Should I take the plunge??

After a year of owning my Disco it has finally died. Battery went flat and immobiliser came on and now won't start. Tax and MOT ran out and it needs some welding so probably uneconomical to fix.

So, I am considering buying a 1997 P38 and was planning to go and have a look at one today. I only need it for weekends and the odd camping trip but having read a lot of the threads on her it seems like I could be buying another heap of trouble. I lost 800 quid on the Disco in just over a year. I didn't mind this too much as it served it's purpose in that time.

Am I just throwing good money after bad though??

The one I am going to look at has 2 warning lights already and this may be reason enough to leave it alone!! Having said that its apparently in very good condition otherwise.

Any pearls of wisdom?

D

Any idea what the warning lights are?

I think the main problem with the P38 comes up if you don't have much mechanical ability, getting repairs done by garage/indy can be silly money.

There are plenty out there, I'd suggest taking quite a lot of time and look at as many as you can but steer clear of anything with signs that it's not been fully looked after.

Warning lights are for airbag and gearbox! The guy selling it says that the lights came on after it was valeted. I have read that a dodgy battery can cause spurious lights. He tells me that the gearbox is fine and it changes smoothly etc.

I have some mechanic ability but when it chimes to electrics I am useless. I am not great at the diagnostics bit but once I know what's wrong I am not scared to have a bash at it.

D

valeters often seem to get ecus under seat either wet or pull wires

Read a couple of threads on EAS diagnostics, and visit the www,rswsolutions site. Good P38s are great cars, but they can be prone to many electrical problems. A `97 is probably due for a lot of EAS work, if it`s not been done already.

One of the good things about the P38 is you have resources like this forum, helpful peeps who can give you pointers and advice with the repairs/maintenance.

I'd be sceptical about a valet causing lights to come on, the P38 doesn't like water too much for sure...but a valet should be fine unless they steam cleaned it. (Edit: or what James says )

If I was lookin at the car for sale I'd be thinkin if it was an easy enough fix why hasn't the owner sorted it already...and if they've left that go, what else needs attention.
No harm in going to have a look though.

If the valeters steam cleaned it walk away. Post 2000 ones are better.

I always ask this - where are you based? If you are anywhere near another forum member they may be able to help. Might even have a fault code reader that can check the offending lights. Where is the vehicle you are considering?
best of luck
Bill

JD. said:

One of the good things about the P38 is you have resources like this forum, helpful peeps who can give you pointers and advice with the repairs/maintenance.

I'd be sceptical about a valet causing lights to come on, the P38 doesn't like water too much for sure...but a valet should be fine unless they steam cleaned it.

If I was lookin at the car for sale I'd be thinkin if it was an easy enough fix why hasn't the owner sorted it already...and if they've left that go, what else needs attention.
No harm in going to have a look though.

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It's a trade seller but due to it's age it only has a 1 month warranty. It's got some service history but not sure how much yet.

He thinks it may be an ECU problem. Says it was fine until the valet. Seems like an honest enough bloke but who knows..... 136000 miles 2.5 DSE, cloth not leather, just shy of £2k.

D

Great car Dave.. But try not to be dragged in by the 1st one. As already mentioned, there are plenty of genuine fault free P38's around that have been looked after, it's ok the owner telling you the good bits, but equally any genuine person will tell u it's bad bits. I'd probably take this one out for a test run, get her upto temp too, as overheating is another common prob. I took mine out for about 45 mins when I got mine.. After all mate, it's your hard earned cash.!

i would also be dubious of a salesman claiming lights are on due to valeting as they usually have a place somewhere that does simple faults or attempts to like put lights out if even for a short time they wouldnt normally leave as is unless expensive or at this moment come on,and you cant rely on mot as they do so many they arent allways as thourgherly done as std mots

As I hinted, get under it and check the air-bags, if original, they`re due a change. Basically a nuts `n` bolts job, half a day to a long day depending on what equipment you`ve got, and four or five hundred quid. Check and double correct function of EAS and air-con.

Enery8 - I am near Preston and the car is in Wigan.

CEZ1869 - thanks for the tip....getting it up to temp is a must from what I have read. Also testing the air suspension is a good idea?

D

how about an early L322 ?

There should be a few members in the area with at least the RW EAS software if not a BBS Faultmate.

Ask if anyone can pop along a read the faults.

Test everything you can get ur hands on basically...all the switches; windows, air-con, check the heater blows hot and cold, all seat electrics etc.
Take the car down to access mode and then see how long she takes to rise to extended height.
Also make sure you go through all the gears high and low range (you need to leave it in neutral for a few seconds to engage the range).

Might have missed it, did u say if it was a diesel or a V8?

JD. said:

Test everything you can get ur hands on basically...all the switches; windows, air-con, check the heater blows hot and cold, all seat electrics etc.
Take the car down to access mode and then see how long she takes to rise to extended height.
Also make sure you go through all the gears high and low range (you need to leave it in neutral for a few seconds to engage the range).

Might have missed it, did u say if it was a diesel or a V8?

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It's a 2.5 diesel.

D

dave_dunn said:

Enery8 - I am near Preston and the car is in Wigan.

CEZ1869 - thanks for the tip....getting it up to temp is a must from what I have read. Also testing the air suspension is a good idea?

D

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Shame you are not near Weymouth, I have a Hawkeye and could have checked faults for you. Still you never know there may be someone in your are who can give you some assistance.

enery8 said:

Shame you are not near Weymouth, I have a Hawkeye and could have checked faults for you. Still you never know there may be someone in your are who can give you some assistance.

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I think there is a very knowledgeable forum member in Preston as I have seen posts fro him. Pretty sure his user name is Wammers or something similar. Seems to know his stuff and if he comes on he may be willing to help.

Will probably go and have a look at it in any case but won't buy unless I can get the faults checked out.

Thanks

D

Also remember people post on here when they have a problem, not many post to say "my car runs fine no problems at all" There are thousands of P38s that run around daily for years with no problems.