M

MrFillet

Member
Hi All,

Yesterday I drove 2 hours to view a Freelander TD4 and put down a small deposit. Its very clean and tidy and drove very well, I was quite happy with myself when driving back home. The only issues were minor rattles in the cabin but assumed this to be common. Then I came across LandyZone :) read a number of threads and now I'm worried about the potential purchase. Its from a private seller through Auto Trader, the Freelander is a 3 Door 2005 with 110,000 miles. The service book is full of stamps from Guy Salmon Land Rover which gives some comfort but the seller did not have any repair receipts. He is the second owner and owned for 2 years, the only part replaced under his ownership is the exhaust. The only check I did was reverse slowly on full lock (only one direction) but didn't hear or feel anything. Do you guys know if Guy Salmon would keep a record of repairs to the vehicle? Is there anything else I can do / check to reassure myself before picking her up? Thanks in advance.
 
Not so important on a Freelander in the corrosion stakes but always worthy of using the MOT History checker to see how the vehicle has been looked after.
I for one when I've had cars MOT'd and there has been a fail or advisories, have always sorted the advisories at the same time as rectifying any failures. I know a lot of people don't bother with advisories but I think it give a clue to the whole ethos of ownership and how well looked after the vehicle is.

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
 
biggeeeee said:
Not so important on a Freelander in the corrosion stakes but always worthy of using the MOT History checker to see how the vehicle has been looked after.
I for one when I've had cars MOT'd and there has been a fail or advisories, have always sorted the advisories at the same time as rectifying any failures. I know a lot of people don't bother with advisories but I think it give a clue to the whole ethos of ownership and how well looked after the vehicle is.

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
Click to expand...
Thanks, just checked and just one fail.
  • Reason(s) for failure
    Nearside Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (8.2.2)

    Also advisory in 2014
    • Advisory notice item(s)
      Front Brake pad(s) wearing thin (3.5.1g)
 
MrFillet said:
Thanks, just checked and just one fail.
  • Reason(s) for failure
    Nearside Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (8.2.2)

    Also advisory in 2014
    • Advisory notice item(s)
      Front Brake pad(s) wearing thin (3.5.1g)
Click to expand...

Cool
 
Also Guy Salmon have agreed to call or email me later with any history they have for the vehicle, excellent service.
 
99.9% of 2nd hand Freelanders will have all the normal Freelander issues either present or not too far away as very few people are as anal as me or many folks here. Those same Freelanders will still give many years of happy if not necessarily trouble free motoring (but then what car will).
If your happy the one you bought is a good example then carry on with the purchase, perfect ones don't exist but most of the common faults are fairly minor and with help from the guys here you can sort most things out yourself. :)
Good luck with it.
 
Alibro said:
99.9% of 2nd hand Freelanders will have all the normal Freelander issues either present or not too far away as very few people are as anal as me or many folks here. Those same Freelanders will still give many years of happy if not necessarily trouble free motoring (but then what car will).
If your happy the one you bought is a good example then carry on with the purchase, perfect ones don't exist but most of the common faults are fairly minor and with help from the guys here you can sort most things out yourself. :)
Good luck with it.
Click to expand...
Thanks Alibro, I'm feeling calmer now and more confident. Think I just panicked a little after reading a few posts where people found issues soon after purchase, but as you say this can happen with any car. I received a call from Guy Salmon to say that the Freelander had been serviced 8 times from 10,000 miles to 90,000 miles. They also said that there had been no major work completed by themselves (anything costing over £500). The seller reckons he serviced it once since at 100,000 but didn't get a stamp. So I suppose the best thing to do is get it serviced after a months use, or when I have enough money.
 
Service it yourself. It'll cost £60 for everything needed.
It's always wise not to overstretch yourself financially when buying a new (to you) car. Just because it's been looked after up to the point you part with your money. Doesn't guarantee it won't throw a wobbler the moment you drive it home. It's a machine at the end of the day, and machines do go wrong sometimes.

For reference:
A TD4 will quite likely need a new set of injectors at any point around 100,000 miles. And if it's a manual gearbox, the clutch won't be far off too.
These are wearing items and so will be needed at some point in the not to distant future.
 
IMHO Freelander is generally a reliable vehicle, but as said, there are some (expensive) items that might be coming towards the end of their serviceable life and need changing. No way of knowing when, might be in 5 weeks or 5 years, you can but (1) service it on time, (2) generally look after it and (3) cross your fingers. Those things are the same with any car.

As said, you should check the prop shafts are installed - if nothing else that will determine how much the car is actually worth. Assuming the props are installed you should learn up on the "1 Wheel Up Test"...



