Newbie buying help please

Hi guys,

wanted to say Hi and as for your help please! I am going to be a Dad in October for the first time, over the moon but my 2002 CLK cabriolet has to go and a P38 will take it's place (with some £££'s in the bank!) I am looking to spend about £12-13k and not sure if to buy a 2.5 DHSE or 4ltr or 4.6 with Lpg. I want 18's and will add clear lenses if they are not already on, prefer black, grey or epsom - combined with cream leather. My concern with the Diesel is that I have not driven one, my Dad used to have a 99 Vogue so know how these go, and I have some concerns over lpg systems, is it just like petrol and can be run all the time?!

Your help is appreciated and I look forward to posting lots soon!!

I recommend buying a Haynes "you and your Range Rover" book before buying. I found it had all the advice you need before taking the plunge.

I would go for a 4.0 SE (the one i went for) and set aside money for a good LPG conversion

streetboy said:

I would go for a 4.0 SE (the one i went for) and set aside money for a good LPG conversion

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Out of interest, why would you recommend the 4.0SE with LPG over the Diesel - what sort of realistic mpg figures can one expect from each combination?

Steve
(thinking about buying a RR, but doesn't know which one)

The V8's are excellent drives and will be cheaper to run than the diesel on LPG. I average about 17mpg in my 4.0, the diesel does about 24? LPG costs 37p a litre and you can stick the tanks in the spare wheel well. (free congestion charge in london with LPG as well)

I would go for an SE or HSE because the leather seats are lovely and you get more toys. The 4.6 is less suited to LPG from what ive been told and its an insurance group higher.

I didnt buy a ready converted car as im no expert and i buy at auction so dont get to give the LPG a decent look over.

good luck

streetboy said:

The V8's are excellent drives and will be cheaper to run than the diesel on LPG. I average about 17mpg in my 4.0, the diesel does about 24? LPG costs 37p a litre and you can stick the tanks in the spare wheel well. (free congestion charge in london with LPG as well)

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Thanks for the figures - I'm aware of the "benefits" of LPG as I currently run a Dual Fuel car (admittedly converted by the manufacturer). Hmm, so if I want something with at least 30mpg, I either need to pray LPG stays as cheap as it currently is or get a Disco...

I would go for an SE or HSE because the leather seats are lovely and you get more toys. The 4.6 is less suited to LPG from what ive been told and its an insurance group higher.

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Aren't I tied to the 4.6 if I want the 'extra' toys of the HSE though? Memory seats etc.

Whilst I'm discussing the spec of the cars, does anyone know whether a DHSE has the same full spec of the HSE (ie memory seats, dipping mirror etc.) as standard? It seems to, but www.rrr.co.uk doesn't list the spec of the DHSE to confirm for sure.

Hmm, I must borrow my neighbours 4.6HSE with a recent LPG conversion.

I would go for a diesel manual and get it chipped and bigger intercooler,if you want a petrol go for the 4.0L,i am against lpg only due to the amount of pourous blocks i have seen as the lpg seems to make the engines hotter and it causes a few problems,this is based on working at a main dealer although i only see the broken ones so the choice is yours,but due to running costs and repairs i would go for a good disco 2.

(free congestion charge in london with LPG as well)

not strictly true i'm afraid, only LPG vehicles registered on the powershift register qualify, landrover are not on it in any shape or form.

talking about porous blocks, my old company did the tooling for the V8's in the late 90's which were cast right up until a couple of months ago. the problems are well documented and are related to casting procedure more so than running temperatures, although high temperature does exasperate the problem. my mate did the CAD work for the V8 and tried in vain to correct these issues but the casting foundry ignored all recommendations, the result, duff castings. but i suppose when your only getting 50quid per casting you aren't going to be to fussy with it. the stories i could tell............

tigapiglet said:

I would go for a diesel manual and get it chipped and bigger intercooler

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Any URLs on good solutions, and an idea of price...?

but due to running costs and repairs i would go for a good disco 2.

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Yes, it's looking like that might have to be the answer - I'm assuming I'm best with a TD5 (as opposed to petrol...)

Guess it's time to take my questions to the Disco forum

swing said:

Aren't I tied to the 4.6 if I want the 'extra' toys of the HSE though? Memory seats etc.

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They did a 4.0 HSE in the last few years of the P38 run.

If your after good MPG the disco is a better bet imo.

OK, so here is my dillema - 2.5 DHSE with 92k on it, V reg or 2.5 DHSE with 73k on it but a 98 S reg - or 4.0HSE LPG on a 98 S reg with 75k on it.

All between £12-14k
I mainly do motorway miles.

Which should I buy and why?!

