Undecided?

I would be grateful for your comments re the following.
Which would be the better vehicle to have reliability wise between a 300tdi
Discovery and a 25DSE P38 RRover.?
I have never owned a diesel vehicle ,and know absolutely nothing about them and am contemplating a change from the V8.
Cheers .

enginewise both should be ok - 300tdi is very good engine - the BMW 2.5 in the range rover is reliable but some people think it's underpowered for the RR

300tdi disco is a very good vehicle - it's just all the elecronics on the P38 range rover that let it down , whether it's a petrol or diesel

personally I would go for the disco - bought myself a disco td5 4 months ago ( having looked at range rovers & disco's - was put off by the number of problems with the range rover - air suspension, heating & cooling problems etc) , done 2000 miles & had no problems whatsoever

have a look at these threads for some further info

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/viewing-2-5d-p38-some-advice-needed-46591.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/td5-mpg-over-1300-miles-45085.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/opinions-td5-disco-45821.html

also see this thread for some positive points on the p38

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/trouble-free-p38as-45106.html

burtonboy said:

enginewise both should be ok - 300tdi is very good engine - the BMW 2.5 in the range rover is reliable but some people think it's underpowered for the RR

300tdi disco is a very good vehicle - it's just all the elecronics on the P38 range rover that let it down , whether it's a petrol or diesel

personally I would go for the disco - bought myself a disco td5 4 months ago ( having looked at range rovers & disco's - was put off by the number of problems with the range rover - air suspension, heating & cooling problems etc) , done 2000 miles & had no problems whatsoever

have a look at these threads for some further info

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/viewing-2-5d-p38-some-advice-needed-46591.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/td5-mpg-over-1300-miles-45085.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/opinions-td5-disco-45821.html

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Many thanks for replying and the thread info.
I have also read info on some other forums and generally speaking the overall opinon is as you have said.They may have all the bells and whistles ,but it's just more to go wrong.,and build quality left something to be desired.In the past I have owned a Discovery but once again it was a V8,for at least I am familiar with the vehicle .On the other hand ,am I right in thinking that the Series 1 Disco was coil sprung and air suspension only came in with the TD5.

Once again thanks for your help

(soon to be Discovery 300tdi owner)

I was put off 300 Tdi Discos and RR Classic because of bodywork corrosion issues. Series II DIscos and P38s are light years ahead in that respect and look better for much longer.

lanmjdun said:

I was put off 300 Tdi Discos and RR Classic because of bodywork corrosion issues. Series II DIscos and P38s are light years ahead in that respect and look better for much longer.

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I currently own a RR Classic and can honestly say that bodywork corrosion is not a problem.It's just not there.(yet)

Burtonboy would recommend the disco wouldn't he!
I used to be undecided but now I'm not so sure

groenendael said:

I have owned a Discovery but once again it was a V8,for at least I am familiar with the vehicle .On the other hand ,am I right in thinking that the Series 1 Disco was coil sprung and air suspension only came in with the TD5.

Once again thanks for your help

(soon to be Discovery 300tdi owner)

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not sure when air suspension came in or if it was on the Tdi's - most TD5's are coil sprung - it's only on the GS & ES models (7 seater's) that have the rear air suspension

SuperPete said:

Burtonboy would recommend the disco wouldn't he!
I used to be undecided but now I'm not so sure

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why - because I've got one ? - as i said i was in similar position to 'groenendael' looking at either a p38 range rover or a disco (tdi or TD5) spent 4 weeks looking at lots of both types & having done loads of research on here & other forums & speaking to other owners I decided on a 2001 TD5 ES - its just as luxurious as a range rover - dual zone climate control, leather & walnut interior, 12 speaker harman kardon sound system, heated electric seats etc, - ok it's got electrics than gan go wrong - but not as much as a range rover

I couldn't stand the thought of spending £8k - £9k on a range rover & then having to spend more money on it in the first 12 months

I'd love a Range Rover Hse but the unreliability just puts me off

I know that Burtonboy's comments re P38's are echoed by many but, I've had my P38 from new in 2001 and the only parts that have been replaced are service consumables. It's just had 2000K service and drives like new.
I would recommend them to anyone so much so that I've just bought another so we have one each.

SuperPete said:

I've had my P38 from new in 2001 and the only parts that have been replaced are service consumables. It's just had 2000K service and drives like new.
I would recommend them to anyone so much so that I've just bought another so we have one each.

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if you've had yours from new then you've obviously looked after it - i think most of the p38 prob's are caused by lack of or no maintanance.

is that the 200k or 2,000,000 service ?

did point him in the direction of the positive recommendations for a range rover

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/trouble-free-p38as-45106.html

I nearly bought a 2001 Y reg 2.5DHSE it was a really nice motor - 81K , FSH , immaculate interior, £7995 - but they wouldn't give me a decent part ex for mine - if they had I'd prob be driving a range rover now instead of a disco.

