Alibro

Alibro

Well-Known Member
Hi Guys
New to this forum and at the moment just looking for a Freelander for the missus. Not too bothered which engine, just need it cheap so looking at 02 and 03 petrol as well as 00 - 01 diesel.
I had a 2.0di a few years ago and she loved it, bought 2 Xtrails after to tow a horse box but she never took to them so going back to the Freelander. She ain't towing anymore and drives like a granny anyway hence the petrol is an option also I have an MGF (and am an active member on .ORG) which I have changed the head gasket in so am not worried about that, Hoping to get something in the next week or two and will report back when I do.

I'm from Co. Armagh in Northern Ireland so if anyone local is selling their Hippo send me a PM

Cheers Guys
Alibro
 
Forgot to mention I also stupid enough to like the K series :confused: but going to look at a 2.0Di tomorrow morning.
 
Unfortunately the 2.0Di was a dog.
The faults were too numerous to mention but the biggys were
Mileage, 159,000 not 100,000 as advertised (although the replacement engine ran sweetly enough)
Drivers seat torn and heavily worn.
Key didn't always start the car so a button had been fitted under the steering column???? (I think keys had been pinched so this was the bodge to fix it)
Probably no immobiliser due to the above.
passenger window didn't work
Lots of dog scratches on the drivers door
Steering cocked up (but might just need realignment)
Generally very tired and grubby inside but not too bad outside.

The missus said NO
icon9.gif
 
Cheers guys

The hunt continues.
Been reading a lot about the 2.0Di and (the shame) I didn't realise it had a Turbo. :eek: It came as a surprise it is easy to tune too so it is back on the buy list. There is every chance the last one I had could have been sorted without too much difficulty to make it go better. The main reason we got rid of it was we were using it for towing a horse box and it struggled up the hills.
 
Just found an 02 TD4 with 74000 miles on a local website still for sale after 24 days. Apparently someone had made an offer and left a deposit but can't sell their own car so hoping to get a bargain :) The guy is looking £2000 so will try to beat him down a bit.
Going there tomorrow evening.
Wish me luck.
 
Beginning to think someone's trying to tell us something! :mad:
Yesterday Some cowboy I had been speaking to was a little slow giving me his address (Said to ring when I got near) but I persisted and when I arrived there was no sign of him or the car. Phoned him and miraculously he had sold in in the 30 mins between me talking to him and arriving at the house. Not the first time this has happened when going to a see a car after insisting I can find the house.

Last night I texted a guy and arranged to meet him tonight at 7pm and when I tried calling him again tonight to get his address I got no reply. Sent a text and no joy. :confused:

I guess the lesson is, if a seller is slow to provide an address DON'T EVEN CONSIDER IT!
 
A lot of people won't tell you their address for security reasons. The best you get is to meet somewhere like a petrol station, then you follow them to their house if they feel safe.

Some try to sell the car to several people. Always handy to have someone ringing up trying to buy it in front of another potential buyer. Some think yer wasting their time going to see it whens it's dark.
 
Hi Hippo that might be true on rare occasions but in this case it was just he had left his phone behind. In my experience people who want to meet at a filling station are trying to hide something. This usually goes with a dodgy/incomplete V5 document, not in their name.
Anyway he contacted me again this morning and I went to see it tonight so here is how I got on.

I didn't realise TD4 Freelanders were sold with steel wheels. This is an S model so it had them and they were VERY rusty!
All the tyres were poor and need replaced.
It had a little more rust underneath than I was comfortable with so may have lived by the seaside.
I tried the reversing on full lock test and the car seemed to shudder a bit and felt a bit tight. Is this the dreaded VCU locked? I don't believe it ever been replaced so I am assuming it was.
It had a few small marks and scratches but nothing serious, all the electrics seemed to work except the drivers door lock. Had to use the key for that.
All in all not too bad but if the VCU is knackered and the wheels and tyres need sorted I don't think there would be much change from £800. He was only willing to come down £200 from the £2000 asking price so we walked away.
If the car had been ready to drive with little expense required for the next year or so and looked good too we probably would have bought it.
This is only a runabout for the missus to keep her out of my F and let me sorn it for the winter so I was looking for something cheaper hence why I am willing to take a chance on a broken K series.

The hunt continues.
 
Last edited:
New update on the purchasing front. I test drove a 2004 4 door 1.8 petrol today and really liked it but it was obvious it had a few minor electrical issues. The dealer was looking £1950 for it but when I asked about service history regarding HG and VCU he shook his head so I said I was interested but not at the asking price. When he asked what I was thinking I thought for a few seconds and hit him low at £1200 to £1300. He immediately came back with £1600 and when I shook my head he said £1500. It was so quick I knew there was a bit more in it so I phoned him later offering £1400 and we settled on £1450.
103000 miles, 4 good tyres and 11 months MOT so I think a pretty good deal as all of the cars I was looking at need work done but this can be driven straight away. :)

Some Pics
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140100692400_zpse8b178b8.jpg

140100695400_zps6f65daa0.jpg
 
Cheers pal. Planning to pick it up tomorrow morning. God knows what issues it might have but with a full MOT at least i know it is safe. The MOT here is more strict than the rest of the UK.
 
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