Although these are nice vehicles to drive, unless you really know what you are getting into, I suggest to run away, run fast and run far. Don't buy these vehicles unless you have a really good dealer nearby and you have deep pockets.
Newer Land Rovers are expensive to keep running and are often problematic. Parts are expensive, and good servicing is fairly difficult to find. Most used car buyers know this, so these trucks are difficult to sell used. They depreciate very quickly. Therefore, they look quite attractive to buy used because they are cheap luxury SUV that perform well when they are actually working properly.
But beware. If you are buying used simply because money is tight and you are on a budget, do not get one of these.
(BTW the Mercedes ML-series, especially the older ones suffer from the same scenario)
One of our most knowlegable contributors, who runs a high-end auto repair shop says this to say about this issue:
Quote:
Originally Posted by curtis73
Do not become tempted by the affordable prices on Land Rovers. There is a reason the pricing is too good to be true. We just bought a Freelander with 60k on the odometer for $1200, and we might make our money back after we install its third engine and second transmission.... in 60k miles. Many parts are only available from Rover. Today I just priced a CV joint for that Freelander at $640 wholesale, $780 retail. Considering we just paid $1200 for the vehicle, it was like salt in a wound. Nothing is worse than a worthless vehicle for which one part adds 50% to your investment.
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It's from this thread, which may be an interesting read:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...16#post6068816