Hey guys, thanks for letting me be a part of your forum.

My wife and I will be joining the elite (lol) group of Land
Rover owners tomorrow morning at 9am.

Here is my predicament...

I went and looked at a 2004 Land Rover Freelander 4WD Automatic HSE model.

It is BEAUTIFUL, and my wife loves it. I however, am a mechanic. I don't
mind doing work, but don't know that I can afford to own this on a mechanic's pay.

I have been reading some truly horrific things about this vehicle. I can pick it up for $2000 which I thought was a steal. It has a cracked head and is in severe need of a timing chain. I can hear the chain making a LOT of racket inside the cover.

I don't mind doing the work to fix it, but tell me this;

Should I do it?

Be honest, I want to know if I am getting into something while it is still
early enough to cancel on them, and not buy the Freelander.

It has 71K miles, and has service records from the dealership, but still
has a cracked head and clearly bad timing chain tensioners.

If I fix all these problems will it make her (and my two kids) a good vehicle?
What do you think?
Also my wife is in love with this car. Pretty sure it makes her wet, so
I need a DAMN good reason to tell her I'm not buying it...

 

IMHO you are best advised to continue the search. Engine problems in those trucks are seldom just a simple head gasket. Unless you have already sourced another motor from a boneyard.

 

Do not touch it. Too many bad surprises lurking in the Freelanders. Go for an LR2, I know they are newer and more cash, but you will be buying the Freelander over and over if you go that route.