# Why are Freelanders so cheap and are they any good?!



## EquestrianFairy (24 July 2008)

As above really,

I really want one but not sure what they are like for towing and expense to run, also- why are they so bloody cheap to buy?!


----------



## nic85 (24 July 2008)

Cheap..because they are rubbish and well they are rubbish!!

I havent had one myself but know plenty of people who have had engine failures and whatnot...so not good is my answer!!


----------



## JM07 (24 July 2008)

rubbish to tow with
dreadful for reliability..

so..not too good really...


----------



## hellspells (24 July 2008)

What she said!


----------



## Stoxx (24 July 2008)

I think they are cheap because they are a big CAR to run at the moment with fuel prices.
I wouldn't advise for you to buy one for towing, but my friend does get away with towing a small TB type in an Ifor 505.
I personally would never tow with one.


----------



## saskia295 (24 July 2008)

EF - there have been lots of posts about Freelanders before and none of them have been too positive  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Someone posted a list of all the common faults once (sorry, can't remember who it was) and it was really rather long.


----------



## nijinsky (24 July 2008)

Pile of crap.

Just had one for a few days while my car was in for repair, awful, awful, car.  

Certainly wouldn't tow with it.


----------



## ihatework (24 July 2008)

Save your money and buy a bike, not only will it probably tow better than a freelander but it will be more reliable!


----------



## EquestrianFairy (24 July 2008)

Oh god... thats that then!

How depressiing..


----------



## Nic (24 July 2008)

My Uncle is a LR mechanic &amp; refers to them as Freeloaders.  They suck!


----------



## BigBird146 (24 July 2008)

My brother had one on a 53 plate, kept it for about a year before selling it because it was cr*p!! Problems with reliability (can't remember what specifically). Theirs was the 1.8 petrol, it was underpowered and couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding! (struggled with just normal family duties around our hilly area, let alone towing).
Don't go there... they are cheap for a reason!!


----------



## Ludi-doodi (24 July 2008)

I'm going to differ slightly with everyone, I don't think they are crap/rubbish, I loved the one I had as an  *estate car* , but agree that they are rubbish for towing which is why I now have a Discovery.  As for cheap - probably like all 4X4s these days values are dropping because of rising fuel costs.


----------



## jen1 (24 July 2008)

Agree! Friend bought one a couple of years ago, from new so thankfully she didn't have reliability probs but didn't keep it long enough to find out, she said it wouldn't pull a shopping trolley! Went in it one day with her and we went up a hill just 2 of us in it and I felt like getting out and pushing by the time we got to the top as it just didn't have any oomph! As I said she sold it after a couple of months, lost a lot of money and got a Shogun instead! Loves it and tows a 17.2 in an IW 510 all over the place!!


----------



## Acolyte (24 July 2008)

When I looked at one I was emphatically advised by the LR dealership NOT to tow a horse trailer with them - they havent got enough guts to tow, as pretty much everyone else has said!

I do agree they are a good estate car type vehicle, but fuel economy isnt good.


----------



## CBAnglo (24 July 2008)

I know someone who has one and has towed her 15.2 tb with it (and lightweight trailer) but she only does so in an emergency e.g. vet - she would borrow someone else's car/lorry normally.

Expensive for a pretend 4x4.  Much better towing vehicles out there (although admittedly they do look the part).


----------



## hussar (24 July 2008)

My OH had one a couple of years ago - liked the engine but not much else and the couple of times we tried towing with it when the Disco was off the road, it was pathetic.

I have heard the new Freelander is an improvement.


----------



## Nic (24 July 2008)

It's surprising how many eejits you see towing with them, and not always just one horse!


----------



## Kenzo (24 July 2008)

Prices have dropped with 4x4's anyway, my parents had two but they were the newer ones, both lovely cars and didnt have a any problems with them.

Having said that, I know some people who have had them and had nothing but trouble and cost them and arm and a leg to repair all the time but they were the older ones. 

