Contemplating a 2001 Freelander 1.8 LPG

Hi

We've been doing a fair bit of research into selling our 54 Renault Modus in order to purchase a previous generation Freelander. I've been advised on what to avoid etc. but would appreciate some experts opinions.

With the Modus at an approximate value of £4500 we're looking to get a Freelander at that cost or less, as we are going to have to increase running costs elsewhere.

The model we are fixed on so far is this one on eBay for the following reasons:

- LPG so half the running costs on fuel
- 3 door so the roof can be taken off on the odd occasion through the summer
- 18 Month Land Rover Parts & Labour Warranty
- New engine with only 4k miles on it and 5 year guarantee
- Enhanced head gasket (which was where many of the problems seemed to arise from) and new cam belt.
- Base engine and spec - cheaper insurance (insuring two under 25s on it)

I'm having another conversation with the insurance company today but wondered if anybody could give any opinions or view on it? Would we be okay to go for it? What do you think?

Many thanks in advance

Chris

I'm saying nowt.

ooooooo can i watch it went it goes bang

Okay, I take it from that you advise against it?

Would you say, then, it's worth upping the bid to 5 grand to get this one (at the top of the page) with the TD4 engine (more reliable?) and 12 month warranty?

Thanks

Hi there

I suspect your question is likely to provoke some lively debate amongst the Freelander fans on this forum....

I have no personal experience of the 1.8 petrol, but if you search on here you will find many, many tales of woe about HGF even with the 'improved' gasket.

The only point I would make, is for that sort of money you can get a TD4 (I know, I've just bought one) which will be as economical, has the full boot space, and you will not have to worry about trying to find somewhere that sells LPG, unlike good old diesel that is available everywhere.

At the end of the day it's up to you.

Good luck

Dave

go TD4 if yu have a choice, and read the other threads.

well happy with my td4, seems to be the one least likely to give you grief. that said, at the end of the day you are buying a used vehicle, so you pays your money and takes your choice.

lpg will not give you 1/2 the running costs, even though the fuel is half the price. one of the downsides not often mentioned is a lower mpg. I had an lpg van, on petrol it would return approx. 31 mpg, but on gas it fell to 22 mpg.

servicing and fault finding became a nightmare too, even the main dealer who supplied the van couldn't deal with the problems it had running on gas.

my advice is get a diesel, td4 if possible.

fool costs are only a minor part of the running costs on a gaylander - consider too the TAX costs on a post Sept 2001 motor.

Ok, thanks.

The TD4 I mentioned above seems very good but I have one question:

Is 71, 000 miles too high for a 2000 TD4? Or is this average and acceptable for something this age? Should be we looking for something with less miles than that as it seems quite high?

Cheers

CIY said:

Regarding the TD4, how does it actually compare to the 1.8? Is it likely to be substantially more reliable? What sort of MPG do you get from it?
The attractiveness of the LPG was that it would be 1/2 price running costs, especially when going from a 1.4 Renault Modus.​

Thanks​

Click to expand...

Chris

Even with the TD4 you are still looking at some inherrant issues common to all Freelander's such as VCU or IRD failure to name but a few (as others have said, there is an awful lot of information about all of these problems on this forum) But I would suggest that in terms of engine problems, particularly HGF, the 1.8 crops up most frequently.

As to MPG it depends what sort of driving you do. My own TD4 does about 31 - 32 MPG town driving. This goes up to higher thirties on a run and can drop to low twenties when towing. I don't know about the 1.8 petrol but bearing in mind it's a 4 x 4 has big tyres and is quite heavy, I'd be surprised if they do much more than low twenties day to day (petrol owners please correct me). From what I know of LPG you will do slightly less MPG than petrol using it and of course its only half price when you can get it.

I will stick my neck out here though and suggest that if you are looking for econony motoring and have no other need for the Freelander's four wheel drive, ie you don't tow or go offroad and have no plans to do so, then don't buy one, because there are far more efficient vehicles out there.

