Anyone know of Fred's Cars?

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The MOTs look like it's been run on a budget. The rear pads failed on one MOT, but all the rotors were listed as advisories on fail and retest. It's real sign of lack of funds for proper maintenance by putting new pads in a worn or pitted rotor. If a rotor comes up as an advisory, then it should be replaced along with new pads.

Another MOT listed upper arms as advisories, then it failed on the same thing the next year, so those were also ignored.
There are also several tyres failing the MOT, another sign of questionable owner finances.

These are seriously expensive vehicles to own, especially so if you have to rely on garages to carry out any maintenance.

Oh and the oil pump issue was fixed after 2007, as the early pumps casing cracked on the timing belt boss.

Unless it's insanity cheap, or comes with a watertight long warranty, I'd be looking elsewhere.
 
mantrid said:
Apparently, it's the early engine (2005) so it's pump was stronger and more reliable than the replacement pump introduced later into the discovery 3's life by land rover in order to save money 👍
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plus 1 what @lynall and @Nodge68 has mentioned , seen them fail from 2004 onwards

hope u don’t mind me adding that for reg number KJ05 DFN, thone errors have been allowed to carry on, appalling history for such a high priced vehicle which clearly hasn’t been looked after

they allowed bushes to only be replaced one at a time each year instead of a complete arm in pairs , plus steering issues , indicating a poorly maintained vehicle

personally would go onto the D3 forum as they come up for sale and u then know they’ve been looked after

hope that also helps u as would hate for u to spend so much money on what’s clearly a well worn motor
 
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Nodge68 said:
The MOTs look like it's been run on a budget. The rear pads failed on one MOT, but all the rotors were listed as advisories on fail and retest. It's real sign of lack of funds for proper maintenance by putting new pads in a worn or pitted rotor. If a rotor comes up as an advisory, then it should be replaced along with new pads.

Another MOT listed upper arms as advisories, then it failed on the same thing the next year, so those were also ignored.
There are also several tyres failing the MOT, another sign of questionable owner finances.

These are seriously expensive vehicles to own, especially so if you have to rely on garages to carry out any maintenance.

Oh and the oil pump issue was fixed after 2007, as the early pumps casing cracked on the timing belt boss.

Unless it's insanity cheap, or comes with a watertight long warranty, I'd be looking elsewhere.
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lynall said:
The only way to be sure is to look at the date cast into the pump, and check if it has the later modified webbing.
I think what they say is bit of a red herring, belts not due until 100+k so the cars would be at least a few years old, then cambelt gets done (and this is where it went wrong) the mech over tightened the tensioner bolt, this then caused the weaker casing to crack.
So early cars appear to be okay, but are not.

The fact they want to deliver it today suggest to me they can see you are wavering and are trying to push you into a sale you are being doubtful about, and once you have it then the fun will begin.
At that price I would at the very least expect new style oil pump/cambelt/fresh mot and a service.

You have heard the old saying, only fools rush in?
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Plus 1, also who in there right mind replaces wishbone bushes one at a time instead of the complete arms and as a pair , seeing u need 4 x wheel alignment done ,

think the biggest sin is running the tyres down to there legal limit , asking for a blow out particularly on such a heavy motor

don’t know if it’s just me but the interior also looks well worn
 
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Just seen this, and was pretty shocked at the mot history. That is definitely not a well looked after vehicle and the mot, screams neglect.
But, you will have brought it by now, so will wait to see when you start popping up in the Disco section.
And why, if they are such good, knowledgeable guys, are you looking to get it checked over at another garage??
Good luck
 
mantrid said:
okay folks, thanks for the good advice, car kept going into limp mode so the Fred's guys (who were helpful and friendly, did the egr valves/butterfly flaps) have offered a full refund for the car, so I am looking into other cars, I looked on the disco 3 forums and couldn't find much, but saw this, can I get your opinion(s) on it please?

