Land Rover Freelander

[Mauricio]

Well I am new here and don't really know how this work, but here I have a question for all of you who have or know a bit about the Land Rover Freelander.

The wife and I are looking into getting a newer vehicle and we have look for some months already but we don't see to find the right one. We live in Regina, SK, Canada, not many Land Rovers here, or I mean only newer ones, anyhow, We just went to see this 2003 Freelander we thought it was really nice and overall the Landy is great, only 109000 miles on it, and that is few miles for the prairies. But I just read a bunch of reviews on this kind of Land Rover and well I don't really know if I want to get it now.. it seems they have a lot of problems and spend more time broken that running.

Any of you guys have any comments about it? It will help me a lot.

Thanks B)

[Mauricio]

Hi you guys,, I have a question for all of you who know about Freelanders,, The wife and I are trying to get a newer vehicle and just came back from test driving this 2003 Freelander, 109000 miles on it, nice exterior and nice interior, Only problem I just read a bunch of reviews on this Landys and well and not that sure now about the Freelander,, according to the reviews this car has a lot of problems and spend more time broken than running..

Anyone has any comments about it? It would help a lot..

Thanks B)

[EggNChips]

Well I am new here and don't really know how this work, but here I have a question for all of you who have or know a bit about the Land Rover Freelander.

The wife and I are looking into getting a newer vehicle and we have look for some months already but we don't see to find the right one. We live in Regina, SK, Canada, not many Land Rovers here, or I mean only newer ones, anyhow, We just went to see this 2003 Freelander we thought it was really nice and overall the Landy is great, only 109000 miles on it, and that is few miles for the prairies. But I just read a bunch of reviews on this kind of Land Rover and well I don't really know if I want to get it now.. it seems they have a lot of problems and spend more time broken that running.

Any of you guys have any comments about it? It will help me a lot.

Thanks B)

The 2 main flaws with the Freebie are the VC/IRD and if it's petrol, the head gasket. I would only recommend getting one if you're willing to get your hands dirty. I've got a diesel one and absolutely love it, but I don't mind carrying out repairs on it. If I had to take it to a garage whenever it needed attention, I think I would probably hate it by now.

[Mauricio]

The 2 main flaws with the Freebie are the VC/IRD and if it's petrol, the head gasket. I would only recommend getting one if you're willing to get your hands dirty. I've got a diesel one and absolutely love it, but I don't mind carrying out repairs on it. If I had to take it to a garage whenever it needed attention, I think I would probably hate it by now.

Thanks man,, for you input, I read somewhere about problems with the head gaskets specially on the 2003 models, also noticed the wheels where a bit dirty with brake pad residuo and then read about the short life of the brake pads on this vehicles. I still like the land rover a lot and well I was really happy when I found this one for sale, but yeah, I don't think the wife will be happy with the repairs all the time if that is the case. Perhaps next time I would get one just for me to have headaches by my own, haha

[Blippie]

The diesel Freelanders are pretty reliable, as they have the bombproof Rover L-series or the excellent BMW TD4.

The petrol engines have a reputation for head gasket failure, which make them more suitable for the enthusiastic mechanic, although plenty of people will stand up and say they have had no problem with theirs!

There are transmission problems (IRD/VCU/final drive) but these tend to be particularly associated with the earier models.

We have a 1998 L-series and a 2002 TD4 and think they are fantastic. The TD4 is in daily use and has clocked up 90k miles since new with one breakdown (fuel pump) and one other failure (windscreen wiper linkage) which I think it absolutely fantastic. The Camel carries lots of extra weight and has been (and continues to be) hammered but takes justa bout everything we throw at it. At 109k we have replace many of the minor transmission components (CV joints, a front drive shaft, rear diff mount, VCU bearings) but with the sort of use we give it I tend to think of those as consumable bits anyway. It's had one breakdown in four years of onwership and that was a chaffed wire that was repaired at the side of the road. The "getyouhome" temporary repair is still going strong a year later.

I haven't noticed a voricious appetite for brake pads. I know that the previous owner of the Camel had to replace them regularly when the vehicle was operated in a sand quarry, but that's obvious. At the end of the day, what are you comparing it to? They use the same brake pads as the Rover saloons and the Honda Civc range. They will probably go through them quicker than those because they are slighly heavier. We've had an average of 45k (60k and 30k) out of our front pads and never had to change the shoes in the rear.

I think that a well maintained Freelander is as good a vehicle as you could want. Put the mechanical naysayers out of your mind and concentrate on the practical aspects - is the boot big enough, are you too tall for a comfortable driving position?

Cheers

Blippie