.. are often the two main things that it comes down when making a buying decision.
The head is the logical stuff which one’s accountant will talk about.
The heart … well, it’s often not logically at all, but it’s like the stuff that dreams are made of – which in my line of work, is often what it’s all about – as they do say: “Image is (almost) everything”.
And so for me over the past weeks, I tried to let both have their say – but when I saw this…

.. the heart won hands down 
Still, there was some logic behind my decision, as I know quite a bit about these wagons now – having owned one and having had to do a lot of work to it, over the past 3 years.
So I asked all the questions about what had been done to this one – going through the full list of things that I had to do to mine – and naturally had a real good look at the chassis too.
“Better the devil you know than the one you don’t” they say – so here it is…

.. a top of the range model this time – which has been fully kitted with just about everything Land Rover could offer at the time:
Black Leather interior.
Electric seats, windows, twin sunroof & door mirrors.
Heated front seats.
Reserve parking sensors.
Centre diff lock.
Traction Control.
Active Cornering Enhancement.
Harmon Kardon amplified audio system.
Automatic.
Cruise control.
Drivers & passenger airbags.
Anti-lock braking system.
Traction control.
Remote central locking.
Alarm + Immobiliser.
Dual zone climate control.
18 inch alloys.
Front fog lights.
Headlight washers.
Heated windscreen.
Rear step.
Side steps.
Extended roof rails …
… and most importantly of all, it’s been Waxoyled underneath…

.. which the previous owner didn’t seem to be aware off – nor to the fact that it had had a spring conversion done too – which was one of the first things I did with my last one, as I got tired of sitting at the side of the roads, waiting for the air suspension system to sort itself out.
Oh, I could write a book about all the problems and things I had to do to my last one – but it’s like none of that really mattered – because I just loved it so much.
This one is however slightly different – in that it’s much smoother and less Defender like to drive, for some strange reason – even though it’s basically the same wagon.
A ‘work horse’ that’s also a bit of ‘show horse’, is how I’d describe it.
Anyway, I managed to stay within my budget, which the head told me I had to do no matter what the heart said – and I think this is a pretty good one too for the price I paid. Time will tell of course – but for now this is the new wagon, which will hopefully transport me & the ampimage team safely, to some wonderfully places across Europe, over the years to come.
So there you have it – the headaches and the heartaches of my recent buying decision 
Cheers,
Ashley.
www.ashleymorrison.com