I get questioned all the time "Isn't that an "expensive" vehicle to take off-roading? And I tell them. Nah, it was $75K when I bought it and I average about $2,000 a year in repairs. Don't even think of gas prices. It only has 220K miles on it, but it is one incredible piece of junk - but it's my junk. I pay a premium for AAA tow features and I've had to have it recovered 12 miles off a paved road a couple of times. Wait until your air suspension gives out on you in the middle of nowhere. Better yet, when you're circled by a wildfire and the only thing saving you was a helicopter water drop on you.
Now don't get me wrong, there are a certain amount of people that love adventure and excitement, and I'm one of them. My rover has some of the most stupid design flaws I've ever encountered. Like a coolant reservoir that has the temp. sensor in the bottom of it so that when it has leaked out all the collant, you don't know about it until you blow the heads. We won't even talk about the drain lines from the roof or AC evaporator destroying the ECU, radio and wiring on the passenger side.
So as they say, it's not the original price, it's the yearly maintenance and repair that kills it for the regular person. I keep all my radio and emergency gear in carry bags for immediate use if I have to abandon the rover somewhere. I've even considered installing thermite charges in the engine compartment......... but that is just a bad dream.
Make up your own mind and find a great rover mechanic. Funny thing though, back in the 70's when I ran a Series II Defender in the Middle East and Africa, the only worry we had then was to make sure that we rolled it back on its wheels quickly
before the oil fouled the plugs. Best dam Rover ever made. AND THEN rover decided to sell to the civilian market, and it all went to hell.