MK1 Freelander really as bad as reviews make out?

[TankRS]

Just after a quick bit of info on a 2001 Freelander 1.8 ES petrol.
Garage today offered a straight swap for my Focus.

It’s got a FSH, on 77k. full leather, full working electrics and apparently never needed any work apart from usual pads/disc/shoes and fluid refreshes.

I see from various reviews that things start going at the +80-85k mark on most early models, tho there are the reviews saying that if it is looked after well it will last and last.

Aside from the head gasket check, is there anything else to look for when I have the test drive of it 2mro? Obviously can't check the drive train is working unless it goes on ramps, so any other tell tale signs?

I've booked a test drive just to see how i feel in it too, as never owned/driven a LR or 4x4 before.

Cheers

[TankRS]

fat freddie said:

Anyone swapping a running, MOTd Focus for one of these things is getting done.

My focus has the PSA 1.6 TDCI lump in it. I’m on borrowed time with the Turbo as it is. So not necessarily the one getting done over.
I was honest with the dealer today too on the issues its recently had and he was still happy to go ahead with the swap. Perhaps that makes more sense now than it did at the time!

mat777 said:

my recommendation however, is to go for the superb BMW-designed TD4 unit - bombproof, economical and a lot more refined than the earlier L-series td4 unit.

Even million mile BMW TD4 engined examples are out of my budget!

mat777 said:

The other major problem is the 4wd system.

That right there, nails the coffin shut. Given that it’s a 4wd vehicle, and seeing all the ‘major issues with drive train’. I will need it for its 4wd capabilities, not just popping to the shops or for the mrs to have the mini chelsea tractor effect.

mat777 said:

They do not rattle around any more than a similar age/mileage car. Perhaps yours has done intergalactic mileage on a rally stage?

Were i to have taken this one, driving round the stages would have been a massive part of its duties.

toppstuff said:

But back to the OP, the FR 1 is genuinely bad. The experiences of friends and family of its awfulness are recent, and true

Thats that settled then.
Back to the search for a new motor!

[TankRS]

wiliferus said:

OP, if you don't mind sharing, what is the budget? There's nothing more PHs like than searching the classifieds to spend somebody else's money

Edited by wiliferus on Thursday 14th March 22:07

dont mind at all. Budget is £2,000 to £2,300 depending on what I actually get for my focus. told by a few garages its 'worth' £2,300 and have been offered straight swaps for various motors through them at that price.


i've been trawling the classifieds too and there are quite a few Subaru Impreza 2.0l saloons & estates knocking about that price. a few are leggy but one or two appear to be decently priced, even a few bugg/blob eyed ones. STI & WRX are out tho as insurance quotes are coming back as stupid!

had though about leggy disco's. but just not sure I need/want a car of that size for a daily driver

[TankRS]

Despite Mat777's best efforts to sway the vote

Given there's more negative than positive in here, even from owners as not one, I think, has said they haven't had some sort of trouble with theirs in some shape or form.

I will indeed be forgetting the whole silly idea of a mk1 freelander.

Having had time to sleep on it, it perhaps isn't the best weapon for the duties it would be submitted to.
Now if only Defenders weren't so damn expensive!

[TankRS]

Well I test drove it this morning. Sadly/strangely had one of the sales people in with me during the test (never had that before, usually just me testing it). So I couldn't give it the full shakedown I had planned for it, as he dictated where I took the car.

Can’t say I was that fussed with it tbh. Now I'm not sure if any of these are normal having never driven one before but –

• The gear box felt loose, and it didn't like going into 5th at all. Could have been me making a mash of it mind.

• There was a constant ‘whurring’ noise, like a bearing going, that resonated throughout the car in all gears and all speeds. I’m assuming this was the sound of the diffs/prop shaft as it didn’t get any louder at speed like a bearing does. Possibly the budget brand tyres on the car too?

• The condensation in the car was terrible and the windscreen struggled to clear on full and with air-con on.

• I couldn’t adjust the seating position low enough as I’d like, found myself staring down at the road as opposed to out at the road. Despite being 6’2 I didn’t have the banging my head issue

• Low down torque was great, but got quite sluggish in all gears as revs rose.

• The rear squatted a little compared to the FL it was sat next too, so assumed rear suspension was on way out.

• Boot window didn’t work, but said they’d probably get that sorted!?

As I said a sales bod was in with me for the entire 10 minute blast through a 30 zone and 2 minute ‘speed run’ on a national limit stretch. Which didn’t really give me a chance to test the 4x4ness of it.
I had planned to take it up over a mountain I knew that has a decent sized gravel lay-by with large grassy areas too, as I wanted to test that all 4 wheels gripped.

Sales guy had no idea if it had been converted to 2wd and as it was chucking it down I didn’t fancy lying on the ground to see if it all worked. That and I didn’t really know what to look for!

I also wanted to take it up this road as it was a good steep gradient and I could see just how well it pulled up there.

I disliked the leather seats too tbh, i kept sliding about in them!
(tho that’s more than likely to be the product the dealer put on it to make it look/smell nice)

The other thing that really put me off was the fact the sales guy said that the last owner had mainly used it to pull his caravan around the UK and most of southern France.

I won’t be taking the dealer up on his offer on this particular Freelander, but may give the TD4 a go if one crops up in budget.

So far the only one I’ve seen close is a FL2 TD4 with 178k on the clock and part service history and supposedly never had/needed any work!?!?