Regards

Dave

Hi welcome to the forum...you will always get a certain crew on this site who seem to sit and wait for the new FL owner just to knock them. (must admit youve been gentle on this one)

Personally dont like the 1.8 very underpowered and dont like the price of diesel or where its going...although do agree td4 is great motor

the first motor you linked is regardless of new engine a2001 1.8 and even with new engine the rest of motor has done 60+k so wouldnt be paying more than £1500 for it in first place plus another £1200 for brand new top spec lpg

If you are going that route you can pick and choose from the 1000s up for sale and have new system fitted.

My own choice is V6 with LPG best of both worlds plenty of economical power.

5 grand seems a little expensive for 2001 car too

the trade average would assume approx. 10k to 12k miles a year. on this assumption, given the car is about 8 years old, it is about right. there's many a td4 gone on to starship mileage, there is even a thread on here about it if you do a search. however, there are also a few which don't make it. most of it comes down to servicing, if the engine has regular oil/filter changes, it should stay healthy. with more modern engines however, it is becoming less and less the engine which causes problems, but the electronic sensors surrounding it, without which, it cannot function. no amount of servicing is going to prevent electronic component failure.

like i said, you pays your money

doobreydog said:

Hi welcome to the forum...you will always get a certain crew on this site who seem to sit and wait for the new FL owner just to knock them.
My own choice is V6 with LPG best of both worlds plenty of economical power.

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who wud that be then DD?

dont forget LPG makes the engine run hotter - not a good idea with either the 1.8 or V6.

I have the same year of vehicle, no big issues to date that’s over two years now, I did as a preventative measure, change out the head gasket, along with modified oil rail and new head / engine bolts.

Sensors, yes these can cause problems, to date I have removed all and cleaned connectors, then covered Dezo tape around them.

About the only main issue (now addressing) is the start of corrosion (front cross member , any spot welds along with the back of the bottom (engine bay)

As to your LPG fine believe the efficiency is around 96% compared to petrol but the advantages are very little contaminates within your engine oil (you could get a way with changing your oil out once a year) along with reduced duty in fuel tax.

If its what you want go for it.

Cheers Dutch RR

Thanks for all the advice. I've certainly heard a few scare stories about the 1.8 which is a bit worrying given we have very little mechanical knowledge. I'd hoped though that the 2 year warranty and 5 year engine guarantee might have covered some of this.

I'm interested in the TD4 but would want it for less dosh than £5k and with as little mileage as possible. That above one is also pre-March 2001 so would have much cheaper tax. It has also had annual dealer services and has a 12 month warranty. Going by the average, 70k should be okay then? How much do you think that model is worth as £5k does seem quite steep for an 8 year old car with quite high mileage?

Here's the link again: Quality used cars and great customer service from Corse Lawn Cars

Dutch RR said:

As to your LPG fine believe the efficiency is around 96% compared to petrol but the advantages are very little contaminates within your engine oil (you could get a way with changing your oil out once a year) along with reduced duty in fuel tax.

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would beg to differ. 96% efficiency is hopelessly optimistic, even the vauxhall website cited a 22% drop in efficiency for factory fit vehicles.

as for oil changes, contaminants in the oil is only one of the reasons it should be changed. For sure, when you change the oil on an lpg engine it isn't black as it has minimal disolved carbon, but the oil is still subjected to all the other factors which cause it to deteriorate such has heat and shear to name but two. Further more, the heat generated in an engine running on lpg is higher than when running on petrol and would therefore hasten the detioration.

For this reason, oil changes should be carried out at the usual intervals.

Looks a really nice vehicle, with an exceptionally clean engine bay !!
I would haggle on the price though, £4700 at the most for cash, i would think!

it truly is in fantastic condition. in fact the engine bay is quite remarkable, and has obviously had the attention of a top class valetter, all the hoses have been dressed with a silicon polish. all the same, it really is in nice condition, but is still an x reg.