Freelander II - thoughts advice please.

Grimspoon

Grimspoon

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Ok so I think I have settled on the Freelander II as the new family wagon. The wife absolutely loved the car inside and out.

It also fits the budget nicely even though it has less "toys" than other cars like the sportage and ix35.

Whilst I have never heard bad things about the new Freelander I need to ask opinions in terms of after sales service and price on parts / services out of plan (the one I am after has 4 years plan left and has 10k KM's)

A guy I worked with has one and he swears by it so my gut says it will be a good buy. My wife will be driving it 90% of the time and she drives very gently so it may even last past motor plan, I do have a mechanic who says he can fix anything.
 
I don't think fixing will be your problem.... The cost of fixing will be your problem. Price around some of the parts then add a percentage to give you an idea what it will be like in a few years time when motorplan is over. Then see if it worthwhile.
 
Also I think the resale may be very low on a car like that...... But then again on all cars...
 
Thanks for the feedback. I need to establish if it is going to be a wise buy or not. I'm guessing out of plan in 4 years will be risky, but in relation to other makes I'm not sure the upkeep costs.
 
My dad loves the FL2.... and the only thing stopping him from buying it is the peace of mind he's gotten from the likes of BMW and Merc in terms of "I know it's not going to give me problems".

Is it the new facelift? There was a facelift (with some important changes) that came out in February, and it severely affects the secondhand prices of the one before that.
 
I would have gone Sportage. My sister has one and its a wonderful car. Im sure you will enjoy the Freelander though.
 
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I'm not sure if it is the face lift, it's a 2012 so assuming not.

The sportage is also very nice and loaded with features just not convinced it's better than the freelander.
 
Grimspoon said:
I'm not sure if it is the face lift, it's a 2012 so assuming not.

The sportage is also very nice and loaded with features just not convinced it's better than the freelander.
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My sisters husband owns a company that has a fleet of cars. So when they chose the Sportage they looked at everything. Features, fuel consumption, cost to repair and service, etc. In the end they settled on the Sportage. I dont know if they checked out the Freelander.
 
Grimspoon said:
I'm not sure if it is the face lift, it's a 2012 so assuming not.

The sportage is also very nice and loaded with features just not convinced it's better than the freelander.
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You can't really compare the two... the FL2 is a pretty luxury vehicle, with an amazing offroad capability. Much better than the Sportage. It's also R200k more, so you shouldn't be comparing them at all.
 
froot said:
You can't really compare the two... the FL2 is a pretty luxury vehicle, with an amazing offroad capability. Much better than the Sportage. It's also R200k more, so you shouldn't be comparing them at all.
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I do see your point, and I agree. Reality is that they are basically the same price, except the sportage is brand new so is a year newer.
 
Grimspoon said:
I do see your point, and I agree. Reality is that they are basically the same price, except the sportage is brand new so is a year newer.
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Ah, so you're comparing the new price to the 2nd hand price. That's fine, and it's often done.
It will come down to what you want out of the car... I know the guys are happy with the Sportage.

With the FL2, as with any other LR, maintenance is going to be the pricey thing later - tyres are about R4k a pop (18") (for decent AT tyres). If you can't afford a "suprise", I'd rather recommend the Sportage ie, or maybe something in the line of the VW Tiguan (a very nice car too).
 
froot said:
Ah, so you're comparing the new price to the 2nd hand price. That's fine, and it's often done.
It will come down to what you want out of the car... I know the guys are happy with the Sportage.

With the FL2, as with any other LR, maintenance is going to be the pricey thing later - tyres are about R4k a pop (18") (for decent AT tyres). If you can't afford a "suprise", I'd rather recommend the Sportage ie, or maybe something in the line of the VW Tiguan (a very nice car too).
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Yeah comparing new to 2nd, which really insn't the way to look at it. The FL2 is a good R100 000 more new at about R418 000 new next to R340 0000 for the sportage.

If something did go wrong I could afford to fix it, but not happily. No one wants to fork out on a expensive car. That being said I may just trade it up in 4 years.
 
Grimspoon said:
Yeah comparing new to 2nd, which really insn't the way to look at it. The FL2 is a good R100 000 more new at about R418 000 new next to R340 0000 for the sportage.

If something did go wrong I could afford to fix it, but not happily. No one wants to fork out on a expensive car. That being said I may just trade it up in 4 years.
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That's a good start, just as long as you don't have to take out a loan to pay for something. Of course no one wants to get a suprise ;)

That said, yeah, trading up in 4 years is not a bad idea. They do tend to sell easily (disregarding the current vehicle market) so it shouldn't be a problem getting it sold later.
 
The freelander 2 is in a different league to the sportages, ix35 etc.
They are very nice cars. When something breaks just dont go to an agent. Get involved in a 4x4 forum and you will get all the advice you need there.
 
froot said:
That's a good start, just as long as you don't have to take out a loan to pay for something. Of course no one wants to get a suprise ;)

That said, yeah, trading up in 4 years is not a bad idea. They do tend to sell easily (disregarding the current vehicle market) so it shouldn't be a problem getting it sold later.
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Thanks froot. I think I will see what the mileage is on in 4 years and make a call from there. If it is really low it may be worth keeping it for another year or so.
 
Rocket-Boy said:
The freelander 2 is in a different league to the sportages, ix35 etc.
They are very nice cars. When something breaks just dont go to an agent. Get involved in a 4x4 forum and you will get all the advice you need there.
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Thanks. I will never go to the stealers when a car is out of plan :p

That was also my feeling, comparing a Kia to a Land Rover doesn't seem like a fair comparison. Basically I am happy to take quality over quantity.

I also have a family mechanic, he is pretty good, so he could service the vehicle no problem. I need to ask him if he can fix it if it breaks lol.
 
Freelander2 is getting a complete new design next year (looks to be based on the Evoque). Which means all the "old" models are going to lose resale value significantly.
 
Brenden_E said:
Freelander2 is getting a complete new design next year (looks to be based on the Evoque). Which means all the "old" models are going to lose resale value significantly.
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Link? All I can see is that there is a facelift model, purely cosmetic.
 
Grimspoon said:
Link? All I can see is that there is a facelift model, purely cosmetic.
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I seem to remember something like that too (I think). Would have to ask my dad when I see him again, he's the one keeping up to date with the stuff.
 
It's a complete remake based on the evoque - can't remember where I originally read it but here's a similar story http://www.carscoops.com/2013/03/spied-land-rover-trots-out-new.html

Says 2015, but as I recall they said first half of 2015, so it's a bit more than a year before the new models comes. The current gen has been around for some years, so it was due for a remake.

The freelander2 is among the best of the SUVs off-road. If your wife doesn't plan to go off-road, not sure if it's the best buy. If you are adventurers that will go places with it, then you can't go wrong.
 
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