Hello - Potential P38 Owner

Morning all,

Just thought I'd say hello. I'm looking to buy a late (2001 or 2002) P38 in the next few months and thought I'd register here as part of my information gathering exercise.

I live in Cambridgeshire and the P38 will be a sort of second car to the "family" E46 BMW.

Looking forward to many more happy posts!

All the best.

welcome, have a good read so u know what to look for when buying one

odysseus said:

Morning all,

Just thought I'd say hello. I'm looking to buy a late (2001 or 2002) P38 in the next few months and thought I'd register here as part of my information gathering exercise.

I live in Cambridgeshire and the P38 will be a sort of second car to the "family" E46 BMW.

Looking forward to many more happy posts!

All the best.

Click to expand...

Sort of a second car?

Oh, you mean because it will be broke most of the time.

I get it now.

Welcome indeed. I have had a P38 (95 4.0) for over a year now, and in several thousand miles had no real issues, so they're not all bad - or at least not all are constantly bad.... In fact I'd say it is far, far more reliable than a 98 Merc E300 I had until recently!

But do read the P38 sections on here - plenty that will go wrong in time, and some great advice from several experts. Have a look at a few, test drive both diesel and petrol. They are great motors despite their many flaws, if you get a good one.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, much appreciated.

Sort of a second car as I'm half contemplating keeping my existing second car, a 193,000 mile Merc CLK which is so relentlessly reliable it's uncanny (and it's worth about tuppence). That way when the P38 inevitably goes wrong I can fall back on a bit of German engineering.

When I take the plunge I'm definitely going for a V8 P38, and since I'm keen on all the toys I'm aiming for a Vogue from 2000 onwards.

I used to have a Grand Cherokee 4.7 and whilst it wasn't the most sophisticated (or reliable) car around, I fell in love with the V8 thrust and soundtrack, and I've always had a hankering for a Range Rover.

The P38 will be as much a hobby for me as a form of transport. I'm keen to broaden my mechanical knowledge - I'm sure the Range Range won't fail me in that respect!

Thanks again for the welcome.