buying a freelander!?

[DFW Rusty]

My girl friend is getting rid of her car and is wanting a 4wd suv or a convertable, and she is relying on me for what she gets(my recomendations). Her price range will be 10k or less. I am caught between 2 vehicles, jeep wrangler, and a L/R Freelander. She is a college student, so she needs a dependable and low maintanence vehicle!

I know all the pro's and cons of the jeep, but I know very little about the freelander. Here is my questions:

How many engines came in the freelander, is there a motor that is highly recomended or one that is not a good one to have?

My understanding is that they are AWD, am I correct?

Are they a reliable vehicle, or are they pretty high maintainence?

What is the gas mileage, and what octane do you use?

What is a good trim package to have?

Is there a good after market for these? Such as brush guards, roof racks, stuff like that?

Is there things to look for on them when going to test drive one(any typical symptoms of abuse)?

Thx for the help!

[chrisvonc]

Originally Posted by DFW Rusty

How many engines came in the freelander, is there a motor that is highly recomended or one that is not a good one to have?

Only one engine was available in the NAS Freelanders. A V6

My understanding is that they are AWD, am I correct?

Correct, Freelanders dont have a transfer case to go into "4WD-Low", so its an AWD vehicle.

Are they a reliable vehicle, or are they pretty high maintainence?

To me it seems a crap shoot. Mine has been terrible since it hit the 36K mark. The past year has been monthly trips to the dealership for constant over heating and I am pretty sure they are stalling on having to replace the engine. A bunch of other things have been falling apart over the past year as well. There is also history of the engines needing to be replaced.

On the other hand, there are planty of people who have had no major issues with theirs. My ex-wifes SE3 has had a few minor issues but for the most part, has been relatively problem free.

What is the gas mileage, and what octane do you use?

Mine which has a bunch of mods, doesn't do great just around town daily driving. I'll get about 200 mile before i should fill up. Highway can got up to 250-275 per tank.

Is there a good after market for these? Such as brush guards, roof racks, stuff like that?

DAP, RN, AB all have stuff for the Freelanders.

Is there things to look for on them when going to test drive one(any typical symptoms of abuse)?

If possible get a service history report on all thats been done to it as well as make sure it is current with all recalls or services. Dont rely on CarFax, try to get a dealer to get you a report.

I personally wouldn't buy another Freelander, and if I were, I defiantly wouldn't buy one without adding on an extended warranty nor from any place other than a Rover dealership. Take the extra hit to the wallet now for the warranty and when the big $$ items starts falling apart, it will pay for itself a few times over. I can tell you, with the problems mine has had, I'm glad I had the extended warranty on mine.

Based on my experience with mine, I would most likely go for the Jeep.

[Roverdude]

I have a 2003 SE3 FL with about 38,000 miles. Mine's been real good (knock on wood). Only one unscheduled trip to the dealer for an idiot light issue (fixed under warranty no prob). Mine does about 19-24 mpg (usually 20/21 mpg) on regular (87). I've been pleasantly surprised w/ the mileage. Servicing is expensive, LR is a premium euro brand and you will pay for that priveledge (compare w/ MB or BMW), however, FL's aren't too terribly difficult to wrench on your own for some routine items (eg, brakes are ridiculously easy!). However, if you're bringing it to the dealer for servicing, it can be pricey, and there aren't a lot of independant shops that are comfortable with them outside of major metro areas.

[DFW Rusty]

Thx chris! After your well composed summary of information I think I am going to recomend her the jeep wrangler! Cuz she really wants a convertable, and the freelander(according to your write up) isnt the best choice for an under budget college student! THX!

[DFW Rusty]

Oops, I didnt see your post Roverdude! I think it popped up while I was writing my reply! Thx Roverdude! I think I am still going to recomend her the jeep. Mainly cuz I am already weiry of her getting a F/L due to some of the stuff I have hear(not just from ChrisVonC). And I am very fluent with jeeps(so I could do all the maintainence and repairs myself)! THX!

[Rovin4life]

get a jeap or or disco two.

but not a freelander.

they are the highest maintenance of all the rovers and worse yet they break down even worse.

coolant leaks up the woo wahh and engines that break for no reason.

got a motor job going right now on one for a broken cam.

[Thor]

Get a Subaru.

[DFW Rusty]

Originally Posted by Rovin4life

get a jeap or or disco two.

but not a freelander.

they are the highest maintenance of all the rovers and worse yet they break down even worse.

coolant leaks up the woo wahh and engines that break for no reason.

got a motor job going right now on one for a broken cam.

Thx Rovin4life! I am going to recomend her a jeep! I own a disco II and I love it but I dont think it would be a good vehicle for her! The reasons for that are gas mileage, type of gas, and maintainence can get a bit pricy on it! Thx

Originally Posted by Thor

Get a Subaru.

She doesnt really like Subaru! I was showing her the Baja's and she didnt like em! And she doesnt like the Impreza!

[chrisvonc]

.... and it looks like my own Freelander finally blew its engine this morning.

[KevinNY]

Avoid like syphillis.

[deeker]

One of the reasons I got rid of mine - extended warranty was running out.

[built2crawl]

We should have bought an LR3 instead of the Hippo. Needed and 2nd vehicle and rushed into the purchase.

We had numerous problems since we bought the truck, VIS went bad, back window would roll up & down for no reason, one of the windows stopped working & we had a bad coolant reservoir. All were fixed under warranty, but it was a hassle taking the truck in every 2 months. We bought the truck in April of '06 with less than 40k miles.

So far everything is good, but I'm already thinking of trading it in.

[dannyboy03]

Dang! I just purchased a LR 2002 HSE... You guys are scaring me! I have 41500 on it.

[chrisvonc]

If you bought it from a Rover dealership, go back and buy an extended warranty ASAP, if not sooner.

[Muddy Oval]

They aren't ALL bad... but definately not a good idea for someone on a budget. Typically, buying 'high end' name plate vehicles used and then trying to maintain them cheaply is a bad idea. They may be cheaper because they are used, but they still cost more to maintain than a mainstream brand.