Freelander - its a Lemon!
Keith Walters
about the length of the post, but the problems/issues are many.
I took delivery of my new Freelander ES, 4 door, V6Auto in June of this year
from Trivett Classic in Sydney, Australia. From that moment on the problems
started. While some of the problems listed here are minor and easily
rectified, their number only adds to the frustration I have experienced with
this vehicle.
* 4 hour wait to take delivery - No sales staff available, Booked in at
10:00am, left at 2:00pm!
* Discovery Rubber Floor mats supplied instead of Freelander mats - Swapped
out 6 weeks later
* Driving Lights not fitted until 8 weeks later
* Tow bar not fitted until 8 weeks later
* Air-conditioning did not work - 8 weeks and 3 attempts later, the unit
finally worked - A faulty "O" ring was the cause of the leak
* Rattle in drivers door - caused by poorly fitted Tweeter
* Rattle in front passenger door - caused by broken connector on speaker
wire
* Several rattles in front dash still to be rectified
* Armed with a screwdriver, I checked all visible screws in and around the
cabin area. All screws could be tightened at least 1/2 to 1 turn. So it's
no wonder the car rattles!
* Front plastic weather shields not fitted correctly allowing water to enter
the cabin - It took 2 attempts and 8 weeks to rectify
* Roof crossrails confirmed by the dealer as being included with vehicle -
They were not supplied at the time of delivery and the dealer later stated
that they are not standard equipment and asked me to pay half of the $600
cost. After some discussion they were delivered to my home at no cost
* Reading the owners manual, a number of items were stated as being standard
on the ES i.e. heated seats, sun roof, roof cross rails just to name a few.
When I raised this with the dealer, all they would say "is the
specifications are subject to change without notice! I had also made a point
of asking the same question at the time of purchase and was told they are
all listed in the owners manual! For the record, the same list was included
on a number of web sites where there were reviews of the vehicle.
*** Reported on at least 6 occasions that the vehicle pulls to the left and
when travelling in a straight line. The steering wheel is also turned about
45 degrees to the right! The dealer and later Landrover Australia, confirmed
that the steering alignment is within specification and no corrective action
is required. A steering specialist confirmed the left side "camber"
adjustment was out by 6.5mm! He corrected the error by installing a"Camber
Kit". The front tyres are also showing signs of premature wear. Landrover
disagreed! Landrover were also not willing to pay the cost of the repair or
replace the tyres. They later stated that the fitment of a non standard item
may void the warranty and will in fact cause premature tyre wear. The
vehicle now tracks in a straight line! The loan vehicles I drove while my
car was being inspected (read lip service) by Landrover also exhibited the
same pull to the left. Landrover stated on several occasions that this was
the first time this problem had been reported.
*** After about 14,000Km of city driving, I noticed that the front disks
were heavily scored, there was also a shudder when braked at low speeds. I
returned the vehicle to another Landrover dealer for inspection. They
confirmed that the front disks were warped and the disks and brake shoes
would be replaced under warranty.
* On several occasions I have noticed a complete loss of power when
accelerating. It is almost as if the engine has stalled. I have not
reported this one to Landrover yet because I am unable to predict when it
will occur. However on the up side, the vehicle is covered by a 3 year,
100,000Km warranty, so I have plenty of time before it becomes an issue.
The problems I have reported in this post are consistent with a vehicle
costing around half the cost of a Freelander. This is the last Landrover I
will own! Landrover Australia and its dealers have demonstrated that they
experts at delivering "Lip Service" to their customers and a well rehearsed
ability to deny the existence of genuine issues raised by customers. Quality
service and quality control are not the trade marks of a Landrover. Some
lemons grow on trees others are manufactured! Just look a the recent recall
of all Freelanders here in Aus.!
Keith Walters, Sydney, Australia
Hi-Soft
I just sold my old Discovery, which also had it's fair share of issues.
My friend also is about to get rid of his Discovery, after 3 years of
problems ( paying arounf $50,000 ) it's now worth about half that plus the
grief !
I've just bought a 98 Freelander, which so far has been o.k. ( touch wood )
though that said, it does have to have the clutch master cylinder replaced
under warranty luckily ( it's only done 25,000kms ).
It's a pitty really, because they are a really individual looking car with a
nice design, but they just seem to be riddled with quality control issues.
I hope my Freelander just happens to be "one" of the "good ones", otherwise
it'll also bee my last Landrover.
--
Cheers,
O
[III\
/""III ""\
/ III \
bca...@bigpond.net.au
"Keith Walters" <K_Wa...@email.com> wrote in message
news:3bf6f7eb$0$16935$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
vince
either all your dealers are crap or you are just a bunch of whinging EX
pommes!
Most of your problems seem to have been caused by your dealer.
As to pointing out the recall do you realise that MOST new cars these days
get recalled? Just be greatfull it's not a Mercedes A class - they used to
roll over if you had to swerve suddenly - Mercs solution? Narrow tyres so it
wouldn't grip so well.
Audi have also had some very serious safety issues with cars spinning at
speed and alloy wheels collapsing.
Ford have had loads of problems with their Explorer and Firestone tyres -
lot'ss of people killed.
Funny how when a British company recalls a car it is touted as an example of
how bad our cars are - haven't noticed many people NOT buying Mercs and
Audis despite some very serious safety issues!
Graeme Willox
I think your dealer was a lemon, not the car. Most of those faults should have
been rectified in the pre-delivery check. (That's supposedly why you get
charged a delivery fee.)
