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I regret this decision because I have experienced many problems and BMW/Land
Rover were simply not interested. The problems were as follows:
· Total loss of power fault - fixed on the 3rd attempt, after one dealer
told me "just take your foot off the accelerator when it does this"!
· Air-conditioner did not work from day one. Still was not fixed when
I sold
the vehicle in February 2000 - after taking it to 4 different Land Rover
dealers.
· One fuse kept on blowing continuously.
· Hill Descent Control stopped working.
· Motor on rear and front electric windows jammed open a few times.
· Sunroof rattled.
· Left front inside wheel arch kept falling off.
· Power steering made a high-pitched screeching noise. New hydraulic
pipes
were on order when I sold the vehicle.
· Tyres were wearing down very fast. The manual states that the pressure
should be 2.1 bars. A service bulletin was sent to all dealers stating that
the tyres should be inflated at 1.8 bars and not 2.1! No one contacts
existing customers to tell them.
When I asked a few Land Rover staff what the problem was, their answer was
that the Freelander was launched too soon, and poor quality parts were used
so that the Freelander could compete favorably on price with the Honda CRV
and Toyota RAV.
The quality of the Freelander leaves much to be desired but what is most
disgusting is the attitude of Land Rover. My letters and phone calls went
unanswered, the staff lied to me, the quality of diesel was blamed, my
letter to Land Rover UK was answered after 5 weeks and was simply referred
to the customer service department of Land Rover SA, and it would seem the
technical staff are incompetent as faults were seldom fixed on the first
attempt. The BMW marketing director would simply delegate my problems right
down the line & they would end up back where they started - with the
uncaring dealer.
I wanted the dealer principal to take the Freelander back and cancel the
deal but instead he tells me: "I am a businessman and have to look after
my
interests"! It would seem that Land Rover are focused on short-term sales
instead of long-term brand loyalty. After this treatment I will never buy
another Land Rover
I wrote a letter to various car magazines detailing my problems. Two
magazines, 1 local & 1 UK, published it in early 2000. After the letters
were published I got many calls & e-mails from other Land Rover owners who
were experiencing very similar problems and were getting the same treatment.
Some of these people have now sold their Land Rovers and bought Honda CRV's,
RAV's or, as I have done, bought Jeep Cherokees and are VERY happy with the
quality of the vehicles and with the dealers' service.
I would recommend that any prospective motor vehicle buyers should do some
research on the Internet and they should then not be disappointed with their
purchases. I know that if I had of read some of the following web sites I
would never have purchased the Freelander.
The bottom line is that motorcar manufacturers are responsible for the
quality of their vehicles, just as you and I are responsible for the quality
of the products and services our companies supply, and when companies like
Land Rover start taking full responsibility for their products, then I'll
stop telling every one about my pathetic experience with them.
I hope that I am able to prevent just one person from having to go through
what I, and many others, have had to endure. It would also seem that it's
not just Land Rover and BMW who are uncaring but Ford as well!