AndyRVTR

Hi.. they are Labradors (chocolate), and they get very dirty ;-)

Hi everyone.. am currently on the lookout for a Freelander.. my budget is £6k and am looking basically get as much as I can for my hard earned wonga. I need a 5dr motor, (3 kids and 2 dogs), and I've been advised to go for a TD4, with the BMW engine (is that right?). I will no doubt have loads of questions for you all, so I hope you will all bear with me as I have never owned a 4 x 4 before and am not really sure what to expect, but I absolutely love the styling and looks of the Freelander. I currently own a 1999 Rover MGF convertible and am well aware of the k series engine faults, (hence looking for a TD), I will be using my Freelander for commuting to and from work, (round trip 40 miles) as well as travelling taking the mutts out, average mileage I guess is 300 miles per week. I have heard that the tax band will be changing next year, so what would be the yearly tax rate, also what is the average running costs, ie, mpg, tyres, servicing etc etc? All help and advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Ok.. so now I know which model I am looking for and I also know my budget, (£5-6k).. how do I go about tracking one of these beauties down. I know I can phone every Tom Dick & Harry in the phone book, but I prefer to do my shopping online, initially anyway. I also need to go with a dealer and I know I will probably pay slightly more, but I want some sort of protection IF anything does go wrong. I live in the North East (Jarra) and I am quite happy to travel up to 100 miles or so in any direction to try find the right motor. Does anyone know, or can anyone reccommend any dealers up this way who would possibly be able to source me a vehicle, I have already done the usual checks on Ebay, Autotrader and one or two Land Rover dealers, but I'm hoping you guys will know exactly where to help me start looking!

Thanks once again.... it is so good to find help on this... I am sorry to be a pain by asking all the questions, but I want to learn as much as I can..... The more I think about this and the more I get to speak with people on the forim and friends who currently own a Freelander, I think I will try to find a nice 2.0 TD4 ES Station Wagon. It seems to have everyting I am looking for...... economy, handling, luxury (compared to standard), the write ups say it is one of the better models, no doubt members may have different views. The thing that has really swung it is the light above the vanity mirror, my missus just has to have one Does anyone on the forum own one and could you tell me plus and minus points (if any), TBH I would like to find out as much as possible before I part with my money.

On the subject of spec.. is there anywhere on this site, or even other sites, that would be able to tell me the differences between Freelander models, or handling reports, spec, trim etc??

Thanks everyone for the replies so far... TBH i have heard the diesel versions are great on mpg, which is what i'm looking for as I do quite a lot of commuting day in day out. But y'know what i'm looking forward to the most?......... not getting stuck in the winter. My MGF lets me down even if i'm on the flat and a fine covering of snow, they are just so light and RWD does not help one bit... as for mpg, i,m probably getting between 20-26 average. I need a 5 door version for practicalty, but I know there are many models around, and to be frank quite baffling too, I have around 5k to spend, so what do you think I could expect, or better still, what model should I go for that would give me the most bells and whistles for my moolahs?

Hello all.. I thought I would join this site prior to buying a Freelander... I currently own an MGF convertible, and I am in the market for a Freebie. I have been thinking about buying one for the past couple of years but thats as far as it went, however, things have now changed and I need a more 'practical' vehicle. There are currently 3 vehicles in my household, mine, a Ford Ka (my partner's), and a Clio (my daughter's), but my partner and I are to be married in July, so my MGF is no longer suitable as a 'family' car. We have 3 kids and a Dog, and for all of us to go out for the day is a nightmare at the moment, hence the decision to change vehicles. I love the look of the Freelander, and would probably only use it for commuting and for weekend outings with the family, I know nothing at all about Landrovers so any advice on buying one, model, spec, engine etc would be more than welcome. I have heard many a rumour that they are unreliable, but with me owning an MGF (Rover) for the past 5 years, i am used to breakdowns, HGF etc ;-). I look forward to getting to know people on the site, and learning a great deal about what can only be described as a fantastic looking piece of automotive design.