Should I risk buying an older TD4

In answer to one of the questions NO I am not aiming to tow.

Its purely going to be a family car which will be used maybe up to £5kmiles a year.

I am more interested in buying a nice one which will last a few years so happy with a Di rather than a TD4 if its been well looked after

Cheers

If I decide on an L Series.. should I be looking at particular years ie post 2000 etc or are they pretty much the same ?

I don't think they had di in em after 2000, could be wrong though.
It's up to you, obviously!

If you're not towing you don't need the extra power of the TD4.
Any engine can fail if it's not looked after.
Only thing you don't have to worry about on a Freelander is rust, everything else needs keeping on top of.

Thanks again..

Is Autotrader the only real source of a good one or are there any better websites/garages worth looking at ?

Where are you?

I am based near Crewe in Cheshire

eBay is well worth a look for one, it's the most used classified ad site in the UK.

I have a 51 plate Td4. I bought it at 80K 5 years ago and it had been regularly serviced. It's now done 120K. The only trips to the garage I've had were for a failed clutch (the hydraulic parts are ****), and a failed injector. Both of which were garage jobs for me, and were not cheap to get done, but everything else is doable yourself if you're spanner-handy.

The only other things I've had to replace were the VCU and bearings after I bought the vehicle (just follow the procedure in the Haynes manual) and the LP fuel pump failed last year. Dead easy to do.

Apart from that I just service and maintain it myself pretty much as I have any other vehicle I've owned in 25 years of motoring. It's just a bit chunkier in places than lesser cars...

Td4 for me any day. Get one that's been looked after and you'll be fine.

Creeeg said:

I have a 51 plate Td4. I bought it at 80K 5 years ago and it had been regularly serviced. It's now done 120K. The only trips to the garage I've had were for a failed clutch (the hydraulic parts are ****), and a failed injector. Both of which were garage jobs for me, and were not cheap to get done, but everything else is doable yourself if you're spanner-handy.

The only other things I've had to replace were the VCU and bearings after I bought the vehicle (just follow the procedure in the Haynes manual) and the LP fuel pump failed last year. Dead easy to do.

Apart from that I just service and maintain it myself pretty much as I have any other vehicle I've owned in 25 years of motoring. It's just a bit chunkier in places than lesser cars...

Td4 for me any day. Get one that's been looked after and you'll be fine.

Click to expand...

Which has the pleasant effect of leaving a bit more knuckle room than the average car allows for.

The jobs I've had to do on the wife's so far have mainly been a pleasure, including the VCU and bearing replacement

It seems the concensus including some landie nuts I met at my local garage is that if I can get a decent TD4 that would be better...

When you buy a normal car you ask questions like 'when was the timing belt done?' etc..

What should I look out for in terms of service history for a 100k+ miler

Cheers

smallzoo said:

It seems the concensus including some landie nuts I met at my local garage is that if I can get a decent TD4 that would be better...

When you buy a normal car you ask questions like 'when was the timing belt done?' etc..

What should I look out for in terms of service history for a 100k+ miler

Cheers

Click to expand...

From what I've seen on here, and my experiencec since the wife bought a Td4, plus 4 years of owning a Rover 75 with the M47 engine in it: -

VCU change at around 70k, or make sure it reverses around a tight corner without much throttle.
MAF, these tend to go at around 70k and will knacker the bottom end power and economy
PCV filter changes, if they block up it can convince folk the engine is knackered, watch for crank case pressure from the filler cap or dip stick (it's an easy and cheap fix mind, if you see)
If it's auto, check for gear box oil changes, some argue it's a maintenancec free box, it's not, needs and oil change at 5 years (I think?) or ~70k miles?
Rear diff mounts
VCU bearings
Try and check for a knackered IRD, search for a couple of recent threads for very good tips on how to work out if the thing has become rear drive only.

On top of that lot there is all the normal stuff you'd look for on any car

There will be other stuff as well, the list I gave you is from personal experience of the wife's car and 2 month's reading every thread I can find on here about Freelander faults and how to fix them

BTW, Td4 is a chain driven cam engine, no need to worry about that until 200,000 plus miles, I know folk with R75s that have done 220,000 plus on the same engine

Water ingress in the boot is common, but usually this is down to the tailgate door seal not doing its job properly. Some can just be re-seated, sometimes you have to replace the seal.

There's another thread on here at the mo with pics that talks of another reason for water getting in. The seal is the usual one tho.

any views on which sounds the better bet ?

Thanks

2002 Landrover freelander TD4 | eBay

LAND ROVER FREELANDER 2.0 TD4 GS 5 DOOR STATION WAGON IN METALIC RED 2 OWNERS | eBay

Land Rover Freelander 2.0 Td4 GS | eBay

2002 LAND ROVER FREELANDER TD4 S SILVER | eBay

Personally, I'd go for the first one, the heated leather seats will be worth it come winter.

As to the 'we buy any car' offer, he'll lose another £200 quid when he takes it to them for the final offer, so it could be worth being 'nasty' and offering £1,800 in pound notes.

With any of them, do try and take someone with you who knows about these things and check everything, push all the buttons, flick all the switches, reverse it around a tight right hand corner, check the propshafts and VCU are actually there.

Check all four tyres are the same brand and that the back pair are the better set if all 4 aren't the same age.

You can get a brand new tow bar, including 12N / 12S connecctions off eBay (TowEquip I think) for around £95 for these, so don't let the towbar sway you, better to have a clutch that's had less abuse

When test driving it do 'feel' for any clunk as the clutch bites, dual mass fly wheel failures are a known fault, if not common, and expensive to fix even if you do it yourself.

Some one else will fill in my ommissions / correct my mistakes before too long

Best of luck