Freelander advice please

Hiya!
I am a newbie here, and want to ask a little advice if that is ok!?

I would love to buy a Freelander to replace my beloved old Pajero as I need more storage space, and no longer need to tow a horse trailer.

I have found a likely candidate....a lovely gold coloured X reg 1.8 petrol, 5 door model. It is high milage for a petrol car though (92000 miles!) My only other worry is the head gasket problems that have been reported....would it have shown up by now on this car, or is it something that may crop up in the future?

So - bearing in mind that I do have a limited budget, would I be silly to take a risk on this car? Any thoughts greatly recieved

1.8 petrol gives about 27 miles per gallon (ish)
Not enough power for towing I'm told.
I have one. Love it to bits . Originally bought it to tow a boat. Boat not materialised yet

Japs are more reliable I believe but its your choice at the end of the day.
I always buy from the heart not the head anyway, so I'm probably not the best to say

PS

welcome

Thanks for the welcome, Pompey-john!

I am actually getting rid of my jap Pajero as too many things have gone wrong in a short space of time. Actully just passed its MOT and went to collect it when the mechanic said 'I fink you got a major problem wiv yer engin, Luv. Trade it in asap, coz the last one I saw like that cost over 2 grand to fix........'

Just my luck to buy the only super-reliable jap import that constantly breaks down

why not get a 2litre diesel they are a more reliable choice, as fer yer jap import, they are called grey imports as their history is a grey area, like you say they are meant to be ultra reliable but i have heard many a story about ****e ones, i agree, trade it in but don't get tjhe first one you see, look around first , and yes, welcome to the fun house

Well thats torn me attempt to get me name all the way down the thread page

sorry pompom, its the way of the world mate, you know what they say, if at first youi don't suceed....................

Hmmm - in an ideal world, I would go for a diesel model Yella Disco. But I have limited funds due to my purse/bank accound/savings being erroded by my Pajero! Humph!

I am going to make a big loss on the Paj when I trade her in, as most garages seem to have stopped taking them in for Part Ex around here.....well, they will take them, but immediately sell them on to a third party to get rid of. I dont want to sell it privately, as I want the garages to sort it out before passing it onto a new owner.

My top budget is £5K which includes a trade-in value of £1500. I dont think that will stretch to a diesel model, will it?

Lost me ammer

if you go for an s or t or v reg diesel as opposed to an x reg diesel you should be ok

yella disco said:

if you go for an s or t or v reg diesel as opposed to an x reg diesel you should be ok

Click to expand...

Ah - ok. Thanks for the tip.....i will keep looking then!

best o luck

yella disco said:

why not get a 2litre diesel they are a more reliable choice, as fer yer jap import, they are called grey imports as their history is a grey area, like you say they are meant to be ultra reliable but i have heard many a story about ****e ones, i agree, trade it in but don't get tjhe first one you see, look around first , and yes, welcome to the fun house

Click to expand...

Diesel much betta bet than either 1.8 or V6 .
take ya time and try and get a good one.
I can beat ya 2K - 4K in a year on a V6 Freelander!

read the other threads - there are good ones out there.

Ok - just been scouring the papers again, and viewed a few more Freelanders. There does seem to be a shortage of the diesel ones though......

Found a likely candidate though. Still high milage, and petrol version. But this one has had the head gasket changed and also had the cambelt done too. However, the seal/ring thingie (forgive me - no idea about engines, wonderful at applying nail varnish, though!) on the prop shaft is being replaced as it has worn and has made one of the rear tyres mis-shapen. Should I run away screaming from this one too?


Will come with a 3 month warantee.

keep looking for a diesel

But.....but...but its gold and shiney and has a parking sensor

reegister with autotrader then do a search putting diesel into the key words box(you need to register to do this)where it says distance change that to national, where it says show results change that to 200. there are plenty there i have just looked, put your maximum price in and you wont be tempted to go over budget

their web addy is www.autotrader.co.uk

Fab - thanks Yella. I live on an Island though, so the choice will be limited......I will have a little looksie...

You can pick up a basic td4 for under £5k at a landy auction... will generally be about Y reg and the S model, but you'll get an ex lease or fleet car with FSH within your budget.

Obviously you're taking a risk buying from auction, but a 3 month warranty isn't wiorht much anyway.

Take a mechanic with you (offer him beer and lots of it) and get him to give the vehicles the once over.