Freelander 1 Does it matter too much about specs??

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brucieboylandy

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Hi all, I may (if I can win the missus round) be in the market for a freelander, now my instinct, maybe rather naively is to try and go for as higher spec as I can afford, so Sport and Sport Premium...right?

Is this what I should be focusing on or should I be focusing on getting a tidy example what ever the spec, so HSE etc?

Aesthetically I do prefer the Sports but should I be trying to get a really tidy HSE or similar rather than trying to get a sub 3k sport..? any advise welcome, thanks in advance :D
 
Your first job is to do some background work searching through here for buying tips - specifically so you get one that is 4wd and not butchered. Then to try and ensure it stays 4wd for as long as possible. You need to check out the different engine manual/auto options because their characteristics are very different - relating to how often they need work doing to them and how much they are going to cost to run among other things. I duno what differences there are with the Sport - I think maybe bigger wheels and smaller tyres - less tyre choice and possibly reduced ride height / ground clearance. The engines will be the same I believe regardless of spec. If you wana take it off tarmac, if my description above is right, then its not what you want. Higher spec = more gadgets/bling (although not much) = higher buy price = more things to go wrong = more running costs. Depends on what you want and how much you wana pay.

Just my 2p worth.

Me, I love my old basic L Series diesel that is boringly reliable gets us round town and out fishing and don't cost much to do either.
 
nice one thanks,
would be after a manual to be honest, yeah the sport has 18's so i imagine maybe marginally better handling and less wollowy but a harsher ride perhaps. been seeing a few people selling them with removed prop shafts for 'fuel economy' but think thats a load of rubbish, there must be a little more to them than that! Need to go and test drive one first before I make any decisions, its between a freelander and a Audi A4 avant Tdi, just not sure which.
 
I think your first priority is mileage, condition and propshaft present and working correctly. High spec might be nice but my basic S model has most of what I want. Less to go wrong too.
 
The sport does indeed have lower stiffer suspension and the handling is quite good really. When I was buying I was originally after a manual but after driving both I found the auto was a much more pleasant driving experience.
 
I've been having a good look at specs for 2004 models.
Main things are: S has aircon and 15in alloys
SE: pdc, heated seats, heated windscreen, powerfold mirrors, 16in alloys
HSE: SE plus front fogs, full leather, elec sunroof, satnav, 17in alloys, 9 speaker harman kardon sound system
Sport: 18in alloys, front fogs, sports susp, not heated seats or powerfold mirrors
Sport premium: has everything except harman kardon/satnav
Theres other things too but for me that was the main bit

Best advice is probably concentrate on condition and history
 
Oh and I changed my A4 3.0tdi quattro for the freelander. Loved my audi but the freelander more. A lot less rapid but easier to hustle along
 
Know the history is more important than mileage, if Mrs jones has been back and forth tescos all her life that freelander is going to be in better mechanical condition than one with half it's mileage kept on a farm with four teenage boys driving it.
Take someone with you to look at the freelander who knows the expensive bits that go wrong.
good thing is they have a good ground clearance so you can poke your head underneath to have a good look.
I looked at loads of Freelanders before I took the plunge, the one I bought had two lady owners with a full service history and parts records.
 
redwood said:
Know the history is more important than mileage, if Mrs jones has been back and forth tescos all her life that freelander is going to be in better mechanical condition than one with half it's mileage kept on a farm with four teenage boys driving it.
Take someone with you to look at the freelander who knows the expensive bits that go wrong.
good thing is they have a good ground clearance so you can poke your head underneath to have a good look.
I looked at loads of Freelanders before I took the plunge, the one I bought had two lady owners with a full service history and parts records.
Click to expand...
Agreed about the farm boys but disagree about Mrs Jones. Chances are the car is used for umpteen short journeys every day where the engine never gets warmed up. She never checks oil, water, tyre pressures etc and if you VERY lucky gets serviced once a year by a cowboy backstreet garage before MOT.
Probably, :rolleyes:
 
Alibro said:
Agreed about the farm boys but disagree about Mrs Jones. Chances are the car is used for umpteen short journeys every day where the engine never gets warmed up. She never checks oil, water, tyre pressures etc and if you VERY lucky gets serviced once a year by a cowboy backstreet garage before MOT.
Probably, :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
agreed frequent short journeys are very hard on engines
 
As a kid my dad had a Volvo 145. It was right posh and glamourous, Simon Templar drove a Volvo! He used to do quite bit of driving around the country with work and occasionally the Volvo would be out of service and he'd have to take my mum's Mini Clubman. I can remember that she said it always drove differently after he'd been away in it - she reconned he drove it far to fast and was basically buggering it up. Now that could, and probably was, true (his work trip history included blowing the engine in my uncle's Stag coming back down the M4, and getting back to the office with the police waiting for him cos he'd given a **** in his XR3i a 'nudge' with his Disco on the A1065) - but it was probably also clearing out all the cobwebs of those short journeys my mum used to make.

When the Volvo died, my uncle took it off my dad. He'd just bought a boat that ran the same engine. He took the engine out of the boat and stuck it in the car and drove it for years - it must have had intergalactic miles on it by the time it eventually ended up being crushed. He had a big old BMC (I think) diesel engine laying around that he then stuck in the boat. I went out a couple of times fishing with him in the Thames/Medway estuary and it was a beast of a boat. After that my mum and dad bought it off him and moored it on the River Lark in Isleham near Newmarket. Once there on the inland rivers the speed limit was 5mph (or what ever the sedate river limit was) and with its big BMC & prop, the thing was stretching the limit at tick-over, it never went above tick-over and used to shake and rattle something chronic. It was for ever throwing hoses!

Wow, that little anecdote rather mushroomed :)
 
badfelafel said:
I've been having a good look at specs for 2004 models.
Main things are: S has aircon and 15in alloys
SE: pdc, heated seats, heated windscreen, powerfold mirrors, 16in alloys
HSE: SE plus front fogs, full leather, elec sunroof, satnav, 17in alloys, 9 speaker harman kardon sound system
Sport: 18in alloys, front fogs, sports susp, not heated seats or powerfold mirrors
Sport premium: has everything except harman kardon/satnav
Theres other things too but for me that was the main bit

Best advice is probably concentrate on condition and history
Click to expand...
mine 2006 HSE auto has sunroof, electric heated seats, power fold mirrors, 17inch alloys, Harman kardon system sat nav in the radio but does not have heated windscreen and I have added a few things may be next is a heated windscreen now I am wondering if the wiring is there already.
BUT the main thing is make sure it runs right and has regular service.
 
teddywood1 said:
mine 2006 HSE auto has sunroof, electric heated seats, power fold mirrors, 17inch alloys, Harman kardon system sat nav in the radio but does not have heated windscreen and I have added a few things may be next is a heated windscreen now I am wondering if the wiring is there already.
BUT the main thing is make sure it runs right and has regular service.
Click to expand...
The heated front screen was a cost option, regardless of spec. However I don't believe the 1.8 K was able to have the heated front screen. I believe that the wiring is partially present. I think you'll find the wiring in the dash harness but the engine bay harness could well need adding. However even if none of the wiring is present, fitting it isn't that difficult.

Rimini-Scott said:
Can you add a heated screen?
Click to expand...

Yes you can but when I looked into this some time ago, it was expensive. I was getting quotes of around £1K for the screen. The wiring would be extra although not particularly expensive.
 
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