QuestionThe rear window on my 2002 Freelander doesn't work. It went
down and will not go up in to the closed position unless forced.
Now it will now go all the way up.
I was wondering would it be more cost effective to go to a land
rover dealer or go to someone else. It has 64,000 miles on it.
Thank you
AnswerHi Carolyn,
if you know a mechanic who is familiar with LandRover problems and HAS experience solving them, I would say go ahead. HOWEVER, if the mechanic is unfamiliar with LR and has little, if any, experience with your model, I would suggest you take your Freelander to your dealer.
Usually, general mechanics charge less by the hour and often can find 3rd party (aftermarket) parts for much less than the dealers parts. The savings can be significant, however, it has been my experience that mechanics unfamiliar with my LandRover, tend to get into trouble and costing me more to fix.
In this case, you have a common problem with your window. I suspect a LR mechanic should have this repaired in a few hours...of course, new parts are usually ordered and the time and cost increases.
If you have a good dealership, they may try to repair the window mechanism using parts available. Other dealerships have been known to just swap out everything, broken or not, in order to get the job done and move on to the next client.
SO, if you don't know any independent LR mechanics, just take your Freelander to your favourite dealership. You'll save time and the job will be done quickly.
After this problem is resolved, I would suggest that your start to casually look for an independent LR (or Euro) mechanic who could do future repairs at a reasonable rate. Make general inquiries and ask for references or examples of LR work that has been performed. As your Freelander gets older, you'll be glad you did some research.
Best of luck with this, Carolyn.
Regards,
JohnMc
NB: LR windows often have trouble with the gearing that raises and lowers the window. Usually, this unit is replaced for about $300 or so.
