Mercedes or Land Rover

[MartinJ]

Just back from easter hols. After much discussion whilst away we have decided to upgrade our mondeo for something a bit more suitable not just for towing our van but transporting 4 bikes as well.

Ive always fancied a Freelander but my wife prefers the Mercedes ML. After a bit of online searching last night it looks like our budget of approx £10k will get us a Y plate merc or an 05 plate freelander td4.

Ive never bought an "older" car before - always prefering to buy as new as possible. So which would you go for and why?

Thanks in advance, Martin.

 

[Lara_374353049]

Hi Martin, We have a few Merc MLs in the fleet at work, and although i haven't driven one, none of my colleagues rate them very well at all. One of the main gripes is the poor handling. With regards to off road capability, ie muddy fields, a colleague of mine got a Peugeot Expert van stuck in a muddy field. The Merc ML was brought along to pull it out and got stuck straight away too! It was a Land Rover (Discovery) that then came along and puled it out effortlessly!!

I haven't got any experience with the Freelander, but based on what i've heard about the Mercs, out of the two i'd prefer the Freelander.

 

[RogerL]

You need to factor in maintenance costs as well as purchase price - expensive cars come down in price as they get older but the maintenance cost doesn't come down.

The ML will have M-B sized maintenance costs but the TD4 will have L-R costs so no difference really - just don't expect either to be in the same ballpark as your Mondeo.

 

[Bazz1]

Martin whilst i am a L/R enthusiast i have to piont out that F/lr hasnt been the best of the bunch. It all comes down the c/van you want to tow, the F/lr has a towwing limit of 2000Kg. I would'nt want tow this weight as a c/van, it would'nt be a safe option. On L/R check that all the service data is upto date and all the electronics work. As for serviceing there is an abundance of non=franchised dealers and service garages out there,look in the L/R mags for details in your area. My old R/R has just completed 220,000 miles and would still pull the van. I have bought into the electronic age with a second generation R/R that has FSH and some MOT certs. Not yet done 50,000 and in one yr its cost

 

[Mikey1]

Always 2 sides to every story,i have owned 2 Ml270's over the 6 yrs they never had any faults at all,2nd one service costs over 3 yrs

 

[DavidW1]

Both cars could be bad for you in the pocket - The Merc on servicing and running costs and the Freelander because how evever you say it it is probably the most unreliable car known to man. The petrol version specally.

(stand by for enraged FL owners who have never had a breakdown)

Have you considered a Subaru Forester or Legacy Estate they are both 4x4 which I assume you are considering and are so reliable and long lasting even other Japanese makers wonder how they do it.

The 2.5 versions will tow a respectable figure and the Forester even has a minimal offroad ability.

Don't worry about them being petrol, who can afford diesel nowdays anyway. 250K miles is the norm for one of these, try and find a FL with half the miles that is not on it's second or third engine or gearbox

 

[RogerL]

David omits to mention the Subaru Outback which is a Legacy Estate with 50mm extra ground clearance, popular for off-road trails in the US and Australia - more roomy than the Forester. The petrol Subarus aren't good on fuel consumption but recent increases in diesel fuel prices have narrowed the gap.

There are new Subaru Outback and Legacy Estates with the new super-smooth diesel from under

 

[Sproket]

Martin

How deep are your pocket's ?

I have had a freelander and got shut of it when things started going wrong big style the throttle is fly by wire, intermittent fault what could not be found and sorted, rear differential started making noises, did a lot of research and found out that went the IRD unit is guaranteed to go soon after

 

[RogerP]

Hi Martin ,

I've just changed from a ML270 CDi to a Freelander 2 (both autos). I havent towed with the FL2 yet but one of the drivers for changing was the 'bouncy' ride from the ML which was being transferred into the van.

Dont get me wrong the ML was a great car for towing and would pull a train all day long with little effort. But the ride wasn't great. (plus getting 18mpg on my daily run to work and it being in the top CO2 bracket made my mind up to change.)

Going back to the Freebies , I've owned two Freebie 1s and now the Freebie 2. Both drive very well and are more car like than the ML. Performance is also near car like as well (have to say the FL2 is very good)

We've still got an 03 FL1 with over 80,000 on the clock and the wife wont change it. I wouldn't tow with it as its had its problems - poor maintenance before we got it - but I did have an 06 Sport which never missed a beat.

