College Costs: 1973 Land Rover Series III – SOLD!

February 27, 2023, Update – We confirmed the seller of this “Classifind” deleted their listing, so we can now call this one “SOLD!” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

Kids are expensive.  As responsible parents, many of us have had to make compromises to set our kids up for the chance at a successful life.  The seller of this 40K-mile 1973 Land Rover Series III, last listed in February 2023 on Craigslist in Bristol, Rhode Island, reluctantly finds himself selling his daily driver to fund their kid’s college tuition.

We rarely select Land Rovers to feature on GuysWithRides, and there is a reason for it. Land Rover stopped importing Series III in the U.S. in 1974.  Consequently, the rising popularity of these vintage “Landys” created a cottage industry of importing diesel-powered versions, many of which feature right-hand drive. While the seller doesn’t confirm it in their ad, the left-hand drive and gasoline inline-four hint that this Series III started life as a rare American import.

Currently offered for $20,000, Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is slightly below the five-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for Series III Land Rovers of all body styles and powertrains pickups produced between 1971 and 1985.  By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the truck featured here:

As a second data point, the  Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask falls between this guide’s #4 “Fair” estimate of $14,800 and its #3 “Good” appraisal of $29,000.

The Land Rover Series I, II, and III, or simply the Land-Rover (commonly referred to as series Land Rovers, to distinguish them from later models), are compact British off-road vehicles produced by the Rover Company since 1948 and later by British Leyland. Though inspired by the World War II Jeep, the Land Rover immediately distinguished itself from all other cars. From launch, it was the first mass-produced civilian four-wheel drive car with doors on it and an available hard roof. Unlike conventional car and truck chassis, it used a sturdier, fully box-welded frame. Furthermore, due to post-war steel shortage and aluminum surplus, Land Rovers received non-rusting aluminum alloy bodies, favoring their longevity. In 1992, Land Rover claimed that 70% of all the vehicles they had built were still in use.

British Leyland launched the Series III for the 1971 model year.  With 440,000 built between 1971 and 1985, Series III is the most common version of the Series Land Rovers despite British Leyland ceasing U.S. imports after 1974.  Series III featured the same body and powertrain options as Series II models. In addition to the fender-mounted headlights (the change made to comply with a number of countries’ regulations), Series III models saw the switch from metal to plastic grilles.

The series III saw many changes later in life as Land Rover updated the design to meet increased competition. This was the first model to feature synchromesh on all four gears. The simple metal dashboard of earlier models now featured a new molded plastic dash. The center-mounted instrument cluster of previous models moved to the driver’s side on Series III examples.

The Petrolicious YouTube Channel features this video giving a modern perspective of what it’s like to drive a Series III Land Rover

With only 40K miles, we’re guessing the seller’s commute isn’t very long for someone reporting they use their 1973 Land Rover Series III as their daily driver.  While the aluminum body eliminates the need to worry about exterior rust, we recommend that the seller provide detailed pictures of the interior and undercarriage.  Given this Landy’s current proximity to salt water, frame rust needs to be ruled out before the purchase.

Here’s the seller’s description:

Restore or Daily: What would you do with this driver-quality 1973 Land Rover Series III for sale?  Please comment below and let us know!