1991 Land Rover Defender 2.5L Diesel · J574 FCD

The Land Rover Defender presents as roadworthy with a stable maintenance trend. The most recent test on 18 November 2025 at 173,630 miles returned a pass with no defects recorded, continuing an unbroken sequence of clean results since the 2022 re-test. The upkeep pattern shows no worsening faults and no recurring advisories across the available history. At roughly 4,961 miles covered per year, the 173,630 recorded miles are low for a 35-year-old utility vehicle. The records show gentle annual use: 161,838 miles in November 2023, 167,031 in November 2024, and 173,630 in November 2025, equating to about 5,000 to 6,000 miles each year. A single failure appears on 11 October 2022 at 160,829 miles, with no defects listed, followed by a pass on 28 October 2022 at 160,836 miles. The sparse, clean record gives little evidence of neglected consumables or deferred mechanical work. The October 2022 failure with no defects logged suggests an administrative or test-process issue rather than a mechanical fault, and the owner corrected it within weeks. Given the low mileage and clean passes, previous keepers likely stored the vehicle for long periods and used it lightly, which on a 1991 Defender raises the risk of perished rubber bushes, stagnant brake calipers, and hidden chassis corrosion from standing rather than from wear. A buyer should still inspect the vehicle in person for structural rust on the chassis and bulkhead, check suspension bushes and coil springs for age cracking, and confirm brake discs and calipers are free from binding after storage. The MOT record alone shows no active concerns, but low-use older Land Rovers often hide corrosion and degraded seals that a road test and ramp inspection will expose.