Hi all, new here and looking to buy. I am soon going to have to replace my old but faithful Rover 75 Tourer and have decided on a Freelander 2.
My current options are to buy something around a 58 plate now or wait a year or so and get the newer engine spec, around 2010 MY or later.
I know the road tax is lower, but are there any other benefits to the later models that would be worth waiting for? I should point out that I'm looking for a diesel automatic.
Thanks.

for towing the general concesus is to go for a SD4 Auto which came in around late 2010/early 2011

others may disagree and have had no problems with towing in a manual TD4 but having had TD4 manual, TD4 Auto and SD4 Auto I know which I would have if I went to back to a FL2

I agree the SD4 Auto is the pick of the bunch, auto suits the FL2 very well and the added power is very welcome but even better with a stage 1 remap  94 Disco 300 TDI Gone
96 Defender 300 TDI Gone...Should have kept it.
2003 Freelander ES TD4 Gone
2002 Defender TD5 Gone
2005 Freelander HSE TD4 Gone
2015 Freelander 2 Metropolis Keeping for now!

Nunfa1 wrote:

Hi all, new here and looking to buy. I am soon going to have to replace my old but faithful Rover 75 Tourer and have decided on a Freelander 2.
My current options are to buy something around a 58 plate now or wait a year or so and get the newer engine spec, around 2010 MY or later.
I know the road tax is lower, but are there any other benefits to the later models that would be worth waiting for? I should point out that I'm looking for a diesel automatic.
Thanks.

Major advantage is the older models have far less gizmos to go wrong

Another vote for the SD4.
Great tow car, the automatic making it an effortless drive and the 190 horses making it shift if you have to.
It has exactly the same power and torque as the 2.7 V6 diesel in the Discovery 3 / Range Rover Sport but in a 400 kg lighter package  Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

I don’t know your budget but you may be looking too old. As a guide, I reckon you will get into a good spec 2010 with reasonable (90-110k) mileage for £5-6k if you are patient and negotiate well with the right private seller. A lot of cars will have been hanging around during the annual pre-Christmas sales slump with sellers keen to get rid now.

In October, I picked up a face lifted 2010 SD4 HSE for quite similar money privately to what asking prices were for quite a lot of lower spec earlier models. Mine needed a cambelt / water pump service which was factored into negotiation and I clearly didn’t offer low enough because the seller settled immediately at about 20% under an already reasonable (not cheap, slightly under Parker’s private/good condition) asking price. Did the cambelt service and changed the original battery and it has been fine so far for about a 500quid extra peace of mind spend.

It is quite a flooded market it seems and you are buying a specialist vehicle - therefore with relatively few buyers compared to the usual saloons, meaning that IMO it is a buyers market. There are bargains to be found from folks just wanting to move their car on in a reasonable timeframe. My advice would be if you are not completely embarrassed at your first offer, you will be going in too high, so you may be able to look at cars with asking prices a bit above what you may be expecting as a final price bought

Higher priced cars on forecourts when I was looking are still there now, so don’t be fooled by the asking prices. The few dealer forecourt cars at moderate-high money I saw were rubbish. The private car I bought (the only one I viewed) seemed to be in far better condition than any seen at a dealer, HPI clear, with a good MOT history online and full LR service history. Obviously private prices are lower as there is no warrantee, but frankly many after market warrantees aren’t worth the paper they are written on IME.

TLDR: Inspect thoroughly, be bold in negotiation - they can only say no

Thanks everyone, some very useful information. SD4 seems to be the consensus.
I'm sure there are value buys to be had, but I am a sucker for a gadget and ideally want a HSE, not too worried about the facelift interior though.
Is there any buyers guide on here, or somewhere else? Just a list of things to check above the normal stuff? Never had a Land Rover before so it's all new to me.

I agree the SD4 best suits the FL2.

Here is a link to a previous discussion and a link to AutoCar Magazine's view of the FL2 as a used car.

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic34439.html FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Nunfa1 wrote:

Thanks everyone, some very useful information. SD4 seems to be the consensus.
I'm sure there are value buys to be had, but I am a sucker for a gadget and ideally want a HSE, not too worried about the facelift interior though.
Is there any buyers guide on here, or somewhere else? Just a list of things to check above the normal stuff? Never had a Land Rover before so it's all new to me.

Nunfa1 wrote:

Thanks everyone, some very useful information. SD4 seems to be the consensus.
I'm sure there are value buys to be had, but I am a sucker for a gadget and ideally want a HSE, not too worried about the facelift interior though.
Is there any buyers guide on here, or somewhere else? Just a list of things to check above the normal stuff? Never had a Land Rover before so it's all new to me.

2010 MY brought in the face lifted grille and tailgate handle. 2013 MY brought in the face lifted interior I think, so it is the external change that mine has with still a million buttons on the centre console and a large knob to select terrain (the knob being the big rotating switch, not me on this occasion )

The selection rotating knob is easier to use than the later buttons- which are hard to find on bouncy surfaces without taking your eyes off the road. Another example of change for the sake of it without a thought about functionality. Jules

Not sure about that - at least the terrain response buttons were moved to a more sensible position in front of the gear lever, rather than behind it, which is where the rotating dial is?!