Cosd Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 OK, I got the bug again; I didn't see it through last time as I got tempted by a Navara but thanks to the responses from the forum I changed my mind. This time round, I'm thinking of a Freelander. Budget up to £4500 Use: Travel 30 miles (one way) to work (25 motorway miles), Also want to use it for shooting and save me trudging across muddy fields carrying all the heavy gear. Looking at the Autotrader I am looking at a 2002 - 2003 with under 50K miles on the clock. I am thinking about converting it to LPG to bring down the fuel and road tax costs; I know it defeats the object slightly but think the 2.5 litre engine will drive nicer. So, your comments please ladies and gents, good and bad. I read that there were head gasket problems on the 1.8 litre models but my understanding is that this was on earlier models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 converting to LPG will give debateable savings, personally I don't like the power loss and reduced economy on our factory converted vans but as they are in the congestion charge area all day I can put up with it. However to buy a car and pay £1500 to convert it is quite an outlay and you need to keep the vehicle a long time to recover the money and thats before you start saving money. I'd only think about running a gas one if it was already converted and someone had taken the hit on it price wise. Otherwise I'd say the 2.5 is probably a good option as they are unlikely to have had a hard life and have all the toys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 If you end up with a petrol one, make sure the newer gasket has been fitted to the head or it can get expensive. It is meant to be the earlier models that suffered and my 2002 one went. Luckily covered under the warranty. Paid £3500 for mine and it is the ES with leather interior, heated seats etc. can also get good bargains on Discovery's now. Saw some LWB ones in Newton Abbot in very clean condition for £5500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lister1 Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 If you end up with a petrol one, make sure the newer gasket has been fitted to the head or it can get expensive. It is meant to be the earlier models that suffered and my 2002 one went. Luckily covered under the warranty. Paid £3500 for mine and it is the ES with leather interior, heated seats etc. can also get good bargains on Discovery's now. Saw some LWB ones in Newton Abbot in very clean condition for £5500 very good point. the earlier models had that horrid rover engine which was prone to head gasket trouble. i once looked at one but i got a landorver 90 instead but i dont do many miles in it. if you really want a freelander look at the td4 version i know it's diesel but if i remember correctly it's a BMW engine which is alot better but you do pay a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommo Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 I've a TD4 2l mate, 35mpg when you keep it under 80, as its auto box (some problems with some) i've found it to be a pleasure to drive on/off road. Not good clearance so you'll have to stay out the ruts, loads of space and come highly spec'd with the recent decline in demand /fall in price in 2nd hand market. Get Mich Sychrones and a full service if you can thrown in, save you any expense for at least a year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie 1 Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 you won't regret a freelander m8 there gr8. as said i think the td4's are better. freelanders are like a car so you don't mind doing the miles in it but it also has the gr8 quality of being a fantastic offroader in the right hands. you will be looking at between 35-40 mpg as said above. if your not sure ask to test drive one. then you can see if you like the drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 Thanks for the replies so far guys. Am I right in thinking these come with either Rover or BMW engines? Should I steer clear of any? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommo Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 TD4's are BMW - mostly, most mechanics think quite highly of them, they are sraight out of the 320d beema's. Just wished they pinched some of the interior too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gixer1 Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 (edited) If it's 2.5 petrol then it will be the V6, it's the 1.8 k series engines (4 cyl) that are the problematic ones.... Edited January 27, 2009 by gixer1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codling99 Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 i got a 2001 td4,great engine,bullet proof.only probs are,silly things like electrics playing up,cables for windows snap,low clearance,and the usual landrover rattles and squeaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 dont go for one, my sister in law had one, cost nothing but money,and my mate had one, soon got rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Opinion seems divided on the Freelander. Did the engines stay the same in the Freelander2 i.e. is the diesel engine still a BMW engine? Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubix Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Ive a 1.8 petrol, great car. Lets not kid ourselves, this things spends 95% of its time on the road, but takes all the abuse I give it the 5% when its bouncing over heather and rocks and pulling logs out of the woods. Nippy, lovely to drive, good on the fuel economy if you dont try and drive it like your normal car. I know of nobody who has ever had any head gasket problems even with the early cars, I do know lots of people who know someone who knows someone else though. Even if it did go its not a major job to fix it yourself. Its a land rover, everything else is a LR wannabe Just get it, they're cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 landrover Nuff said I would still have one as a shoot vehicle but not a freelander as they lack clearance and are only good for grass/stubble etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Sam Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) I hardly think that's fair. A Series III 1974 will still be running fine now. Find me a 1974 Honda that is still running and able to go off road. Edited January 28, 2009 by Big_Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr W Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Our Eastern brothers seems to know their stuff when it comes to car reliability. However not swapping my RR Classic for all the tea in China. Funnily enough it's in the garage at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 I hardly think that's fair. A Series III 1974 will still be running fine now. Find me a 1974 Honda that is still running and able to go off road. Yes a series III might be running fine now but what about next week and what about the years and thousands of pound its cost to keep it going that long ? We are talking modern vehicles and i do know a mechanic who works for a landrover dealership and most of their work is warranty work ! So to me that means they didnt get it right in the first place. Some people like em some dont and i think they are great off road.... when they aint broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 I sold my 5 year old Range Rover on Monday. Was undecided right until the last second but had a fear that something big and expensive would go on it. Brought a tear to my eye when it went though. The kids won't talk to me now either. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 I'm thinking about getting one; The general feeling seems to be to go for diesel rather than petrol which suits me fine as I clock up a lot of miles. I think all but the td4 are "rover" engines, the td3 being a perkins that was developed for rover and I'd guess the others are pug lumps. The petrol engines aren't too bad apart from the head gasket issues, as said it's not too dificult to fix yourself and if it's already been done you'll probably never need to worry about it. I don't really need to take it off road in a big way but I'm into fishing, camping and shooting so something more capable than my vectra in the mud would be appreciated. If I get one I'll probably jack it up and get some big knobbly tyres on it so it looks a bit more manly and I'll be going for diesel. How do they fair tax-wise? Unfortunately 10yr old freelanders are about all I'll be able to afford. Luckily, I did 5yrs at college training to be a mechanic so at least I can keep running costs down a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy75 Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 The old boy has one, and he paid £9k for an X-reg (obviously back when they were worth that much...) So far he's had 2 headgaskets, several clutch arms, engine mounts (engine fell out on one side at Earls Court), 2 viscous drives (I think - the bit that connects the front to the rear drive) and plenty more that I can't remember. What puts me off about them is that they don't have a low range box and only a centre diff which is a no-no for me off road. Plus the chocolate comedy engine from Rover of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markl813 Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Yes a series III might be running fine now but what about next week and what about the years and thousands of pound its cost to keep it going that long ? We are talking modern vehicles and i do know a mechanic who works for a landrover dealership and most of their work is warranty work ! So to me that means they didnt get it right in the first place. Some people like em some dont and i think they are great off road.... when they aint broken. my 1976 landrover is fine this week next who knows. Most of us with these old girls like to tinker most parts are reasonably cheap and if you can hold a spanner buy the manual theres not many jobs you carnt do. how mutch do the garages charge for this modern stuff £75 an hour plus vat is cheap and my old girl still ends up towing this new stuff out of the mud on shoot days bloody bad on the road though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Discovery TD5 for that money - will do everything the freelander will do, better. Other than drive like a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan browning gts Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 yer but it will use more fule and cost more to tax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 It'll do 30MPG all day long and the tax difference is sod all compared to the overall cost of running a 4x4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 I went down to our local land rover dealership and was looking around the new Freelander 2 with a view to buying second hand on the net or private. The salesman came telling me how good it was and I said the only problem I had was with the Freelanders nickname which is "gaylander" well after he went blue in the face he offered me a half day off road experience with Land Rover to see if I still called it a Gaylander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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