People on here generally use a 1.2M bar and 5KG weight - so there are times to compare against. You should also read up on what the implications are if the viscous coupling has gone to stiff (if WILL cause big expensive problems that destroy the transmission). You should also read up on the importance of 4 exactly matching tyres (make & model) that are pumped to the same pressure (for the same reasons as the VCU).
 
If you buy a car without knowing when it was last serviced, I'd have thought getting it serviced should be your priority.
As said by Grumpy, test the VCU. Most garages (even ones that claim to know Land Rovers) don't have a clue about the VCU on a Freelander hence the number of Freelanders which suffer drive train failure. If it gives you a time over two minutes then get the propshaft off pronto.
 
+1 on getting some new oil and filter in the new vehicle. It's dead easy, and would probably take longer to drive to a garage to have it done. Once the new oil is in then you can gradually work through the other fluids and filters that could do with doing. All for a lot less than it would cost a garage to do it, and with the knowledge that you have done a decent, caring job too.

As others have said, check the condition of the VCU, and if the rotation is too slow doing the test, just take the propshaft off temporarily*, (not difficult), and get a recon VCU from somewhere reputable like Bell Engineering. It will cost you about £275, but you will be good to go in that department for a good few more years. Tyres yes, these are important too, and must be inflated to the same pressure, and be matching, (when the propshaft is on). *theoretically you should tell the insurance if you remove the propshaft. If it has already been removed, don't fall for the 'fuel economy' story. It's probably been taken off to hide an expensive IRD repair. So just walk away.

When I got my 3 door hippo just over a year ago, it got to the point where I had to travel a good distance to find one in budget and in decent cosmetic condition. There were a few things I didn't like about it still, but it was much better than many I had seen. No secondhand vehicle is going to be perfect, and you just have to accept that there are things that will need doing as time goes on. (hopefully not all at the same time, and not all expensive ones too!).

This site is great though, because just about every common problem that occurs on these vehicles has been discussed and there is a wealth of expertise and experience on most matters. There are some true stars on this forum that take the time, to chip in their experiences. For which I've been, and have seen other be very grateful for. Don't be put off by number of posts on here talking about all sorts of problems. Remember, people usually only come onto a forum when they have a problem to solve. So it looks worse than things really are. Freelanders are great vehicles, they are quite capable, and offer comfort, and for a 4x4 are reasonably economic to run. They just need some basics like the VCU and tyre importance to be understood, (something lots of garages don't), and with a bit of care, should serve you well. I would say that if you want to keep running costs down, get into the mindset of taking on some of the jobs yourself, for there is a ton of information at hand to help you).

Regarding your vehicle, when you go back give it another once over, check the cubby box in the boot, to make sure it is not wet or has water stains in it, (an indicator a failing door seal), check all the electrics work, including the windows. Under the bonnet, are the hoses in good nick, how old is the battery, are there any cracks on the round coolant reservoir? Generally just look at things like the tyre type / condition, exhaust, brakes etc., and if anything is amiss, you can always try chipping them down a bit more to secure the sale, telling them that you are going to have to spend money straight away to sort it. The real deal breaker would be a missing propshaft. Most other things are sortable at reasonable expense, but if you can spot these before you buy, it's the time for getting the seller to help you cover the costs of the things you spot, by way of them reducing the cost a bit.

Hope this helps!

Jim
 
Nodge68 said:
Service it yourself. It'll cost £60 for everything needed.
It's always wise not to overstretch yourself financially when buying a new (to you) car. Just because it's been looked after up to the point you part with your money. Doesn't guarantee it won't throw a wobbler the moment you drive it home. It's a machine at the end of the day, and machines do go wrong sometimes.

For reference:
A TD4 will quite likely need a new set of injectors at any point around 100,000 miles. And if it's a manual gearbox, the clutch won't be far off too.
These are wearing items and so will be needed at some point in the not to distant future.
Click to expand...
Thanks Nodge, I may be stretching myself to be honest, so fingers crossed.
 
GrumpyGel said:
IMHO Freelander is generally a reliable vehicle, but as said, there are some (expensive) items that might be coming towards the end of their serviceable life and need changing. No way of knowing when, might be in 5 weeks or 5 years, you can but (1) service it on time, (2) generally look after it and (3) cross your fingers. Those things are the same with any car.

As said, you should check the prop shafts are installed - if nothing else that will determine how much the car is actually worth. Assuming the props are installed you should learn up on the "1 Wheel Up Test"...



