Should I buy it?

ElkyElky

I found a Land Rover Freelander XEI S-WAGON 1.8L for £1550 with 76k miles. Seller states it's in perfect condition and there isn't a scratch on it. Just passed its MOT last week.

I'm tempted to go view it and possibly buy it but my concern is, according to Google, this car is worth around £2800 so I'm wondering why they are selling it so cheap?

Is there anything I should be aware of or consider before buying it? I've never had a Land Rover before.

Thanks

The_Crunchy_Nutter

How old is it? Landys (even the modern rubbish) are sturdy vehicles, but when they go wrong it's usually expensive.
Got to be worth a testdrive I'd have thought - gearbox is worth scrutinising. Also check seals etc for water leakage. My 'expertise' is with the old school series landys tbh.

OK_Sauce

From personal experience if you get a bad one it's quite possible you could face large bills. A friend of mine had one that was off the road more than it was on the road...and I don't mean they were "offroading" either! Not sure what model they had though.

Take a look at the Honest John website. They have pretty comprehensive model by model reviews.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk

ElkyElky

It's 1998. If I view it, I guess I can always get their V5 details so I could check the MOT history online? It's about an hours drive from me so I just wanted to get all the information I could before going all of that way to see it.

zax47

1.8 engine has the dodgy head gaskets. Check if it's been replaced, if not then you will end up doing it!

ElkyElky

zax47 wrote: »

1.8 engine has the dodgy head gaskets. Check if it's been replaced, if not then you will end up doing it!

Would that be expensive to replace?

ROY47

£545 at a specialist but a bit less at a local trusted garage ?

http://www.freelanderspecialist.com/freelander-problems/freelander-problems-freelander-1-8-k-series-head-gasket-replacement

Unless you know a good independent mechanic / specialist, Land Rovers can have horrific repair bills at main dealers :eek:

NeverAgain_2

I would be very wary of a car advertised for around half-price.

No sellers are that poorly-informed.

There's every chance this car is stolen, written off repaired or dodgy in some other respect.

I don't have the expertise to do all the vehicle and document checks, so I wouldn't give the seller the chance to outwit me.

ROY47

Also check for water leaks in the rear comparetment /rear footwells

the can be a bit thirsty on petrol

have a good read here as well

http://www.myfreelander.co.uk/

atrixblue.-MFR-.

HPI it, do the relevant checks on it before you visit if you have the reg.

dont forget you can get cars with slight HG leaks through mots!! maybe good in body wise shape, and interior but what info has he stated the engine is in???

ElkyElky

NeverAgain wrote: »

I would be very wary of a car advertised for around half-price.

No sellers are that poorly-informed.

There's every chance this car is stolen, written off repaired or dodgy in some other respect.

I don't have the expertise to do all the vehicle and document checks, so I wouldn't give the seller the chance to outwit me.

I'm beginning to think maybe they know it has a problem hence the low price, although their listing states it's "a great runner" which is pretty vague in my opinion. It looks like it's in immaculate condition from the pictures I've seen.