First of all hello to all of you. My name is Jay and currently in a 2002 Land Rover Freelander that I got from a BWM dealer here in Houston Saturday night. Well I need to go in after work today and sign the papers. Thing is I was stoked to get this but then have come across MANY negative user reviews. I work in the Motorsport/Racing industry and will be providing ALL of the maintanance of my vehicle. Please use this information to help me make my choice.

I'm an active Subaru owner and on the forums for a long time. Please excuse the long post but I'm just going to copy and paste everything. If ANYONE can provide some feedback it would be greatly appreciated. It has 47k miles on it and I got a bumper to bumper warranty for 4 years / 100k miles but still don't want to have it in the shop all the time.

Thanks, Guru

------------- COPIED FROM NASIOC.COM ---------------

First of all sorry for asking for your help again but hey, ya'll are a bunch of friends and I actually do listen and consider your input. As everyone probably knows I've been shopping around for a daily driver. I've decided that I DO want something somewhat cool to drive and have had a pretty hard time finding something I like.

I like the Miata but that has got the ax for pratical reasons. I really wanted a Jeep Grand Cherokee (has to be a V8 - 4x4) and had locked up a deal. Well bank decided to screw everything up and the guy who I won the bid from was actually way cool and understanding. FIRST off I went with the banks stipulations when shopping. These are the EXACT stipulations that need to be met.

Year: 1999 and newer
Mileage: 60,000 or less (this is why the deal fell thru with the Jeep)
My Budget: MAX 12k out the door - TT&L

I need something to get around and this is what I decided for my 32 year old self. If I get a Jeep or Full size truck, has to be able to tow and go off-road. If a car or a small SUV, preferrably something cool, BMW, Audi, Land Rover, Mini...I don't know something cool.

Well I found a 2002 Land Rover Freelander at Momentum Audi and picked it up this weekend. The asking price was 13k. Well luckily I have a friend well who knows people and I found out what they paid for it. Carmax has the exact same year/miles going for like 15k. I got it out the door for $10,400, then got a bumper to bumper warranty to cover it 4 years and up to 100k miles which came out to like $13,500 with TT&L. It currently has 47k. Anyway, all is cool, I do the scavenger hunt last night and cool I've found my daily driver, this is when it went bad or maybe not....

I was showing a friend today what I thought I had FULLY RESEARCHED, reviews from automotive magazines and THEN I found user reviews. I mean they are HIT or MISS. Like either they're lemons or great. Some people really hate them. ALOT of the complaints are brake related, that they have to change out the pads too often but I do all my work so no worry there. I also do have a bumper to bumper warranty on it.

So, just happens to be I couldn't sign the FINAL paperwork Saturday night which happens to be the contract and I'm at a crossroads. Take it back tomorrow with all the printed user reviews and hand the keys over to the dealer or keep it?????

TXIC HELP! The Guru is frustrated and need to know by tomorrow what to do.

General Google search for reviews - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search

User reviews (CHECK the 1st link on this page) - http://4wheeldrive.about.com/cs/freelander/index.htm

Guru

P.S. Sorry for the LONG A$$ post I am frustrated.

Pics of the Land Rover Freelander I have - http://www.revo1.com/landrover/index.htm

 

Man 13 reviews and not a single response. What kinda forum you guys running here?

 

sorry, i didn't even know this thread existed, keep us posted

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: Hotrodguru

I work in the Motorsport/Racing industry and will be providing ALL of the maintanance of my vehicle.

Then what is your concern ?

 

dude you did not even wait an hour before posting again. Give it some time, try a search if your in that much of a hurry.

 

Well about 54 minutes

Haha, sorry guy...the reason I was being a bit, ok maybe alot on the impatient side was because I had to decide whether or not I was purchasing the vehicle. Well I did get it and these are mainly the reasons.

I like the LRF and thats why I looked at it initially. Not only that but I have a friend who worked at Momentum (the dealership) so I got a SMOKIN deal on it. I think having a bumper-to-bumper warranty for 4 years / 100,000 miles with a free loaner sealed the deal. Just wish me luck and I hope it's one of the good ones, in a worst case scenario if it sucks I'll just sell it in a year or so and probably make some money or at least break even.

Another thing I had to deal with is some not so perfect credit history so for those of you that have the good numbers, it's not as easy to just go in to a dealer without a trade in OR money down and get something nice. Also means you can't get older vehicles, even if in mint condition what not because of the conditions. The Finance guy at Momentum hooked me up with some Facist Credit Union I'm sure but hell it dropped my APR a FULL 5 points from the 2 banks I had loans approved from so that alone rocked. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Here are the numbers Jim at Momentum gave me after I signed the paperwork, he said he was surprised I got such a smoking deal on it.

N.A.D.A. Adjusted Value - Retail: $15,275 - Trade: $12,725 - Loan: $11,575

I paid $10,400 ($9900 their cost) for the LRF, $1905 for extended warranty (their cost was $1800) then TT&L. Total with gap insurance and everything came out to about $13200.

Original Autotrader Ad - http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...4000&cardist=4

And for comparison, LRF's at Carmax ($14k +) - http://www.carmax.com/dyn/searchengi...er+%2420%2c000

Guru

P.S. Ohhh yeah the LRF has 47k on it and an older lady from River Oaks (wealthy area in Houston) owned it and I have every single service record with the vehicle. She used Castrol Synthetic throughout the ownership.

Pics - http://www.revo1.com/landrover/index.htm

 

Well, it is a V6, so you should be reasonable okay with it, the ones with the bad press are the 1.8 4 cyl engine versions, with Head Gasket failure been fairly common.

Things to watch out for are the clutch, and the IRD.

 

Well Battery went dead last week and was replaced by dealer...haha. Well besides thats I've really enjoyed my LR. Still having to get used to all the funky controls but nothing major. Took my Radio and Satellite out of my Subaru this weekend so think I'm set for hitting the beach or a little offroad/camping action.

On that subject...how capable is this LRF offroad? I mean I know I can't be rock climbing but what kind of grade hills can I climb or go up?

Guru

 

Don't do it man!!! I have a Freelander 2002 and I've had nothing but problems with it. Landrover has actually discontinued the model. You can check on their website...it doesn't even list it as a model any more. I've had my rover in the shop 12 times and 11 of those times was for replacement of defective parts!! Not a good percentage.