Topic: freelanders off road (Read 8930 times)

daist · « **on:** August 29, 2009, 23:30:17 »

hi im new to the world of 4x4s and off roading i am lookin to buy a 4x4 and ive heard that freelanders are no good off road
could somone tell me if they are any good as i also need this to be my everday car as well

mill2020 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 30, 2009, 00:05:14 »

Well it depends on your definition of "off road" if you mean full on extreme winch challenges up 40" degree banks then no.
However as a general everyday vehicle with car like comfort and a above average MPG (For a 4x4) and that will go most places off road then yes they are pretty good.
I have just been all the way to Morocco in mine and spent several days driving through the Sahara in mine (see picture)
At no point on the trip did any of the Landcruisers, Discovery's or Defender's I was with perform any better than my humble Freelander, infact i came to the rescue of 2 very stuck Toyota's and a Merc ML.

If your considering buying a FL, then choose wisely, do you homework and if budget allows search out a diesel model.

carbore · « **Reply #2 on:** August 30, 2009, 11:50:14 »

Hello,

Have a look at some freelander off road stuff on you tube, should be fairly convincing.

They can never be as capable off road as some of the obvious big 4x4s as a Freelander does not have the clearance or articulation, but it does have good traction control so for muddy ground and wet grass they are perfect (best). If you try one on a play an play site then you could get stuck, but many people choose freelanders because they NEED to go off road rather than deliberatley try to get stuck.

I live on a farm and I know I can park my Freelader anywhere, car boot, aggy show, farm sales, its parked in my field right now. Can tow up wet slopes etc and thats still on raod tyres as I do a lot of road miles in it as well. Unlike many other traditional 4x4 it fdoes good mpg has nice seats, 6 disck CD that you can hear, and is very nice indeed.

daist · « **Reply #3 on:** August 30, 2009, 22:01:23 »

thanks for the replys the reason i need a 4x4 is becuase i do alot of hunting and rallying where i am either driving on farm tracks fields or forestry gravel
i dont i will take it to the extreme of driving up banks and stuff like that the 4x4s i have in mind are freelander/discovery/rangerover/daihatsu fourtrak the reason also i was considring a freelander is you can get a lot newer one for the money of an old disco

daist · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2009, 00:36:27 »

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/cars_popup.jsp?did=60496&pageid=2&originalid=&gid=nogroup&tid=2&start=2&distance=0&adcategory=cars&channel=DEALERPAGE&id=200935340651416

i really like the look of this can somone tell me what model it is and if its worth the money its up for

daist · « **Reply #5 on:** August 31, 2009, 19:00:15 »

also how reliable are freelanders diesel ill be buying

mill2020 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 31, 2009, 20:49:40 »

Generally the diesel's are pretty much sound, just search out service records and such.

The early diesel's 1998-2001 are pretty good work horse's and quite simple to fix. The later 2001 - 2006 (td4) BMW Engine is more powerful and more refined, but more expensive.
Also check the Drive train, in particular the center coupling (vcu) this is a known freelander weakness.

The one in the advert is a comercial (Van) vehicle, so minus the back seats. Just so you know, It's not made very clear.

2 very good freelander websites are www.mad-freelanders.org.uk & www.freelanderclub.org

If your not in a major rush to buy (few weeks) mine will be up for sale, soon due to the arrival of a Freelander2 :D

daist · « **Reply #7 on:** August 31, 2009, 23:35:56 »

thanks for the info i was thinking it was the comercial which would be no good for me as the reason i am looking for a 4x4 is for the extra room and i need 5 seats im going to have a look tomorrow i cant buy private because i need to part ex my car

carbore · « **Reply #8 on:** September 01, 2009, 10:43:35 »

A good indicator of VCU health is tyre ware, uneven tyre ware is a bad thing on the Freelander as it can show the VCU is iffy. Also mixing tyres is a bad thing as it stresses the VCU. You want a car with nice even tyre ware and the same tyres all round, or at least same on an axle.

Space is a funny issue. In many ways a freelander is not much bigger than a hatchback, however it does have an advantage in loading height and a easy to load area. I could get a window in the back of our golf, that wouldn't go in the freelnader, however I got a huge generator in the back of the freelander that would not go in a hatchback due to the lack of a boot lip (godsend for heavy stuff). I recently did a lot of moving with the seats down and it was ideal. That said with the seats in normal position the boot space can be found lacking.

If you regally take 5 bodies and kit then maybe a Disco would be better, running costs are higher, but there are a lot of ex-school run discos (and other 4x4s) around now due to those costs and purchase prices are therefore low. You just need to find a good one.

daist · « **Reply #9 on:** September 01, 2009, 22:18:45 »

just looked at a freelander today and its a tad to small for me so im going to look at a disco tomorrow r reg 74000 miles full service history for 2995

barmiebrumie · « **Reply #10 on:** September 03, 2009, 12:48:20 »

Quote from: daist on September 01, 2009, 22:18:45

just looked at a freelander today and its a tad to small for me so im going to look at a disco tomorrow r reg 74000 miles full service history for 2995

How much :shock:, just sold an R reg 300tdi auto for half that

John

daist · « **Reply #11 on:** September 04, 2009, 00:37:52 »

thats how much they going for in car sales

dxmedia · « **Reply #12 on:** September 09, 2009, 12:29:04 »

How much people ask for cars and what they are worth are often widley different.

