Help me decide on a new car please! Land Rover?

[Leonberger]

Has anyone got a freelander 2 who can tell me if they have any reliability issues with it? I’ve seen one for sale but I’m not sure whether to risk it as it’s quite high mileage (80k)

Is mileage a massive issue these days? I remember years ago it being an issue but with more modern types does it matter?

Alternatively if anyone can recommend something else that would be great:
Small budget of 6k
Prefer 4x4 as live rurally but not a must
Must have a really big boot as we have 3 dogs to shuttle and a pram to fit in. Currently have a tiguan which is too slightly too small but we can manage at a push with an SUV size.
Prefer not a people carrier style if possible!

Land Rovers. A car thief's dream. Absolutely shocking security. I don't know why LR aren't doing something about it.

Over Christmas in our village 7 cars stolen. All LR. Apparently sold for parts, which fits of unreliable.

Unreliable at best. Go on YouTube and watch High Peak Autos. Owner Matt talks about various cars he sees and their shortcomings. He can buy Volvo for £300 That might cost £500 to put right and be good for years, yet A BMW might cost him 3k and be 3k to fix. He talks about LR. Skoda are v.reliable btw

Land Rovers. A car thief's dream. Absolutely shocking security. I don't know why LR aren't doing something about it.

Ah yes, I forgot about that joy. LV refused to cover my RR Sport any longer as so many are pinched. Last year I had to get specialist insurance as I couldn't find normal cover plus install a tracker that cost another £200 a year (pointless in any case as thieves just rip it straight off).

This year, I've struck gold (kind of) as a few more mainstream insurers seem to be insuring RRs again.

Going against the grain, I have a 20210 Freelander 2 with 120k miles on it and literally the only issue I have ever had is an erroneous oil check message on the dashboard. True, it does drink fuel, but it is so enjoyable to drive and practical for kids/dogs/chucking hear in the back. £6k sounds like a decent price, too.

I also had an XC90 which was trouble free. My parents' Volvo estate went on to about 150,000 miles which is quite common for Volvos.

Loads to think about!!

I didn’t think about insurance really, I’ll check some comparisons sites to see what prices I’m looking at.

I wish I could do without a car but it’s impractical as it’s a 30min motorway drive, would probably kill me to cycle there and take half a day
I have young children so I need to be able to pick them up from school at the drop of a hat and do the shopping etc. DH is useless as he’s out the house 6am-6pm and he would have the other car.
If it wasn’t for that I would gladly walk everywhere!!

It’s a shame as the Land Rover looks the best condition wise but I can’t be bothered with it dropping to pieces or getting stolen!

Just to add to above, We’ve had two old Volvo XC90s that we’re brilliant. Our last one was 13.5 years old and still going strong with 130,000. We only upgraded as we live in a London ULEZ area so it would have cost us £15 to drive it every day.

They are huge and solid, comfortable to drive but not the cheapest to run but no big 4x4 will be unless you go for electric or hybrid.

I've a 09 freelander and I love it! I've had it about 10 years and other than letting me down once after I put supermarket diesel in it once and dh who is a mechanic still reminds me of it's been brilliant. It's done 200000 miles plus now and dh regularly reminds me I need to think of changing it but can't find anything else I like as much.
I think some of them had different engines in if I remember correctly as dh was very picky about which one I had and checked it thoroughly before buying .

I've got to be honest, I've not heard of LR's being a particular target for theft (old ones and high end RR's yes, Freelanders no) and that's something I would absolutely hear about in my job.

My insurance in under £400 a year fully comp with all the extras included, so not overly expensive for what it is. The only issue we have is that no mainstream insurers will insure DS on it. He's only 17 and a new driver so this doesn't actually concern me in the slightest except it would be nice if he could collect us from the pub in it but maybe something to bear in mind depending on your situation.

@CalmDownBoris72

Just to add to above, We’ve had two old Volvo XC90s that we’re brilliant. Our last one was 13.5 years old and still going strong with 130,000. We only upgraded as we live in a London ULEZ area so it would have cost us £15 to drive it every day.

They are huge and solid, comfortable to drive but not the cheapest to run but no big 4x4 will be unless you go for electric or hybrid.

I second this - we've got a 2010 plate XC90 with almost 100k on the clock (a fair proportion of which I've done) and it's an absolute workhorse. It just goes; no drama at all. We've owned it for 5 years and only ever had to do routine maintenance on it - no intention to change it in the near future either, so we'll see how long it goes for!

If you like the Tiguan have you looked at a touran? Bigger boot and extra seats if needed. We also live rurally with kids, dogs, prams and scooters to transport and favour it over the Tiguan.

The driving position is also quite high if that's what is attaching you to the LR.

I’ll have a look at a touran. I was wanting to avoid a people carrier type thing as I can imagine getting stuck in muddy fields with it but to be fair that’s only about 3 days of the year so I could live with it.

