 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / UK Car Forums / 4x4 Cars (UK group) / May 2007Buying a Freelander
I am thinking of buying a second hand Landrover Freelander can anyon advise me on which is the best and most reliable model to buy, als what faults should i be looking for -- somersetviking > I am thinking of buying a second hand Landrover Freelander can anyone > advise me on which is the best and most reliable model to buy, also > what faults should i be looking for? Blown head gaskets are a common affliction for 1.8-litre petrol-engined Freelanders. It's a well known problem and is caused by allowing the coolant level in the very small tank to get low. Check for water in the oil. The other engines have proved to be very reliable. Any damage to the suspension from off-roading will expensive to repair, while the rear differential can fail with little warning. Manual gearboxes can also become noisy and fail. Other failures are more likely to be electrical, especially the rear door's window, which can drop unexpectedly. TD4 seems OK, stay away from the earlier diesel (DI?) and get the most modern - truly BAD when they came out and got better, better compared with earlier versions but not up to class average If I remember they come out bottom in the reliability stakes with all the french and italian cars. And actually If you after 4*4 "safety" I believe they only got a 3 star in the NCAP results >TD4 seems OK, stay away from the earlier diesel (DI?) and get the most >modern - truly BAD when they came out and got better I'm not sure that is fair. The TD4 is an excellent engine, also used in the BMW 3 series and Rover 75. I agree that it is the pick of the engines. The earlier diesel was the Rover L-series. It is less exciting but has a reputation for being absolutely bomproof. They changed at Y-reg. If it doesn't say TD4 on the rear door, then it is the earlier L-series. Cheers Blippie -- Ten minutes of this rain will do more good in half an hour than a fortnight of ordinary rain in a month. > I am thinking of buying a second hand Landrover Freelander http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm > http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm Maybe, but how many other cars can you compare to after 8 years; most are rust buckets or mechanically f....d > Maybe, but how many other cars can you compare to after 8 years; most are > rust buckets or mechanically f....d Freelander owners were incurring huge bills long beofre the cars were 8 years old. Depending what the OP wants to use it for, a Honda CR-V or petrol Nissan X-Trail (Avoid the diesel X-trail) might be a better alternative. > Freelander owners were incurring huge bills long beofre the cars were 8 > years old I was reffering to real LR such as Defender, S1 S2 S3 which seem to have a biased reveiw in the link you show > > Freelander owners were incurring huge bills long beofre the cars were 8 > > years old > > I was reffering to real LR such as Defender, S1 S2 S3 which seem to have a > biased reveiw in the link you show You're talking crap, HTH. Firstly the link does not take you to a review of Defender models, or even the Freelander to be honest. So you *chose* to look at the Defender link. There's no mention of S1/2/3 or Stage One V8 vehicles. Secondly this thread was about Freelander vehicles, not the Defender. And finally there's no bias in the review, it simply states the truth that Defenders suffered from a number of problems. Hell it even gives objective results such as Defender models being at the bottom of several reviews of reliability since 1997. >Freelander owners were incurring huge bills long beofre the cars were 8 >years old. We've got two and they never miss a beat. >Depending what the OP wants to use it for, a Honda CR-V or petrol Nissan >X-Trail (Avoid the diesel X-trail) might be a better alternative. I've only driven a '03 plate X-Trail. certainly a lot cheaper to buy. I didn't like the flimsy controls and buttons and the engine wasn't a patch on the TD4. It doesn't handle as well as the permanent 4x4 Freelander and doesn't have such a commanding seating position. I think the boot is bigger. Cheers Blippie -- Ten minutes of this rain will do more good in half an hour than a fortnight of ordinary rain in a month. > I am thinking of buying a second hand Landrover Freelander can anyone > advise me on which is the best and most reliable model to buy, also > what faults should i be looking for? Faults and problems? Anything you can think of pretty much! There are much much better SUV's about than the Freelander. If you must though- probably the earlier L series TD, but one of the last ones- 51 plate area. Tim.. >> I am thinking of buying a second hand Landrover Freelander can anyone >> advise me on which is the best and most reliable model to buy, also [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Tim.. I have been thinking of buying a 4 to 5 year old TD4 Auto. Research has not left me with a good feeling about a Freelander. I was at my local independent garage who have serviced my cars for over 10 years. The owner has a Freelander so I asked him if they where as much trouble as reported. Yes was his reply. He then went on to say the petrol is the worst. Transfer boxes are a problem but replacing them has come down to about £900 ! Fuel pumps on the diesel work out at about £1800. He went on to say that if you get a good one they are good fun to drive but he could not recommend them. Unfortunately Japanese 4x4s don't seem to have many problems. but I don't think Xtrails come as Diesel Auto. Honda looks a possibility.  SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >>> I am thinking of buying a second hand Landrover Freelander can >>> anyone advise me on which is the best and most reliable model to [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > one they are good fun to > drive but he could not recommend them. > Unfortunately Japanese 4x4s don't seem to have many problems. but I "Unfortunately" as in why do Freelanders seem to be crap and any Jap is just well ...... good > > don't think Xtrails come as Diesel Auto. > Honda looks a possibility. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >I have been thinking of buying a 4 to 5 year old TD4 Auto. Research has not >left me with a good feeling about a Freelander. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >is the worst. Transfer boxes are a problem but replacing them has come down >to about £900 ! Fuel pumps on the diesel work out at about £1800. You can pick out any part for any car that is expensive to replace. Keep it in perspective. There are two main problems associated with the Freelander 1. Both are well known. - 1.8 head gasket failure: also a feature of other vehicles with the K-series engine. - Early transmission problems: The IRD (transfer box) had a habit of failing in early models. This was usually a result of the VCU (viscous coupling unit) failing and not being detected and replaced. The final drive (rear diff) ratios were also putting too much stress on the unit and the ratios were changed early on. Neither issue should put off the potential purchaser of a TD4. The engine is completely different and the transmission problems are not so widley reported by the time the TD4 was introduced. There are plenty of websites that will describe how to check for transmission problems - they are easy to detect. Try www.landyzone.co.uk Cheers Blippie -- Ten minutes of this rain will do more good in half an hour than a fortnight of ordinary rain in a month. >> I have been thinking of buying a 4 to 5 year old TD4 Auto. Research >> has not left me with a good feeling about a Freelander. [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Blippie Yes despite the bad press I still fancy a Freelander. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > Fuel pumps on the diesel work out at about £1800. Find me a single common-rail diesel where that doesn't apply. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.