If you after a cheap, reliable 4x4 for towing ...just for weekends when competing get a Pajero! brilliant things!


----------



## JC1 (24 July 2008)

I will disagree slightly with everyone. My husband has got one as a company car, it's the second one he's had. We absolutely love it! 

I've got a discovery to tow the horses with, but OH uses Freelander to tow his quad for hunting and we use it to tow other things about. We've never had any problems with the two we've had. It's lovely to drive and certainly not under powered. Compared to the disco it's like a sports car!  In the odd emergency I've used it to tow old horse who was 16hh ish and it didn't have any problems what so ever power wise however not the nicest to tow with as I did't think it was high enough!


----------



## Iestyn (24 July 2008)

I had a 52 reg TD4 Auto. I towed on horse in an old Bayhill trailr and it coped fine. Wasn't perfect but a compromise between a slightly bigger vehicle and an everyday car. As a car I loved my freelander and in hindsight should have kept it instead of upgrading to a Discovery. They are cheap because nobody wants a 4x4 now as the tax, fuel, etc have become so expensive. They also launched a new shape freelander a while ago so the older shape has become cheaper to buy.


----------



## wench (24 July 2008)

I know someone that used to tow horse around fine with one


----------



## Equus Leather (24 July 2008)

I know a friend who is having to replace the whole engine of their's....been nothing but trouble....


----------



## starsky (24 July 2008)

I had one.  I had 3 new head gaskets in 20,000 miles at £1000 a time!!!!  And their customer service is rubbish.  First one Land Rover did under warranty, second one they paid half, third one they wouldn't pay anything!!!  How can the 3rd one not be their fault, but the first one was?

Got shot of, hated the bloomin thing.  Would never ever buy another Land Rover.


----------



## Tinypony (24 July 2008)

Just because someone tows two horses about with one, doesn't mean they should.
I agree with all the above who said they are rubbish and don't tow a loaded trailer with one.


----------



## pennyh (24 July 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
rubbish to tow with
dreadful for reliability..

so..not too good really...






[/ QUOTE ]

i must be the only person around with a good freelander!!

mine is six years old in september , it has never broken down or required any works of any substance , it has had , a spark plug , a spark plug coil &amp; a circuit board switch replaced , total cost around £100 , it has had new front brake pads &amp; disks at a cost of about £200 , other than that my only expenditure is its annual service at the main dealer ( not even new tyres or exhaust at nearly 6 years old is fab!)

in addition to general driving it also tows an ifor 505 with one horse satisfactorily (&amp; i live at the top of a big hill) but wouldn't trust it with 2 horses ( not enough oomph ) &amp; last summer it brought in several trailer loads of hay from the fields , drags the harrow aroung the manage &amp; fields no problem

in return i haven't even washed the poor thing in over 12 months!

i would happily buy another &amp; i have 2 friends who have both just traded in their old freelanders for new ones


----------



## PeterNatt (24 July 2008)

If you are towing anything larger than one small cob then you are probably towing illegally with a Freelander because of their low kerb weight.  You really need a Discovery to tow a horse safely.


----------



## anthony79 (24 July 2008)

Believe it or not, but the official towing capacity for a freelander  is 2000kg !


----------



## merlinsquest (24 July 2008)

Cheap to buy because they are crappy 
	
	
		
		
	


	









Older ones are riddled with faults and they are not really up to towing...... thats when they go wrong


----------



## SouthWestWhippet (24 July 2008)

I have to say that I looked at second hand Freelanders despite all the warnings I got on here. I test drove some then went home and looked up the list of all the 'common faults' which you can find through google. Couldnt' believe how many times I said "oh yes, I noticed the Freelander did that" or "wow, that happened in the two I drove" as I went down the lis especially considering I' only test drove two. They really don't seem to be very reliable and the common faults are just that - common!

However, I have heard that some of the later engine models are better. I think the post 2004 diesel engine is BMW (correct me if I'm wrong) and is supposed to be more reliable. Which is why you will pay more of course


----------

