Land Rover Freelander decision

Looking at buying a Land Rover Freelander,done a bit of ground work via the net and a mate who runs a wholesale car yard in Kewdale.
Anyone had any experience with them?


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A friend has some problems

Wed, 2010-03-10 20:15

A friend has some problems with his at three years and didn;t bother buying the lease out. Sadly Land Rover's days of having good, long lasting, reliable cars are long since gone.

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wopjrb's picture

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TOYOTA OR NISSAN!

Wed, 2010-03-10 21:08

TOYOTA OR NISSAN landrovers suck there built for england !

profish540's picture

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Landy

Thu, 2010-03-11 19:23

If a Landrover is built for England a Toyota must be built for Japan? Steady up big falla a own a 130 Defender and live in the Pilbara and i can tell you it is built for this shit.

carnarvonite's picture

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1999 Model

Wed, 2010-03-10 20:20

1999 Model and done 75 thousand Ks.Full service history and log books want $7000 for it.

callum's picture

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defenders

Wed, 2010-03-10 20:20

my mate at school is pretty obsessed with Defenders, he's got a 2006 short wheel base model at the moment.  Hes had others, as has his dad, they've never had problems and they love them

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happy fishing

hunterdive's picture

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run the other way mate, do

Wed, 2010-03-10 20:24

run the other way mate, do not touch it. 

 

My old man repairs them and they are a nightmare.  Parts expensive, leak oil and they don't perform that good anyway. 

 

there are so many other cars in that 'Soft Offroader' class that are better in everyway.

 

Rav 4, Honda CRV, Nissan X-Trail, or buy a older Prado or the like.  The new Landrovers including Rangerover and the new Discovery  both perform well but are full of electronic gadgetry that is just waiting to break  and you don't want that out in the bush.  The Freelander are the worst of the bunch.  The only tough Landrover are the Defender, which are still a weapon

wade stenhouse's picture

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i have a car mechanic  mate

Wed, 2010-03-10 20:30

i have a car mechanic  mate who did repairs on my landrover discovery 3 times cause the same problem kept occurring. he would not reccomend any landrover especially the freelanders, he said landrover released the freelander knowing that it had some 70 odd problems with them. i got rid of my discovery asap, just cost me money in the end

Faulkner Family's picture

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stick with what you got. at

Wed, 2010-03-10 21:31

stick with what you got. at least you know the history of it

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sarcasm0's picture

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call me a diehard but

Wed, 2010-03-10 21:59

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Dont

Wed, 2010-03-10 22:22

do it , brother in laws mate has one what a bucket of shi@e. Trouble, Trouble Trouble

HuggyB's picture

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Think about it this way

Thu, 2010-03-11 07:04

when is the last time you saw something "Made In England" and thought, "cor, thats quality".

 

And there is your Freelander answer.

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wadetolley's picture

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when is the last time you

Thu, 2010-03-11 17:14

when is the last time you saw something "Made In England" and thought, "cor, thats quality".

In a Broome backpackers... a few times !

wopjrb's picture

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or an exmouth pot shot hotel?

Thu, 2010-03-11 17:55

lots of nice things " made in england there"

HuggyB's picture

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ah, but you see Wade

Fri, 2010-03-12 14:46

God had a hand in those creations. Last time I checked, God wasn't on the payroll at Land Rover.

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wadetolley's picture

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Wise

Fri, 2010-03-12 14:56

Wise words..wise words

profish540's picture

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Or Toyotas

Fri, 2010-03-12 15:48

Not sure if he is on the Toyota pay roll either Huggy or do you no somthing the rest of us dont?

HuggyB's picture

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Not required

Fri, 2010-03-12 15:52

toyota can make a 4wd, land rover cant - sales figures dont lie.....

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profish540's picture

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Big call

Fri, 2010-03-12 19:48

Big call i think my 130 Defender is a pretty good 4X4 and has prooved its self living in the Pilbara.But hay you do have all the knowledge BIG B.

Colin Hay's picture

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That's a crack up Wade

Fri, 2010-03-12 19:51

Got to agree with you on that one. The Germans make pretty good backpackers down Kalbarri way too.

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Matt T's picture

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Disco

Thu, 2010-03-11 12:24

My father in law has a disco and it seems to cost a hell of a lot to service and repair. And repairs seem to happen all to often, about 80,000km's on his too.

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Don't do it!

Thu, 2010-03-11 16:55

The original Freelander was a disaster for Land Rover, plagued with reliability issues. The current model (Freelander 2) seems to be much better.

 The following paragraph is from a review of the newer Freelander 2:

"The reputation of the Freelander I was so bad Down Under that on joining the company last year incoming MD, David Blackhall, was adamant he would launch Land Rover's new generation compact SUV under a different name. Poor reliability, shoddy build quality and a legacy of being considered less than a real Land Rover were the main things the model was known for. There were other tales of woe, too... A paragon of 'four-bee' virtue it was not."

 

Steer clear!

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Good Luck After Those Comments!

Thu, 2010-03-11 17:09

Canarvonite - It's a bugger when you get all hyped up about something getting ready to buy it and then you get shot down by just about everyone.  Personally I don't know anything about Freelanders but I think judging by the comments, your decision has been made.  Think you should do a bit more research and start looking elsewhere.

I have a 4.5L Auto 1998 Patrol which I've only had for about 4/5 months but I love it.  It will cost you a bit more than $7000 though???  Good Luck which ever way you go!

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carnarvonite's picture

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Reports

Thu, 2010-03-11 17:46

Looked up comments on them via the net and found nearly all were for blown heads/gaskets and exhaust systems with some computer problems thrown in.

My mate with the car yard will not let one come in the gate.It looked the goods but I wasn't too sure hence the adding on the forum here and checking on others comments.

Spotted a diesel Patrol wagon for a reasonable price so will give it a once over tomorrow.Had a diesel Patrol ute and a petrol 92 TI wagon before so I have some idea what I'm looking for.

Thanks for all the input,its been a big help.

wayneleech's picture

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good move... mate at work

Thu, 2010-03-11 18:41

good move... mate at work just had the head gasket blow on his freelander...(apparently they have an ali head - not built for australia's hot climate)

 

carnarvonite's picture

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Heads

Thu, 2010-03-11 19:02

Most of the comments I read were in Europe and heads and head gaskets were the main fault and I'n not willing to take the risk.

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patrol

Fri, 2010-03-12 12:50

i have a patrol you can buy. pm me if you want