My first car is an iconic Land Rover Defender… it’s since caught fire, been stolen, recovered and was even in my wedding
A LAND Rover Defender driver has revealed an incredible lifetime of stories that began when he picked up the iconic motor as his very first car, before he had even learned to drive.
Since then, he has shared how the vehicle has undergone multiple engine changes, suffered a fire, a theft, a social media search for its retrieval, and has even been used as a camper van and a wedding car.
In a video filmed by Resto Revival, the Defender’s owner, James, describes how a chance encounter led to him picking up the “curious choice” as his very first set of wheels.
He said: “I was a very nervous driver. I wasn’t a natural at all and came to driving quite late in life.
“I was never one of those people who, at 17, got their provisional licence and went out driving.
“For some reason, it just didn’t interest me. Later on, I thought, for my job as a videographer, I needed a car. But again, nothing grabbed me.”
James ended up acquiring the Defender after working for a company that owed him some money. Instead of payment, he opted for the famous 4×4.
James said that there was “nothing rational” about a Defender being his first car.
“There was something about the aesthetic—the look, the way it sounds when you start it up,” he said.
“I mean, it just looks like something out of Jurassic Park, doesn’t it? It’s amazing. The idea of going out on adventures and into the countryside appealed to me.”
However, he was nearly forced to part with it—on advice from his mum.
“She didn’t like it at first,” James said.
“She told me to get a proper car. I drove to AvailableCar, and as I left the house, her words were, ‘Don’t come back with that bloody Land Rover.’
“I was doing the paperwork for a little Audi A3, and the guy asked, ‘What are you doing with your Land Rover?’
“I said, ‘Well, I’ve got to get rid of it. I’ve got to get a proper car.’ He said, ‘We’ve all got proper cars, mate. Keep the Land Rover for the weekend.’”
Affectionately dubbed Big Jan by James’ mum, the Land Rover’s rugged, off-road abilities were a blessing as she became, as James described, “too infirm” to enjoy walks around places like the Derbyshire Dales and the Peak District.
James added: “I could drive her around to all those spots she hadn’t seen for decades. It became our thing.”
Aside from being James’ weekend car, the Land Rover has been used in unusual circumstances—including as a wedding car.
James said: “It was all dressed up with bunting and flags for my wedding.
“Like everything in my life, my wedding was a bit different. I thought, ‘I’m only going to get married once—hopefully—so I want to be dropped off in the back of a Land Rover.’”
The mighty machine has even been used as a camper van, complete with a tent box on top.
James said: “It just pops up, and somebody can sleep inside it.
“The first week we had it, we drove it around Pembrokeshire. We picked a different beach every night. My old driving instructor told us about places to visit.
“We’d put a pin on the map, pull up on a beach, pop open the tent box, and open a bottle of prosecco—or, to sound more manly, a beer. It was awesome.”
However, it’s not all been plain sailing and pleasant memories with the Defender.
Mechanically, James’ pride and joy has suffered from a plethora of issues over the years—which has even resulted in help from his friend and mechanic, Mega Hands.
“It’s been through the mill,” he said.
“We’ve had everything—fires, theft, and every kind of mechanical failure you can imagine.
“I am the least mechanically minded man ever to have been born, so I’ve relied heavily on help.”
He explained that the Land Rover has also gone through multiple engines—at least four or five.
James added: “Finally, though, we’ve got a good one. This engine has been in for at least five or six years, so I think we’ve got a solid one now.
“This engine is from a Discovery rather than another Defender.
“The Discovery 200TDi engines are a bit more plentiful, and many people say it’s the best engine Land Rover ever made.”
Engines aside, he also says that a fire incident involving the Defender was perhaps its “lowest point.”
He said: “I was in a pub with Mega Hands, and this bloke said, ‘Your Land Rover—it’s a beautiful old vehicle. A real family heirloom.’
“Five minutes later, he comes back and says, ‘Do you realise your Land Rover is on fire? Look out the window.’ Sure enough, flames were coming out of the bonnet.
“Mega Hands, for some reason, had a giant fire extinguisher in his Land Cruiser.
“He popped the bonnet and put out the flames. I thought, ‘That’s game over. When your car sets on fire, that’s God’s way of telling you to stop.’
“But the mechanic said, ‘It’s fine.’ I asked, ‘What do you mean it’s fine? It set on fire!’
“He explained it had just boiled the brake and clutch fluid. He replaced that, and I was driving it again the next week.
“There are still scorch marks under the bonnet. That was disaster number one.”
It was even stolen, with James revealing that, one morning, it was no longer parked on his driveway.
He said: “I realised it had been stolen in the middle of the night. I was distraught. I thought, ‘That’s it. It’s probably on a boat somewhere or stripped down for parts. I’m never going to see it again.’
He called the police, and by lunchtime, he’d received a call back saying it had been found.
“Some youths had stolen it, ragged it around, done a load of damage, and stolen what they could.”
Since the incident, James has kitted out the Defender with a host of security extras, including steering locks, immobilisers, dead man switches, and a tracker.
He added: “If this goes off my drive and I haven’t authorised it, the police will literally scramble.”
In many ways, James perfectly embodies something that Top Gear legend Richard Hammond once said about the Defender: “You can own the land, farm the land, work the land, or steal from the land, and you’d still look proper stepping out of a Defender.”
James added: “It’s not a footballer’s car. It’s the last great vehicle Land Rover ever made.”
Naturally, he has no intention of ever selling it.
He said: “I couldn’t bear to. I bought this for about £2,000, and I think it’s insured for £25,000 now. I don’t think I could afford to buy one again.
“If I ever got rear-ended, that would be it. I’d be heartbroken. It’s broken my heart multiple times, and I don’t want to add up how much it’s cost me, but you can’t put a price on memories.”