"And on the 7th day, God created Toyota's"
Thank Christ for that!!
""Now that I have traded my 2000 Freelander (for $10,000 or $3,800 net
- after repairs) I would like to add my story to the long list of outraged Freelander owners. Firstly I would say to any prospective Landrover buyers...Don't ! For any Freelander owners ... get rid of it NOW! My 1.8lt petrol Freelander blew its head gasket right on queue at
60000kms. I was told by a mechanic that the problem was a design fault in the cylinder linings, and there is no repair procedure. My only option was an engine replacement. The car was "off road" for 6 weeks and the ordeal cost me $6,200 in repairs and I lost another $17,000 in depreciation over 5 years. The re-sale value of this car is appalling. I asked a Landrover dealership mechanic if this is a common fault with this car..he said "no more common than any other car". I then spoke to a salesman in the same dealership and asked for a trade figure on my Freelander in it's current state and he said.."The trade value will be low because the engine in this model has some reliability issues". Landrover Australia washed their hands of the problem saying that the car is out of warranty and they will not cover ANY repair costs. I have been told by several mechanics that the 1.8lt engine fitted to Freelanders has a life span of between 50000 and 100000 km's. Because of the design flaw they will ALL fail and the only option is replacement. Landrover should face reality and take responsibility for this poorly built motor car. I am now rid of my Freelander, but I had to take a personal loan of $10,000 which will now take me years to pay off ..... all thanks to Landrover !! I recommend anyone with the same Freelander story should contact the ACCC. They are building a profile for this issue. If they receive sufficient complaints indicating a pattern, they will take action.I would like to add that after further investigation it seems the replacement engines supplied by Land Rover Australia to their dealerships at a cost of over $5,000 (to the vehicle owner) are exactly the same engines as fitted at the time of vehicle manufacture. This means that even repaired Freelanders will suffer the same fate at between 50,000 and 100,000 kms. I called Land Rover Australia and asked if the engines they were selling as replacements have had and modification to overcome the cylinder lining problem. The representative said there was no product recall in place and there is "no problem with this engine". This is despite mounting documented evidence to the contrary, including Land Rover's technical own bulletin 0036 issued 18 June 04 which was distributed to its dealerships worldwide. This trading practice is incredibly dishonest given that the problem is widely known. Land Rover is the only winner in this whole mess, as they get to sell even more of these engines to the unsuspecting public. If you are living the "Freelander nightmare" right now, I urge you to bring your story to the attention of the ACCC. Those affected by the Freelander Head Gasket problem should visit