simon_s Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 So my folks are after a freelander. They have about 8k max to spend. It won't be abused except for possibly a bit of towing. What model would be best? I know they want a lwb but they don't know whether to get a petrol or a diesel (for the record I said diesel.. ). I know next to nothing about them, but looking on eblag 8k can get quite a lot of car.... So any advice?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 A freelander is 100" wheel base 3dr or 5dr there all the same. I have always thought the Td4 auto was a good car but I only used than for training and haven't owned one myself I would recomend a ES spec its worth the extra few quid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potshot Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 You will get a lot of Freelander for your £8k...I would think an 04 plate TD4 with about 40k is well within the price limit and please stay clear of ebay as you do not get the opportunity to drive and check the car over...the price of the Freelander 1 is dropping all the time and there are a lot of bargains out there at the moment...so best advice is to shop around....I bought my 02 1.8 petrol with a full dealer service history in immac cond for £5k'ish with a trade in and am very pleased with it....dont buy the first one you see unless it is perfect and happy shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 You will get a lot of Freelander for your £8k...I would think an 04 plate TD4 with about 40k is well within the price limit and please stay clear of ebay as you do not get the opportunity to drive and check the car over...the price of the Freelander 1 is dropping all the time and there are a lot of bargains out there at the moment...so best advice is to shop around....I bought my 02 1.8 petrol with a full dealer service history in immac cond for £5k'ish with a trade in and am very pleased with it....dont buy the first one you see unless it is perfect and happy shopping. We have owned a V6 ES on a 53 plate, an TD4 HSE Auto on an 05 plate and a TD4 HSE Auto on an 57 ignoring the current model the V6 had plenty of power but was sore on fuel, the TD4 went well for 54000 miles over a 2.5 year period an felt this was the better of the two. We had the usual head Gasket problem which required a replacement engine so I would feel happier steering clear of all petrol models especially if I am buy for someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Having just come into freelander ownership for a lot less than 8k I can't offer any great pearls of wisdom. I would say though, that "avoid the petrol ones" could be ignoring a bargain. Most people know about the head gasket problem and write them off, I would find a decent independent garage who will do a head gasket for cheap and see how it stacks up - the later head gaskets and proper coolant are supposed to pretty much cure the problem so you could get a much cheaper vehicle just because people are scared of the problem. Oh and you can (and should) test drive stuff that's on eBay, any seller who doesn't let you do that I would ignore. Same as any other sales method, you need your head screwed on to avoid the dodgy dealers but it's no worse than anything else IMHO. My uncle (who used to be a trader) has bought his last 3 cars from eBay and all have been bargains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blippie Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 The TD4 is a nice tow car for sensible sized caravans and horse trailers, etc. We manage fine with a manual but if they intend doing a lot of fiddly slow speed maneuvering when towing then the auto may be a good idea. Handy if the trailer is kept somewhere ackward. My twopence worth... Cheers Blippie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 The TD4 is a nice tow car for sensible sized caravans and horse trailers, etc.We manage fine with a manual but if they intend doing a lot of fiddly slow speed maneuvering when towing then the auto may be a good idea. Handy if the trailer is kept somewhere ackward. My twopence worth... Cheers Blippie Have towed a 1.5 tonne twin axle with a TD4 Auto fine over a three year period. A little under powered at higher speeds but no problem towning. Looking forward to trying out the FL2 next year the extra power should eat the caravan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potshot Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Having just come into freelander ownership for a lot less than 8k I can't offer any great pearls of wisdom. I would say though, that "avoid the petrol ones" could be ignoring a bargain. My 02 1.8 petrol came with a Land Rover 12 month warranty with the engine overhaul...and I was reassured they used all the modified bits...the car drives silky smooth and the engine is holding its life blood....I see a lot of petrol versions on the road of all ages so people must be happy with them and my brothers S reg car has 140.000 miles on the clock and has never leaked from new....Its a shame that we only remember the bad bits....I am very happy with my car and wont be changing it in the immediate future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Baldwin Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 So my folks are after a freelander. They have about 8k max to spend. So any advice?? Advice? Save your parents the inevitable grief and buy a Toyota Rav4 instead....!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveH0773 Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I haven't been a Freelander owner for very long myself (About 2 and a bit weeks!) but I thought I'd put my bit in as well! I wouldn't write-off EBay, after you make contact with the seller, it's no different to buying any second hand car privately - The downside for a slightly cheaper price is that you don't have as much come-back if things do go wrong... As for weather you should go for a TD4 or 1.8, I'd say it's down to how it will be used - Diesels generally have more torque, which is better for towing (I can't say how true this is with FL's tho) and also, will it be their only car? I held out for a TD4 as it is my only car, so it needs to be as reliable as possible to get me to work, however if you're parents have a second car, then maybe this won't be as imprtant to them? Just a couple of thoughts! Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_s Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 Cheers for all the advice guys! I've passed it all on... I think they'll be going down the td4 route, they've got a few lined up to have look at soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsetfreelander Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 I have had three freelanders, the first was an X reg 1.8 which had the head gasket go at 40K and had clutch problems, the second was a 52 reg TD4 manual which did 86K without a problem, the third is a TD4 auto 04 reg which is brilliant. My advice buy a BMW engined TD4, the other thing is that the early ones before BMW took over had a problem with rear wheel tracking which caused the rear tyres to wear in a strange way and get very noisy. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blippie Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 I think the odd rear tyre wear, in a castelated fashion, was solved with changes to the rear diff ratios and often a symptom of VCU failure. TD4 is a cracker. Cheers Blippie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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