1998 Land Rover Freelander i 1.8L petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Faults:

When I purchased the car, I may have put the wrong petrol in it, but it broke down and lost power on the motorway, and I crawled for about 25 Kim's until in rectified itself. The mechanic could not find the cause of the breakdown.

2 months later, then the clutch went, and needed repair, and the tail gate needed replacing, costing all up $1000.

On the second year rego check in 2012, it had a rusted pipe attached to the exhaust that needed replacing, and I needed 4 new tyres, which they looked fine to me, but had to pass the pink slip.

About 2 weeks later, it broke down again like when I first purchased it. I would suspect wrong fuel, but then the car was towed and ran fine when at the mechanics. We took it out as nothing was wrong, and it did it again, and again it was towed. Thought it was the fuel pump, and the new mechanic held it for a week, driving it around to check the problem, before getting a new pump and nothing was worn, though the fuel that was put in must have run through by now. I understand it was BP91. My mother was driving it, so who knows.

Can't wait to get rid of it and trade in for a new car. Too many gremlins, too unreliable.

General Comments:

I quite liked the car at first. Thought it would be good for going out to the country for the rougher roads and wet, but I'm now just feeling broke and disappointed, and sort of ripped off. Didn't really do my homework before I purchased the car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 25th May, 2012

1998 Land Rover Freelander XEI 1.8 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Worst. Car. Ever

Faults:

The tail lights went out due to an electrical issue, and all the wiring had to be replaced.

The cable between the climate control knob (to adjust where the air blows) broke, and the entire dash needed to be taken apart to repair it.

The headliner fell down, the fabric on the door panels is coming off.

The door handle for the tail gate came loose and had to be duct taped back together to prevent the tailgate from popping open.

The side mirror electronic control quit.

The car developed a mean shake at about 55km/hr, and it turns out that the tailshaft needed to be replaced from the rear diff to the gear box. Just the part is $2000 or more new, and I haven't found a second hand one for less than $1100. Most of the wrecking yards I spoke with said that they won't even touch Freelanders because they are such foul cars.

Paint is fading around the windows.

Radiator leaking.

Power steering leaking.

General Comments:

I haven't had this car very long, but it has certainly been the worst car I have ever owned. I would never ever ever purchase another one, and I hope that no one else will either.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th July, 2010

14th Jul 2010, 21:59

Better check your head gasket too. Then get rid of it.

14th Sep 2010, 04:00

I just spent $4,700 on the engine of our Land Rover Freelander 1998. It's still not going... Worst car I have seen, and I hate it! Biggest piece of rubbish.

1st Mar 2012, 06:07

Owner of a year 2000 built Freelander from Colyton, NSW Australia... 1.8 L petrol version. This car runs fine, however out of precaution, I am changing the head gasket to the latest release, which is the black gasket with the face plate - the original red one may risk a failure, so would recommend you upgrade to the present release one.

While at it, I am also changing the clutch kit, as the present release clutch is the more heavy duty one. The driver's side door auto lock is a no go, however you get to the solenoid and spray some WD40 on it, as it appears seized, then that's fixed.

Air con only works on some speeds.

Aside from all this, I love this car. It has great handling on road, and there's not too many of them around, it isn't too common, therefore stands out a little.