Hi Team! I've just picked up my first FL2! It's a 2007 TD4 GS UK Import on 100,000km, one owner since one year old! She's pov-pack with cloth seats, basic audio, dual-zone climate, zero-leather interior BUT it does have a sunroof! The body and paint are nice and glossy but there's a few scratches and small dents. Very little rust, a bit of surface rust around and some rusty bolts but nothing serious.


PROBLEMS
- Middle two 12v ports don't work, hoping to fix that tonight.
- Power-Steering seems a little cranky at low speeds, will order a replacement reservoir.
- Some interior parts worn out, will replace the most obvious ones (little air vent knob, steering wheel, gear lever, gear boot, etc.)
- Apparently the last service indicated a couple of oil leaks, I'll find them tomorrow.

UPGRADES
- I am DYING without Bluetooth, wondering whether to go factory or aftermarket?
- Leather interior from a local car
- New shift knob and boot
- Solid sump plate
- Rear muffler delete
- Lift plates (Unsure?)
- Towbar (PLEASE FIND ME A CHEAP ONE!)
- Re-paint silver cosmetic trim (side grills, etc.)

MAINTENANCE
- It's due for the major which means...
- Fuel, Air and Oil Filters
- Power Steering, Gearbox, Diff, Haldex, Coolant, Brake and Clutch Fluid
- Timing Belt, Auxiliary Belts, Tensioner, Water Pump
- I also want to get the diff bearing done before I take it off-road
- Lubricate Sunroof mechanisms
- Lubricate door rubbers
- Check DPF health and other codes
- Paint surface rust with converter.

QUESTIONS!
- Where do I get the best new Land Rover parts (overseas is fine)
- Where do I get the best used Land Rover parts (i.e. Local wreckers, QLD would be best)
- Where is the best Land Rover mechanic in South East Queensland!
- Have I missed anything important?
- When's the next drive! I'm keen!

Last edited by Tomtom on 1st May 2017 7:38 am. Edited 1 time in total

You are better off with cloth seats in our climate. My previous car had cloth & I wanted cloth but it was leather only.

Hopefully you have 17" wheels! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I do have the smaller 17" wheels fortunately!

The cloth seats are lovely and comfortable, but I'm really keen for the armrests from the leather seats- and I can't stand the plastic steering wheel.

The armrests from the standard leather seat spec are fake leather, plastic in other words. Most of what looks like leather for the seat is actually plastic. The snobs with an HSE get more leather!

I believe you can't retro fit separate armrests, but you can get a central cubby armrest which everyone likes. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

If you have the base audio then a factory bluetooth retrofit is a headache, you're only sensible option is an aftermarket solution.

The cars with the Alpine-branded audio are fairly simple for bluetooth, the base cars not sadly... 2008 Freelander 2 HSE Si6 Black/Black - Hers
2009 Jaguar XKR 4.2 S/C Portfolio
2005 Jaguar XJR 4.2 S/C Black/Cranberry
2005 Jaguar X-Type 3.0L AWD - Gone

I just spotted this thread. I also have a 2007 GS ex-UK import.

I wanted Diesel, Manual with cloth seats and this is what I found. Suits me just fine. I dislike leather seats, they are not really suited to the Aussie sun.

I bought a Haymann Reece towbar for mine for $550 posted and fitted it myself. A few hours work, not hard to fit. It came with a loom that plugs into the tail lights but I chose to fit the electronics Canbus box in the boot instead.

I fitted a Samsung bluetooth car kit hooked into the correct pins on the radio so it mutes when I receive a call and the caller audio plays out the front speakers. But it does not allow bluetooth audio.

I'm now exploring USB/Bluetooth audio options myself. Hence how I tripped over this thread.

