buying a freelander ??????????

Hi have been looking a 1.8 petrol freelander a 1998,50th annerversary edition.its done 112000.and seems to be a clean car.but reading up on them,it seems a common prob is head gasket,and electrical faults.Anyone can give some advice I would be grateful.

paul

You're wise to ask. First, have a look at the fault poll at the top of the Freelander section to get an idea of the kind of faults the Freelander in general suffers from. Personally I would recommend you go for a Diesel, rather than the Petrol. The K series 1.8 and the 2.5 V6 lumps are notoriously problematic. Some people on here have examples that have never give problems, but they are in the minority. HGF is common, as is overheating and bore liner slippage. That, on top of the Freelanders dicky transfer box and you'll probably be looking at a lot of expense if you buy a car that old, with that spec.

112,000 is a lot of miles. generally, unless they've been really abused, the bodywork and interiors always look nice with a bit of a clean and a polish, but this covers a multitude of mechanical sins elsewhere. at this mileage, things are going to be a little tired, and you may begin to experience a few faults, some predictably minor, like instrument bulbs failing etc, but some horrendously expensive.

As a 1998 model, it would probably have the earlier VCU, before they changed the drive ratios slightly. this earlier version was rumoured to sieze due to the continual difference in speeds of the front a rear wheels. a siezed vcu will cause the car to be in permanent 4wd, and rapidly leads to a knackered IRD, which is expensive and awkward to replace. Check the VCU operation thouroughly if you do decide to go for it.

The HGF problem is almost a definite in the past at this mileage. You need to check the colour of the coolant (should be bright orange) and under the oil filler cap for grey mayonaise type substance. Ask for confirmation that it has been fitted with the updated head gasket and metal dowels, in writing, otherwise it will definitely happen again, against maybe happening again if this has been done.

The diesels are less prone from suffering from this problem, but both versions of diesel engine have their own idiosyncracies too. Again, do a search and see what you find.

as for electrical faults, apart from the sunroof and window regulators (esp. tailgate), I'm not aware of any electrical faults occuring more than any other car of this age. These faults are more mechanical faults with electrical components than electrical faults, and are caused by wear in the cables which lift the windows.

finally, if you are confident with a spanner, or have bags of cash to pay a garage, maybe worth a punt. if you don't like fixing things or paying out, stay away.

out of interest, how much is the vehicle if you don't mind me asking ?

good luck with making your mind up...

Thank you for your advice,It is 2500euros I live in france and it is a rhd car but french registered.To change the plates is a cost of about 300euros plus a set of lhd headlights.I am being careful as it is for the wife and the last thing I need is a car that needs constant repair and a unhappy wife .There is a problem with one of the back doors it wont open and will be fixed at landrover the sunroof needs a bit of help to close this is what made me question the freelander as a 110 defender owner which has cost me a bomb I noticed people where always saying about the probs they had got with the freelander.