It was a private sale and not trade. I have contacted the old owner and he denies any knowledge of the problem even though my getting it and it going less than 12 hours later is highly suspect.

Am I wrong in assuming private sold cars are sold as seen?

dcmi said:

It was a private sale and not trade. I have contacted the old owner and he denies any knowledge of the problem even though my getting it and it going less than 12 hours later is highly suspect.

Am I wrong in assuming private sold cars are sold as seen?

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Search 'crock of ****'

you still have rights and can take the person to court threaten him with that not fit for purpose

dcmi said:

Am I wrong in assuming private sold cars are sold as seen?

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Yes, hence post #3

I read that link and all it mentioned was trade dealers.
I don't really think I have the confidence or finances to challenge anyone with court and I've already removed parts on the car so that might go against me.

Thanks again guys trying to learn so much at once here

Ow! it sounds and looks like your Freelander has had a pretty hard life in the transmission department. You are in for some expensive bills and depending on how much you paid for it, you may want to think twice about actually getting it back on the road.

We all know that getting your money back is easier said than done if the seller does not want to play fair.

It looks like the first thing to replace is your IRD. This might be the odd occasion where it could be best getting 1 from a breakers for 2 reasons... (1) with loss of front and rear wheel drive, your IRD may not have an exchange value with a reconditioners, so a reconditioned unit may work out very expensive. (2) you may be able to arrange with the breakers that you can get a refund if the unit does not work well, or if once installed you find problems with your gearbox.

If you install it and it works OK in 2WD you'll be back on the road and be reasonably happy. You can then choose a time when you get a recon VCU and try putting it back as 4WD - if the crown and pinion gears look OK and there's no/little play on the rear pinion, you should be OK. At worse you'll then need a recon IRD and can use the breaker's unit in exhange or your original and sell the breaker's unit.

If you install the breaker's unit and its obvious there are gearbox issues as well, then you can consider getting your money back and whether it is worth getting the car back on the road anyway.

Getting the IRD off and on is much easier/safer if you can do it from an inspection pit.

Good luck!

JRNORWAY said:

You can clearly see that your IRD knackered on the pictures. So its not likely that your gearbox is stripped as well IMO.

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you can clearly see the drive to the rear is fubared!


how can you see the splines that transfer drive from the gearbox into the IRD (thus supplying drive to the front wheels) without taking the IRD off?

not an opinion this is fact based on knowing what i'm talking about

Freelaner is quite rite.
The IRD pinion is definitely screwed. There should still be drive to the front wheels, however there isn't. This means that the splined link through the gearbox is likely screwed too.
So you're going to need a replacement IRD and the gearbox link sorted just to get it 2wd. Then a new VCU will be required to make it 4wd again. Good luck.

OK guys think i am just going to jump into this head first and go mental lol.
As I am an amateur could anyone please point me to the specific parts that I am in need of because knowing me I'll end up wasting money on the wrong parts.

you need to take the ird off and check the splined shafts on it and check the splines inside the gearbox.

only then you will know what's what

dcmi said:

It was a private sale and not trade. I have contacted the old owner and he denies any knowledge of the problem even though my getting it and it going less than 12 hours later is highly suspect.

Am I wrong in assuming private sold cars are sold as seen?

Click to expand...

As a private sale you may still have some ground to pursue the seller if the car was inaccurately described - but the onus would be on you to prove you were mislead. Suggest you keep a copy of the advert etc. Also check all your insurance policies (house, motor etc.) as some of them come with free or optional legal advice these days - they may be able to tell you what your options are - or are not.