PRICE CHECK
How has Covid-19 and the lockdown affected Land Rover sales? Dave Phillips investigates and advises…
CORONAVIRUS has had a devastating effect upon the motor industry. The number of new cars sold in April and May was a tiny fraction of what were sold in the same period last year and the uncertainty over the future – including, crucially, businesses and jobs – means folk aren’t so eager to buy or lease new cars. In fact, many people are being forced to downgrade, selling their nearly-new Land Rovers and buying something more modest, in order to raise cash. But where does this leave would-be buyers? In a good place, actually. If you’re in the market for a new model you can expect huge discounts and incentives, especially on extras and accessories. You should enjoy great finance deals, too.
Secondhand prices are low, too, especially for premium models. A friend in the trade whispered that even current-model L405 Range Rovers were going for silly money, so I checked out ebay – and he was right. The first one I found was a 2015 Autobiography 3.0-litre diesel in metallic gold with just 38,000 miles on the clock. With two days of the auction left, there were 43 bids – the highest just £23,122. That’s less than a quarter of what it would have cost new, just five years ago. That’s a depreciation of nearly £250 a week!
The good news for would-be buyers is that depreciation will be much less in the coming years, although running costs for any secondhand Range Rover aren’t to be sneezed at. All those luxury touches are very expensive to put right when – not if – they start going wrong.
We all know that Land Rovers can be money pits, but you can’t lose a lot if you don’t pay much in the first place. And if you are in the market for the cheapest possible Land Rover, I can’t recommend a first-generation Freelander too highly. They really are cheap as chips and spare parts are relatively inexpensive if anything goes wrong. Corrosion issues are rare.
One that caught my eye is this white Freelander Commercial (below), also on ebay. The Freelander van is pretty rare, because not many were made in the first place and most of those were abused workhorses that have already shuffled off to the scrapyard. This survivor, however, is owned by an enthusiast who has supplied a long list of all the stuff he’s put right (a list that’s far too long to include here, but he’s kept £700-worth of receipts).
What I love best, though, is that it’s a genuine reluctant sale. “I’d like to keep it as it’s brilliant but I have four other Land Rovers…” he says. After all, no enthusiast likes selling a Land Rover.
It’s a 2000 model-year with the old BMW (pre-td4) diesel engine and comes with a complete spare engine thrown in. No mileage given. The only downside is that the centre viscous coupling has gone. It will run happily in 2WD, but it is relatively cheap to replace and return it to 4WD.
Last time I looked it had attracted five bids to £410, with five days to go.
Of course not everybody wants what is in effect an old banger, and if you’re prepared to pay a bit more you can certainly pick up an excellent Freelander. I found a 2004 Freelander Sport model (left) in metallic grey with the Td4 engine, in excellent condition inside and out, and just 91,000 miles on the clock. There’s a full service history and it’s loaded with extras, including Bluetooth. Oh yes, and the centre viscous coupling is intact, so it’s still a genuine 4x4.
The asking price? Just £1895. The seller won’t thank me for pointing out that it is worth haggling to pull the price down even further.
Most values are down on pre-covid-19 levels, but 'old' Defender prices are holding well, along with Series II and SIII models. Series I models are still fetching good money, but unlikely to reach the astronomical figures they were hitting a year or two ago.
I can’t think of a nicer way of spending a post-lockdown day than going to kick a few tyres and check out some Land Rovers for sale. This is, after all, a buyer’s market.