As the car hobby continues to evolve in such a way that specialists shops become harder to find and various state regulations make it more challenging to keep an older vehicle on the road, buying into a culture that has strong community and mechanical support becomes more of a priority. That’s certainly an added bonus that comes with buying a vintage Land Rover SUV, which gives imported models like this 1989 110 model listed here on eBay an extra helping of curb appeal. Bidding is currently sitting at just over $15,500 with the reserve unmet. 

Now, that’s a bit of fear mongering on my part, yes – but there’s little doubt in my mind that support for more obscure classic cars and trucks is going to dwindle down considerably over the next few years. You’re going to see repair facilities with older owners and mechanics age out of the business, and the remaining specialists will have a bit of a monopoly. I think back to the oddball 1981 Toyota HiAce I owned and wonder just who I’d find interested in working on it these days; likely few, if any, mechanics would raise their hand. Land Rovers, on the other hand, have such a strong following that you can find restoration facilities in every corner of the country.

The seller’s truck has just 62,000 original miles, with the odometer reading out in kilometers given this model was imported and never sold stateside. When it was new, it was most likely a military vehicle or used for some other defense-related purpose, or perhaps it was a firefighting apparatus. Regardless, the seating configurations is that of a “troop carrier” as the gray market Land Cruisers are referred to, and the seller rightfully points out you can convert the rear to a proper bench-style setup and have a very functional classic SUV. This rig also has all of the other usual SUV equipment on it, like a winch and brush guard, and the ax on the back door lends further credence to this 110 having been used in some form as part of a fire response unit.

This Land Rover is equipped with a 2.5L diesel engine, which should be fairly hard to kill with just routine servicing. Speaking of, the seller notes there is an engine oil leak present, and the seller points to it needing a “…new gasket or RTV” to resolve. The Rover is said to be rust-free underneath, and is offered on consignment by the selling dealer due to their customer swapping it for another model Defender. While I do love the short wheelbase Defender 90, the proportions of the longer wheelbase 110 seem perfect to me – and with some back seats installed, it’d be incredibly useful, too.