Buying a Freelander 1 with propshaft removed

djt1881 · 2025-01-26T16:53:47+0000

Hi there. Went and had a look at a 2004 Freelander TD4 yesterday which I really liked. £2000 It’s from a dealer and supposedly comes with a 6 month warranty.

Everything seems great about the car, however (you guessed it) theres no propshaft on it. I didn’t question the dealer about it at the time and left the showroom to mull it over.

My questions are however:

1. Would the dealer already know about it, and if so should they be selling it at all, not least with a warranty attached?

2. If I’m happy with everything else on the car, should I go back and question it? And if so, how much would you expect to have taken off the asking price?

Many thanks in advance.

kevstar · 2025-01-26T18:26:36+0000

djt1881 said:
Hi there. Went and had a look at a 2004 Freelander TD4 yesterday which I really liked. £2000 It’s from a dealer and supposedly comes with a 6 month warranty.

Everything seems great about the car, however (you guessed it) theres no propshaft on it. I didn’t question the dealer about it at the time and left the showroom to mull it over.

My questions are however:

1. Would the dealer already know about it, and if so should they be selling it at all, not least with a warranty attached?

2. If I’m happy with everything else on the car, should I go back and question it? And if so, how much would you expect to have taken off the asking price?

Many thanks in advance.

The dealer might not know about it why not ask them, or buy it & tell em its fallen off

Alteredtech · 2025-01-26T18:43:05+0000

Hi,

A professional should sell you a complete car ! No propshaft is already a problem, maybe there is others, once you buy, the seller will not answer any calls from you.

Are you realy expecting a warranty for a 20 years old cars … ?

Freddie17 · 2025-01-26T18:43:20+0000

djt1881 said:
Hi there. Went and had a look at a 2004 Freelander TD4 yesterday which I really liked. £2000 It’s from a dealer and supposedly comes with a 6 month warranty.

Everything seems great about the car, however (you guessed it) theres no propshaft on it. I didn’t question the dealer about it at the time and left the showroom to mull it over.

My questions are however:

1. Would the dealer already know about it, and if so should they be selling it at all, not least with a warranty attached?

2. If I’m happy with everything else on the car, should I go back and question it? And if so, how much would you expect to have taken off the asking price?

Many thanks in advance.

All depends really on whether you want to use the 4 wheel drive system.
As you probably know, they generally get removed due to issues with the VCU (first), which can then mess up the IRD / drivetrain. If they are removed as preventative work, then the IRD and drivetrain may be ok. It'll likely need a recon VCU as a minimum (and a prop).

It can all be replaced, but you'd need to factor that cost in, if you want to even do it.

Likely that if it's a small indy dealer, he doesn't even know the relevance.
I doubt any warranty will cover that - they are all ‘generic’.

There are better if you look private

Alteredtech · 2025-01-26T19:04:45+0000

Freddie17 said:
Likely that if it's a small indy dealer, he doesn't even know the relevance.

Anyone can become a professionel dealer, they sometimes fix wires under the seat with duck tape …

In our case they certainly removed the propshaft themself to fix the car before selling it.

Freddie17 · 2025-01-26T19:15:52+0000

Alteredtech said:
Anyone can become a professionel dealer, they sometimes fix wires under the seat with duck tape …

In our case they certainly removed the propshaft themself to fix the car before selling it.

I'd have a bet that this is a part exchange car being sold off - it may well have been like this for a long time?

300bhp/ton · 2025-01-26T23:08:36+0000

Alteredtech said:
Are you realy expecting a warranty for a 20 years old cars … ?

Yes, because it is the law in the UK...

pwood999 · 2025-01-27T09:33:07+0000

Definitely look around for a complete one. There are currently nine 2004 FL1 on autotrader. First easy check is the MOT history.

Dippypud · 2025-01-27T09:41:55+0000

300bhp/ton said:
Yes, because it is the law in the UK...

Ah the three month special ....

If you're lucky they'll talk to you about what's covered ...

