jbenekeorr
Active Member
- Posts
- 221
- Location
- Leicestershire
Hi all,
Apologies if this is a bit "wordy" - just skip to the pictures if you like!
Since having my Discovery, my mum has become rather too fond of it for my liking. She's afraid of parking it, but likes the drive.
A few months ago, she announced that she wanted a Land Rover of her own. The main reason being that her Mini Cooper S has a bone shattering ride and has become a part of the family, she's also a bit worried leaving it in car parks with so many careless people around but doesn't want to sell it. She'll use it at weekends and for some commuting.
Having seen her trying to park my Discovery (I can't really complain, I've run over the wheelie bin on a number of occasions) I recommended she get a Freelander.
I was initially quite afraid of the reliability and their reputation, but after a bit of research on here, I found that a TD4 would probably be the best bet for her and the reputation was perhaps a bit exaggerated. She preferred the 5 door facelift models and so decided to save for a bit longer for one of them.
Having looked around, I decided we may as well plump for an HSE model, as the price didn't really vary by model. She wanted one in a darker colour too.
I've been keeping an eye on eBay and autotrader for a good few months waiting for the right vehicle. So, to cut a very long story a bit shorter - we lined up a couple to view on Sunday.
First was a Green HSE auto with cream leather. It was at a dealer with a lovely indoor showroom, so I was able to familiarise myself with it a bit. The condition wasn't great - there were a lot of scuffs and bits of trim missing. The interior was grubby too. It had done a lot of miles too (145k). I took it for a drive and absolutely loved it! We decided it wasn't the one to buy though as it didn't feel like it had been looked after.
Next was 'the one'. Private seller, nice chap in a decent area, Porsche on the drive - good start!
This one has 98,000 miles on, it's an '05 and is a manual HSE.
I had a good look around (and underneath) and couldn't really find anything to be concerned about. There were no scuffs etc and the interior was lovely. It drives perfectly. There seems to be a small 'blob' on the radio/sat nav screen and the sunroof made a funny noise, but seemed to work fine. I realised that if that's all I can find to worry about on a ten year old car - we should probably buy it!!!
Did the deal (£3700 for anyone who's interested) and should be picking it up later this week.
Somehow I've talked her into letting me insure myself on it, so I've got another Landy to cruise about in
It has all the usual HSE refinements including heated black leather, sat nav, Harman Kardon stereo, parking sensors etc
If anyone has any words of wisdom, please do pass them on! I will be testing the VCU properly once we pick it up and going over everything to make sure nothing needs attention. I did what I could to check the VCU (full lock at low speed and feeling it for temperature after a good drive).
Apologies if this is a bit "wordy" - just skip to the pictures if you like!
Since having my Discovery, my mum has become rather too fond of it for my liking. She's afraid of parking it, but likes the drive.
A few months ago, she announced that she wanted a Land Rover of her own. The main reason being that her Mini Cooper S has a bone shattering ride and has become a part of the family, she's also a bit worried leaving it in car parks with so many careless people around but doesn't want to sell it. She'll use it at weekends and for some commuting.
Having seen her trying to park my Discovery (I can't really complain, I've run over the wheelie bin on a number of occasions) I recommended she get a Freelander.
I was initially quite afraid of the reliability and their reputation, but after a bit of research on here, I found that a TD4 would probably be the best bet for her and the reputation was perhaps a bit exaggerated. She preferred the 5 door facelift models and so decided to save for a bit longer for one of them.
Having looked around, I decided we may as well plump for an HSE model, as the price didn't really vary by model. She wanted one in a darker colour too.
I've been keeping an eye on eBay and autotrader for a good few months waiting for the right vehicle. So, to cut a very long story a bit shorter - we lined up a couple to view on Sunday.
First was a Green HSE auto with cream leather. It was at a dealer with a lovely indoor showroom, so I was able to familiarise myself with it a bit. The condition wasn't great - there were a lot of scuffs and bits of trim missing. The interior was grubby too. It had done a lot of miles too (145k). I took it for a drive and absolutely loved it! We decided it wasn't the one to buy though as it didn't feel like it had been looked after.
Next was 'the one'. Private seller, nice chap in a decent area, Porsche on the drive - good start!
This one has 98,000 miles on, it's an '05 and is a manual HSE.
I had a good look around (and underneath) and couldn't really find anything to be concerned about. There were no scuffs etc and the interior was lovely. It drives perfectly. There seems to be a small 'blob' on the radio/sat nav screen and the sunroof made a funny noise, but seemed to work fine. I realised that if that's all I can find to worry about on a ten year old car - we should probably buy it!!!
Did the deal (£3700 for anyone who's interested) and should be picking it up later this week.
Somehow I've talked her into letting me insure myself on it, so I've got another Landy to cruise about in
It has all the usual HSE refinements including heated black leather, sat nav, Harman Kardon stereo, parking sensors etc
If anyone has any words of wisdom, please do pass them on! I will be testing the VCU properly once we pick it up and going over everything to make sure nothing needs attention. I did what I could to check the VCU (full lock at low speed and feeling it for temperature after a good drive).