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hiya

looks Better than the other one, but see what others think on the price, seems a bit low for a D4

have u asked if the timing belts were last done including the rear belt plse , also if it comes with a warranty and years MOT

along with any service history

good that u got a full refund on the other one , I expect it was the seized turbo actuator arm

plse let us know how u get on with the test drive, plus being a 3.0 it has twin turbos so plse ensure on a clear road to boot it and ensure no smoke comes out the exhaust

other thing are slow speed gently pres the brake and listen out for any knows
if u find a hill/ slope stop, still in drive and take ur foot off the brake, it shouldn’t roll back

test the suspension and all the buttons, air con, electric roof, lift front floor mats to ensure carpet isn’t wet

as it has side steps ensure there’s no rust on the sills

test high/ low transfer box and all the TC settings

look at all the tyres , ensure there wearing evenly

look underneath after raising it to off road height , look at the chassis for rust, no oil showing ( plse don’t be tempted to get underneath ) !!!!!!!!!!

hope that also helps u
 
gstuart said:
hiya

looks Better than the other one, but see what others think on the price, seems a bit low for a D4

have u asked if the timing belts were last done including the rear belt plse , also if it comes with a warranty and years MOT

along with any service history

good that u got a full refund on the other one , I expect it was the seized turbo actuator arm

plse let us know how u get on with the test drive, plus being a 3.0 it has twin turbos so plse ensure on a clear road to boot it and ensure no smoke comes out the exhaust

other thing are slow speed gently pres the brake and listen out for any knows
if u find a hill/ slope stop, still in drive and take ur foot off the brake, it shouldn’t roll back

test the suspension and all the buttons, air con, electric roof, lift front floor mats to ensure carpet isn’t wet

as it has side steps ensure there’s no rust on the sills

test high/ low transfer box and all the TC settings

look at all the tyres , ensure there wearing evenly

look underneath after raising it to off road height , look at the chassis for rust, no oil showing ( plse don’t be tempted to get underneath ) !!!!!!!!!!

hope that also helps u
Click to expand...
guessing the price is low due to no service history, which worried me but the mot history looks good, little things, not overdriven, will ask your questions and thanks very much for the advice sir.

it's MOT'd until July 2024 👍


guessing it was self maintained, which again would be worrying but the mot history implies that the car has been well maintained?
 
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mantrid said:
guessing the price is low due to no service history, which worried me but the mot history looks good, little things, not overdriven, will ask your questions and thanks very much for the advice sir.

it's MOT'd until July 2024 👍


guessing it was self maintained, which again would be worrying but the mot history implies that the car has been well maintained?
Click to expand...

ur so very welcome

not wishing to try and teach u how to suck eggs but would be very tempted to get a warrenty , not from the garage but a separate one to cover the the engine , inc the crankshaft , will be for peace of mind and can really enjoy it without worrying

there lovely motors to drive , but repairs do need to keep on top of , with a half decent tool kit u can do most of it urself

would also recommend getting a scan reader and battery charger , the CTEK are very good,, plus breakdown cover including home relay, think I pay around £80 for that via my insurance , I use A plan

having ur own scanner will pay for itself very quickly along with the convenience when errors pops up on the dashboard

there’s a basic one called the Autel AP200 white for around £70 or the all singing and dancing one the gap iid which are around £450

plse let us know how the test drive goes, plus will be interesting to see what ur ins quote is if that’s ok to ask plse
 
I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier as I could of warned you off these guys. They are well known around the local garages for being a pair of chancers. I know 2 (well 3 now including you) people who have bought from them and have ended up returning the car. I would warn everyone to stay away.
 
gstuart said:
ur so very welcome

not wishing to try and teach u how to suck eggs but would be very tempted to get a warrenty , not from the garage but a separate one to cover the the engine , inc the crankshaft , will be for peace of mind and can really enjoy it without worrying

there lovely motors to drive , but repairs do need to keep on top of , with a half decent tool kit u can do most of it urself

would also recommend getting a scan reader and battery charger , the CTEK are very good,, plus breakdown cover including home relay, think I pay around £80 for that via my insurance , I use A plan

having ur own scanner will pay for itself very quickly along with the convenience when errors pops up on the dashboard

there’s a basic one called the Autel AP200 white for around £70 or the all singing and dancing one the gap iid which are around £450

plse let us know how the test drive goes, plus will be interesting to see what ur ins quote is if that’s ok to ask plse
Click to expand...

