Prior to our purchase our 1.8 Flndr had had (under main dealer warranty) new head (after hg failure), recon engine after 2nd hg failure and days after our purchase hg went again and I got private dealer to fork out for skim and new hg. Been fine for 5k since but temptation to get shot after MOT...

As of yesterday my wife knocked her second driver's side door mirror off the flndr so I'm anticipating the mpg to improve as a result of reduced drag coefficient. Another £70 for a mirror unit down the drain!:)

I use auoglym bumper restorer on all bumpers and trim (we've got hardback) and it has amazing effect on our 6 year old flndr. You need to reapply about every 8-10 weeks.

:D Good news ! Sounds like you have got a decent main dealer. Once its all done post up who your main dealer is for future reference.

A pro-active suggetstion for you with potential H. Gasket problems would be to undertake the modification which I made to my wife's Freelander 1.8. In the expectation that the HG will go again and to try and catch it before termainal damage caused, fit a sticker on the steering wheel which...

Sorry to hear about your woes, but fear you may have to rely on any goodwill you can get out of original garage as the second garage did so much work on the car. Guess you would have to prove (in legal negligence terms) that the first garage's efforts actually damaged engine. Sounds like second...

Previous owner's reason sounds a bit lame. Ironic that we bought our Freelander for my wife. She has bit of back trouble and as soon as she got in it on test drive she loved higher driving position and felt far more confident on the country lanes she uses to get to work. Even if LR don't pay...

Ours went just few days after purchase but went back to dealer and got them to arrange and pay for skim and repair, been fine since. I'm sure the dealer we bought it from would have known that problems were already there and was hoping that hg would hold for 3 months in order that there would...

Verging out of my depth here technically but as the owner of 1.8 which has had hg go, new cylinder head, hg go again, new engine, hg go again, cylinder head skimmed and replaced with no problems so far (everything crossed!) is it main dealer policy to replace cylinder head when another garage...

On short stop start runs that's about the same mpg we get from our 1.8. Only improves on steady long runs. Imagine it is more to do with strain on underpowered engine getting the lump of a thing going from stationary. I get better overall mpg from the V6 in my vauxhall than wife does is Freelander.

Think I may have missed point here as thought question was are 1.8's WC engines, well if you are on HGasket no3 then I think you can agree they are a bit of a toilet of an engine. However, now I see it is VVC, unless that stands for "very very cr*p", i think I have missed the point. Always...

Don't write the old thing off yet ! Part of owning a 1.8 petrol is staying optimistic in the face of certain catastrophe around the corner. Went out to check the coolant level in my wifes the other day to find nothing in expansion tank. Topped it up and thankfully there seemed no sign of any oil...

I had a lucky break with this and you may have checked already. I didn't have code for ours and went in to main dealer (who wanted £40 as I remember !) Guy in reception asked if I had actually had radio out. I hadn't and he suggested I did as it is not unknown for mechanics to scribble code on...

Afraid not ! Even if she was would be more afraid of Freelander making it from Devon to your part of the world though! I've seen a 1.8 hardback with leather seats (probably known as the hairdresser special edition !) which is looking tempting. Aaaargh. I should know better and if I did I could...

ps Coolant loss on my wifes's car may have been false alarm. Now don't know whether to keep it or sell while the going is good. Trouble is she wants another one, but newer and there are an awful lot of cheap 1.8 petrol's around at moment. The dark side of the freelander force may be taking a...

Local LR specialist round our way does 12,ooo mile service for around £150, main dealer was around £250-300. Bigger the forecourt and showroom the more you pay.

It came with main dealer computer printout of all work done whether under warranty or not. First HG went at 30k, went again at 60k, new engine for previous owner under warranty and then with only 30k on new engine it went shortly after we got it. Luckily dealer I bought it from was willing to...

At that price you'll be looking at something the same age as my wife's and therefore tread carefully. She travels to work 10 miles everyday down potholed country lanes with high hedges and loves the car for its height and handling. She is also in glorious oblivion to the time I have spent on...

See thread I posted originally on this when same happened to me. There was also a thread elsewhere which contained detailed how to fix with pictures http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/showthread.php?t=25217&referrerid=1323

sympathies to your husband as my wife convinced me of the same last summer and bought her 1.8 petrol. New head gasket (3rd), buggered sunroof, faulty blower switch, new exhaust blah blah blah later, she still loves it (and strangely so do I). Anyway we had problems with scraping noise at low to...