Buying advice for 2004 FL1

Hi all, seen the following freelander for sale just down the road from me and was wondering what people thought/recommendations. Any help greatly appreciated. Will probably call in to have a look tomorrow. Would be my first land rover, looking for something for the snow but to be used throughout the year. Not going to be doing any off roading in it.

"90,000 Miles, Manual 2000cc Diesel.
SILVER, INCLUDING A NEW CLUTCH AND DUALMASS FLYWHEEL, Four wheel-drive, Right hand-drive, Standard Features - 18" Sport alloy wheels, Air conditioning, In Car Entertainment RDS in dash 6 CD changer + radio + 6 speakers, Remote audio controls on steering wheel, £4,475"

Thanks.

not bad for the money tbh

read all about the common faults and go into it with your eyes open

Spend some quality time going through the site just to brush up on your knowedge of the freelander.it will make a huge difference when you go to view it !

Just got back from looking at it, looked like the VCU had been replace recently (see pictures).

Also noticed a fair bit of very thick black oil arround what I belive is the air intake pipe, again see pictures.

When started the exhaust posible looked slightly bluey/white, didnt check but recal it went away after a short while.

Air con not running but being an AC engineer could be easily rectified if its just a gas problem.

Again any comments are much appriciated. Thanks.

There are plenty of good Freelanders out there, so my advice would be to go and look at a few before committing . This will give you an idea of different specs and condition - as condition will vary and could very well indicate how well it's been looked after.
I know how tempting it can be to buy the first vehicle you see when it's what you want, but plenty - including myself- have have been bitten . That underside looks a little rusty to me, and the fuel tank cradle looks to be on its way, so budget to rectify this. It may be a good'un but there will be more pampered ones out there for round about the same money. A high miler need not be a problem as long as there is full service history. If you're not using it off road then a 'Sport' in both 3 and 5 door might be a good option for you and it's fairly high specced too. Just beware of sellers who use the word Sport in the advert. A genuine 'Sport' at a glance has 17" alloys , lowered suspension and 'Sport' decals on the front doors.

RealBeale said:

. A genuine 'Sport' at a glance has 17" alloys , lowered suspension and 'Sport' decals on the front doors.

Click to expand...

*18" alloys to be precise.

Decent model if looked after (though costly). I've got a 3 door 55-plate that has served me well. Be a little cautious over blue/black smoke from the exhaust (could be injector or turbo problems). Also ensure the crankcase breather is regularly changed.

I'm open to offers on mine if interested!! Just had 4 new injectors and 4 new tyres. Done 90k

Hello , looks ok on top , underside is average , fuel tank cradle will cost £300 + fitting , but one of our fold is in the process of making replacements that will be cheaper , exhaust middle section looks original ,as does the vcu , needs a bit of tlc , tyres should be all the same size/make/model , ask if the crankcase breather filter has been changed ,
plenty of info on here on how to make the td4 a lot better

Looks to have similar issues to the one that I bought recently. If there is no paperwork to prove a recent VCU change you'll probably need a new one. I paid £220 ish plus postage for a recon from Bell Engineering, including bearings.

Fuel tank cradle cost me £70 for what turned out to a not quite so rusty replacement that needed extra welding, them £110 to have it fitted, including refitting the VCU

Seems a bit pricey as well - I paid £2800 for my one owner 2004 HSE with full history - albeit with 160k miles on it!

For what its worth I wasn't keen on a Freelander when my Mrs decided that she wanted one but its really grown on me. I've also just discovered the fuel burning heater!