HELP NEEDED - MY LANDY IS DYING ON ME

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Roverspoons said:
i am just trying to work this out because i was informed it was a trade sale, and my receipt shows a business address, however, the guy has basically told me to do one and that it was a private sale (after i advised to sale of goods act) and hed been using it as a run around for a few months even though the V5 shows a completely different name and address??? thoughts???
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This frustrates the **** out of me tbh...let me speak to her in doors later who was a former Trading Standards officer and now does something similar with a FT100 company. She will have seen this a thousant times before. So if interested, I will float it by her? That said, there is a significant chance that the answer you get you may already be dreading.
 
Sad story, very easy to get taken out with an abused freelander.

People drive the petrols around with the headgasket gone for months and just don't care, then sell it off quick the first time it grinds to a halt.

What is it leaking, and where from?
As has been pointed out previously it's very, very common for garages to see dripping water and go "the head gasket's gone, mate!" when they're actually very prone to tiny leaks all over the place.

Trace the leak back and start another thread in the meantime, we'll help you diagnose it.
 
dave21478 said:
Sorry, but......

Its not dangerous. Its just sh1t.

Its the buyers responsibility to verify the car is as described. If the seller deliberately mis-described the car you might have recourse, but proving this is practically impossible and always degenerates into a he said she said stalemate.

Sadly, a fresh MOT is literally worthless as an indicator of a cars condition. Ok, it will tell you the floor is not hanging out but it tells you nothing about reliability, most engine issues are not checked at all, very little electrical stuff is checked and there is nothing to say that the seller didnt remove many components that passed the test and replaced them with worn ones the day after the test.

You havent told us what engine it has. Given the mention of headgasket, I am going to assume its the 1.8. These engine are notorious for head gasket failure. Often this is not justified and many garages misdiagnose other problems as head gasket failure because "they all do that." If its fixed PROPERLY and the rest of the cooling system is maintained properly it should outlast the rest of the car.

A "huge leak"..... oil? water? sand?

The electrics "keep going". Where are they going? No, but seriously - you will need to be specific.

windows dropping - likely snapped cables. Ebay has replacements. It takes someone with a little skill half an hour to fit.

leak from the door....check the door seal isnt torn. Also, if someone has been fiddling with the window mechanism they might not have refitted the plastic sheet behind the door trim which could allow rain water to leak into the interior.

non starting and needing a jump...probably the battery but get it checked. Any motor factors that doesnt have Halfords written above the door will be able to test it for you.

You need to get this car looked at by someone who knows what they are doing with Freelanders. Here is the thing.....thats basically a fairly minor snagging list -ok the head gasket could be a big job- but God knows what state the transmission is in. Freelanders have a transmission system that requires careful preventative maintenance or it will catastrophically fail very quickly indeed. In fact, given the state of the rest of the car it might be already too late - I would say there is a fair chance your car doesnt have a propshaft and is no longer four wheel drive.

Good luck.
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unfortunately, agreed!

headgasket, easily sorted, can cost a few hundred to get done by a garage or you can do yourself for a lot less.

huge leak - need to be more specific

electrics - probably a dodgy earth

windows dropping - either snapped cables or come out of clip they are held in

leak from door - check the seal

not starting - if not the battery then it's probably the starter motor that is sticking - hit with a hammer to unstick or buy a new 1

Good luck!
 
B34R said:
Sad story, very easy to get taken out with an abused freelander.

People drive the petrols around with the headgasket gone for months and just don't care, then sell it off quick the first time it grinds to a halt.

What is it leaking, and where from?
As has been pointed out previously it's very, very common for garages to see dripping water and go "the head gasket's gone, mate!" when they're actually very prone to tiny leaks all over the place.

Trace the leak back and start another thread in the meantime, we'll help you diagnose it.
Click to expand...

it seems i was taken for a right ride on this - as hes gone from a trade sale to a private sale knowing im not covered with that and he is.....

the recovery guy said he thinks the head gasket could be about to blow because of the clugging on long journeys - i did some research on it though an i think its fine its something else..... it hasnt been diagnosed by a mechanic yet as it goes in tomorrow..... the engine leak was advised also by the recovery - he said it was quite a bad one and it was all around the engine..... the mechanic on the phone reckons the battery itself is fine as the charge is ok on it - it could be the wires or the alternator so another 200 .... messy is what it is .... yesterday i as mad and upset as its been one thing after another and in the past three weeks iv barely been able to drive it and today im delirious and happy .... im hoping i have some luck and can recover some money on this - but its looking slim
 
Like I said, you need to check the transmission before throwing any money anywhere.

