Am I making the right choice?

DefenderDB · Feb 7, 2022

I am new to this forum and hope this question is appropriate. I placed an order fir a 2022 Defender Limited in early Oct. well I went into the dealer today to check her out before taking delivery in a few days. The Cab had dirt on the seats. Which had me question attention to detail. The Defender obviously had not gone through full PDI yet so I was not overly concerned. Then I had to sit down with financing. They did the hard sell on extended warranty. There main selling point was 85% of defenders have watts to work done on them. That leads to a serious quality issue and I am questioning my decision to purchase here. Then he pulled a recent service sheet. I looked at the long list of pats being replaced and this looked like someone had really abused the vehicle. Should I be concerned. I do all my own work in all my vehicles so My thoughts were no to the extended warranty. Given this vehicle will be gently used. Any thoughts? Thanks.

RossO · Feb 8, 2022

Well, from my experience I've only had one issue since I took delivery in February 2019 and that happened within the first 10 miles so it was covered under the factory warranty. I have yet to have any other issues since then, granted I bought the Xmr so it might be less susceptible to issues since it was not a limited model. I only have about 1,500 miles on it so far, but those miles were not babied. It has been in deep water, plenty of mud and extremely dusty trails with out any issues.

As far as making the right choice, I would have to ask, what else is out there that you are thinking will be better?

My only experience is with Polaris Rangers and Arctic Cat Prowlers. Both are decent machines, but it seems like the Defender is still the best one I've been in. A few of my friends have Rangers still and it seems like there was always an issue with them, especially in the winter.

Anyways, hope this helps. Good luck.

DefenderDB · Feb 8, 2022

Thanks RossO. very informative. We were looking at the Polaris Northstar but it was way to loud in the cab. Even with helmets on. We had researched issues with them so it came down to just the limited as we plan to plow with it in the winter so the heated can was a bonus. Your experience with issues does set my mind at ease. I am fairly confident we will find any issues if there are any within the first six months. I think it is just the dealer. Things aren’t the way they used to be. Customer treated with respect. It is now “customer you should be lucky your talking to us.” SAD.

RossO · Feb 8, 2022

I completely agree. Very sad how things have changed. No matter how loyal you are to a dealer it seems like you are almost a nuisance when you ask questions about spending your money with them.

Andystoy19 · Feb 8, 2022

OP, I don't buy extended warranty on anything and if they get too pushy I ask them for the contact number of the warranty department so that I can talk to someone there and see if the machine is so poorly made that it requires extended warranty. At this point they usually wither and back off.

I have a 2019 Defender XT HD10 Cab and it is not a high mileage machine but has only had a coolant drip at a twist clamp,last year and this year when it got to -35C so time to change the clamp. Lots of ideas in the build section if you decide to buy one.

DefenderDB · Feb 8, 2022

Thanks for the input. I am in the same camp as you Andystoy19. I will be buying. Hopefully picking her up this Friday. I do have plans on accessories. Backup camera, rear bumper, and a Fisher Plow along with heaven duty springs are in the top of my list.

DefenderDB · Feb 9, 2022

Well. Appointment is booked to go in this Friday to pick her up. Dealer said they will be replacing all fluids and filling both Gad tank and washer fluids. Is there anything any of you can think off that I should check before handing over all that hard earned money.

things like door and window seals, air and heat work, windows open and close, dump works and locks, wheel bearings, fluid levels, cargo boxes, manuals, etc. I think I should put together a check list for this LOL.

Thanks.

DefenderDB · Feb 20, 2022

Just thought I would give everyone an update. Picked up the Defender from the dealer last Friday. Did a thorough walk around and recording everything. All went well on that front.

Dealing with the dealer and accessories was another story. I was put through the run around just because I wanted the accessories on a separate bill. Finally got that fixed. Then saw that they ordered the wrong backup camera. After I even verified the sku number before ordering. That took another 30 min to fix. Even the parts guy jumped in and said what are you doing to the customer.

Anyways got her home and am very impressed. Have lots of questions and info on things I will post soon.

thanks for everyone’s help here. And no I did not get the extended warranty.

Mark in Colorado · Feb 25, 2022

DefenderDB, I bought my new machine in 2019 and had a lot of the same concerns that you did because of a burn with a Polaris 800. All in all, the Defender has worked out very well for me, and this group knows that I work my machine very hard plowing snow etc. Since October 2019 my machine has never been back to the dealership. I do all my own maintenance and upgrades and find it to be fairly easy and straightforward. Knock on wood, but I have not had any catastrophic failures other than snow blade related bends and wear. I chase down rattles and broken switches from time to time. Right now I have a slight pull to the right when I’m in four-wheel-drive but hope to attribute it to an air pressure issue. Stuff like that. I keep the oil changed religiously in the engine has never not started– even in 7° below zero weather. Good luck to you and enjoy the machine. -Mark

DefenderDB · Feb 25, 2022

Hi Mark.

Thanks for responding. I appreciate the info. Interesting that you plow. That is exactly what I am looking at doing. Trying to decide between a Boss or Fisher Vplow.

Cheers,

Don

Tug Hill · Feb 25, 2022

Hi have a 6ft Western straight on my 19 HD10. I went with due to having tracks and V would be hitting the tracks. It still moves an impressive amount of snow...... Speaking of Snow I have to plow again in a couple of minutes