People on here generally use a 1.2M bar and 5KG weight - so there are times to compare against. You should also read up on what the implications are if the viscous coupling has gone to stiff (if WILL cause big expensive problems that destroy the transmission). You should also read up on the importance of 4 exactly matching tyres (make & model) that are pumped to the same pressure (for the same reasons as the VCU).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice GrumpyGel. I will see if the VCU / Props are present before paying, how much would this affect the Freelanders price if removed?
 
MrFillet said:
Thanks for the advice GrumpyGel. I will see if the VCU / Props are present before paying, how much would this affect the Freelanders price if removed?
Click to expand...

If it's been removed it'll probably be claimed it was to get better fuel consumption.

In reality it probably means the VCU became too stiff which is rarely noticed until horrible noises become apparent.

The danger is the stress placed on the rear diff/IRD/gearbox over what may have been a prolonged period of time.

You might be lucky but why take the risk?
 
Alibro said:
If you buy a car without knowing when it was last serviced, I'd have thought getting it serviced should be your priority.
As said by Grumpy, test the VCU. Most garages (even ones that claim to know Land Rovers) don't have a clue about the VCU on a Freelander hence the number of Freelanders which suffer drive train failure. If it gives you a time over two minutes then get the propshaft off pronto.
Click to expand...
4Bee4Bee said:
+1 on getting some new oil and filter in the new vehicle. It's dead easy, and would probably take longer to drive to a garage to have it done. Once the new oil is in then you can gradually work through the other fluids and filters that could do with doing. All for a lot less than it would cost a garage to do it, and with the knowledge that you have done a decent, caring job too.

As others have said, check the condition of the VCU, and if the rotation is too slow doing the test, just take the propshaft off temporarily*, (not difficult), and get a recon VCU from somewhere reputable like Bell Engineering. It will cost you about £275, but you will be good to go in that department for a good few more years. Tyres yes, these are important too, and must be inflated to the same pressure, and be matching, (when the propshaft is on). *theoretically you should tell the insurance if you remove the propshaft. If it has already been removed, don't fall for the 'fuel economy' story. It's probably been taken off to hide an expensive IRD repair. So just walk away.

When I got my 3 door hippo just over a year ago, it got to the point where I had to travel a good distance to find one in budget and in decent cosmetic condition. There were a few things I didn't like about it still, but it was much better than many I had seen. No secondhand vehicle is going to be perfect, and you just have to accept that there are things that will need doing as time goes on. (hopefully not all at the same time, and not all expensive ones too!).

This site is great though, because just about every common problem that occurs on these vehicles has been discussed and there is a wealth of expertise and experience on most matters. There are some true stars on this forum that take the time, to chip in their experiences. For which I've been, and have seen other be very grateful for. Don't be put off by number of posts on here talking about all sorts of problems. Remember, people usually only come onto a forum when they have a problem to solve. So it looks worse than things really are. Freelanders are great vehicles, they are quite capable, and offer comfort, and for a 4x4 are reasonably economic to run. They just need some basics like the VCU and tyre importance to be understood, (something lots of garages don't), and with a bit of care, should serve you well. I would say that if you want to keep running costs down, get into the mindset of taking on some of the jobs yourself, for there is a ton of information at hand to help you).

Regarding your vehicle, when you go back give it another once over, check the cubby box in the boot, to make sure it is not wet or has water stains in it, (an indicator a failing door seal), check all the electrics work, including the windows. Under the bonnet, are the hoses in good nick, how old is the battery, are there any cracks on the round coolant reservoir? Generally just look at things like the tyre type / condition, exhaust, brakes etc., and if anything is amiss, you can always try chipping them down a bit more to secure the sale, telling them that you are going to have to spend money straight away to sort it. The real deal breaker would be a missing propshaft. Most other things are sortable at reasonable expense, but if you can spot these before you buy, it's the time for getting the seller to help you cover the costs of the things you spot, by way of them reducing the cost a bit.

Hope this helps!

Jim
Click to expand...
Thanks Jim, really appreciated. I'm impressed with how active LandyZone is, i've never had so much advice/help on a forum, thanks.
I visited Bell's website last night which gave me a good understanding of the VCU issues and associated problems. Although 1hr 45mins away from me, I would certainly use them if needed in the future. Just need to check its not been removed now.
 
blue beasty said:
If it's been removed it'll probably be claimed it was to get better fuel consumption.

In reality it probably means the VCU became too stiff which is rarely noticed until horrible noises become apparent.

The danger is the stress placed on the rear diff/IRD/gearbox over what may have been a prolonged period of time.

You might be lucky but why take the risk?
Click to expand...
Wish I had visited this site before my 4 hour round trip to view it. I have a train booked for Saturday morning and will be gutted if I find the VCU and Propshaft missing.
 
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