I could afford an old old xc90 but I was a bit worried about buying something 2007-2008, is it not a huge risk?

We have a Kia sorrento. I absolutely love it. Massive boot. Just an all round great car. Not sure what kind of price you would be looking at though.

@plm456

I have a Land Rover. A RR Sport rather than a Freelander but I will never buy any car made by LR. It breaks constantly and spends a ridiculous amount of time in the garage (20% of 2019). As a result, I have to pay for their expensive warranty which is £125 a month.

I can only speak for the 4 LR garages near me, but they are a nightmare answering the phone or returning messages, pretend the warranty doesn't cover the diagnostic fees for an agreed fault (can be over £500, even though the warranty people will correctly tell you it does cover it), takes forever if you want a courtesy car and comes up with a ludicrous list of "work needed" after a service. Oh and pranged my car on two occasions and tried to deny it (so now I have to take photos when I drop it off). My most recent list of urgent work totalled £1,500, a quick visit to my very honest independent garage advised me that none of it needed doing.

It's a shame as it's a lovely car to drive. The usual cabal of disgruntled owners sat in the service area of the dealers tend to cast pitying looks at the poor souls buying their shiny new Land Rovers.

Oh now this is interesting. DH has had a RR Sport for about 18 months. It passed its first MOT recently, but ever since the driver's window has been playing up. He took it back and they sorted it. But now the AirBag warning light comes on randomly. Apparently it's something to do with when we switch the seat settings between mine and DH's? According to the LR garage it's a well known glitch on RR Sports. To correct it costs roughly £500 + labour

Also, DH wants to upgrade the tech on it, have a better SatNav fitted etc, but apparently you simply can't. You just have to buy a brand new RR each time.

But it is bloody lovely to drive though. I'm taking DD1 back to university today and I'm genuinely looking forward to the long drive [happy]

peaceanddove

I've had the airbag warning one! Also the driver's door wouldn't open for 3 days (not even by putting the window down and opening it with the handle).

The most recent was the rear passenger door not latching, so whenever I turned a corner, the door swung open by the pavement. Made for a fun drive home on my own with no one to hold it. My husband eventually managed to get it shut but then the garage couldn't open it.

The heated seats, the air conditioning (that one took 6 weeks and 3 separate stays at the garage to fix), the electric boot mechanism, fluid leaks, the suspension, I could go on and on. I think a mechanic mentioned it has 5km of wiring and I suspect this may be 4km more than it can support...

The one silver lining is that the LR extended warranty people are lovely and it usually pays for itself (which isn't necessarily a compliment). Shame as the car is lovely to drive when everything is working (which is rare).

I love my Honda CR-V, it’s really good on fuel and massive inside, it fits my 2 big dogs in the boot, it did fit a pushchair (not needed anymore) it’s truly a fab car, and it’s so comfy to drive. I’ve had no issues with it so far 🤞🏻 It stays that way, just basics like tyres & breakpads.

Oh dear God. That sounds like fun

DH's partner also drives a RR and he reckons the LR garage keep a note of his cc details and every time he merely drives past, they deduct £500 off his card!

It's lucky they're so beautiful to drive.

I really really wanted the Land Rover…it’s much nicer to look and drive than the others but sadly I don’t think my bank account can cope

I think DH and you should try to manage with one car. Definitely not a Land Rover.

I think one car would be impossible.

DH works an hour away in the opposite direction to me.
We have children I need to get to school and back along rural country lane roads that are 60mph.
I have 3 massive dogs to ferry around to vets/dog shows/training etc. DH has an aygo!
I also work 30mins away down a motorway (admittedly only twice per week!) but public transport would be 2 busses and I also have to get back in time for the school run.

If only we lived in a city

Don't worry about the 'living rural' factor.

We have metal roads these days just like they have in those big cities like Bristol, London and Sturminster Newton. A 4x4 is for your own fulfilment really, any car tends to stick to the road if driven correctly.

Hmmm. I used to work for JLR and I'd never own one of their vehicles. 20% of jlr vehicles breakdown in their 1st year and 17% of all AA breakdowns are for JLR vehicles. And these were their own figures (for 2016).

@Magnited I don’t need it for the roads, most of the dog and country show parking is on boggy fields and I’m worried about getting stuck in one (again!)
Also there’s not many hatchbacks that can fit in two leonbergers so it would be some form of bus thing which I think are hideous

Work in the motor industry, buying and selling all manner of used cars. Agree with a lot of these comments, very unreliable, drinks diesel and expensive to run.

I would also consider an estate car, you will get more for your money, maybe Octavia (mentioned above) or Passat. Avoid anything French. Or definitely recommend Volvo for a reliable older car. If you prefer an SUV an older XC60 would be a good one. If we were in a Walking Dead end of the world situation I would be looking for a 10 year old XC90 to see me through!!

Also agree with a Honda CRV.