Freelander 2 buying advice

Hi

I have had my D2 for nearly a year now and it has been something of a journey with replacement rear chassis and other bits. I wasnt looking to replace the d2 (1999) but a good friend has told me they want to sell their 2010 HSE F2 and has given me first refusal.

It has done 100k and I know they have done everything that has been needed over her ownership. She is the second owner and bought it when it was only a couple of years old.

I am only considering it as a replacement to the D2 as it’s newer and probably easier to live with day to day although I know it’s not as good off road but I do less of that aside from the odd muddy field.

My reservations are that being a newer (albeit still 14 years old) more electronic dependent vehicle is it going to start throwing up issues that I can’t fix myself and lead to large bills. I have spent quite a lot in the d2 already. I have looked at the F2 threads recently and it seems they have a lot of electronic issues.

Any advice gladly received.

Ask yourself, why are they getting rid and what paperwork I mean repair/replace bills has the car got. A looked after example should have a ton of them or the owner will tell you with pride about the work done on it. I don't know your background with car maintenance take it to a garage so they can check it over.

Arguable but with the Freeloader the main areas to watch out for are Battery, EGR, Turbo, Haldex, Rear Diff, Bearings, Shocks, Wishbones, Front PTU and Air Hoses. If an Auto when was the last time the Fluid was flushed or the Engine Oil/ Filter changed , when was the Haldex serviced. All can be checked and done if you buy the car but at a cost, they are not cheap to run. But they are cracking motors By the way get yourself an Autel AP 200

I like chips said:

Ask yourself, why are they getting rid and what paperwork I mean repair/replace bills has the car got. A looked after example should have a ton of them or the owner will tell you with pride about the work done on it. I don't know your background with car maintenance take it to a garage so they can check it over.

Arguable but with the Freeloader the main areas to watch out for are Battery, EGR, Turbo, Haldex, Rear Diff, Bearings, Shocks, Wishbones, Front PTU and Air Hoses. If an Auto when was the last time the Fluid was flushed or the Engine Oil/ Filter changed , when was the Haldex serviced. All can be checked and done if you buy the car but at a cost, they are not cheap to run. But they are cracking motors By the way get yourself an Autel AP 200

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Thanks. I’ve been carrying out maintenance on my d2 and 200tdi defender for the last couple of years so feel more confident than I did that I can take on a lot of tasks. Anything chassis/welding wise though i would leave to an expert.

My friend has left the maintenance to her local independent landrover garage (at great expense to her) and followed the maintenance schedule but I will check paperwork etc. she is only selling as she needs funds to finish a house extension. Sad really as she thinks by selling and downgrading she will save money but I doubt it.

Should have also added she is changing the timing chain before sale as well.

Did I forget the Timing Belt, Water pump, Aux belt and all the pulleys and gubbins. There is no timing chain

If you are good on the tools then you have a fighting chance and these cars do fight back, just listen out for wheel bearings and other transmission noise and that the fluid changes have been done. If she has used an independent and they were any good she should have forked out a lot of cash. Best of luck with it and enjoy.

I like chips said:

Did I forget the Timing Belt, Water pump, Aux belt and all the pulleys and gubbins. There is no timing chain

If you are good on the tools then you have a fighting chance and these cars do fight back, just listen out for wheel bearings and other transmission noise and that the fluid changes have been done. If she has used an independent and they were any good she should have forked out a lot of cash. Best of luck with it and enjoy.

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Ah. I did wonder. She mentioned they are doing the water pump at the same time too. Probably best to do the aux belt too if it’s anything like the disco.

Just have to convince myself I need to replace the disco but sure it’s only a matter of time before it bites me again.

new to all this said:

Ah. I did wonder. She mentioned they are doing the water pump at the same time too. Probably best to do the aux belt too if it’s anything like the disco.

Just have to convince myself I need to replace the disco but sure it’s only a matter of time before it bites me again.

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The aux belt has to come off to do the timing belt, so no point in putting the old one on. I'm curious as to why the belt is being done though, as it's due at 10 years of 150k, whichever comes first, so it's either 4 years late, or 6 years early.
The Freelander 2 is a much nicer vehicle to drive compared to the D2, much safer and better on fuel too. There won't be many places a D2 can get that an FL2 couldn't follow, thanks to the Haldex giving it enormous amounts of grip. The terrain response system really does work very well.