To put the cat amongst the pigeons for a second, why buy a diesel? certainly when it comes to P38 Range Rovers, they are noticeably underpowered by comparison to their petrol powered brothers.

With diesel costing almost as much as petrol, your not really going to save much on running costs. What I'd suggest is finding a P38 4.0 SE or HSE with a proper LPG conversion done and with LPG costs being 45p per litre, your going save more money than running a diesel version.

Just my 2 cents....

adamforeman said:

With diesel costing almost as much as petrol, your not really going to save much on running costs.

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shirley even with doozil costing the same - yu get better mpg figures an if yu stick in a bottle or two of Tescos finest even better - yu dont have that option wiv a petrol.

adamforeman said:

To put the cat amongst the pigeons for a second, why buy a diesel? certainly when it comes to P38 Range Rovers, they are noticeably underpowered by comparison to their petrol powered brothers.

With diesel costing almost as much as petrol, your not really going to save much on running costs. What I'd suggest is finding a P38 4.0 SE or HSE with a proper LPG conversion done and with LPG costs being 45p per litre, your going save more money than running a diesel version.

Just my 2 cents....

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yup - looked at those as well - this DHSE had the 'powerbox' thingy & drove pretty well - 'nearly' bought a 2001 4.0HSE as well - but LPG wise the nearest place to me that sells it is about 20 miles away & not in a direction I normally go - so would mean 40 mile round trip just to fill up!

The Mad Hat Man said:

shirley even with doozil costing the same - yu get better mpg figures an if yu stick in a bottle or two of Tescos finest even better - yu dont have that option wiv a petrol.

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Ok, I'll give ya that the mpg on a diesel is way better than a petrol, but the best test of all is go and drive one then the other....it's really down to preference.

But, once you've driven a 4.0 or 4.6 petrol and then drive a 2.5 diesel, it's going to be down how it feels to drive.

From a personal point of view, when I did that, it was chalk and cheese.

Sorry if I sound like I'm diss'in the diesels, but that's the decision I came to when I did my test drives on both versions. Plus its nice to have the autobox than a manual......

...oh and stop callin' me Shirley! lol! Its not Airplane!

adamforeman said:

Ok, I'll give ya that the mpg on a diesel is way better than a petrol, but the best test of all is go and drive one then the other....it's really down to preference.

But, once you've driven a 4.0 or 4.6 petrol and then drive a 2.5 diesel, it's going to be down how it feels to drive.

From a personal point of view, when I did that, it was chalk and cheese.

Sorry if I sound like I'm diss'in the diesels, but that's the decision I came to when I did my test drives on both versions. Plus its nice to have the autobox than a manual......

...oh and stop callin' me Shirley! lol! Its not Airplane!

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know what you mean - i drove both while i was lookin - on the normal 2.5d (without powerbox/not chipped) accelerating was like driving through mud with 2 ton of bricks in the back (couldn't pull out of junction unless there was half a mile of clear road) , the 2.5 fitted with the powerbox made a great difference but the 4.0 petrol was totally different - great sounding V8 too!

but as i will be doing a fair few miles every year & a lot of caravan towing - I would have had to go for a diesel

not sure if you can use veg oil on the range rover BMW diesel - may be wrong though ,

Oops that's 200,000km service

Having a 300tdi Disco with 256k on the clock to a 60k 4.6 HSE RR I have to say that both are fantastic vehicals, the 38mpg to 12mpg difference is noticed for what is a a medioca boost in power (I hate to think what the DSE is like)

The disco is a pain for rust I think it is officially dead, after I bought a replace ment trans box the tin worm has nailed my sill so bad it has rusted totally through, the inner rear arhes have died so quickly considering they were fine a year or so ago when the rear floor was changed.

To be fair she has been body lifted and had a suspension lift and been used heavily off road and as an electricians van by the last owner.

The RR is a lovely drive, yes it is complicated but all the little things it does still amazes me, she has far better road handling imho, yet is still able to hold its own off road.

get a p38, a DSE if you must but the HSE just sounds and goes so much better

burtonboy said:

know what you mean - i drove both while i was lookin - on the normal 2.5d (without powerbox/not chipped) accelerating was like driving through mud with 2 ton of bricks in the back (couldn't pull out of junction unless there was half a mile of clear road)

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LOL! yup, that's how it felt to me too! I live in South London and near a very busy round about at the bottom of my road and quite frankly frustrated me each time I came up to the junction....unlike my 4.0 SE Petrol Auto that powered through each time from a standing start and from a hill start too.

I have to add I was mighty impressed with the autobox....

I have a chipped 1999 DSE p38 and it goes like a rocket where my Discovery 200tdi is like driven a loaded lorry , but is so much fun off road. The DSE is the one i would have just for every day motoring , but for the cheapest motoring ever i would buy an old Discovery and a big tool box pluss alot of oil.