Thread: Tell me about Freelanders

Thanks Heaps for your replys taking it all in,

I have no interest in a petrol, What Diesel motor is in the 98/99, is it a TDI or a TD4 do they have compter controlled engine or are they old school.

Looked at a TD 1998 model freelander at a car yard, 200kms, $7999 in great condition, the kms really worry me though?

Sarah

Sarah,

I'll be straight up here and say that I couldn't in all honesty recommend them on the whole to anyone. There ARE good reliable ones out there, (I have even considered a Diesel Td4 in the past, which is in my opinion the better one if you are really going to buy one) but My experience with these has led me to advise against buying one and look at a Subaru Forrester or Hond CRV etc. instead.

My issues with the early pre Td4 1998 to 2000 diesel ones are mainly transmission problems; viscous units, rear differentials, IRD units and tailshaft centre bearings etc. The excessive tyre wear has to be mentioned too, along with HDC and ABS faults. Injector pump failures arent all that common, but can be $2500 to $4000 to rectify. Timing belts(Both) and tensioners etc every 80k, IRD oils we change every 20k, I have recently had one with a porous BLOCK leaking coolant externally, and one with a cracked head leaking coolant externally. Badly.

I am impressed by the way they drive, they have good performance, they are excellent on fuel. BUt I am not working on them anymore, due to their ability to bleed some owners dry of funds and I quite frankly hate making those phone calls to tell them how much its going to cost them 'this time'. Very stressful I can tell you.

You needed to read this.

JC

I agree with Justin. Never owned one but seen more than enough of those that do.

FL2 entirely different vehicle although I know you're not looking at those.

If you really, really want a Freelander, then here is the standard advice for buying unreliable cars.

Firstly make sure it's checked out very carefully by a Land Rover specialist before you buy it, not Joe Bloggs the local auto club man. Also make sure there is a valid reason for sale. Talk to the places(s) where the owner got it serviced and beware of any reluctance to let you do that. Inspect the service history carefully, looking for gaps. Even then go into the purchase with your eyes open, and immediately have the thing serviced thoroughly after you buy it, by a specialist Land Rover mechanic again. Spend what you need to on preventative maintenance.

I hope you find one that's reliable.

Originally Posted by Scallops

Don't listen to them, Sarah - There is a place for Freelanders in this world....on a snatch strap behind a Defender.

Oh the horror of it all!!!!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh34-TmzPcQ&feature=related"]YouTube - defender contra freelander 2 parte5º[/ame]

That only took you 9 hours of intensive searching to find that video Andrew

As I said earlier. My wife and I were going to buy a Freo 1 new in 2003, but bought a Subaru Forester instead. Never regretted the decision once.

Now I would seriously trade it on a new freo2 instead of a new subaru.

Three of our club members spent 2 hours talking to a couple who had just bought one at the GC caravan and camping show. They had a locked up viscous coupling among other things and had just bought it CHEAP.

There are better choices out there. Sorry

CC

There are always viable alternatives available, japanese or otherwise, to any model out of the Land Rover production line. The FL is not a failure prone vehicle, not more than any other Land Rover. Rather the opposite, in fact. And, apart from being rather crowded under-bonnet and some electric gimmickery, straightforward to work on.
Just my 5c...

Whilst my first reply to this post was in fun (I knew there would be plenty of serious answers), let me say this - I have driven the new FL2 and it was great to drive.

Having said that, the one issue I see with the Freelander is clearance. On a recent GCLRO trip, we were making our way along a track to our camping spot and a conversation began over the UHF. The short of it was everyone doubted a Freelander would have made it in in one piece.

Now - whilst this is hardly a scientific analysis of the Freelander - and before the Freelander nuts get too upset - all vehicles have limitations and intended use is what is important when buying a vehicle. But it is worth considering that these vehicles will be limited before any other Land Rover by their low clearance.

And as others have said, some of the older FL models were plagued with issues. In this category of vehicle, and for a vehicle of the vintage you are looking at, there are better choices from Japan.

I think it's great that a LR forum can in effect advise against buying a LR if that's the right thing to do. Not sure all other marque forums could do the same.