T & T Motors

Well come on. Let’s have it out, in a fantastic way it’s a great story. Im a chap who runs a company. And decided to be crazy - isn’t that what life is for ??? I could see the Series 3 (Nelson) on Dave’s web site on T And T Motors Ltd The experience was already encouraging on its way approaching the gates. Realistic good chaps but, at the first glance at me, understandably baffled. I was being driven by one of my staff in a Volvo XC90 I wouldn’t have blamed them for thinking who the hell is this bloke buying a 1974 Land Rover in that Volvo. Fantastic service people. Honest, true and above all, confident. I sent my driver home. Then stayed at a local Hall Hotel (please see the attached photos) On my arrival. The Manageress asked if I would be so kind as to park outside the Hall in order for her to take photos to put on the hotels Instagram face space. Twick tack nock etc etc etc. Or course…. I agreed But Nelson (series 3) didn’t quite want to adhere to being told where to park. After a half bottle of dam good wine I had a knock at the door. Sadly after filing the fuel tank clearly to the absolute brim. On the park slope I was on at the hall. The diesel started to become an unwelcome new water feature at the hotel’s front drive. The upper management asked me to be so kind as to bloody get Nelson into the field next to the helicopter pad. In the morning. I found my self in a fiendish mood and decided to leave early and drive though the night. On doing so I suddenly found my self home, in South Suffolk from Leeds. Not a dam problem any time not even sound in broken shell needed (sorry to be pompous its nautical term but relevant to sound) any any one to drive that distance in a 1974 Land Rover will know. Dave and his team are excellent and to be trusted and above all be communicated with. Dave did call me the next day and ask how I was getting on with Nelson. He went very, very, very quiet with splendid surprise that I had made it from Leeds to South Suffolk How fantastic is that! There is another little tale That nearly got me in to a spot of bother. Morning, 3 am. On my way home to Suffolk I stopped at a BP station. Steadily and rather soon frustrated I could not get the 1974 seat belt off. Most annoyed. I decide to cut my self loose. But when you present a hunting knife to attempt the situation and a traffic police office is now next at my window. Very politely asking is everything ok sir. Eyes raised to the point I thought his hat would fall off. I had to explain and calm the situation put the knife away and accept that I had to struggle out of the belt my self. Nevertheless. A very very fantastically happy customer. Thank you T and T motors. Good on you chaps. And, I honestly feel - Honestly what fantastic theatre Oh PS. Dear reader. Please don’t fooled about the rope on the front It’s not for towing purposes. It’s to kindly and gently to push a car away from a petrol pump space who’s the owner of said car being pushed is in a BP station doing the M&S yearly shop… Be honest with your self and these gentleman will be able to be honest and true with you. Land rovers and older cars have personality. Some times. Just sometimes. You might not get on. Hold Fast.

The Most Disturbing, Misleading and Utterly Absurd Vehicle Viewing I Have Ever Experienced In my personal opinion, this entire experience was a complete disgrace from start to finish. I travelled four hours to view a Defender 90 that the dealer, Mark, confidently swore was professionally repaired, rot-free, and in good order. What I found instead was a vehicle that looked like it belonged in a scrapyard documentary. The Defender was catastrophic. The entire passenger side looked as if the car had been folded like cardboard. The door was crushed and wouldn’t shut, the bonnet was twisted like metal foil, and the rear cabin was bowed so dramatically that the vehicle looked unsafe simply to stand near. The bulkhead was another horror entirely — in my personal view it was bent in on itself, with the hinges barely clinging on, looking like they might disintegrate if you breathed on them. The chassis? In my experience, it was severely rotted, eaten away, flaky, and structurally terrifying, despite Mark’s bold claims that it was “solid” and “rot-free.” And the service history he assured me it had? Absolutely nothing. Zero. Another contradiction. The mileage also raised huge red flags. Based on the vehicle’s condition and the patchy information provided, I personally believe it showed signs of having been tampered with, because the numbers and the physical condition simply did not match reality. And then came the most ridiculous part: They would only allow me a 30-second test drive. Not an exaggeration — a literal 30 seconds. On top of that, I was told I wasn’t allowed to exceed 30 mph, which only added to the list of absurd restrictions that made the whole thing feel like a staged performance rather than a legitimate viewing. When I tried to inspect the passenger door myself, the timid young man working there quickly told me not to open it, because, in his words, “It’s stuck and it won’t shut properly.” That alone should tell anyone everything they need to know. Speaking of this young man — in my personal experience, he behaved with the same energy as Dobby from Harry Potter: nervously hovering, timid, wide-eyed, and acting like a frightened, trapped assistant. He lingered right over my shoulder, awkwardly watching my every move. Every question I asked him was met with either: “I don’t know,” “I’m not sure,” or “You’ll have to ask Dave.” It was uncomfortable, unsettling, and just added to the bizarre atmosphere of the entire encounter. The “dealership” itself is literally the dealer’s back garden, which, in my view, perfectly reflects the overall level of professionalism on display. As for Dave — in my experience he was rude, abrupt, dismissive, and made it abundantly clear that he does not care about safety. He openly stated that the only thing he cares about is whether the vehicle has an MOT — not whether it’s actually safe to drive. Hearing that from someone selling vehicles was genuinely astonishing. This entire encounter was, in my personal opinion, a complete mess: misleading, uncomfortable, unprofessional, and utterly bizarre. I cannot stress this enough: in my experience, this was the worst, most shocking, and most untrustworthy vehicle viewing I have ever dealt with. Avoid at all costs.

