Hello All,

no doubt there is millions of similar questions out there.. but

I already drive a proper landy - a series 3, as fantastic as it is, it is a tractor/allotment shed on wheels good for certain weekend work, still very enjoyable to drive. I am though after a little more comfort during the week, and something I can drive a distance without it taking several generations, I quite regular deliver products to Sheffield, so I also need something that has brakes good enough to stop well before mowing down the little old lady on a suicide dash. I don't want to buy anything too old or that has done too many miles and have seen a nice looking 3 door TD4 05 plate less than 80K on the clock. The question is do i trade in my 06 Astra that has not let me down (touch wood), for said Freelander with a terrible reputation, that will no doubt cost more to tax, insure, MOT, run and that is before the various problems. Or should I quell my increasing and disturbing obcession and be happy with the old landy on a weekend.

thanks

Matty

Matty87 said:

Hello All,

no doubt there is millions of similar questions out there.. but

I already drive a proper landy - a series 3, as fantastic as it is, it is a tractor/allotment shed on wheels good for certain weekend work, still very enjoyable to drive. I am though after a little more comfort during the week, and something I can drive a distance without it taking several generations, I quite regular deliver products to Sheffield, so I also need something that has brakes good enough to stop well before mowing down the little old lady on a suicide dash. I don't want to buy anything too old or that has done too many miles and have seen a nice looking 3 door TD4 05 plate less than 80K on the clock. The question is do i trade in my 06 Astra that has not let me down (touch wood), for said Freelander with a terrible reputation, that will no doubt cost more to tax, insure, MOT, run and that is before the various problems. Or should I quell my increasing and disturbing obcession and be happy with the old landy on a weekend.

thanks

Matty

Click to expand...

2001 TD4 has been 100% reliable and very durable for the 19 months I've had it.. kill the Astra and burn it with fire..

I commute from North Notts to Sheffield and back every day in my 2002 TD4, 156,000 on the clock and has not let me down yet. *touches wood*

Its more than comfortable enough for the daily drive and if you keep on top of the maintenance/service it should be fine so long as you get one that has been looked after.

2006 TD4 had it from new and never had any problems with it. Yes changed prop bearings once but apart from that no problem at all plus it tows my 1600kg caravan with no problems at all.

if you get a good one you will thank god if you get a bad one it can be fixed plus winter time you will be glad you had it , my first one I had over 176.000 miles on the clock small problem with a water leak but before I could fix it this one came along a 2006 TD4 auto hse and it is Bernard Mathews Beautiful. the wife has had hers now for about 14 years a 1800 petrol and yes she has had the head gasket done (the car not the wife) and is still going strong . hope this helps

thanks for the info folks, providing it is as good as it looks on the tinternet and i get a good enough exchange deal, i may well get it tomorrow after work! will keep you posted

well after looking at one and considering quite a few, and not getting offered enough pennies for my working well car, my yorkshireness and added tight arse has told me not to go forward and spend what few pennies i have on a freelander. I will for now at least have to be content with the astra for distance travelling and the old series landy as the work horse - after all its a proper landy, with very little plastic

Get a test drive in a Freelander and you'll know the answer.

No contest between it and a poxy Astra.

You can test the water with an old L Series diesel. Over here, one with galactic mileage will still set you back serious wedge, but in the UK they are but a few pennies.

Mine's a '99 (admittedly only 100K miles on the clock) but it pulls like a train (and accelerates at the same sedate pace). I've loaded it up with the family and its pulled them and the boat and all our camping gear (100KG tent, biikes, fridge, toaster (you get the idea)) over the mountains here in NZ without skipping a beat - it even stops coming down them if you're in a low enough gear!

I get touching 40MPG on the run and it doesn't dip much below that around town or towing. I've busted axles on trailers towing paving slabs with it (woops shouldn't have done that) and traillered my 109 SSW home on a transporter fine (woops - probably shouldn't have done that either).

As you can see, I use my L Series Freelander well, and in our 4 years of ownership the only thing to go wrong (other than through my own fault!) has been the ABS modulator.

We've got rellies arriving this week and we're off on a 3K KMs tour of the South Island. I've got great confidence it will do us fine - even though I had a wobble a couple of weeks back and got the belts changed - probably needlessly.

So, if someone nicked my Freelander today and I had to go buy a car - and had the choice of an 2006 Holden or 1999 Freelander, I know what I'd choose!

Why did you bother in the first place. It's not a "proper " Land Rover - unlike your series 3. Even though it fills all the criteria your "proper" Land Rover can't AND it can still be diven 90% of the places your "proper" Land Rover can off road too.
Better remove the Land Rover badges off my 2 Freelanders as they obviously are not worthy of carrying the green oval and shouldn't be parked next to my Lightweight either.........

sorry for being so insulting folks, i guess that is me rightly banned from this section!
I suppose I wrote that to make me feel better for being such a non-risk taking tight wad pussy cat, may be change my mind in a years time with a little more spare cash

Now go and stand in the naughty corner and have a good think about what you've done

Matty87 said:

Hello All,

no doubt there is millions of similar questions out there.. but

I already drive a proper landy - a series 3, as fantastic as it is, it is a tractor/allotment shed on wheels good for certain weekend work, still very enjoyable to drive. I am though after a little more comfort during the week, and something I can drive a distance without it taking several generations, I quite regular deliver products to Sheffield, so I also need something that has brakes good enough to stop well before mowing down the little old lady on a suicide dash. I don't want to buy anything too old or that has done too many miles and have seen a nice looking 3 door TD4 05 plate less than 80K on the clock. The question is do i trade in my 06 Astra that has not let me down (touch wood), for said Freelander with a terrible reputation, that will no doubt cost more to tax, insure, MOT, run and that is before the various problems. Or should I quell my increasing and disturbing obcession and be happy with the old landy on a weekend.

thanks

Matty

Click to expand...

If yer buys a Freelander you'll be able to tell peeps yer owns 2 land rovers.

It's no surprise owning a rusty ole tratter has addled yer brain. All them years of not being able to hear the radio due to the tin of marbles rattling yer call an engine... and that's just on tick over.

Freelandering will come as quite a shock to you. You'll be able to hear the radio. You'll soon realise the roads are smooth and the thought of corners being a bit hit and miss will be a thing of the past. Freelanders are equipped with many modern features like central locking, electric windows and head lights that allow you to see where yer going when it's dark.

Of course it's not all good. Freelanders do have their faults which are well documented on ere. For a start yer won't get a shower when first pulling away in the morning when the condensation drips/flows down yer back. They have door seals which stops the natural ventilation cooling yer down in the summer when driving, and freezing yer nuts oft int winter. Freelanders won't give you a face full of flies when yer opens the dash vents to let some fresh air in as our modern fresh air intake is hidden a bit and has a filter.

The decision to buy a vehicle should always be taken seriously. It's a leap of faith into the unknown. Reliability will likely to be a let down and yer never know what's going to fail/fall oft next. But that's part of the fun of owning a rusty ole biscuit tin.

The Freelander is a completely different vehicle. It may take some time but I'm sure even the durdyist of tratterers will start to enjoy the comfort of propper seats as opposed to park benches. You'll be able to drive in comfort with the window closed as yer won't be needing to open it to gain the extra arm room. You'll be able to cruise at motorway speeds safe in the knowledge yer brakes do actually brake. Not to mention abs, etc and ebd.

Freelanders do have their faults but you knew that before creating the fred. Yer been wanting one for many years and secretly admired them. I think it's time yer bought yer dream vehicle and enjoyed life to the full. Yer pig will enjoy the additional comfort too.