Would you buy one _ please advise !

Hi all, I am in desperate need of sensible advice here!

I have up to £3000 to spend on a 4x4, to tow a horse trailer mainly, but also occasional commute, I LOVE the P38 Rangie, BUT is it reliable enough to be worth while ?

I have seen the Diesel and the LPG ones...but cannot afford to keep spending after purchase....even considered a Landcruiser ! Just for the reliability...

ANY ADVICE REALLY WELCOME FROM YOU SPECIALISTS, but please keep it clean...and I know £3000 is not a lot, so dont tell me that...its all I have.

Thank you

Pezza

If reliability is your 1st & foremost, then a p38 may not be your ideal option, many on here (as you may read from previous posts) take the scars of owning such, but many take the pain from the pleasure of it.

Hi

I use my 97 dse as a weekend toy and some times pull a small boat trailer but these cars are temprimental and will sometimes let you down so you need a reserve and a sennse of humor to live with one.

Maybe a Dicovery or a shogun / Pajero would suite you better have had both cars and enjoyed them but a P38 working well is a lovely car to own and a pleasure to drive.

Good luck

Tony

pezza said:

Hi all, I am in desperate need of sensible advice here!

I have up to £3000 to spend on a 4x4, to tow a horse trailer mainly, but also occasional commute, I LOVE the P38 Rangie, BUT is it reliable enough to be worth while ?

I have seen the Diesel and the LPG ones...but cannot afford to keep spending after purchase....even considered a Landcruiser ! Just for the reliability...

ANY ADVICE REALLY WELCOME FROM YOU SPECIALISTS, but please keep it clean...and I know £3000 is not a lot, so dont tell me that...its all I have.

Thank you

Pezza

Click to expand...

If you are handy with spannners and electrickery, fine, if not could be a money pit. Diesel more reliable than petrol. When they are going they are great

To be honest if I had £3000 to spend I would buy a nice 300tdi Discovery rather than a P38. It will be easy to find a Discovery for that price. Most P38s I have looked at (including ones up to £8000) have been in need of expensive repairs. I have a 1999 P38 DSE and before that had a 300tdi Discovey. The P38 is a lot more comfortable and so smooth, but a 300tdi is so simple to fix and cheap to repair on a limited budget. Just check the rear for rust. My 300tdi was still going strong with 200,000 miles on the clock. Both great vehicles though.

i dont know where people can say dse is better than a petrol, i use my 4.0 petrol every day with out fail. you need to buy one with a good engine, a desel is ok but no better than a v8 if you can afford to run one and get [find a good one] get it great cars if looked after. best of luck in your hunt if you can take somebody with you that knows them well..

j the range said:

i dont know where people can say dse is better than a petrol, i use my 4.0 petrol every day with out fail. you need to buy one with a good engine, a desel is ok but no better than a v8 if you can afford to run one and get [find a good one] get it great cars if looked after. best of luck in your hunt if you can take somebody with you that knows them well..

Click to expand...

Well J, the diesel uses less fuel and doesn't suffer from slipped liners or cracked blocks. A few diesels have overheated and suffered cracked heads and FIP's wear out, but I would maintain you are less likely to suffer engine problems with a diesel and it's easier to work on, lots of space under the bonnet.

there have been as many people on here fitting new engines in desels as petrols, its all down to how much you use it how you use it, and if you can afford to use it. i went into buying a desel but i can affod a petrol so i keeped it and yes i have had to put a engine in mine, but so what its only a engine hahaha and i bet if you had to put one in yours you would just do it. lol

Diesel Discovery would be my advice - late mk1 300 tdi. You really have to love the range rover to own one.

I use an old Patrol to tow the horse box. I love my Rangie but . . . .

I too love my 1999 DHSE p38 (under repair as we speak) but if you are on a budget and not handy with spanners a 300Tdi is really the answer. Spares are cheap and repairs are simpler, not so much to go wrong. My local indy tweaked the turbo and mine would pull a house down.

:smokin::bolt:

j the range said:

there have been as many people on here fitting new engines in desels as petrols, its all down to how much you use it how you use it, and if you can afford to use it. i went into buying a desel but i can affod a petrol so i keeped it and yes i have had to put a engine in mine, but so what its only a engine hahaha and i bet if you had to put one in yours you would just do it. lol

Click to expand...