Nodge68 said:

The aux belt has to come off to do the timing belt, so no point in putting the old one on. I'm curious as to why the belt is being done though, as it's due at 10 years of 150k, whichever comes first, so it's either 4 years late, or 6 years early.
The Freelander 2 is a much nicer vehicle to drive compared to the D2, much safer and better on fuel too. There won't be many places a D2 can get that an FL2 couldn't follow, thanks to the Haldex giving it enormous amounts of grip. The terrain response system really does work very well.

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Yes, a question I am going to ask as well. I believe it is the former, 4 years late.

I also expect that the Haldex has never been looked at.

I found a service schedule online so will go through that to see what the annual service actually consists of. Having now changed all the fluids in my D2 I don’t relish the chance to do it all again in the F2 and garage costs seem to be quite high.

I fear that the 100k marker might be an expensive one.

I wouldn't use the service schedule it misses out some important stuff such as for one example Auto box fluid flush every 24000 miles,

Take a look between the gearbox and the transfer box. If there is rusty dust there then the sleeve that joins the gearbox to the transfer box is starting to fail. This results in a couple of issues.
No rear wheel drive at all or a ruined differential!!
A client of mine found this out after a clunking noise on pulling away and after it got stuck on a curb..(don't ask) there was no drive at all to the rear wheels...
Not a hard job to do really but it can be expensive!!

The boot release switch can fail.
Door locks, drivers side mainly,
They like tail light bulbs as well??

Thanks for the added advice.

Reminds me how much I don’t like potential new purchases!

new to all this said:

Thanks for the added advice.

Reminds me how much I don’t like potential new purchases!

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On the whole the FL2 isn't a bad or particularly unreliable vehicle. Mine has had issues, all of which were caused by lack of timely maintenance or poor quality maintenance.
Electronically they are better than the D3/4 and Range Rovers.

If the timing belt is 4 years late according to the rather lax LR intervals, then you can assume all the other 10 year items have also been missed.
Drive it and see if it has any noises or shuddering through the drive line, especially when turn tight corners under gentle acceleration. This could point to expensive damage to the gearbox, Haldex, rear diff or PTU. These vehicles are very quiet on the road, where only the engine and tyre noise should be heard.

Nodge68 said:

On the whole the FL2 isn't a bad or particularly unreliable vehicle. Mine has had issues, all of which were caused by lack of timely maintenance or poor quality maintenance.
Electronically they are better than the D3/4 and Range Rovers.

If the timing belt is 4 years late according to the rather lax LR intervals, then you can assume all the other 10 year items have also been missed.
Drive it and see if it has any noises or shuddering through the drive line, especially when turn tight corners under gentle acceleration. This could point to expensive damage to the gearbox, Haldex, rear diff or PTU. These vehicles are very quiet on the road, where only the engine and tyre noise should be heard.

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Thanks. Yes I plan to have a thorough test drive and go from there.

Given the options in this price range for landrovers it is a little bit tricky finding something newer. I really like the d3 and d4s but I know it will be hopeless.

I test drove a td5 110 and aside from the dampness (leaks not me) but it wasn’t much better than my 90 tdi and I felt I could spend the difference on the 90 more sensibly.

The D3/4 are money pits, don't ask how I know. The FL2 is much less needy however. It just needs proper maintenance at normal intervals, rather than the stupidly extended LR intervals. Ideally the Haldex and automatic transmission need fluid changes every 30k miles. The rear diff and PTU need oil changes every 60k to stay healthy. Engine oil and filter should be done at 6k intervals, or annually, and the fuel filter and air filter every 2 years or 24k miles, and the parking brake needs cleaning, lubrication, and adjustment at the same time.
That's it, there's not much else to do other than replace parts when worn or go wrong.

I agree, it's one the better lr products

Ask a question about almost any car and you will be met with a range of answers, suggestions and anecdotes.
Give it a good look over and make your own mind up. You know a lot of it's history so that is a good start.
Buy because you want, not because it is available.
And if you haven't already, buy yourself a decent code reader.

Shedload said:

Ask a question about almost any car and you will be met with a range of answers, suggestions and anecdotes.
Give it a good look over and make your own mind up. You know a lot of it's history so that is a good start.
Buy because you want, not because it is available.
And if you haven't already, buy yourself a decent code reader.

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Oh yes. Most things can be sorted (at a price) but I need to make sure I want it.

D2 must be concerned with potential purchase as the remote central locking stopped working today. Works on the dash button but not the remote. More fun.

Check receiver under headliner for damp.

Thanks. Take it that is a total headliner out?