Like any car there will be good and bad out there. Certainly consider maintenance costs. MLs are known for wearing pads and discs within 20-30k miles and these will cost you the thick end of

 

[MartinJ]

Thanks for the prompt response guys - much appreciated. With regards to the recent road tax increases I was under the impression that if the car was a Y plate it was too old to be affected or have I got that one wrong?

 

[otherclive]

Hi, Have you considered the Kia Sorento there are 04 autos now at around

 

[Del_374232870]

Would have to the ML as it is a different class of vehicle. They are expensive to run and this is something to consider before buying, but funds permitting I would look at the Merc, failing that why not a CRD Grand Cherokee.

 

[Mikey1]

Any car registered after March 1st 2001 will be in the new banding.

Your car will cost 10k then

 

[spj]

Hi all,

I tow a 1700kg twin axle with an 04 plate ML270CDI with no problems at all, towing it does around 20mpg and solo around town 23 to 25mpg, on a run it will do around 30mpg. I have never had any problems in muddy fields and towed out motorhomes in snow and mud without any trouble, compared to the older Disco which is stuck with 2 wheels in mud as it only has a centre diff lock, the ML with its traction control will pull out with only one wheel if needed, and lets face it, all the vehicles with better approach and departure angles etc make no difference on a wet feild which is all I want 4x4 for. The new Disco looks ok but it is slow and expensive, when I went to pick one up on demo it had broken down! The ML can not really be compared to a freelander as it is a bigger car and more expensive. People seem to think they cost a fortune to run, 3 years main dealer servicing has cost me

 

[hgv dave]

hi martin

i would leave both of them alone and go for a japanese car

i can only go off my own experiance,ive had 2 toyotas...a colardo and i have a amazon at the present the only reason i got rid of the colarado was because it was getting old and i made a mistake and went and bought a chrysler voyager which is a capable car and i have no complaints about it but its no 4x4.just as a foot note,the guy (a friend of mine) phoned me this weekend and told me it had just passed its mot,he has had the car 2 and a half yrs and both times its sailed through the mot with no faults or adiviseories so he was well pleased (its a p reg by the way)

i now have a 51 reg amazon which is a dream to drive and you dont know that you are pulling a van there are down sides to it,poor mpg,high road tax next year and high servicing costs and when they do go wrong (which is not very often) parts can be expensive.but after all these thing taken into consideration i could not recommend a toyota enough,they are absoloutly fantastic

hgv dave

 

[spj]

Hi all,

as stated above the Toyota 4x4s are excellent, I did work on Toyotas in 1993-1994 and they were boring to work on as all we ever did was service them, they never seemed to go wrong, my only problem with the Landcruiser is the fact that it is a bit agricultural and slow compared to many vehicles of a similar price, but if you are not a quick driver and the Landcruiser suits your needs they are as reliable and well built as any, I would definately have one before any Land Rover product.

spj

 

[nffcdave_374234697]

hi martin

weve also got a sorento.very good choice.dont rule it out as its a kia,towcar of the year judges cant be wrong.

cheers

dave

 

[Colin_374358138]

Hi Martin,

I've had a lot of experience with Landrovers.

My brother in law has had a Discovery, my friend and I also. I work with a colleague who has a discovery. My neighbour has a Freelander. I am also a member of a landrover enthusiasts club.

I personally don't think its an understatement to say that Land Rovers are amongst the least reliable cars on the market.

My friend alone has had fuel pump and water pump go. He currently has leak of fluid on both power steering and gearbox. hes also had total failure of all electric windows. An thats just one owner.

I've also known diffs break and doors stick open (especially tailgate).

Its a shame cos I love Landrovers of all shapes and sizes. But truth is that they are a good example to use when explaining to your kids what the word 'intermittent' means.

Don't be fooled by the marketing hype either. They are no better off road than say a Landcruiser.

They are also quote low tech - its not long since Freelanders were still shipped with drum brakes on the back. A Discovery 1 and 2 basically has the same chasis as a 1970's mk1 range rover for example.

Its possible that the new spangly ones are better but I don't think its a coincidence that we were on a site this weekend in the new Forest where there were two MK3 Disco's. - One broke down and had to get Landrover 24hr response man out.

