Been thinking of buying a late model Freelander 2 to keep "forever".

I'm in Norway and the electric revolution is well underway, already you can't buy pure petrol/diesel cars and the hybrids are disappearing soon.

So, since I don't want a new car and I'm too much of an 'engine' guy to face going electric yet. Plus, I'm in the forest a lot, and down at the beach/marina. Often pulling a load of firewood or a trailer/boat etc. or driving up snowy mountain tracks. There are not many 4x4 options in the electric range yet and non affordable to me.

But just been looking at the numbers of Freelander 2s built and realise that there are probably only around 300K ever built, Honda and Mazda each build more CRVs and CX5s that that every year!

What do folks think about the viability of keeping a Freelander 2 in the long term regarding availability of spares? I also imagine that with such small numbers, most of the aftermarket guys are not going to be clamouring to make parts, leaving me at the mercy of the main stealers...

Thanks for your time

There's plenty of parts available at present, and I can't see that changing for the next decade or so.

It's a good vehicle, and being made of mostly Ford, Volvo and PSA (the diesel engine), there's plenty of options parts from other vehicles that fit.

Nodge68 said:

... and being made of mostly Ford, Volvo and PSA (the diesel engine), there's plenty of options parts from other vehicles that fit.

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Yeah, I wondered about that, it was the Ford platform wasn't it? I guess that some enterprising soul will know what parts fit what in the future and be selling the same.

From a practical point of view, I love the concept of multiple vehicles having the same underpinnings and just altering the body to suit different applications. Bit like a super advanced version of the chassis and custom body of old...

My parents still run about in a 2008 X type which has been faultless built on a similar platform.

handycrowd said:

Yeah, I wondered about that, it was the Ford platform wasn't it? I guess that some enterprising soul will know what parts fit what in the future and be selling the same.

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The Freelander 2 is a modification of the Ford EUCD platform, so shares brakes, steering, and loads of other parts with the MK3 Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy.
The FL2 was built in the same factory as the Jaguar X type for a while, although the X type was built on the earlier MK2 Mondeo platform CD132 platform.

I'm pretty confident that parts availability will be good for a decent while yet.

Nodge68 said:

I'm pretty confident that parts availability will be good for a decent while yet.

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Thanks for that buddy, it puts my mind at rest. I'd been a bit wary of buying a Landy since moving to Norway.

That said, I managed to break a front drive/half shaft on my workhorse CRV this week, and that's going to take the best part of a week to get here, so I guess it's just a downside of living in a small population.
Cheers

Mine is 15 years old and has done over 212,000 miles. As bits wear out, I replace them. Getting parts has not been a problem. This year, as well as the usual service stuff, it's on its 4th windscreen , front nearside wheel bearing, a throttle body, wiper motor and linkages, 4 new tyres and a 4WD alignment.
At the moment everything works as it should. Burns no oil and I average mid 30's mpg locally, achieving 37~38 on a long run if I drive carefully, <30 towing a trailer full of firewood (2x1m3 tote sacks).
So, as a 'keeper' I'd say go for it. Don't be put off by high mileage but be wary if it's had a great number of owners, indicating possible reliability issues.

Rank Amatuer said:

Don't be put off by high mileage but be wary if it's had a great number of owners, indicating possible reliability issues.

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Thanks for the info. Totally agree re the owners, always a bit of a red flag that. I'm looking for a late model, 2013 or 14 so I'm hoping to find a one or two owner car... The ones I've seen so far have had about 100,000 to 120,000kms (up to about 75K miles) so nothing really. This is interesting in itself, the Honda CRVs I've had here have all been to the moon and back once they are ten years old. Long trips up to the mountains every weekend is the culprit