Charles
speaking about it - he said they tended to leak and not to bring it back
complaining of numerous minor problems. He practically refused to let me
into a Defender, and I never got a test drive in one.
Result? Kept the 34 year old Series, and my Honda car - was looking for
something that would replace both at the time, it soon dawned on me that
I couldn't hope to do that, as I need an zippy, economical town car, and
a hose-out, hard working ute that would go anywhere.
Charles, in Brisbane
Roger Martin
themselves
"Trivett Classic Land Rover is about you, the customer. Our goal is simple.
To exceed your expectations and make your next Trivett Classic Land Rover
purchase or service easy. So come and visit our state of the art facilities
and let us show you why we are one of Australia's more progressive
dealerships."
Go tell Alan Fells and the ACCC that they lie!!!
Make their life hell if they wont do what they are supposed to do.
I suggest the following amedments to their website so that they comply with
Advertising Standards;
Triv is NOT about you, the pain in the arse customer. Our goal is simple -
fleece you at every attempt. To exceed your budget expectations and make
your last Triv purchase, the very last one you ever make from us. So come
and visit our state of the art facilities which include training programmes
such as "How to piss off a customer in ten easy lesson", "How to blame the
new owner - and get away with it". Let us show you why we are one of
Australia's least progressive dealerships.
Just joking guys!!
Douglas
I hate to say it but I can't say I've heard a good report of a Land Rover
dealer in Australia. In fact, when looking for my Land Rover I specifically
did *not* go to a Land Rover dealer, same as when I was looking for a garage
to service her.
The dealers treat you like +"*ç, the vehicles they have on-sale are
over-priced, the service is mis-leading (as in sales-person A says this, but
when you confirm later with sales-person B you are told no). As for getting
the vehicles serviced, whoa. No way would I go to a Land Rover dealership.
Uh-uh. Very expensive, and the quality of their work leaves a lot to be
desired.
I do tend to agree with the statements about vehicle recall, I remember
seeing recently that Ford had to recall all of a particular type of small
vehicle for a "major safety issue". Not to mention the problems they had
with the Ford Exploders.
Vehicle recalls happen. Period. At least they *were* recalled, as compared
to the fun we had with the 300Tdi main-shaft's and timing belts.
I've often heard you guys rave on about particular Land Rover dealers and
how well they treated you - I'm sure if that happened in Australia Land
Rover would probably have a lot better reputation. As it stands now, if I
didn't actually _want_ the vehicle and had just gone to a dealership as a
possible purchaser.. I probably wouldn't have got one.
Cheers,
Douglas.
SPAM Trap: Remove CLOTHING to reply
"vince" <cyclops.consu...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:Z6EJ7.3950$tm3.5...@news11-gui.server.ntli.net...
> Nearly every complaint I ever see about Land Rovers comes from Australia -
> either all your dealers are crap or you are just a bunch of whinging EX
> pommes!
>
> Most of your problems seem to have been caused by your dealer.
>
> As to pointing out the recall do you realise that MOST new cars these days
> get recalled? Just be greatfull it's not a Mercedes A class - they used to
> roll over if you had to swerve suddenly - Mercs solution? Narrow tyres so
it
> wouldn't grip so well.
[...]
Freedom
threaten legal action...It's the only way to get things done these days.
I had a 1.8 Xei Freelander from Trivett Classic, but had it serviced at
Purnell. If anything small was wrong with it, I just kept taking it back,
and taking it back - it's under warranty - they'll soon learn!
I now have a 3 door V6, and I bought it from Purnell Motors, and it has
little niggles. The HDC amber light keeps coming on, and now the back
window is haunted and comes down all by itself. I'm sure it's just
something loose, so will get them to check when I take it in to have the
handbrake recall done. And if anything else happens, just take it in again,
and again, and again....
And I write everything down, and they give me a printout of what has been
checked and what results they had, so I then have a history, so that if,
during the warranty period, I have major problems with Land Rover, I have
all the faults down!!!
I do agree that sometimes it is the dealership. The saleperson I dealed
with at Purnell, I could not fault - but his manager was a complete loser
arsehole who was one of those 'I'll be your best buddy so you buy the car'
jerks.... ut you write and tell them - and you write to Land Rover, and you
tell them you're writing to the department of Fair Trading, or whoever it
takes.... even the media!!
But in spite of all this, I LOVE the car...and it has a 3 year warranty, so
at about 2 years and 8 months, I'll probably trade it in - and depending
onthe next 2 years and 6 months, it might be another Land Rover or it might
be not - I have a choice!! :-)
David Brear
I got my Freelander GS (1.8) a fortnight ago and the fuel gauge won't work.
The dealers, Farnells in Guiseley (UK) have ordered the part needed but we
are still waiting.
Apart from this, it is a super car! One day I may even take it off road ...
Keith Walters <K_Wa...@email.com> wrote in message
news:3bf6f7eb$0$16935$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
Jon
> Audi have also had some very serious safety issues with cars spinning at
> speed and alloy wheels collapsing.
Don't forget the rear lower suspension arm snapping on the TT
--
Jon
Graham
no problems, gets serviced at the recommended mileage by a Land Rover dealer
as it's a company car, tows the horse box with ease (1 horse only mind you)
& is great to drive, really comfortable & fairly nips on considering it's an
oil burner, gets 37 mpg+, brand new replacement on order for the New Year
as this one will have done nearer 80,000 by then. Pity others can't say the
same though.
~~
Graham
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