Thread: Helppppppppppp

Its funny all the opinions you hear, I had a Discovery that was 2 years old and spent 17 weeks of last year in at land rover getting fixed, and I had a 1999 Freelander that gave me absolute trouble free motoring for 2 years and has gone on to give my parents good service, the only real fail has been the gear linkages (the only reason I got rid of it is because I got a job which required me to move and I got a company car, I should have sold the disco and kept the freelander). Its funny how such a supposed crap vehicle gave me better service than a 2004 discovery.

Freelanders are a great vehicle to drive and I would say are the most capable in their class, what some people dont understand is that not everyone likes defenders and finds them a little cramped to drive. The Freelander requires some TLC if you have a petrol one or a pre 1999 with the VC, but if you like it you will drive it. I have had 7 Land rovers and the worst one that I have owned is a Discovery series 2.

Stefan,

I have the 98 Flandie diesel. It had it's share of problems with the previous owner (good friend of mine) under warranty including the VC. Cracked rear diff housing was driver error (high speed over rocky ground) and failure to check it on their way back from the Corner Country.

It is ageing now so a bit more TLC is required to keep it in top condition inside and out. Major hassle I have right now is the tailgate handle which decided to remove itself from the rest of the door...

It is a REAL 4WD. Those Land Rover enthusiasts (aka nuts, fanatics etc) who own a Freelander are man (or woman) enough to admit they do not need low range for day-to-day work and family holidays. Freelanders are as good off-road where low-range is not required as any other Land Rover and do it in style. They are a good compromise between what SWMBO and me wanted for a family 'car'. I still have my old Series II for the real off-road work and play.

I guess the only draw-back I find with the Freelander is lack of accessories and if they are available they are VERY pricy. A snorkel would be nice to keep the dust and sand out of the filter and what I found on the web is mainly for the later models (2001+). Tyre choices isn't bad either.

--- Irek

No low range, very little ground clearance and you would have to be crazy taking it somewhere that the RACV/NRMA couldnt get to it with a tow truck.

If your talking top in it's class, what about the subi Forester, reliable, about an inch or so more clearence and has a resale value.

I know we all love our cars and defend our decisions to buy them and I also realise there had to be 1 or 2 freo's that left the factory that didnt break anything for a while but the truth of the matter is that they are not as good as some people make out and if you were to look at buying a S/H car you would steer clear after know what you know now.

97/98 D1 was the last reliable/ bomb proof disco they made, Fenders went a bit sideways with the TD5 but everyone knows how to fix these problems these days.

S2 Discos can be troublesom but much less than Freeloaders.

By the way, No low range means not a 4 wheel drive, means it's all wheel drive and that means built for hwy not for bush, this doesnt say you couldnt make it up the howqua track to frys hut or even to where Craigs once stood but we wouldnt bother taking one down to UJH as it would was down the river and wouldnt make the climb out.

Irek, YEP!!

I have removed the door handle from the rear door by accident. A little to much force and a little too little time for the latch to release.

Originally Posted by Defender=1st

iam from Tassie also. dont know a thing about Freeloaders just wanted to post. sorry i cant help. Ps. buy a Defender
Regards Adrian

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

while you pontificate over your intergrated air con and heater from the luxury of your comfortable seat supping a warm coffee from the cup holder in the dash lament on what it could be like if you had a bit more height to keep the belly out of the mud, the water off the top of the donk, enough room to fit a decent size set of tyres so you could have some decent gripping rubber on the rims and then a low range with a Center Diff lock to get the lashings of torque and power that the donk has got onto that slippery stuff instead of having to go around the long way...

Ponder also the fact that once youve gotten to where your going that clean up is a simple as opening the doors and applying the hose......

While your slaving away with the carpet shampoo and the vacume cleaner that laughing sound and crack thhhst noise you hear will be the defender drivers poping the tops on one of the many cartons of beer that we picked up dragging toymotors and pootrols out of the same bog hole you just knew you couldnt cross.

ahhh a defender, Earning the driver more than his fair share of the free beer and making life simpler in the aftermath.

How do these in any way help?

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

How do these in any way help?

They offer a very good suggestion, BUY A DEFA Lol.

Originally Posted by mcrover

They offer a very good suggestion, BUY A DEFA Lol.

If you like driving a dinosaur that virtually no one buys new these days anyway

There is a good market in second hand fenders but if the new car rego figures are an indicator - vitually no one is willing to buy them new.

This thread is getting into an argument along the lines "mine is better than yours"

Good stuff - at least we have answered the original questions raised by the thread before hijacking it with baseless emotive comments.

don't let anyone fool you, every land rover model range rover, discovery, defender, freelander has expensive repair issues lurking, just read the posts relating to TD 5 engines, Range Rover P38 repairs.

its a question of get a good mechanic, get regular servicing, replace before repair required and enjoy your life savings disappearing into repair bills if you don't