Go out and look under it right now. Does it have a propshaft?

On the underside you will see the exhaust and next to it a straight bit of tube, usually black, that comes out the back of the gearbox and runs down the middle of the floor and into the rear differential. In the middle there should be a larger diameter section.

Looks like this....
viscous.jpg


If you dont have this.....well....just hope you do have it.
 
I feel your pain as I had a similar experience buying a car from a garage with 12 months MOT. I found out the day I bought it the VCU was locked up, the rear window didn't operate correctly and a couple of months later the head gasket went. Thankfully in my case I knew about the window and guessed the other two were dodgy so was able to beat the price down by mentioning them. Still hurts though when you end up spending £500 on a car with full MOT!
Hope your garage sorts it for you.
 
dave21478 said:
Like I said, you need to check the transmission before throwing any money anywhere.

Go out and look under it right now. Does it have a propshaft?

On the underside you will see the exhaust and next to it a straight bit of tube, usually black, that comes out the back of the gearbox and runs down the middle of the floor and into the rear differential. In the middle there should be a larger diameter section.

Looks like this....
viscous.jpg


If you dont have this.....well....just hope you do have it.
Click to expand...

i just checked and yes, i have a prop shaft ... i also can now see how much the exhaust was puttied - its super bad - already been quoted 400£ for that :(
 
Alibro said:
I feel your pain as I had a similar experience buying a car from a garage with 12 months MOT. I found out the day I bought it the VCU was locked up, the rear window didn't operate correctly and a couple of months later the head gasket went. Thankfully in my case I knew about the window and guessed the other two were dodgy so was able to beat the price down by mentioning them. Still hurts though when you end up spending £500 on a car with full MOT!
Hope your garage sorts it for you.
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its just sad that people cant be more honest because i wouldnt be so stressed about it if hed have said - look the cars a steal and these are the reasons why ... i know it doesnt benefit them ... but being given the opportunity to make an informed decision should be a given right and its so annoying that the law on this one for me sides in his favour because hes shouting it was a private sale when my receipt says his trade address ... hump humph .... i at least have learnt a lot about what not to do these past few weeks so have a good idea about what to look for when i next buy a car ....

the mechanic i found seems pretty decent and hes independent and was recommended to me - so hoping he doesnt see this as an opportunity to fleece me - that would hurt
 
Saint.V8 said:
I would say if you have a receipt (regardless of VAT) made out on headed paper, this is enough for you to have 'believed' this is a trade sale at the time of purchase and that your basic statutory rights were being protected under the Sale of Goods act....

Fanatic is a bit of a legal genius, might be worth contacting him for some advice....failing that contact the Office of Fair Trading and/or CAB to discuss.
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The Mad Hat Man said:
if yu have a trade receipt then it is a trade sale. go to trading standards.
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Bromsgrove Defender said:
^^^^^ What he said ^^^^^
Click to expand...
Is what I said a good few posts back.....you have the right to assume it was a trade sale as you have a receipt of sale with a trade address on it....simples....contact Trading Standards and the Office of Fair trading...
 
Wow, didn't see that coming - some one not being honest about a car they're selling!

TBH - you can huff and puff, but at the end of the day I bet it was 'cheap'? Did you get a bargain, No? Fix it or flick it on. Hopefully you'll have better luck with the next one.

I bought a Mazda Proceed Marvie a few years back, the car was about a 6 hour drive away so agreed to buy it if I came up, gave it to the AA for an inspection and that came back OK. Did that, AA said it was in great nick, 3 weeks later the engine disintegrated, AA didn't want to know, sold it scrap - move on.
 
Hippo said:
Any update on this?
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Was advised to log it with action fraud as it is clear he's done this before by feedback left by other customers. just waiting to get it into a garage and repaired ... im not as upset about it any more hhahah lesson has been learnt on this one .... it seems mechanics down this way are hard to get hold of.... is there a section in here to find mechanics in your local area??? thanks :)
 
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