I've had a Toyota Landcruiser Amazon 4.2TD now for nearly 8 years and around 100k miles with not one single failure. Really.

In fact in the enthusiast community people actaully enjoy the unreliability of LR. Thet regale each other with stories of what bit has most recently broken and how they mended it. The best stories of course being marked out by major bits breaking, and, even better, what extremes they had to go to to fix it. They love it. And so do I.

Except not as a reliable towcar.

I wish you good luck.

Oh my brother in law ? Sold his disco in disgust for a Honda CRV (OK thats going to extremes) and my friend ? - he'd like to sell his too but has to get it repaired first.

 

[Colin_374358138]

Just in case you thought I was exaggerating, in Top Gear Reliabilty Survey 2005:

Landrover were 31st out of 39 Manufacturers.

Discovery was 118th out of 159 Cars

Freelander was 134th out of 159

Defender was 136th out of 159

 

[Del_374232870]

Try the merc I am sure you will be impressed, if possible try the V6 diesel then you will e impressed, wont want to look at Japaneese or Korean.

 

[Colin_374358138]

Interestingly enough Merc E class was 139th in same survey.

Actually to be 100% correct I checked and it is a customer satisfaction survey.

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Hi Martin

I am in the motor trade.One bit of advice do not buy Ta Ta Land Rover prices are going to drop big time plus with credit problems VAT the new show room tax and new road taxes the motor trade is in big problems and there more to come from what we are being told. If you can hold on for a bit car prices are going to drop BIG time plus a great deal of motor traders will closing down.

 

[DavidW1]

Hi Martin,

I've had a lot of experience with Landrovers.

My brother in law has had a Discovery, my friend and I also. I work with a colleague who has a discovery. My neighbour has a Freelander. I am also a member of a landrover enthusiasts club.

I personally don't think its an understatement to say that Land Rovers are amongst the least reliable cars on the market.

My friend alone has had fuel pump and water pump go. He currently has leak of fluid on both power steering and gearbox. hes also had total failure of all electric windows. An thats just one owner.

I've also known diffs break and doors stick open (especially tailgate).

Its a shame cos I love Landrovers of all shapes and sizes. But truth is that they are a good example to use when explaining to your kids what the word 'intermittent' means.

Don't be fooled by the marketing hype either. They are no better off road than say a Landcruiser.

They are also quote low tech - its not long since Freelanders were still shipped with drum brakes on the back. A Discovery 1 and 2 basically has the same chasis as a 1970's mk1 range rover for example.

Its possible that the new spangly ones are better but I don't think its a coincidence that we were on a site this weekend in the new Forest where there were two MK3 Disco's. - One broke down and had to get Landrover 24hr response man out.

I've had a Toyota Landcruiser Amazon 4.2TD now for nearly 8 years and around 100k miles with not one single failure. Really.

In fact in the enthusiast community people actaully enjoy the unreliability of LR. Thet regale each other with stories of what bit has most recently broken and how they mended it. The best stories of course being marked out by major bits breaking, and, even better, what extremes they had to go to to fix it. They love it. And so do I.

Except not as a reliable towcar.

I wish you good luck.

Oh my brother in law ? Sold his disco in disgust for a Honda CRV (OK thats going to extremes) and my friend ? - he'd like to sell his too but has to get it repaired first.

I always suspected LR owners were masochists but I never thought I'd see the day when one admited it in writing - perhaps this will be cleansing for you Colin and you can be rid of the "curse"

 

[Mikey1]

I dont think sales of big expensive cars will change,most are leased and are company cars so resale values dont affect them.

Whats another 1k on 50k ?

If you are driving around in a 40k car to be honest you probably have a very comfortable lifestyle so and few quid isnt going to make a lot of differnce.

They dont sell many anyway ,its the the smaller bulks cars that will feel the hit,they rely on selling alot and are in the low price bracket and if you are on a tighter budget and need finance i think these will suffer first.

 

[MartinJ]

Well, once again thanks everyone for your input. The more I think about the Merc the more appealing it seems to be.

Its not a decision we will be taking lightly though so I guess its a case of having a good look around and seeing what deals are available.

Thanks again, Martin.