P38 or Disco 2 and what engine - tips anyone?

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GraemeT

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Hi all
I am after a decent tow vehicle and having previously owned & towed with a RR Classic and a 2.25 Series 2a 88" the LR marque is beckoning again.

With my possible budget I'm probably looking at a pre 2000 P38 or Disco. My thoughts are for the 2.5 diesel on an auto box but maybe the 4.0 litre too. Mainly looking at the diesel for fuel costs so I guess a decent LPG kit would balance up on the petrol.

Any advice on (1) engine choice and (2) Discovery or P38?
 
Neither, if you are worried about cost and reliability buy a SsangYong Rexton TDI, they are cheap - perhaps slightly nasty - but they are reliable and tow well. You'll have some change for a decent pair of shades to hide behind.
 
GraemeT said:
Hi all
I am after a decent tow vehicle and having previously owned & towed with a RR Classic and a 2.25 Series 2a 88" the LR marque is beckoning again.

With my possible budget I'm probably looking at a pre 2000 P38 or Disco. My thoughts are for the 2.5 diesel on an auto box but maybe the 4.0 litre too. Mainly looking at the diesel for fuel costs so I guess a decent LPG kit would balance up on the petrol.

Any advice on (1) engine choice and (2) Discovery or P38?
Click to expand...
u can have my 3.9 v8i t plate one of the very last disco 1 with good tax mot history for a reasonable offer..pm me if interested thanks scott
 
bigsmellydaddy said:
p38 2.5 dhse, nuff said
Click to expand...

'Til the head cracks or the 'box goes bang. If you need a reliable car, buy a reliable car. I love my P38 but I'm not expecting it do do anything other than breakdown when it decides to do so! It hasn't yet, but I won't be surprised when it does - and why not, she's 13 years old! You'll get a SsangYong Rexton for the same price, a inherently more reliable car and four-five years younger toboot, fitted with a modern Mercedes engine- a good modern Mercedes engine at that.
 
StuckAgainSteve said:
'Til the head cracks or the 'box goes bang. If you need a reliable car, buy a reliable car. I love my P38 but I'm not expecting it do do anything other than breakdown when it decides to do so! It hasn't yet, but I won't be surprised when it does - and why not, she's 13 years old! You'll get a SsangYong Rexton for the same price, a inherently more reliable car and four-five years younger toboot, fitted with a modern Mercedes engine- a good modern Mercedes engine at that.
Click to expand...

According to the chief exec of Merc, modern Mercs are crap, certainly the engines are not that good.
Nowt wrong with a DHSE as long as you are prepared to do the maintenance required. Heads usually crack due to an overheat as far as I can see and it's a problem common to many modern diesels.
 
having owned both, a 1997 2.5 auto disco ES, and currently a p38 2.5 dse manual...

the disco i paid 1900 for, had it a year and never broke down or gave me any drama,drove itr hundreds of miles on long jouneys loaded up with 4 people plus lots of work and camping gear it was great, just never fell in love with the silver color,so sold it and got £2100 , they can be reliable if you get a good one

, always wanted a range classic...couldnt find a nice one either before them, or when i sold that i bought a p38, id day the p38 is slightly better on fuel, better to drive, less work like more luxury feel, not qute as good off road,but so much much nicer on the road, and i love it, although you get the niggles and things to sort, i now need a new clutch and flywheel=£800 roughly

but things like thew air suspension, looks/style of it, a p38 is nice to own and drive
 
Datatek said:
According to the chief exec of Merc, modern Mercs are crap, certainly the engines are not that good.
Nowt wrong with a DHSE as long as you are prepared to do the maintenance required. Heads usually crack due to an overheat as far as I can see and it's a problem common to many modern diesels.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with you on Merc car engines. The CDI's have certainly got their problems. However I've just had to give up an eight year old Sprinter because of rust etc. The engine was still going as well as ever with 400,000 miles on the clock. Only routine servicing, a belt tensioner and two 'O' rings replaced.
 
dogsbody said:
I'd agree with you on Merc car engines. The CDI's have certainly got their problems. However I've just had to give up an eight year old Sprinter because of rust etc. The engine was still going as well as ever with 400,000 miles on the clock. Only routine servicing, a belt tensioner and two 'O' rings replaced.
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Would that of had the 5pot diesel engine? I knew of one that reached nearly double that
 
From experience P 38's are reliable so long as you look after them I have done over 200k in mine without breaking down I have replaced things before they wore out and it is a nice smooth 4.6 not a tractor;)
 
I've got a V8 P38 which gets used most days, but I tow with a 2.5 diesel VW Transporter (with an engine remarkably similar to a Td5). The P38 doesn't even have a towbar, that's how much I trust it :)
 
Hi all

Thanks for the ideas - I'm in favour of a V8 myself (I guess the 4.0 as I seem to hear bad stuff about the 4.6) but as the good wife is eyeing the wallet then she's kind of more in favour of a diesel.

LPG sounds good (although the single point in the old RR did have a backfire, flame trap failed and the bottom blew out of the air meter - that was a tad expensive to fix so she's not so keen on that either :-(( )

Graeme
 
Graeme

go for the 4.6, it's got more power than the 4.0 and economy (if you can call it that) is the same.

Get as late a one as you can and, get it converted to gas (cheaper to buy one not converted and get it converted yourself rather than buy one already converted) as Sandy says, sort the niggles before they become problems.

Mine's just turned 92K miles and, apart from new airbags, a couple of bulbs & routine servicing stuff (filters, brake pads etc.) runs perfectly & it's my daily driver as well as being used to tow a large-ish caravan

previously had diesels (shoguns, landcruisers etc.) and wouldn't go back after experiencing the V8. Before I got mine, I tried a few diesel P38's and was honestly very dissapointed with the lack of power

Of course, if you need more than 5 seats then you have to go for the disco - apparentlym the 4.0 V8 is nice, especially in a series 2

just my 2p worth
 
After test driving both disco td5 & RR v8 there was no contest for me...v8 RR all the way but i want comfort & a smooth drive. Its big enough for 2 dogs, loads of gear & family etc. i do miss the 7 seats of the tdv6 disco i once had but am willing to sacrifice for the pure indulgence of a 4.6 v8 rr. With LPG fitted on multipoint its cheaper to run also.
 
Datatek said:
According to the chief exec of Merc, modern Mercs are crap, certainly the engines are not that good.
Nowt wrong with a DHSE as long as you are prepared to do the maintenance required. Heads usually crack due to an overheat as far as I can see and it's a problem common to many modern diesels.
Click to expand...

Yes, Mercs have been awful since the mid 90s, however some of the engines have been gems - like the 2.7 TDI - reliable and fairly fuel efficient. As for the Ssangyong Rexton - imagine a Merc M Class that has actually been screwed together properly from materials that won't rust in five minutes and you get the idea! :)
 
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