viewd a p38 should i buy it ? and what to look for....

In a bit of a dilema

been looking for a defender or 4x4 the last couple of months, after selling a disco es

found the defender market an absoloutle minefield and a ball ache, ive got a 5k budget , sold the disco for 2100, thought il get a range rover, saw a couple and wasnt sure due to the p38 probs etc and classic diesels being too hard to find and especialy a nice one, then thought defender and pay 1400 odd with the disco cash and 3500 defender...looked at a few in that range-not a lot for your money, thought 5k...and still hard to find a nice one and one thats not 600 miles away, its proved hard, winters looming and prices rise

today ive went to see a p38 i heard about locally,
owned by an older chap whos got a bit of cash, had it for the odd use as a 3rd car, hes just bought a newer hse 4.6 petrol auto that was there and very nice, said he just wanted to upgrade

its a 1996 dse in green, been for a look, its got mot till feb and tax just expired,full history and service book filled with stamps, loads of reciepts and original owners folder etc, 2 sets of keys, full leather interior and all round super condition, underneath looked nice and solid not all crusty n flakey like some ive looked at , every panel was straight and nice, nice paint all round, no little dents or big scratches or bubbling anywhere, even the tailgate was perfect and good, nice alloys and tyres, also had another identical set there with decent tyres that hed taken off the new one and put 18" wheels on it, cosmeticly it was really nice

i had a good look over it, the bmw diesel engine was smooth and nice, gear box was nice, drove without fault, steering was nice no squeeks or anything and in full lock both ways was fine and no noises at all, didnt over heat and ticked over nice,mechanicly was very nice from what i could tell, all electrics worked,remote central locking,electric windows (non sunroof model) nice sound system worked fine as did cd multi changer,all interior switches etc seemed to work, as did the dash display and changed through the things, heated leather seats etc all worked fine, only thing that didnt work was the air con which isnt an issue for me

air suspension- all seemed to work fine on all the levels, i got my mate to change it as i looked from behind and the front and it all seemed good, sat in and it all felt good, on test drive he couldnt feel any lean sat in the back

how else can you test the air suspension ?

price.. he was looking for around 2800 plus a price for the seperate wheels, after a good chat and look over it , i managed to agree £2250 with the spare set of wheels, which i think is a superb price for it, and a lot of car for the money,after a good look over and a nice test drive,i couldnt fault it or anything that was an issue,looked well looked after all its life, i said il be in contact in tomrrow

what do you think ? i could buy it and thats a straight swap for my discovery and 3 grand of my budget left in the bank and id have a good winter car and something that looks and feels flash

what else can i really check for ?? and how to really test the air suspension? - just need to know how i can really test it out specificly

also how exactly do you test the diff lock and features ? and how to engage the cruise control ? he wasnt so sure and said ive never really been on motorways in it or off road , its mainly just been used for the dogs in the back and in winter locally

im very tempted to go back tomorrow with the cash

How saggy is the rooflining, especially in the rear? (Yes - I speak from experience!).

I wouldn't buy the diesel for myself, but they do have a following - and you've actually driven it and found it to be fine for you. Although I'm very new to RR, it seems to me you've got a good price.

Sounds like youve found the one good one they made
As the eas goes lift to full hight and check the air bags for ware/damage and run the engine make sure the pump shuts off after a minute or two and its not too hot when it does
Check rad pipes for over pressure (rock hard pipes) other than that think youve covered it

Go for it and keep the £3K for the repairs.

I've done more or less exactly what you are planning & have the same problem, no aircon! it's a minter. I've found the condenser has gone on the a/c. Best thing i've ever done, i love it and it goes so much better if you chip it. Have it you won't regret it

thanks, it seemed really really nice, definatly the best 4x4 of the ones ive viewed in last couple of months, well looked after and nice in side and out, for a 1996 it was as good as it gets for the year, a good clean and polish and a full interior valet it would look stunning i think

just felt right and nice to drive, comfortable, you know when you see a car and you think "yes" and can see yourself in it and dont think hmmmm this, that needs doing, could do with this, that...was none of that, as a straight swap for my disco...its brilliant really id be very happy, i spose im just not "expert" in loking for anything specific that could be hidded as he knows its a bit iffy, but...he had his nice new petrol one there and said i just fancied a newer one and froma diesel manual to a petrol auto , its occasional use and fuel costs arnt really a factor, ive looked after it and aits never let me down, think its a nice genuine straight honest car and reason for sale, you know sometimes you dont quite like the owner or the setting of a car, but this one felt right

gfromleeds said:

Sounds like youve found the one good one they made
As the eas goes lift to full hight and check the air bags for ware/damage and run the engine make sure the pump shuts off after a minute or two and its not too hot when it does
Check rad pipes for over pressure (rock hard pipes) other than that think youve covered it

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this is the sort of thing im after...i didnt check that, so i set it up and have a a good look around at the bags,ive got that ! .. how do i check the pump exactly ? where is that ?

anything else ?

just spoke to a mate of mine whos an mot tester, he said he might be able to go with me after work tomorrow and have a look, he knows about them, but hed let me know tomorrow, from what i saw and for that price if someone else sees it it will go i think , so if he cant..il have to ponder weather to just check myself and buy it if i cant find fault

think id be happy with it, forget about the off roading off a defender and save a few grand in the process and having a lot of winter comfort and something that looks and feels quite flash

$tumpy said:

I've done more or less exactly what you are planning & have the same problem, no aircon! it's a minter. I've found the condenser has gone on the a/c. Best thing i've ever done, i love it and it goes so much better if you chip it. Have it you won't regret it

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to be fair..he said i think it needs a new condenser , before i went to look at it when i spoke on the phone

im not too fussed about performance/speed, as its more for winter and snow and ice etc and a work horse

Datatek said:

Go for it and keep the £3K for the repairs.

