, and I will always have my 109 when I want to experience the 1950's....
Meh, this is the reason most of us got into LR3/4s. They do just about everything well enough for a decent price. If I had Gren $ I think I’d have to think hard between that and a 16+ LC200. One makes me smile more, but the Toyota makes more sense for how I’d use it.
I want to put a narrow body 996 in the fleet to pair with the LR4 and eventually a SII 109, but not a restored one. If daycare wasn’t so expensive I’d be halfway there.
I want to put a narrow body 996 in the fleet to pair with the LR4 and eventually a SII 109, but not a restored one. If daycare wasn’t so expensive I’d be halfway there.
If a person is going to spend a couple hundred thousand I guess you can get one of these.
gearjunkie.com
Land Rover Shape, Jeep Underpinnings, Heart of Chevy: Introducing Legend Motor Co.
Rover looks, GM V8, a Jeep frame, and Fox Shocks. The Legend Motor Co. has built one heck of a take on a classic.
gearjunkie.com
You couldn't pay me $200,000 to drive that Franken-nightmare agglomeration of garbage.
Yikes that’s $$$. You can build one for half that, prob less. Not too hard, either.If a person is going to spend a couple hundred thousand I guess you can get one of these.
Land Rover Shape, Jeep Underpinnings, Heart of Chevy: Introducing Legend Motor Co.
Rover looks, GM V8, a Jeep frame, and Fox Shocks. The Legend Motor Co. has built one heck of a take on a classic.
If a person is going to spend a couple hundred thousand I guess you can get one of these.
Land Rover Shape, Jeep Underpinnings, Heart of Chevy: Introducing Legend Motor Co.
Rover looks, GM V8, a Jeep frame, and Fox Shocks. The Legend Motor Co. has built one heck of a take on a classic.
For the money, one could buy both a real truck and a nice Defender. That's the route I went personally. Alternatively, I could combine both vehicles into a Grenadier purchase, but I like having my practical daily separate from my fun vehicle.
That deserves some consideration.
I want my fun vehicle to start at once and not give me any unpleasant surprises - meaning whatever vehicle I am about to take on a trip, I have to drive for a few days prior to the trip. No major repairs or modifications prior to the trip, either (disregard replacing timing chain a day before a week-long trip).
Now, how rare should the trips be for the fun vehicle not to be a daily?
My solution for longer trips is to tow the fun vehicle because it's configured in such a way that makes it impractical for daily use, regardless of maintenance status and trip length. Having them separate allows each to specialize more towards their use cases, but the compromise is that I have to care for two vehicles. If your fun vehicle is a RRC or something more civilized, then considering it for daily use is a more tenable consideration. However, I wouldn't do so for the reasons you mentioned. It sounds like the Grenadier was the right solution for your preferences. If I get one, it may replace only the truck.
It will definitely not work for me - since "fun trips" may have highway entry and exit points many hundreds of miles apart. And I generally hate towing anything, after having towed a Classic with another Classic.