The D4 was wrecked, looked immaculate from the top, but there was a big component underneath that was caked in oil, put my foot on the brake gently as slowing down and heard like a spring sound then a clunking sound, I walked away.
 
TheMunster said:
I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier as I could of warned you off these guys. They are well known around the local garages for being a pair of chancers. I know 2 (well 3 now including you) people who have bought from them and have ended up returning the car. I would warn everyone to stay away.
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They have been great with us, they have about 100 cars in their yard so I can't get too concerned about 2 people returning cars given the amount they must go through? Both the guys have been great with us, they offered a full refund if we want, they removed the EGR's and butterfly valves and are having the car remapped to take into account the blanking off, then we are going to give it a good test drive and make a decision at that point, so if you guys have any advice as to how best to test the car post remapping that would be greatly appreciated, I was going to go high revs, say 3K (not sure the safest range to test) to test the turbo isn't an issue, other than that should the remapping fix the cut out and no turbo issues, I think we are happy with the car and the guys @ FC's 👍
 
The car failed on the test drive and you have a thread full of knowledgeable people here warning you off. But if you do go ahead then I hope you're right and it works out for you, but personally I wouldn't buy from them.
 
TheMunster said:
The car failed on the test drive and you have a thread full of knowledgeable people here warning you off. But if you do go ahead then I hope you're right and it works out for you, but personally I wouldn't buy from them.
Click to expand...
It appears they are buying after work done ...If they do I predict wont end happily as theyv'e not listened to any advice and I would suggest no clue about Land Rovers or their problems and cost to repair...FC certainly aint going to throw a shi.t load of money at it just to hope they get a sale...
 
Guys have agreed to a full refund as the car needs a bit more work than we can afford to do, thanks for the advice all.
 
Sorry if this reply has been delayed, but we have been away with limited/no internet access. It is possibly too late to be of use but may help others in the future.

As I said, we got our Discovery 2 from Fred's Cars back in April 2021. We were D2 virgins and didn't really know what we were looking for. We had travelled the country and looked at several D2s before we found Fred's Cars not that far away from us. They were hugely knowledgeable and helpful given our 'novice' status. Neither of us felt they were exploiting our situation and they treated Jayne with respect which hadn't always been our experience. We went out on several test drives with them in different vehicles, including a trip down a short green lane in the car we finally bought. I had a few criteria, including a solid chassis, and the lads at Fred's Cars made sure they found one for us from their vast collection. We finally did the deal and drove the car home, filling it with Diesel on the way only to find we had a fuel leak. They came out to us first thing the next morning to fix it. The issue was with the fuel pump seal if I remember right. Because we were the first people to fill the tank in heavens knows how long it had gone undetected.

Since then we have driven over 8,000 miles, including a fair bit of green-laning and off-roading. Did we pay over the odds? Almost certainly but it was better than anything else we had seen and had five matching, legal, tyres and a decent MoT history which made it rare if not unique. Have we had problems? Of course we have but it is 20 years old with 115K miles on the clock and, as everyone keeps telling us, it's a Land Rover - they all do that. Over the time we have had it we have made sure it has been fully serviced and maintained (we suspect it had been a bit neglected in its former life), and slowly improved it the way we want it for green-laning. Have we spent more on it than it's worth? Need you ask? However, the one thing everyone who has looked at it agrees on is that the chassis is sound.

Would I buy from Fred's Cars again? Yes, I would, albeit I would probably haggle a bit harder over the price next time.
 
