freelander help please!!

ashleywood.ash said:

towing laws are set in stone and are getting enforced more and more everyday and the likes of VOSA and traffic tend to target horse boxes etc because they know they are likely to be too heavy for the vehicles, so my advice is do not comprimise weight, at the end of the day the figures are for your safety and everyone elses, as mark said if a horse gets distressed a small 4x4 will loose control. people using the likes of freelanders for towing 2 horses etc will get caught sooner or later as it is all hot on the agenda.

i have owned a grand vitara and several vitara's and would not recommend them (but this is just me) as parts expensive, hard to get and it wasnt reliable or a nice tower.

as for the terrano the terrano 1 2.7tdi is not that good i have heard but i have a few friends with the terrano 2 3.0td and say it is fantastic with better economy etc so maybe a good choice.

they are not a popular option but my aunt tows with a jeep cherokee. as said not popular but will tow 2800kg and are cheaper to buy, and she hasnt had any problems

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are you related to the recovery operator by the same name as you?

tams said:

thanks for reply, does this also happen with the newer freelanders? mine had vcu and ird last year, vitara cant tow as much weight as the freelander, rav 4 lower again, how does the new car tax affect say a 2002/3 freelander or disco? although endless money pits they do seem to be evryones choice for towing horses (well the disco anyway, mixed views on the freelander)

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Newer Freelanders had their IRD ratio changed. Some say this was done in 2001, others say 2002, some say 2003. Land Rover kept hush about it though and afaik, the part numbers are the same.

The new tax system is based on exhaust emissions. But the same tax rules do not apply for older cars, which are taxed depending on engine size. (Pre-March 2001) It is somewhat confusing but the Discovery II TD5 emits 262 g/km. It is placed in band K for tax. (£235 a year) However, the ones built in March 2001 onwards are only temporarily in band K. It is expected that tax will go up on these. That shouldn't be the case if they were built prior to March 2001 though. In contrast, the Freelander TD4 manual is safely in band K. (£235 a year) This is not the case for Freelander 1 autos or petrol variants built in 2001 or later though. (Those are also expected to go up in tax next year.)

Road Tax: What's changing? - Parker's

All that was set when we were under a Labour government though. I do not know if the new government will change the plans with regards to VED. As we're talking about tax, I wouldn't be surprised if the VED system was changed. (Especially considering it's very confusing atm)

So basically, if you're set on getting a Disco II TD5 but don't want the possibility of spending £400+ a year on road tax, the best bet is to get one from the year 2000 or at the latest, one built before March 2001. Of course, older vehicle's tend to have higher mileage, and in turn, a greater prospect of maintenance issues.

I must admit, I never managed to find a 4x4 which ticked all of my boxes. Hence, I'm driving around in a Gaylander. The fact is though, they all have serious pros and cons. Personally, I would have been perfectly happy with my trusty BMW 3 Series, but unfortunately I usually ended up looking like a complete d*ck whenever I had to venture off the asphalt. Not only that, it's rear wheel drive and had a desire to try and make me do donuts after we've had a little bit of snow. I remember getting a few dirty looks from some old folks while trying to get out of a housing estate.

Rich

ratty said:

are you related to the recovery operator by the same name as you?

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no

I think Ratty was refering to Ashleywood.

thanks that helps our 200tdis we had had nearly 300 thousand miles on clock when my other half blew them up!! they were towing 3t diggers most days until then though without too many probs just clutchs popping all the time, the odd head going, i was impressed with them, and my other half fixed these so kept the costs down, would be interesting to know about the freelander ratio thing though as my dad has been scouring the internet for info and has found 2001,2002, and 2003 with the probloem

ratty said:

are you related to the recovery operator by the same name as you?

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no not me

tams said:

would be interesting to know about the freelander ratio thing though as my dad has been scouring the internet for info and has found 2001,2002, and 2003 with the probloem

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The fact is, they will all fail at one point or another. That's just in the nature of mechanical parts. It's one thing you can be certain of. It's just unfortunate that if one of the associated parts fails, it is highly likely that it will also cause the other associated parts to fail too. (VCU, IRD, Rear diff)

This initially put me off the Freelander. However, someone later changed my perception by saying that the VCU should be treated in the same way as you would treat a cambelt. Get it replaced when it's due, and the life of the rest of the drivetrain should be prolonged.

Rich