A friend of mine is upgrading and letting his 2010 plate XS go, I'm thinking of buying it and am looking for a little advice.

It has FsH, very clean condition, no noises etc. just had the whole rear diff replaced costing £950, all new tyres.

Is there anything I should be aware of? I don't have a huge amount to be dropping on parts going so I'd like to be aware of possible things to look out for while test driving it. (My friend doesn't think there's any probs but is far from a mechanic)

Am I right in saying that it's a good thing the rear diff has been replaced? Something I can most likely be assured won't break on me anytime soon.

Sorry if this is in the wrong topic!!

Thanks.

Well, that's one less thing to worry about!

FL2's are great vehicles but I am not sure I would want to own one with a limited budget for repairs. They are pretty reliable but when they do go wrong they can be relatively expensive to fix. Mileage offers no guarantee of reliability. The diff replacement is a definite positive. The main potential problem areas are the rear diff, the clutch and flywheel if it is a manual and oil leaks. To test the clutch, take it to a hill and accelerate hard in fifth or sixth. If the revs rise without the car speeding up it indicates clutch wear (£1000 fix). The rear discs have an integrated drum for the handbrake which can/will rust up over time. Not too expensive to sort out but listen for any noises from that area.

If you want more info type "fault" into the forum search function and put aside an hour or two to read the results!

I certainly wouldn't advise you to buy one without some kind of warranty if you don't have the available funds for repairs.

If you search the posts you will see what I mean.

Iain

I am on my third Freelander 2 and have found the cars to be very reliable. I drive 300 miles a week to get to work. I can highly recommend the Greelander. I have had an XS. I bought one at 30000 miles and did another 30000 miles without a single problem. Good luck. The visibility all round is great plus the command driving position. You can see a long way ahead on the motorway. I wouldn't be without my lovely Landrover.

Thanks for the replys all.

If it's the odd £200 then it's no problem, but I don't fancy getting stuck with problems that'll cost £500 upwards on a regular.

I'm not too aware of the common problems and costs of those problems.

It is an auto, runs very smooth and has done 80k mostly genuine motorway.

Mine have all been automatics. I do 15k year on average motorway driving to and from work. Once you buy a a Landrover you will not look back. Reliability I have found good on the three I have had. My husband has had his FL2 for 6 years without problem. His Dad is on his second Freelander. Our family experience is great.

You would have to be very unlucky to face regular repairs upward of £500 on a freelander 2, clutch will probably need changed in next couple of years 2014 SE Loire Blue SD4 Auto (MY15)
Gone - 2011 GS Baltic Blue, Retrofit Electric Leather, Side Steps, 19"SC's, Roof Rails, TT Sat Nav Mod, Retrofit Premium Audio, Retro fit 2013 Xenons with DRL & Sig Strip (Clutch at 47k)
Gone - 2007 GS Narvik Black, Privacy Glass, 19" SC's, Side Steps,Roof Rails, Roof Spoiler, Lamp Guards, Retrofit Electric Leather (Clutch at 115k)
Gone - 2007 SE Santorini Black (Clutch at 120k)
BT IID (best money ever spent on a car)

If you pick any car in the world & go on to owners forums like Freel2.com etc you are going to have members moaning about how unreliable there cars are, worst car I have owned etc not many will post good experiences. If your mates car has been looked after been serviced regular & you can have it for a fair price Go for it

Ditto.

I had a Peugeot 504 for the remaining 17 years of it's 25 years. Then A Seat Ibiza for 18 years. Each had about 230,000 km. They both had a similar quantities of issues with maintenance but I think no more or less than any other car. If anything, they actually got more reliable the older they got.

All cars need repairs and one needs to put funds aside for running costs. I the diff goes on my Freelander in 5 years, so be it. It's no different to replacing the head gasket on my Peugeot at 160,000 km for example.

I always get my mechanic to fix problems at the earliest opportunity and regular servicing. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

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