Thanks to everyone who replied, we ended up getting a full refund off the guys at Fred's Cars and going out and buying a 2010 discovery 4 which so far has been rock solid. I will say both the guys at Fred's Cars are very nice people, they both went out of their way to help us as best they could, it's just that the car we were interested in needed more work than they could spare the time to fix, it needed new arms front and back and they guys had already done a ton of work to try and sort out other issues with the vehicle, which they did successfully, it was just a case of the car not being right for us, given the massive journey we are about to undertake all over Europe, we needed a car that was rock solid from day one and didn't have the time to let the guys sort out the issues over time, they refunded us in full, gave us a ton of good advice, helped us by looking over the car we were about to buy elsewhere and giving us all this guidance without any malice or anything, genuinely nice and friendly people.

It's a shame we (and the guys at FC's) didn't have a bit more time to sort out the car we chose, but all went well and myself and my wife feel better for having actually met them, very enthusiastic, very friendly and very knowledgably guys. We will miss them actually, good lads! 👍
 
Keith_L said:
Sorry if this reply has been delayed, but we have been away with limited/no internet access. It is possibly too late to be of use but may help others in the future.

As I said, we got our Discovery 2 from Fred's Cars back in April 2021. We were D2 virgins and didn't really know what we were looking for. We had travelled the country and looked at several D2s before we found Fred's Cars not that far away from us. They were hugely knowledgeable and helpful given our 'novice' status. Neither of us felt they were exploiting our situation and they treated Jayne with respect which hadn't always been our experience. We went out on several test drives with them in different vehicles, including a trip down a short green lane in the car we finally bought. I had a few criteria, including a solid chassis, and the lads at Fred's Cars made sure they found one for us from their vast collection. We finally did the deal and drove the car home, filling it with Diesel on the way only to find we had a fuel leak. They came out to us first thing the next morning to fix it. The issue was with the fuel pump seal if I remember right. Because we were the first people to fill the tank in heavens knows how long it had gone undetected.

Since then we have driven over 8,000 miles, including a fair bit of green-laning and off-roading. Did we pay over the odds? Almost certainly but it was better than anything else we had seen and had five matching, legal, tyres and a decent MoT history which made it rare if not unique. Have we had problems? Of course we have but it is 20 years old with 115K miles on the clock and, as everyone keeps telling us, it's a Land Rover - they all do that. Over the time we have had it we have made sure it has been fully serviced and maintained (we suspect it had been a bit neglected in its former life), and slowly improved it the way we want it for green-laning. Have we spent more on it than it's worth? Need you ask? However, the one thing everyone who has looked at it agrees on is that the chassis is sound.

Would I buy from Fred's Cars again? Yes, I would, albeit I would probably haggle a bit harder over the price next time.
Click to expand...
The bit in that reply that would scare me off is, they had to look through their vast collection of cars to find one with a good chassis!
 
mantrid said:
Thanks to everyone who replied, we ended up getting a full refund off the guys at Fred's Cars and going out and buying a 2010 discovery 4 which so far has been rock solid. I will say both the guys at Fred's Cars are very nice people, they both went out of their way to help us as best they could, it's just that the car we were interested in needed more work than they could spare the time to fix, it needed new arms front and back and they guys had already done a ton of work to try and sort out other issues with the vehicle, which they did successfully, it was just a case of the car not being right for us, given the massive journey we are about to undertake all over Europe, we needed a car that was rock solid from day one and didn't have the time to let the guys sort out the issues over time, they refunded us in full, gave us a ton of good advice, helped us by looking over the car we were about to buy elsewhere and giving us all this guidance without any malice or anything, genuinely nice and friendly people.

It's a shame we (and the guys at FC's) didn't have a bit more time to sort out the car we chose, but all went well and myself and my wife feel better for having actually met them, very enthusiastic, very friendly and very knowledgably guys. We will miss them actually, good lads! 👍
Click to expand...
"helped us by looking over the car we were about to buy elsewhere"?! Just a pity they didn't do that to their own cars. :rolleyes:
 
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