Should I keep the car or not?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I just bought a 2003 Land Rover Freelander with 65000 miles on it. I love the way it drives and it seems perfect for my needs. It overheated 2 wks and 470 miles after purchase. The dealership, under the ‘30-day warranty’ replaced a leaking thermostat. It may or may not be ‘fixed’ . What do you think I should do? Keep calm and carry on or freak out about alledged Freelander issues and dump it?

2

I wouldn’t dump it immediately, but I would certainly keep an eye on my costs for the next year or so. You will take a big hit if you trade it or don’t get a lot more miles out of it before you choose to trade or sell.

Before you buy, looking at reliability ratings is a good way to eliminate costly choices.

3

Unless You’re A Mechanic And Unless You Have Access To Rover Freeloader Parts, I’d Bail On It If You Can Without Losing Too Much. Will They Take It Back And Let You Have Something Else ?

CSA

4

Good question, but how are you going to know the next car you get may have something even worse? Selling you car and buying another sounds like a good way to end up with a similar car but less money. How will you know that the next car is not being sold for the exact same issue?

5

Run

6

If you checked any web sites prior to buying the car you should have learned this is a very trouble prone car, and it is very expensive to repair. You can expect to spend a lot of money on repairs and maintenance if you keep the car, budget $2,000 to 3,000 per year.

As for this problem, is it fixed or not? Modern motors do not do well when “overheated”. Things warp and can lead to more problems in the future.

This wasn’t the wisest purchase to begin with. Now that you own it, selling it will likely mean you lose money. Kind of between the rock and a hard place is where you are now.

I think you should consider selling the car, but good luck if you keep it.

7

Get an inspection by an independent mechanic, and review their conclusion.

8

thank you for your input. I know I SHOULD have researched this vehicle…I was totally stupid about it…so much fun to drive. I will be vigilant…

9

A Land Rover with an unknown history that’s giving you problems now will likely be an ongoing source of grief into the future. Many of these are bottomless financial pits, and I suggest you unload it at the earliest convenience. The previous owner probably did little maintenance and unloaded it shortly after the warranty expired.