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are they that bad tho ? , ive spoke to a few owners of them, and some have said they been reliable and rock solid , see a few about on the roads too, i dont want something thats forever going wrong, people said that about discoverys, but i had one nearly a year and it never let me down or went wrong, i know you can get lucky or unlucky, same with any car, but i get a good feeling about this one , ive walked away from a few in the past few weeks, this one just felt good

how reliable do we expect a 16+ year old car to be

I suppose diesel must be worth more than petrols, bought my 2000 4.6 a couple of months ago, FSH and mint £2K. No obvious faults - so far...

p38 prius lol said:

how reliable do we expect a 16+ year old car to be

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dont know ? if a properly serviced and looked after disel engine they can go on forever cant they ?

my disco was a 1997, people said dont get a disco probs this that n the other, i got one and it was faultless the year i had it, i bought a 1987 bmw a few months ago,thats not skipped a beat and been bomb prooof reliable, with some cars..its condition over year and how its been maintained ?

Buy it, you'll regret it if you don't.

I've now had two years with my 2000 P38 diesel, it's never missed a beat.

Posing round the South West in summer, sure footed through the Perthshire forests in winter. My air con doesn't work either, I don't care.

i think i might regret it, more so the condition and the fact it ends up more or less a straight swap for my disco, and i do LOVE the look of it

i need to debate- either keep on the defener search and pay 3-5k and maybe wait a long time and get more frustrated, or just buy this and forget about the defender

defenders- not the most comfortable, not that great in the cold and winter comfort wise, and im 6`3 and a big lad, they arnt very comfortable or 3 hr motorway comfortable for me, bit of a squeeze, im not a farmer or an off roader or live on a track...i however do really like them and so fun to drive

use wise-mainly road use in winter for work, and for loading up and going to festivals in the summer to work ,8pm-3 or 4am are my work times, so its a lot of night and cold winter driving, range rover fits the bill much more than a defender really if im true to myself

The most important thing is to get a good one ,not always easy to find . It sounds like you may have cracked it with this one and if you have you will love it !

I think Defenders are great fun to drive - for about 15 minutes - then they get on my nerves increasingly until I want to torch the bloody things - roughly two hours into the journey usually does the trick.

362bkr said:

The most important thing is to get a good one ,not always easy to find . It sounds like you may have cracked it with this one and if you have you will love it !

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this is what im hoping, but how can i confirm it ? which is why i posted this, i like it, its playing on my mind- unlike any other ive looked at and walked away from

i couldnt fault it and for that sort of money, was awsome and looked the business and leaves me 3k up and happy

StuckAgainSteve said:

I think Defenders are great fun to drive - for about 15 minutes - then they get on my nerves increasingly until I want to torch the bloody things - roughly two hours into the journey usually does the trick.

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ive only driven them for 10 mins , but- i like them, but im not even comfortable in one, and in times ive thought about paying 3.5-5k for somethign im not overly comfortable in, and leaky, no heated screens, crap heaters- to drive around in winter at 3am and 25 mile motorway trips daily,it seems crazy ,i know, but ive not bought one yet, 3k ones ive seen have been awful really, concidering i have no specific need for a defender ,ie off roading, farm, work, etc

also its a manual, my disco was an auto , people advised- manual for petrol and auto for disel was best, but i loved the manual, felt much nicer to drive, more repsonsive than my disco, or the auto p38 i drove the other wek and walked away from, he wanted and sold that for near 3k, this ones much much nicer condition and drive

in all the door shuts and nooks n crannies all looked nice and solid and original aswell, engine and bay looked nice, whole thing was all round nice

how do you engage the cruise control exactly ??? and the diff lock etc ???

as that i need to rest out tomorrow , anything else ?????

If you dont buy it soon someone else will get it.I used to own a p38 when it was the current model and was expensive to fix and service but now they are reasonably cheap to fix . Of course you may not need to fix anything ...........

The eas pump is under a plastic cover on the right hand side of the engine as you look in at it .says eas on it just lift the cover of and youll see a black cylinder thats the pump.put your hand on it youll feel it running or not.
If it runs for ages or gets real hot could be a air leak
Also feel drivers footwell carpet for antifreeze if its wet its not a big problem its only the heater matrix seals leaking but its a right bitch to get to
Talk to the seller get a few £££ nocked off
and make sure you drive the low range box through all the gears too

polsta said:

also its a manual, my disco was an auto , people advised- manual for petrol and auto for disel was best, but i loved the manual, felt much nicer to drive, more repsonsive than my disco, or the auto p38 i drove the other wek and walked away from, he wanted and sold that for near 3k, this ones much much nicer condition and drive

in all the door shuts and nooks n crannies all looked nice and solid and original aswell, engine and bay looked nice, whole thing was all round nice

how do you engage the cruise control exactly ??? and the diff lock etc ???

as that i need to rest out tomorrow , anything else ?????

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Probly a bit late now, but diff lock is automatic via a viscous coupling so nothing to engage.

Cruise control - there's a switch on the left of the dash with a motorway symbol on it. Press it - light should come on. Then press Set on the steering wheel while you're moving and it should maintain the speed. Mine's never worked, so I'm guessing a little bit.#

Why are you so keen on a Defender? If you want off road ability then you will be very impressed with a P38 - they're very underrated.

As mentioned previously, make sure the low ratio selector works - sometimes the transfer box motor sticks especially if it's not used very often.

thanks guys, ive slept on it and i think im defo going to get it providiong these checks go well today

i think ive got it all, and written it all down

i know this may sound daft...but how do you select the lo range ?

is it just the "low" button to the right of the dash by hazzards ?

im only familiar with the diff lock and hi lo range selector of the discovery, could do with a guide on it on these and how to fully test it ??