Recommend me a 4x4

[difinity]

K series engines were and still are famous for the head gaskets failing, regardless of what vehicle they are fitted to. They are just as unreliable as the scare stories suggest. I spent my fair share of time as a mechanic repairing a fair few, and the main dealer opinion is you're lucky to make it to 50k without it failing.

[Gonk]

Morning,

 

I used to work for a Land Rover dealer and the first bit of advice is DO NOT buy a petrol Land Rover of any description! You don't want the headaches!

 

Firstly, don't let starship miles put you off, so long as the vehicle is in good condition and has a good history the odds are it will be fine. Landy owners tend to love and cherish them, so will spend big money to keep them in tip top condition.

 

I've had a look around and found this 1998 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 300 TDI 5DR 50TH ANNIVERSARY 1 OWNER Its one of the last 300 Tdi discovery's. They're pretty good on diesel and 300Tdi parts are easy to come by and tend to be reasonably priced.

 

I also found this Freelander 2001 LAND ROVER Freelander 2.0 Td4 ES Station Wagon

 

Its got the BMW M47 Diesel engine so its reliable and will give reasonable economy. The IRD unit will not be an issue as 90% of Freelanders underwent the "Customer Reassurance Program" i.e. Land Rover recalled them and replaced the IRD and did a host of upgrades. Again, check the service history it will tell you if its been looked after or not.

 

If you want an help/advice on Land Rover product, let me know and I'll help if I can.

 

Cheers

 

Ross

[DJ-Jonesy]

i agree with the landy people on here if you want 4x4 then its only a Land Rover dont be too scared of Range rovers the older models are not actually that big, but a defender 110 for the space or 90 for being small are cool cars easily repairable by either your self or some one near you.

 

A mate who is land rover made (bit of an understatment hes 20 and already owned 5 landys) keeps trying to convince me to get a discovery.

[broc]

The old 300tdi Discovery is a proper Land Rover & will go on forever if looked after. I had a late (2004) Discovery II TD5, in many respects it was like any traditional Land Rover... it left it's mark wherever it went.... oil leaks from the engine, gearbox, A/C leaked, coolant leaked, even air leaked from the self-levelling suspension. It must have cost LR £3000-£4000 in warranty work so I got rid of it when the warranty ran out as I couldn't afford the risk it was going to keep on breaking at my expense

[Sirbendy]

Foresters I like. Mitsubishis I like. Fronteras? Old and obsolete now, but tough as old boots...

[Guest Guest]

Fronteras? Old and obsolete now, but tough as old boots...

 

My mate has the 2l 8v one of those, the calibra/cav engine iirc, and omg it was slow! It was horrendously underpowered for such a big car. I remember us all going to Penriff over the A66 and it struggled like hell on the upwards section - HGVs were overtaking him! lol

[Sirbendy]

Yes, I've seen those...and one that had a turbo..well, the turbo whine, but no apparent benefit..heh. That said, they do have a following, there's LOTS of Vx engines you can bung in them, and the bits are cheap...

[bossman]

@Hightower:

 

For that kind of money you wont get anything decent except perhaps for this:

[Hightower]

Might be going to look at this tonight.

 

2000 LAND ROVER Freelander 2.0 Di Hardback

 

Can people in the know give me a list of what to check to make sure I don't get stung?

[markcuk]

mitsubishi delica or toyota estima loads of these in nz ultra reliable.

[john]

My comment on the Freelander 1 is the lack of head height in the front, if your 6ft plus no chance of getting comfortable unless you got fully adjustable seats which seemingly were only on a few models / extra, I cannot sit comfy in ours to drive it and im 6ft 1, its not much fun doing any mileage with a crick in your neck.

 

Boot space is also a joke, its tiny for such a large vehicle, I joke that we cannot get a weeks shopping in the boot without piling it high, my toolbox and box of general IT Junk I carry with me for spares just about fills the boot in ours (without stacking up obviously!) so its a bit of a joke in my opinion. The Freelander 2 is a better vehicle but will be out of your price range I suspect as its too new.