OK. I'm converted..I admit it, I was wrong!

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Flying Scotsman!

Active Member
Posts
136
Location
sunderland
My wife was having increasing difficulty getting out of her Beetle , and any low car, due to her arthritic knees.
So we decided to find something with more 'height' to it.
I spent 17 years in motor trade (parts) back in the 80' and 90's. Back when Freelanders were new. And lets be honest, the early ones weren't great. In fact they were s**t!
So my first instinct was to avoid at all costs. But she found one anyway , at a good price with good history, So off we trotted to look at it.
And having done my research (from here) on what to look for I was fully expecting to condemn it . But it had the head gasket replaced, correct matching tyres, correct coolant, good clutch, no noises and was low mileage and well cared for. So we bought it.

And I am delighted we did!
Its been reliable, practical, strong, easy to drive and fun. Also I cant believe how easy it is to maintain and do things on!
(Why use a circlip when you can use a 14mm bolt!)

No its not perfect. It needs a door solenoid, a window motor and ... well thats it actually.
But it is also 14 years old. Show me a car that age without a couple of things neededing done.

So I am a convert to Freelanders..or Hippos as they should be called apparantly!
With prices of 'real' Landrovers going up , the move towards more 'lifestyle' vehicles, and finding a good Disco more and more difficult for reasonable money, I suspect the last of teh Freelander 1's will be the way to go. Simple, easy to maintain, adequate off road performance, comfortable and still to be found at bargain prices.

If you are considering buying a Freelander, I would recommend doing your research, know what to look for , and you can find a good motor.
 
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My wife was having increasing difficulty getting out of her Beetle , and any low car, due to her arthritic knees.
So we decided to find something with more 'height' to it.
I spent 17 years in motor trade (parts) back in the 80' and 90's. Back when Freelanders were new. And lets be honest, the early ones weren't great. In fact they were s**t!
So my first instinct was to avoid at all costs. But she found one anyway , at a good price with good history, So off we trotted to look at it.
And having done my research (from here) on what to look for I was fully expecting to condemn it . But it had the head gasket replaced, correct matching tyres, correct coolant, good clutch, no noises and was low mileage and well cared for. So we bought it.

And I am delighted we did!
Its been reliable, practical, strong, easy to drive and fun. Also I cant believe how easy it is to maintain and do things on!
(Why use a circlip when you can use a 14mm bolt!)

No its not perfect. It needs a door solenoid, a window motor and ... well thats it actually.
But it is also 14 years old. Show me a car that age without a couple of things neededing done.

So I am a convert to Freelanders..or Hippos as they should be called apparantly!
With prices of 'real' Landrovers going up , the move towards more 'lifestyle' vehicles, and finding a good Disco more and more difficult for reasonable money, I suspect the last of teh Freelander 1's will be the way to go. Simple, easy to maintain, adequate off road performance, comfortable and still to be found at bargain prices.

If you are considering buying a Freelander, I would recommend doing your research, know what to look for , and you can find a good motor.
I agree with your analysis of Freelander completely :)

I have to say that reliability is the biggest surprised to me with Freelander, can't fault mine.

2nd biggest surprise is the fact I really enjoy the car :) I wasn't overly excited by it when we first got it - it was a little dull after 10 years owning diesel and petrol Discos, but once you start appreciating it for what it is, they're cracking motors.

3rd biggest surprise is how easy they are to work on. Even with my limited mechanical skills, I've been able to do even the most complex of jobs on the Freelander. Coming from Disco where everything was so heavy and big - its not daunting to tackle jobs on Freelander. Stripping down the back axle was easy. Replacing the IRD is a challenge, but done. I think I'm helped by being in NZ where there's no salt on the roads - so the cars are virtually like they were off the production line at 20 years old - if you see a bolt, you put a socket on it and pull and it shifts - the screws on the front bumper simply unscrew etc. My #1 gripe with them though is that there are so many different types of bolt and screw heads used including torqs and allens - why? What's wrong with hexagonal nuts and posi-drive (or what ever they're called) screws?
 
More Freelanders are purchased by scrap dealers than users. ;):D
When it costs more to buy 4 tyres than the car is worth - then cars are going to be scrapped in their masses!

Its a shame - but that's the way it is, although not quite that far in NZ yet (where the tyres are expensive as well!)

Looking on the bright side though, when the last but 1 is scrapped - mine's going to be worth Classic RR money :)
 
Completely agree with the comments: the Hippo is easily the cheapest way into Land Rover ownership these days - and your money buys a lot of car. The things are pretty easy to fix and I have been pleasantly surprised as to how much I like driving it! :D

This is going to be quite a sleeper classic: there seem to be loads still on the roads, but it wouldn't surprise me if they are being broken in their droves: they are ridiculously cheap at the moment.
 
my wife's freelander is a 1998 1800 hse and that does not need anything doing to it well probably just one the drivers seat cover needs replacing and that is just past the mot with no advisories but we do keep our freelanders in good nick
 
When I had my P38 Rangy I used to laugh off the Freelander don't know why the Rangy was always breaking down.
After recently buying a Freelander TD4 have to admit I love the car great driving position handles well not slow either. Yet to take the car off road not expecting same as Rangy but no doubt it still be good.
 
This is my 3rd freelander TD4 3dr, my first one was quite new and it had its issues but nothing serious my second was a "friday" car with everything going wrong from auto box failure to injector failure needing new engine as at the time no one could get them out and I swore I would never buy another!! , but have to say my third hippo td4 sport which I have had for 7 years nothing bad has really gone wrong - re-built the injector pump as it was leaking although had been from the start (4yrs) still smile everytime I go past a diesel BMW that smells of diesel as I know exactly whats wrong with it :) and replaced the viscous coupling but managed to do all of it myself.

Parts are much cleaper now than they were back in 2001 when I got my first one

Also towed my 1.3t caravan all the way through france and italy going through the Mont Blanc tunnel in 30c heat whilst being so chilled with good AC that the kids needed a blanket as they were getting cold in the back!
 
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