Mine ticked over 127,000 miles (not km) last week. It still looks and drives like a new car except for a growly diff. Brett Nicholson
Greendale, Victoria
2007 Freelander 2 GS ex-UK now in Aus!
1973 Land Rover Series 3 88 ex-UK
1965 Morris Mini Traveller ex-UK
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe ex-UK
1971 Morris Mini Moke
2013 Toyota Prado

What sort or amount of duty / taxes did you pay ?
I may have to do the same with Murphy daughters car into Melbourne....is an SE, with complete leather interior, memory seats etc... Have:
Freelander 2 SE...just brilliant
Discovery 3 HSE....the workhorse
Jaguar S Type....now eclipsed by the XF

Both the OP and I purchased our cars when they were already here.

Importing a used car into Australia is somewhat complicated. Generally you have to own the vehicle for at least 12 months overseas and have Australian citizenship or residency to be eligible to import cars made after 1989.

I can recommend Iron Lady Imports, who Imports/Exports cars every day that can organize it all for you if you wish.

http://www.ironladyimports.com/

If you want to try and do it yourself, you will need to have a read here:

https://infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/

https://infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imp...s/pis.aspx

Cheers, Brett Nicholson
Greendale, Victoria
2007 Freelander 2 GS ex-UK now in Aus!
1973 Land Rover Series 3 88 ex-UK
1965 Morris Mini Traveller ex-UK
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe ex-UK
1971 Morris Mini Moke
2013 Toyota Prado

Years ago we brought in a cubic metre of personal items from Germany. Books, crockery, clothes etc, nothing was broken, so from that aspect all was good. But the BS at this end caused by customs was a joke, even the freight forwarding company said the process was far too complex for the average person to have to deal with. Never again!

A car, I would not even think about it! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Can you do it via the back door so to speak. New Zealand import all their vehicles since way back, do you have a free trade agreement ? FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

NZ is no different to any other country for used cars. Unless the car came from Australia in the first place and it carries an Australian compliance plate, as some Hokdens and Fords do. Then, no problem with the paperwork, but you still get stung for fees.  Brett Nicholson
Greendale, Victoria
2007 Freelander 2 GS ex-UK now in Aus!
1973 Land Rover Series 3 88 ex-UK
1965 Morris Mini Traveller ex-UK
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe ex-UK
1971 Morris Mini Moke
2013 Toyota Prado

Bnicho,

I wouldn't mind having a chat to you at some stage on 0430 081 797 about the towbar. I'm particularly interested in the towbar electronics and where you got the Hayman Reese bar so cheap. There's a genuine LR bar available used nearby new for $450 but I'm told they're a bit and it doesn't come with the wiring, not sure which way to go.

How much was the Samsung kit? I was thinking of getting an inline AUX bluetooth receiver and pillar mounted microphone so there's no dicky bluetooth control screen, all controlled from my phone which I will mount in the cubby. Only issue with that is that it's still expensed ($180!!!) and wont mute the music.

I'm dying for the leather seats just so I can get the armrest and the electronic adjustment. The manual height adjustment is idiotic, the seat tips forwards as you lift it....!

Hi TomTom,

For the benefit of others that may find this thread, I decied to document what I did.

I used an old Samsung HKT100BDE car kit. Basically I used this because I already had it from anbother car and I knew it was reliable and easy to wire in.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluetooth-SAMSUN...2430686201

You can probably find something newer and better. It doesn't provide caller ID and it does not allow you to scroll through to choose a number.

The display unit mounted neatly below the key hole. It's easy to access there and I can see it below the steering wheel spoke when driving.

To wire it in is pretty easy. Here is the pinouts for the second plu on the back of the radio:



Here is the wires in place. I used bits of a broken Hilux wiper stalk to provide the correct terminals to slide into the plug. The two green wires are the mono audio from the jack on the side of the Samsung unit. The black wire is the mute wire (blue I think?) from the Samsung unit.

Click image to enlarge

Here is the control unit and microphone discreetly placed below the key.



Cheers,
Brett. Brett Nicholson
Greendale, Victoria
2007 Freelander 2 GS ex-UK now in Aus!
1973 Land Rover Series 3 88 ex-UK
1965 Morris Mini Traveller ex-UK
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe ex-UK
1971 Morris Mini Moke
2013 Toyota Prado