Morning all,

This a long shot but I wonder if anyone knows of a black 63 reg freelander being either stolen or having engine damage (maybe flood) in late 2015?

Reason for asking is that I'm thinking of buying one direct from an insurance company and would ideally like to know what's happened to it. The front end (bumper, lights, etc has been removed) but there doesn't appear to be any damaged to what's left at all hence my thinking it's been stolen/recovered or has had engine trouble and it was decided not to repair.

It's Cat D but other than that an HPI gives no clues (yes, I've bought and repaired damaged vehicles before)

Vehicle may have come from the Leeds/Bradford region as it has a Farnell Landrover sticker on it. (No, Farnell can't/won't help).

Thanks in advance, I know it's a long shot!

if its been water damaged you will be able to tell easily, I doubt the insurance company will have bothered to clean it properly. If its had the front end removed its more likely to be stolen recovered having been butchered for parts and the insurance company had already paid the owner out for it.

Can the insurance company not tell you its history ?

Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah, I thought the same about flood damage. The interior is clean, but given the floods around the country I thought straight away of water in the engine bending a con rod if it was running or stuffing the electrics if it was simply caught in a flood.

Its coming through an insurance disposal company and they haven't got many details. I don't mind replacing an engine but it's the water in the electrics that makes me nervous. A friend had a car that was flooded then properly dried out but the electrical niggles forwere a constant (and dangerous) pain in the backside.

Really hoping someone has specific knowledge of this car....you never know!

there will still be mud and crud in the nooks and crannys if it was flood damaged, and if the engine had blown due to flooding on a 63 plate car its still an economical option to repair at around £5k for a replacement engine.
there is a plague of nicking body parts across the country at the minute as modern cars are harder to steal without the keys, but parts prices can still be quite high so im leaning towards it being stolen for parts, the insurance have paid out for it, its been recovered by police and is then the property of the insurance company who will sell it on through disposal sites.

is it a non starter ? can you have a really dig around it before buying ? is the price low enough to allow for repairs and still be worth enough ?

Thanks again. Its very clean all round, either it's not flood damaged or its been well valeted...

It's a non starter as the rads are gone as well (forgot to mention that!)

The price is OK to justify a new engine and sundries even allowing for a lower value due to being Cat. I'd be planning to keep it a while hence not wanting to have ongoing problems.

Always a punt but you never know the old owner might lurk here!

exactly.... we get everywhere


ive seen flooded out Land Rovers in the past (ex military - we never used to care much and just went for trips across training areas regardless ) and the debris like mud, weeds, stones etc could never be fully got out.

can you plug a diagnostic into the OBD and see if brings any more info ?

If you have the VIN number, Dan @ Duckworths may be worth dropping a PM?

RogB wrote:

exactly.... we get everywhere


ive seen flooded out Land Rovers in the past (ex military - we never used to care much and just went for trips across training areas regardless ) and the debris like mud, weeds, stones etc could never be fully got out.

can you plug a diagnostic into the OBD and see if brings any more info ?

Good thinking... I have an IID tool but didn't have it with me when I went to see the car and it's a long way away...

taztastic wrote:

If you have the VIN number, Dan @ Duckworths may be worth dropping a PM?

If you know the insurance company involved and its been through the write off process, the details of the claim and maybe even an assessors report or photos will be held on the MIAFTR database. The insurers may disclose the details to you. Td4 XS manual, Orkney Grey, MY2014

Thanks for the tip. I've been lucky before in getting hold of an insurance assessment - made the job so much simpler but this time I haven't found out which insurance company it is unfortunately...

Still hopeful of something or someone turning up!

car would be declared as flood damaged if in flood. The car you're talking about hasn't been in flood or would be declared as such. Looks like it's been stripped with intention to repair before discovering bent chassis. BTW i'm watching it also with view to break!  2014 SE Loire Blue SD4 Auto (MY15)
Gone - 2011 GS Baltic Blue, Retrofit Electric Leather, Side Steps, 19"SC's, Roof Rails, TT Sat Nav Mod, Retrofit Premium Audio, Retro fit 2013 Xenons with DRL & Sig Strip (Clutch at 47k)
Gone - 2007 GS Narvik Black, Privacy Glass, 19" SC's, Side Steps,Roof Rails, Roof Spoiler, Lamp Guards, Retrofit Electric Leather (Clutch at 115k)
Gone - 2007 SE Santorini Black (Clutch at 120k)
BT IID (best money ever spent on a car)

Sorry Jim, I saw it first so it's mine

Yeah its possible that there could be chassis damage which is why I'm trying to find out more before doing anything.

PS I'm pretty sure absolutely every part has a problem so it wouldn't be worth you breaking it...