I would personally go for the diesel. The V8`s are beautiful engines, but guzzle fuel. Lpg conversion is great, but not if you want to take your car to France on the tunnel ( No LPG Tanks allowed) and I think the ferries use the same policy ( I could be wrong though ) I use the tunnel a lot living only a few miles from it, and diesel is really cheap over there.
Fuel prices are on the way up again too, by all accounts.

It really is up to you and how you use the car. If you can afford the fuel, go for the V8. As you said, you can get one with all the toys on it. If running costs are a priority, get the diesel.

The problem with the V8 ( as I found to my cost a few years ago with a nearly new RRC) is that your projected use of the car before you buy it, is nowhere near how it will be used once you start that engine and listen to the sound it makes.....oh dear.....NURSE, some assistance here please....

allan

Thanks a lot for that. I like the idea of the V8 roar, with LPG the cost of motorway mileage should be a lot cheaper than a DHSE if I am reading things right?!

I am very confused.

I think you can expect the equivalent of about 30mpg using LPG. That was the reason I was looking for a V8 again, but the Tunnel and LPG, ...dammit...
The diesel would be a shade below that. So, dont do what I did, go for the LPG conversion, and enjoy the sounds. You could always make some money back by selling the radio, you wont want to listen to that with a V8 burbling away in front of you.

Anyway, whatever you chose, good luck with it.

allan

I have just bought a 99 Range Rover 2.5 Diesel, it has an uprated intercooler and it will be getting chipped and Mapped soon. Will give it 40bhp more and 120ftlb torque.
Being "mapped" it will also give better fuel economy aswell (30-32mpg)

take a look here

http://www.motorsport-developments.co.uk/pages/whoarewe.htm

in my humble opinion it has to be the 4.0 LPG. why? you will get better MPG at speed with the LPG over diesel but the main argument for petrol is the power output. petrol will fly off the mark if you ask it, i realise it's a land rover, not a lambergini but if you want to accelerate the petrol will do it, the diesel won't. if you were towing it may be a different story but your not. i have to admit a slight bias because i'm not keen on the diesel, there under powered and there noisy although they are a stronger engine. there are issues with the petrol and you must ensure the LPG is the proper job, multi point injection, certainly not single point and that's important. i have a 4.6 LPG and i love it bits, my gaffa had a 2.5 disco which i did a lot of motorway miles in and i didn't rate it at all.

at motorway speed (75-85) i get 225-235 miles out of a spare wheel well LPG tank costing me £23 to fill @33p per L which works out at 15 MPG in actual fuel but in reality that's 45 to the gallon in money. that's on a 4.6 with a autogas 2000 LPG conversion with 75,000 on the clock. autogas boasted up to 290 miles per tank if i didn't exceed 70 mph, that's 56 MPG at todays prices.

its stuck said:

I think the ferries use the same policy ( I could be wrong though )

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Based on my limited experience, it's only the tunnel which has the issue with LPG cars.

Fuel prices are on the way up again too, by all accounts.

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Although the price of petrol and diesel has gone up a few pence in the last few months, my preferred LPG station has only put up the price of LPG by 0.5p. As a result, right now, LPG is offering even better value as even on normal forecourts it's now below the traditional "half the price of petrol" deal.

As you said, you can get one with all the toys on it.

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I'm still trying to find out how similar the DHSE spec is to the HSE spec - if identical, then surely you can get the best of both worlds...

If running costs are a priority, get the diesel.

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...or a Disco

The 4.6 is far superior pulling wise than the DSE which has a poor power to weight ratio.Before purchasing any P38 ensure that ALL electrics work-especially the rear wiper-I know it sounds stupid but it cost me £700 to get the rear wiper going as the BECM which controls all the electrics was shot.Also check the heating controls,if it has the LED display,ensure the "Handbook" (Chequebook!!) symbol is not on as this can cost mega bucks to rectify in a garage if the heater blend motors (Common fault) are faulty-Dash out job if it's to be done properly-not for the faint hearted.Also check air suspension operation.Oil leaks are common and part of the Range Rover makeup!!

Otherwise the P38 is a super car and despite it's niggles,once driven,hard to try anything else.

........thanks for all of your comments to date.

What if the DHSE was chipped!! Does that make a massive difference to the car and it's driveability / Economy / reliability?!?

Chipping will give you more power,but remember it is still a 2.5 hauling 2tons of motor.If you try to get similar performance to the 4.0 or 4.6 you will probably find deisel fuel costs no different to the petrol or maybe worse.If you are happy just taking things steady then why have the chipped deisel?Reliability wise,you are putting a greater strain on the engine and the chipping adds one more potential problem area.Perhaps someone who has firs hand experience of rechipping from an owners point of view can advise better.
Have you considered L.P.G. as an alternative-even as an after purchase mod.if needs be.