Anyone any experience of owning one? Im toying with the idea of getting one for about £1500 to take me off road and to a few shows where I need a bigger vehicle, dont really fancy driving one every day. However Im a bit worried about the repairs that may be required or are they generally fairly reliable/ cheep to get sorted?

we've got a grand Cherokee Jeep its brilliant for the shows etc: loads of room in the back for the dogs .

Roni

Not getting rid of the Scooby Doo

Isn't the boot big enough ? :)

Oh No... this was a way of keeping Scooby AND having a bigger boot/towing capability (dont fancy my chances of staying under 50mph towing in the Scooby :D AND it will probably become the mud car for those days when you go for walks and everyone gets absolutly plastered, actually there will be more scope if we can go off road!

Sounds a bit extravagant but found out that I can insure one for £150 - a wee bit different to the Scooby!

We used to have a long wheel based pajero (mitsubishi shogun import) which had loads of room in the back. I asked one of our mechanics what he thought about cheap 4x4's & he said anything japanese. Going by the invoices I've priced up 4x4's are usually quite expensive when they go wrong but Freelanders seems very poor - sorry, not trying to offend anyone, just going by what we've repaired.

I have a freelander - its OK so far touch wood, but yes people dont have a v.good opinion on them :-(

HI I HAVE a freelander aswell, i would never have another one though .

scareymary why would you not have one again?

Sadly a good example of how mud sticks... Most people dont realise the rep of the Freelander has changed from the older series. The Freelander at present is No:1 in the top5 4x4's for What Car for just one example.
   Personally Im glad about this tho' as in my area there is a swarm of X5's (footballers wife) and Range Rover sports (Chelsea Tractor) I feel quite unique in my Landy :D

I only got mine in October and I love it!  Its PURPLE!  LOL

So the Purple People Eater is still going strong then Lisa? <G>

I love my Freelander, it is just over a year old and i could not ask for more, i travel a lot with my job i find it comfortable during long distances, the suspension is not too bouncy over x country ( dog show fields and sled dog rallies) the dogs have enough room, and the fact that the back window opens up for the dogs so they get fresh air direct to them without my freezing to death in the front is a def bonus!! and have loads more room if i fold the back seats flat, have to say i cannot fault it and would def recommend it as a fab all round vehicle!

I've probably got a biaised view of 4x4's cause we're a repair centre. Japanese for me anyday.

lissa since having my freelander ive had nothing but problems with it, got it in september and the gear box is terrible the drivers window keeps getting stuck the heaters are rubbish,and the rear window will only completly open or close it has no inbetween,which is no good when you have dogs in the back,before the freelander i had a toyota rav4,i loved it id have another one in a second,im saving my pennys for a brand new one so i have to put up with driving the freelander for now .

Hi scarymary, the rear window could be down to how you use it? i know it can only go down in stages not up, eg if you are wanting to close it an inch you can only do this by closing it fully then opening it again to the size you want, but you can open it bit by bit and there is then no problem, if this is not how yours is working then there is def something wrong.. it is something to do with safety feature re children, since an accident was reported about a child having an accident ??

sorry if this is something you already know just thought it worth mentioning, as i say mine has been great, but then it is new maybe when it gets worn in then it may be less reliable, time will tell..

sandy

Me too! My step son had a Range Rover and it cost him a fortune. I have a very old LWB pajero and, touch wood, it goes like a bomb and has needed almost no work doing on it.

Hi,

have you thought about a Maverick?? Not the most adored 4x4 i know, but I've just got rid of my car and bought a 1995 5 door (7 seats) for 2.5k. It's very car like on the road, great for towing and is pretty good off road too.

It's only costing me £240 a year fully comp to insure, and thats for me and the OH (and I'm under 30, so that's pretty good).

Failing that, you can't beat a Land Rover Defender for off road, although the olders ones probably wouldn't be too comfortable on the road for long journeys, especially if you're used to a Scooby!! :) :)

Claire

I am looking at all sorts, although they appear to all even out at about £2K, so given the choice I quite fancy 'electric everything' and leather seats :D Also appear to be a lot more Range Rovers around than some of the alternatives.

grand cherokee jeeps have leather seats and electric everything  loads of space dead comfy OH loves it ...ours is a 4lt bit price on the petrol but if you can get your hands on a LPG converted its approx 50 ml to the gallon .

Strangly MPG dosnt really worry me as I dont do all that much milage. Good job really as current car only does about 25mpg on a good day. Still I comfort myself with the fact that I dont fly very often and so dont polute that way. I have to say that I havnt seen may old Jeeps for sale. Any idea where they all go to?

there are a few on autotrader !

Why not have a look at the Toyota Hi lux surf they have loads of back space,  and usually low milage mostly imports. But run well through mud snow, my daughter in law has one and would not go back to a normal car,

I have owned a Land Rover Defender and now have a Discovery and apart from service costs I have found them very reliable and inexpensive.  Both were TD5s (diesel).  Range Rovers are a lot more expensive to run and service.  I love my Disco but also regret selling the Defender, if only I had enough space for both of them.  Misty is much happier and (safer) in the Discovery.  I have previously owned a Mishuishi Shogun - it too was very reliable and although cheaper to maintain, I prefer the Disco overall.  Hope this helps! :)