Look on ebay at what cars are selling for (watch a few you like and look at the price after the auction ends - actual auctions not buy it nows).

An 'r' plate landy is worth less than 1500 IMO. 12 months ago it would have been less than a grand.

V8MoneyPit · « **Reply #13 on:** September 09, 2009, 13:00:44 »

But if Daist has to go to a dealer, as said earlier, forecourt prices can be way over what you or I would pay privately.

dxmedia · « **Reply #14 on:** September 09, 2009, 15:03:22 »

and part-xing is the biggest rip off of all :roll: You trading a car against dealers profits, so they get a free car and also still making profit off the one they are selling.

Sell the car on ebay, rent a car for a week or so and they buy another privatly would be my suggestions. Especially when there's £££ involved.

V8MoneyPit · « **Reply #15 on:** September 09, 2009, 18:03:10 »

Oh most definately. I never, for one moment, suggested it was a good thing to do!

Tony F · « **Reply #16 on:** October 17, 2009, 13:30:11 »

To give you an idea of the silly prices at dealers...

In February I bought a 2000 1.8xi off my neighbour, who had owned it from new (yes just "one lady owner"), it was a Millennium special edition with part leather, 17" alloys, roof rails and Harmon Kardon stereo. It had also been tricked up with privacy glass, Land Rover body kit (colour matched), chrome A bar, driving lights and lamps guards. 65,000 miles but a new engine from Land Rover at 52,000 and a full Land Rover service history.

All for the princely sum of £1000 :D

After running it as my daily driver for the last eight months and putting another 8,000 on the clock I part exchanged it against a 57 plate Defender for £2100 :shock:

And of course it will get sold on for more than that!

All down to an acute shortage of second hand cars caused by a combination of the economic situation and the scrappage scheme it seems

V8MoneyPit · « **Reply #17 on:** October 17, 2009, 14:43:06 »

Quote from: Tony F on October 17, 2009, 13:30:11

After running it as my daily driver for the last eight months and putting another 8,000 on the clock I part exchanged it against a 57 plate Defender for £2100 :shock:

And of course it will get sold on for more than that!

Not always the case. In essence, what they've done is discounted the Defender by £2100. They will then sell the Freelander on for whatever they can get for it. If they were only able to get £1500 for example, then their discount was only £600 which you could easily have negotiated without the part exchange anyway.

Of course, they might get £3000 for it, although unlikely, at which point they will be rubbing their hands together with glee!

Whatever they get, you've still got a great deal out of the Freelander. It's rare to actually make money on a car :dance:

Tony F · « **Reply #18 on:** October 22, 2009, 22:18:34 »

I would normally agree but they had already dropped a bit on the screen price and thrown in a service and six months tax, I even got over half a tank of diesel thrown in.

I assume sales are a bit slack oop north?

Actually it was all down to letting the Mrs do the negotiating, she is brilliant at getting a good deal!

muddee · « **Reply #19 on:** November 16, 2009, 13:18:20 »

i took the father-in-laws freebie out the other week and i was quite surprised on where it got being just standard

dxmedia · « **Reply #20 on:** November 17, 2009, 22:20:34 »

Looks like houndkirk?

Had a kia mentor over that a few years ago :P

muddee · « **Reply #21 on:** November 17, 2009, 23:20:54 »

ya right there it was houndkirk alright ;) ;)it was a great day out in the freebie :)

carbore · « **Reply #22 on:** November 18, 2009, 19:26:43 »

father-in-laws freebie rememebr someone elses car is allways easier to drive over rocks and through a river than your own, and all Hire Cars readline at 90000 rpm.

Range Rover Blues · « **Reply #23 on:** December 24, 2009, 19:15:59 »

I've been round Derbyshire with a couple of freebies in the group. The only real problem is things like that 1-in-4 at Bamford Clough, you need to take a real run up at it.

Round North Notts they are pretty capable to be fair, deepish mud rather than rock, good fun mostly.

V8MoneyPit · « **Reply #24 on:** December 25, 2009, 14:36:12 »

Quote from: Range Rover Blues on December 24, 2009, 19:15:59

I've been round Derbyshire with a couple of freebies in the group. The only real problem is things like that 1-in-4 at Bamford Clough, you need to take a real run up at it.

Only manuals, due to their lack of low range. I reckon I could stop the auto on a 1 in 4 and pull away again, no problem. Certainly demostrated this in the gulley at Billing. Not sure what the incline is, but it must be close to that, if not steeper, wouldn't you say?

Doobreydog · « **Reply #25 on:** December 31, 2009, 15:20:19 »

Quote from: Range Rover Blues on December 24, 2009, 19:15:59

I've been round Derbyshire with a couple of freebies in the group. The only real problem is things like that 1-in-4 at Bamford Clough, you need to take a real run up at it.

Autobox will get you up easily.....regularly go up there....... and down again safely without landing on my roof :doh: :-#

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AuthorTopic: freelanders off road (Read 8930 times)