1999 Land Rover Freelander SW from UK and Ireland - Comments

Where do I start?

I bought the car and it was/is immaculate. It had the engine rebuilt (they all have to do it at least once) so it seemed fine.

After 100 miles the drive shaft broke.. £600.00.

Then a sill went in the gearbox so the fluids were leaking onto the exhaust which stunk! £100.00.

When I bought it, it had new tyres, within 6000 miles they were bald. £200.00.

Then a gasket went on the exhaust manifold - £100.00 (very difficult to get to)

Then three warning lights came on - ABS, Traction control and Hill decent - still on.

Reversing the car in the garage the door mirror tapped the wall - only a light tap and the glass shattered £10.

Exhaust is about to blow.

Cuts out when the weather is warm. Did it on a busy motorway and everywhere else.

Back window broke - £200.

Ignition switch broke - £100.

Drives horrible - on bends it feels like a boat.

Fuel economy is horrible! Do well to get 28mpg if I drive slow.

Performance - joke.

This car is a disaster. DO NOT BUY ONE!! I read the horrible stories here and still bought one and it has cost me a fortune. I paid £5,100 for it 6 months ago - I will be happy if I get £3,500 just to get rid of this hideous nightmare.

Unless you want to break down all the time and constantly spend money on a seriously badly built car don't buy one. If you do you are as stupid as all the rest of us that did. Land Rover should be sued for producing such a lame car.

I can't explain how much I hate this car. I spoke to owners before I bought one and they said they were good...

Buy Japanese. You think it is not as cool, but being stranded on the motorway or the car being in the garage more time than it is on the road is NOT cool. Buy an Armani suit - actually 5 instead of the repair costs and then you'll be cool in anything. Don't BUY LAND ROVER.

I wish all reviews are as honest and as straightforward as this. Buying a car is not something you can do every other day. thanks for the comment.

Excellent no nonsense review, very good humorous account of a particular bad experience involving a freelander.

Why would a 1999 vehicle engine "have to be rebuilt as they all must be" in 2005? I knew Land Rovers were some of the worst vehicles you can buy, but having to rebuild an engine every six years?

Exactly! Why? But they do..

When I see people in these cars I can only hope they have had a better experience than I did - but I really doubt it.

I just bought a new RAV4. The difference is unreal. The new Freelander was the same price, but please - Don't DO IT. RUN!!! The RAV is brilliant. We still cringe when we see those terrible cars and always marvel that they are moving. We can only guess they are on the way back from the garage, on the way to the next breakdown.

Yep, bought my Freelander 3 and a half years ago with 34000kms only on the clock,

One replacement engine, new exhaust which has only lasted 3years, ball joint replacement, new tyres only 15000kms then dead, brakes smell, petrol consumption a disaster, the sunroof has rusted away and will not work, water in the boot, and so much more fun, But it works today, imported it into Belgium from Sweden, and some days I really love it, Its been across Europe to Croatia, and Italy, and through Poland and to the UK many times, Maybe I am just a sentimental old English Git, who never says enough is enough.

Oh well, next car will be a Jag???

James in Brussels.

Sorry for your misfortune, but your general statements about the Freelander is a little over the top.

The head gasket on the 1.8 petrol will often go, but that does not mean that you have to replace the whole engine. It means you have to replace the head gasket! Which I did myself last year at the cost of £40. Even at a garage this is not more than £400-500. It's not the end of the world.

Besides that I've had very few problems with my two Freelanders. But I agree that the head gaskets on these cars are poorly designed.

I have a 2002 freelander and it is CR*P. with in a year I have had transmission problems, a broken window, the the petrol pump replaced. As of today my car is in the shop for bearings and drive shaft problems. I'm fixing it and selling it.

The head gasket failed on my 1999 Freelander for the first time last year. The car had done 95,000 miles and had otherwise never given me a day's trouble.

I did the repairs myself, and fitted the upgraded gasket kit and the Pressure Relief Thermostat kit from a Land Rover dealer which I am told are an effective workaround for the design fault that causes this problem.

The work took me a day and cost me under £100. As I said, it's not like I've had any other big bills since I bought it new 8 years ago.

I'm delighted with my Freelander. It's far more reliable than my old P-reg Audi A4 1.8, hence why I've hung on to it.

Please can anybody help me as I have replaced a new type gasket on my freelander 1.8. I've had the head skimmed and to my knowledge I've put it back together correctly, but now when I try to start it, it sounds like there's a lack of compression! I think that the timing is correct, but not 100% sure. can anybody please, please help??? paul...

My friend went through a nightmare with a Freelander. In the first year (2001) it needed a gearbox and head gasket and spent a ton of time in the shop on lots of little things. The second year (no warranty) cost her exhaust, fuel injectors plus a ton of other costly problems. She sold it and dropped nearly $20k and went and bought herself a used BMW 318i to drive around, she is terrified to change cars now. I wanted a 4WD at the same time as her and was VERY tempted because the Freelander is a nice looking bit of kit... I bought a Grand Vitara instead and it simply refuses to have money spent on it, 140kms and NOTHING, but a standard oil service twice a year (plus 1 timing belt, brake pads & tyres). Never missed a single beat ever and she has done some hard work. I have never owned a cheaper or more reliable car. Its ugly, but I not longer care about looks. When I was younger I spent endless hours as a Britt car nut working my weekends away on a series of Triumphs, Mini's, Rovers. I understand your love/hate/grief relationship, but you need to let go and never go back. The people who build/design these cars are almost evil and at best should be in jail.

To the driver of the Grand Vitara; Yes they are reliable, but unfortunately yours is coming due a clutch and this job is expensive. Check also the bell housing on the gearbox, as this is also a common and costly fault. To the guy who just fitted a new head gasket 28/2/08; have you checked the air inlet manifold? You might have a leak there.

Thank you all; I'm glad I read this site before parting with my hard-earned. I'm not going near one, new or old!