Should I risk buying an older TD4

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smallzoo

Member
Posts
86
I am looking to spend around £2k on a decent 5 door 4x4 with reasonable MPG, boot and style !... I have had quote a few in the past and once owned a 1.8XEi freelander many years ago which was a very nice and reliable motor..

I have looked at reviews of the Rav4, X-Trail and Terrano and the all say they are much more reliable and cheap to run than a TD4..

I would like some impartial advice as to whether I am asking for trouble spending that sort of money on a TD4.. I would think I will do less than 8k miles per year

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies..
 
Tried a 55 reg Rav 4 before buying the Freelander, retail price was higher and found the speaker pod in the O/S door trim got in the way of my right leg not sure if the earlier Rav 4 has the same door trim layout.
 
smallzoo said:
I am looking to spend around £2k on a decent 5 door 4x4 with reasonable MPG, boot and style !... I have had quote a few in the past and once owned a 1.8XEi freelander many years ago which was a very nice and reliable motor..

I have looked at reviews of the Rav4, X-Trail and Terrano and the all say they are much more reliable and cheap to run than a TD4..

I would like some impartial advice as to whether I am asking for trouble spending that sort of money on a TD4.. I would think I will do less than 8k miles per year

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies..
Click to expand...

Do you expect impartial advice on a Land Rover forum? Most of us are partial to Land Rovers
 
I needed a vehicle that ticked all the boxes for winter use. 4 seats, fuel economy and the ability to go down farm tracks without ripping the bottom out. I paid just over 2k for my 03 TD4 which I have been more than happy with, I bought the TD4 after researching verious 4x4 I'm not a landrover fanatic, so I consider my comments imparticial. The TD4 is a pleasure to drive, returns me 35-37 mpg, carries all the kit I need, has never failed to start even during the extreme cold weather we had and runs perfectly. In some respect its a shame the weather has improved and my proper car is back. The landy will now be used for trips to the farm and for carrying four people
 
I did some pretty serious research before allowing the wife to buy our TD4 a few months ago, they aren't the most reliable, that'll be the Terrano in most cases, but the things that go wrong with them are either avoidable, or cheap(ish) to fix for a home mechanic.

Do read everything on here about how to detect a dodgy VCU, do not buy one without getting uder it in daylight and physically seeing the VCU, if possible get it onto a slippery surface and check it's not rerar wheel drive only, do look for service history and if it's high mileage any sign of the drive train having been overhauled at some point.

Check all the electrics, they don't seem to be quite as bad as some folk would have you belive, but two of the ones we looked at had dodgy electric windows.

This place, and the support available on here, was one of the deciders in our decision to buy, that and the Terrano was just too big for the wife, that left the Freelander as the VFM choice :)
 
Thanks for the advice..

Would you say its is ONLY a four seater or it will sit 5 at a push on the rear seats ?
 
Thanks for that

I see the autotrader saying some cars have the later BMW engine.. when did that come in ?
 
Sorry dumb question.. did some searching on the forum and I can see it came in 2001..

so the L series is pre TD4 ie 2.0 Di ?

On this forum people quote things like 'if its going to be a freelander then the td4 is the least worst one !"
 
Apparently they do, i'm no expert and i have a k series petrol (brilliant engine btw if it's looked after)
The td4 is too complicated and much to go wrong when it does.
I prefer belts and braces, thats why l series would be for me.

My opinion though :)
 
L series Hippoo is a goodun if looked after.
TD4 is better injun
Dont touch a doozil X-Trail - they munch turbos. PetrolX-trails will return 22-29MPG, but have a bigger boot than a gaylander.
dont touch a petrol Hippoo.
 
smallzoo said:
I presume the difference between Di, XDi, XE Di is just trim ?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Yup.

The L series appears to be a pretty strong engine if cared for, but not as economical, or torquey as the TD4, although there are tuners out there who will change that for a few quid.

I got the wife to buy the TD4, but I have owned a Rover 75 with the BMW M47 in it for four years and know the engine, and thanks to the MG-Rover owners forums I can diagnose and fix most of the regular 'issues' it has for not too much money :) We also wanted it as a tow car and it's got a better rep for towing than the L series engine.

The 2.5 V6 is more reliable than the 1.8, but even the 1.8 is OK as long as you don't let it over heat.
 
Freelaner said:
Thats a crock:wtf:
Click to expand...

The Mad Hat Man said:
edited for the sake of accuracy.

both are ****e.
Click to expand...

There are loads of high mileage 75s about with the 2.5 V6 engine in, they have their foibles, as does the TD4, but they'll keep going for a good while if looked after.

The 1.8 is subject to the HGF disaster, but there are even high mileage 1.8 engined 75s about, quite a few have had the uprated HG fitted and carry on with happy healthy lives :)
 
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