I replaced my head gasket at around 98,000 miles & she's run beautifully ever since. I think the £1,000 quote is a bit steep, but it could go either way once fixed.
Favourite extra costs include needing to skim the head & block as they're warped.
My view is this, get a good quality head gasket (e.g.
http://www.island-4x4.co.uk/freelander-modified-head-gasket-p-537.htmlset) & new set of stretch bolts then either do it yourself - easy / moderate skill required or take the parts to a (willing) non - LR, LR specialist & ask them to do it for you.
Pause whilst climbing onto pulpit........
The Rover K-series IMHO is a beautifully designed British engine. Lotus to my knowledge still use it in the Elise & there's plenty or Rovers around here running on it, even some MGFs.
There was one design fault with the Freelander version however, which is the thermostat / radiator take off, just below the cylinder head. Basically the engine warms up, thermostat opens & in flows the cold water from the overlarge radiator, cooling the block at the entry point dramatically very close to head gasket. The gasket as a result has to deal with this and over time will fail. A well fitted quality gasket should be able to cope with this. I've done about 40,000 miles since replacing it. I'm not sure how often modern engines need head gaskets replacing, but I imagine 50,000 is reasonable.
The bottom line is you're a bit stuck if you need to rely on mechanics to do the work for you. Ask around to see if anyone can recommend someone trustworthy & I'm sure you'll get a quote 1/2 the original.
At the end of the day, the Freelander is a road car with off road ability. Because it's 4wd you will need to look at the propshaft / VCU in the future - that's about £1k minimum, otherwise I'd say the running costs are comparable with any MPV. As with all vehicles, when they run they're fun, but not when they don't.
If you trade it in, I'm sure the guvnor would be secretly rubbing his hands as it's easy to solve with a competent mechanic.
End of sermon,
Good luck!
