Hello,
Switching from a sports car to possibly a Freelander thanks to a recent acquisition of a new dog.
I'm just looking at buying a cheap & cheerful 2003 Serengeti anyone got any thoughts or do I need to stand well clear with regards to reliability, running costs etc.
many thanks.

Not sure how much info you'll get - this forum is mostly for the Freelander 2. I can however say that if it is a TD4 that's good as the older engines regularly suffered head gasket failures. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎

The 1.8 isn't a bad engine, once it's had the head gasket replaced

Thank you both for your replies much appreciated.

Very true. You would assume if it was still running either the head wasn't going to go, or had already been replaced. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎

A reliable 200bhp+ is achievable from a 1.8. It is a very underrated engine, let down by a poor head gasket design, from which it never really recovered

I would go as far as saying it's more reliable than the BMW TD4