Alibro · 2025-01-27T10:07:32+0000

From what I've heard from MOT inspectors and used car dealers, the majority of Freelander 1's in the UK do not have the propshaft so it's not a big deal with them any more. The most common reason for it being missing is the previous owner or the dealer didn't want to pay for the maintenance of it so just removed it. I bought one a few years ago from a dealer who had removed it for this reason and when I asked he admited to it and even offered to give me the propshaft if I wanted it.
It's always a risk to buy one without a propshaft but maybe you can use the fact to get it a bit cheaper.

djt1881 · 2025-01-27T10:45:15+0000

Alibro said:
From what I've heard from MOT inspectors and used car dealers, the majority of Freelander 1's in the UK do not have the propshaft so it's not a big deal any more. The most common reason for it being missing is the previous owner or the dealer didn't want to pay for the maintenance of it so just removed it. I bought one a few years ago from a dealer who had removed it for this reason and when I asked he admited to it and even offered to give me the propshaft if I wanted it.
It's always a risk to buy one without a propshaft but maybe you can use the fact to get it a bit cheaper.

I had a feeling this would be the case, but I guess the insurance company would have to know about the change to not make it void in the event of an accident?

saxavordian · 2025-01-27T11:34:13+0000

djt1881 said:
I had a feeling this would be the case, but I guess the insurance company would have to know about the change to not make it void in the event of an accident?

"Buyer Beware". To be honest I was in the same point. The car was great but no props VCU. Yes you do have to inform insurance to declare as modified away from factory standards.
To be frank, I think now insurance firms should say no more often, in relation important drivetrain equipment. Lovely as the rest of the vehicle Freelander 1 is. You want 4x4 as you bought the vehicle for that reason not 2wd.
You happily drive and learn the quirky nature of skittish driving, but if your misses with your children happens to pick up the keys

Again instead of paying for £2000.00 add another grand or two to the vehicle that's not with insurance car tax MOT service.
Any car that's a wreck above and below insurance should say no.
There's enough out there fully functioning with all the equipment buy them first.

Alibro · 2025-01-27T11:35:50+0000

djt1881 said:
I had a feeling this would be the case, but I guess the insurance company would have to know about the change to not make it void in the event of an accident?

If you did inform them you would probably be the only one.

1. You would need to be aware it should be 4WD.
2. You would need to know that to be 4WD it would need to have a propshaft.
3. You would need to know what a propshaft looked like.
4. You would need to know it was missing.

The insurance company could never prove you were aware of any of the above if you bought the car used.

300bhp/ton · 2025-01-27T12:25:43+0000

Dippypud said:
Ah the three month special ....

If you're lucky they'll talk to you about what's covered ...

That's not how it works. Well worth looking it up if you are buying a car, new or used.

Your legal rights if something goes wrong with your car

When you buy a new or used car from an official dealer, you are protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if the vehicle develops a fault

www.whatcar.com

Some key take-aways highlighted.

Land Rover never sold or produced a 2wd Freelander, therefore the seller would need to declare it as a modification and ensure the buyer knows the vehicle has been modified and that any advert reflects it has been converted to 2wd.

It would also be appropriate to say the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality and is clearly faulty, as part of the drive system does not work/is not present.

marjon · 2025-01-27T12:41:59+0000

300bhp/ton said:
Land Rover never sold or produced a 2wd Freelander,

Oh yes they did..

But in this case its has had it 4wd ability removed. simple ask the dealer to get it right or go somewhere else.

J

300bhp/ton · 2025-01-27T12:53:28+0000

marjon said:
Oh yes they did..

But in this case its has had it 4wd ability removed. simple ask the dealer to get it right or go somewhere else.

J

Where and when was there a 2wd Freelander 1? I don't recall one for the UK market nor RoW.

marjon · 2025-01-27T13:01:12+0000

300bhp/ton said:
Land Rover never sold or produced a 2wd Freelander,

300bhp/ton said:
Where and when was there a 2wd Freelander 1?

Oh now you want to be specific

.

J

Buying a Freelander 1 with propshaft removed

djt1881

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kevstar

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Alteredtech

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Freddie17

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300bhp/ton

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djt1881

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saxavordian

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Alibro

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300bhp/ton

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Your legal rights if something goes wrong with your car

marjon

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marjon

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