Mark III Rangies

I've had my current P38 for two years. Although I love the car, it's not been the easiest of vehicles. I have been plagued with EAS trouble, faulty height sensor, faulty pressure switch, stuck solenoid valves, and also had some other annoying electrical foibles. It's currently flagging an EAS fault again, so it's off to the local man for a reset and diagnostic.

The car passed its MOT not needing anything last week, but the guy pointed out some near life-end stuff; two worn air springs, exhaust popping a tiny bit on the rear box, perishing inside two of the pirellis, and shocks all round a bit knackered. So at the next service I am realling looking at quite a few hundred quids worth of stuff, and I would like to do a spring conversion to rid me of the EAS issues.

I like the Rangie so much I am thinking of trading up to a mark 3. I'm not a great fan of the latest shape, but I like the 2002-2004 model. It's got to be a V8 so prob the 4.4, depending on cash.

Can you guys give me any feedback, opinion, thoughts on how the mark 3s compare to the P38s?

Thanks alot!
Jock

I guess that kind of answers it...

i like the the l322 as well but at the mo price is putting me off, i heard they suffer a few problems that cost a quid or two to put right. things like gearboxes, steering columns and front diffs are a few. getting back to the p38 why bother spending all that money converting it to springs and in my opinion taking away what makes it what it is when airspring only cost around 50 quid to buy, the jobs easy enough and only take a very short time to fit. if the compressor is getting weak you can buy a new seal for 30 quid to rectify that.

pros and cons......

I have springs,a bit stiff but hassle free and no eletric****erie to wind me up.If you are going to keep the wagon then get rid of as many eletrical items as possible.If you change then you could be worse off,I would keep the one i have and make it suitable for longterm life.

I can verify they are rather prone to the gearbox and front diff faults. Unless you have a few thousand pounds available to throw at it when things go wrong I'd stay well clear.

Front diff is now part of a recall and is fixed for free by your local dealer, so one thing to take out of the equation. If you are looking to buy one, check to see if this has been done first, unless it's a LR dealer, dont take the sellers word it has been done, a call to your local dealer will confirm if the front diff upgrade has been carried out or not.

i have bought a range rover mk 3
i had a p38 for 3 years and i loved it, i was very lucky as the one i got was a real peach and had been really well looked after
i sold it this year and took the plung for a l322
ohhh fantastic car
the only advice i would offer anyone looking is to look around
dont settle for the first one you see there are some right lemons out there also
dont think getting one from a mian dealers will help as i know someone who bought a 03 from a dealers and had nothing but trouble with it
i have an 04 and i love it but it took me 6 months to find the right one,
look at the seats on the drivers side good indication to how its been looked after, try and get a td6 as they not the ones you see going at 100 mph + down the fast lane of the motorways
good luck mate

Cheers for the feedback. I've scoured the web for reviews and feedback. There's clearly two camps here: completely love 'em, or completely hate 'em. Doesn't sound like Land Rover at all... ;-)

I'm gonna work out whether to plough cash into my current money pit, or haggle with a couple of dealers to get a decent L322 (thanks for the terminology) I'm told they are really on their knees with these beasts at the moment.

I'm looking at a couple of 60-70k milers, with full histories. At this mileage you should be through any gearbox/diff problems under warranty but a long way off the niggles. Might go and see them to get a feel.

If my P38 hadn't been such a pig over the last 6 months, I'd probably not be so hacked off with it.

Cheers
Jock

I have just spent over 2K on my 2005 l322 TD6 (gear box) after 54K Land Rover wanted over £4.5K. I love the car but it is a money pit so why go from one known pit to an unknown one. Having said that you can have mine if you want!!!

robsafe1 said:

I have just spent over 2K on my 2005 l322 TDV6 (gear box) after 54K Land Rover wanted over £4.5K. I love the car but it is a money pit so why go from one known pit to an unknown one. Having said that you can have mine if you want!!!

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What's one of them?

Sorry, but I hate it when people don't now what they own.

You have lost me?

sorry typo school boy error I know what I have..

Sorry if it was just a typo, but it's one I've seen a number of times, and it just jarred yesterday.

Davec said:

What's one of them?

Sorry, but I hate it when people don't now what they own.

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Sorry, but don't you just hate it, when people don't know how to spell?

steveh,how could you ?????
You recently bought 04 landrover and you call it a "oooh fantastic car" A car??? Sorry but a Landyrover is a far cry from a car?