Which is the best

Hello
I hope someone can help me with this. I am in the process of buying a Range Rover. I am looking at a 2000 4.0 HSE and a 2000 4.6 Vogue Both have full documented service history. I have a couple of questions. Is there much difference in the performance and fuel consumption. Have either of these two got any real inbuilt problems? The Vogue has sat nav is the Carin sat nav system ok? I have a 1988 3.5 Vogue which I am keeping is the P38 much different to service and repair? Any other info on the P38 would be welcome
Thanks in advance.
Have a nice weekend.
Mik

P38 is vastly different to the Classic. I wouldn't say replacement / cost of parts is any different really, but the main difficulty with the P38 is that it requires specialist diagnostics equipment to read out any problems in the ECU's and there are a lot of ECU's!!

Main problems reported with the v8's are porus blocks, which basically requires a new engine block.

Main problem on the P38 generally is the air suspension. Worn out compressor is usual suspect, but also perished air bags (although these are now a lot cheaper than they used to be ~£65 ea rather than £200 as they were!)

Check www.rangerovers.net for loads of info, specs and problems.

Matt.

P38 could be more expensive to repair, but if you are handy, you can save lot of money. Especially incompetent repairshops can make huge bills just by replacing everything... due to incorrect, or lack of troubleshoot.

I have -97 4,0 and i am happy with it, offcourse more power would be nice, but it is not main issue for me. Performance is acceptable, these are not race cars anyway...

Inbuilt problems, it is LR... Think heating system is littlebit too sensitive and complex, common problem is failing servomotors which drives flaps in heaterunit.
Alarm/central locking can create problems, very nuisance if it refuses to work at all. Don´t know how unreliable it is, mine worked well. (knock on wood)

Most problems can be avoided to keep battery in good order, maybe replacing biggest unit which fits to tray is good idea.

EAS needs some attention, but it is quite simple system mechanically and it is fully repairable. ECU and drive pack beside valve block are nonrepaireble units, at least with home tools.
All other parts can be repaired without expensive whole new unit, offcourse bags are not repairable but they don´t cost fortune and should last 10year.

mmaddock put one main thing, diagnostic system is quite essential with these...

I bought Rovacom Lite, and i can sleep more relaxed. It is quite expensive, but it can pay its price back someday.

Thanks for the reply. I thought the porous block problem had been sorted by 2000. I am intending to buy a Rovercom lite. I think it will pay for itself as I live in France and am 100km from a l/r dealer. The other problem is that they do not know a lot about the v8s as most of the Rangies are diesel. I did think about a diesel for the economy but the dismal performance put me off I need to cruise on the m/way at about 140-150km p h. although I have looked at various chip and intercooler combinations. Has anyone got any experiance with these?
Regards
Mik

Mik

Not had any experience of the chips, but I have a 2.5DSE which I drive in France all the time. To be honest I read lots of bad reports about the diesel being very slow, so I was weary. I think a lot of people have driven the auto and come to that conclusion. A LR mechanic told me that the manual is loads better - so I bought a manual! I am more than happy with the performance (unchipped) It is quite happy cruising at 80mph [130kph] on the autoroutes and it will happily run to 90mph with power left to spare, though I normally don't go over 80.

Personally, I'd give the manual diesel a drive and see how you feel with it before making any decisions, they are a lot more efficient. Chipped, it is supposed to be at least as fast as the 4.0 v8. Of course, it is all down to personal taste. If you can drive a diesel and petrol back-to-back you will get a good idea of the difference. Neither are particularly quick compared to a 'standard' car!

Good idea to get Rovacom Lite. My own experience of garages in France is that they don't know much about the Range Rover at all, let alone the v8 engine! My local (normally very good) garage refused to work on it because they said they didn't understand it! all I was asking them to change was an air spring (something I did myself in around 1 hour in the end!)

Matt.

P.S. Whereabouts in France are you?

Hi Matt
Near carcassonne been in France since 1990. It would have to be a auto I just can't get my head around manual boxes. This is a really difficult decision. There is a good choice of diesels in Belgium. And a very good choice of petrols in the uk. French people live in a used car price deamland.
Regards
Mik

Mik

Nice area, spent a lot of time around there many years ago.

I don't think I would recommend the diesel auto, but may be worth trying just to see.

If you don't do a lot of mileage then difference in fuel cost isn't going to make that much difference. I do a lot of miles, so it does it me!

Know what you mean about the French 2nd hand car market, been looking to buy a French registered car for ages to dump at the house, but something that you wouldn't get £50 for in the UK goes for a fortune there! I bought a Xantia run-around in the UK for £460, very similar age/spec car I saw for 4000€ in France!

Matt.

Hi
I will only do about 12000 miles a year in this car and about 5000 in my classic so fuel isn't really a issue and a dse is quite a bit more expensive year for year than a 4.6hse and I recon it would take 18-24 months to liquidate a chip and intercooler so it all evens out. Where in France do you have a house?
Mik

Mik

Yeah, diesels are more expensive. I'm doing between 500 and 1000 miles a week at the moment, so fuel is a big expense to me!

From your original question, I'd definitely go for the 4.6 if you don't mind the little extra fuel consumption over the 4.0. I've driven a 4.6 auto and it goes well.

We are in the Charentes. Trying to spend about 50% of our time there, with a view to moving perm late this year or next year.

Matt.