Where to start...first experience buying a Land Rover was actually pretty good. Good communication from Dave, vehicle arrived. The hour meter said 9200 which I thought was odd for a 47,000 mile Rover, (it means it averaged about 4.5 MPH....) it needed a clutch, and had oil leaks, but $4500 later it was fixed up and running well. I bought another one that was 23,000 miles. It was passed as "only 42,000 km (23,000 miles) 1 owner and mint (see screen shot)." I took Dave's word for it, after all I am 7,000 miles away. What arrived was: -VIN didn't match the vehicle paperwork - the vin was from a gas rover, not a diesel, engine had been swapped and not disclosed, creating an absolute nightmare with customs and getting it through. -Poorly resprayed with paint flakes and rust spots, 3 different colors on the vehicle -Brakes didn't work -Parking brake stuck -Speedo disconnected, **which automatically made me suspect the previous one I bought had the odometer messed with since it had the 9200 hours on the hour meter** -Seat belts either missing or screwed to sheet metal - yeah, like that will work in an accident (not) -Radiator missing half its fins, engine looks like it was dragged out of the english channel, see pic with thermostat -patches all over the main frame from rust spots -holes and cracks in the roof -Exhaust disconnected - and held up by zip ties! -3 out of 4 doors wouldn't open, door checks were missing, 2 windows wouldn't roll down, had to rekey the doors -Rear seats weren't secured to the frame -Missing bolts and hardware all around the body -Intercooler with holes in it -Wrong fuel sender in it which made the low fuel light stay constantly illuminated -Fan clutch not working, radiator fluid was muddy sludge -Trailing arm bushings cracked and deteriorated, play in a-frame ball joints -Wires hanging on front drive shaft -Headlight switch didn't work, turn signals didn't work The list goes on and on. I paid top dollar for a "23,000 mile "mint"" vehicle, and was given a shoddily put together falsified mileage vehicle that was absolutely not what it was passed off to be. I have put $12,000 into repairs, and there is still a large list of things that need to be done to this vehicle. The really hilarious thing is that the paperwork with this shows it passed MOT. Either the MOT inspector was a drunk, or he falsified that too, because nowhere in the world would this have been considered roadworthy. I buy auto parts for a living, I deal with VW and Audi and am 1 of 5 companies globally that can buy from VW directly in their surplus department. Everything is handled by handshake where your word is your bond, and what you get is always better than what is advertised. Were these problems disclosed? No. But when you're told it's mint you expect it to be as such. Was I told it was resprayed? No, but when you're on the other end of the world you expect to be given the information of what you're buying. I have since bought 4 more vehicles in Germany. The process has been much better, I am given pics, a comprehensive list of what's wrong, and what needs to be done. They know I am not there to see it and I have a list of what to expect. That is the way it should be. Deliberately withholding vital information in the buying process is just as bad as overtly lying about it. No, I would not do business again, this has shown what kind of company culture is around the vehicles being sold - a culture of deceit.

Posting this after 3 months of owning the Defender 90, hopefully giving a more accurate idea of the vehicles condition and reliability. There is good and bad in the experience, hence the 3 stars. TansT keep a big range of older Defenders, hence ending my search in their yard, and when I say yard I mean farm yard. The vehicles are priced competitively, but that comes at another cost, condition and road worthiness. Despite a 12 month MOT, the vehicle was in no way an MOT pass. Faulty wiper, lights, handbrake etc, all fails. The most frightening issue however was an incorrect length bolt, bent over (pictured) in the steering linkage, that locked the steering on a bend 2 days later! After a robust conversation with Dave, who I have to say doesn’t really get road worthiness, I was directed to his mechanic contractor, who travelled to the vehicle and corrected this and a number of other issues. Since then, the number of missing and changed parts is long, but some of that is from getting the vehicle to my own spec, inside and out. To finish more positivity, it’s the vehicle I was looking for, the price was right, if you push to get problems fixed they seem to be. I would recommend for light project vehicles, go with eyes open, but don’t expect the finished product. Footnote 29/1/22, T&T Motors claim of partial refund is false, non was requested and non given. Faults mentioned were not age related, they were incorrect or poor maintenance. Road worthiness has no relation to vehicle age, it’s just road worthiness. As mentioned, this is a concept alien to the owner.

Just bought a defender 90 for my son from t&t and have to say that the owner was very accommodating during the whole transaction. Gave good advice on various vehicles we were looking at nothing seemed to be to much trouble and no pressure to buy. All in all good service and a fair price and would definitely buy from them again.