:behindsofa:

Owya doin "Scouse Jock" ?? Never got the case of Jammie Dodgers you were supposed to ship over !!!

For what it's worth, since having to replace the engine on my 4.6 some years ago, I have never had a problem apart from the odd small niggle which took all of 5 minutes to fix without the need of diagnostics or trips to the Stealers.
I read all of the posts on the forum and it's the same old topics that pop up. The Oil burners complain about FIP's, failed heads, chipping, poor fuel consumption and performance etc., etc.
The petrol heads go on about slipped liners, LPG problems (Self induced), fuel consumption and moan about their 4.0/4.6, V8's not having the same running costs as a Fiat 500 !!
Personally, I think that the reputation of the P38 is overdone on here. There are many owners who are completely satisfied with their cars, whether petrol or diesel and never give negative feedback.
I am completely satisfied with my 4.6 Petrol..not LPG or redesigned from original spec., when I bought it I knew that it was not going to cost the same as a Mini to run and take the fill up costs on the chin without complaint. I went into ownership with my eyes wide open and am completely happy paying £130 for a tankful of fuel which will take me approx. 400 miles and am not looking to run it on the cheap...when the day comes (I hope it doesn't) that I can't afford to run it, then it's time for it to go. I can't see that day on the horizon yet !!!
Forget the prophets of doom, if it runs well and is not showing any faults, go for the motor which suits your budget.
Regarding EAS faults...mostly air spring related....people think nothing of changing their tyres every 18 months or so (Dependent on mileage) at £140 a corner, yet moan like f**k that the air springs have died after 7 years at £80 a corner.
As with any car, REGULAR maintenance and inspection is essential irregardless of whether it's a Roller or a Kia and will pay dividends.

Completely agree with Irish. I have two 4.6 and other than a failed EAS pump in the first week the only faults I have had have been self inflicted. I have done over 20,000 miles in the past 14 months and No other vehicle makes me feel as happy to drive as my rangies. The total cost of ownership is the thing to look at - your fuel costs might be a little high but things like depriciation and maintenance costs are fairly low. Worth remembering that any P38 you pick up will likely be 10 years old and have over 100K on the clock. Any car - P38 or otherwise at that age and milage will need something replaced.

Have to jump on the petrol P38's are not so bad bandwagon. Had mine 5 years and done 40K. 2 resyncs (got the tool now, so 30 second repair) and small external leak to the head gasket so replaced that. Everything else routine maintenance. She has a major service every 2 years and new oil and filters every 6 months.

Impressed with 400miles between fill ups Irish, London traffic limits mine to approx 250. In a derv I'd only get late teens mpg in London traffic and with diesel costing more would hardly save anything, so whilst the V8's are no ball of fire I'd still rather pay the extra than be overtaken by the kids on their 50cc Peds driving the diesel

If you're on a tight budget don't buy a P38. If you can afford to put the petrol in go for it. Find a good un and you won't believe you're running around in a 10year old+ motor.

I have sold countless disco's and more than a few P-38's...even have a P-38 keeper see my thread on immoblisers!

if painless, boring, reliability is your number one priority, not space, I would suggest, dare I say it, a Jeep XJ Cherokee, with 4.0 or the 2.5 petrol (4.0 auto/2.5 manual)....although I would opt for the 4.0 every time given the choice, not too shabby on fuel either, bombproof build but avoid the 2.5 diesel's unless you have more to spend and then get the Merc engined Grand Cherokee....but with 3k you are very limited!

....in my experience older diesels in ANY 4x4 (and many HDi in newer ones and cars!) give more problems, cost more to repair and to be brutally honest, the difference in fuel economy isn't worth the extra you pay up front....ohh & the petrols are always a better drive too....unless you are doing say 30K miles per year go petrol.

IRISH

Beautiful comment on the tyres and airbags

Well put, you'll probably see me nicking it the next time some-one starts the air v coils argument.

As with anything else maintenance is the key. But in general terms a well looked after diesel engine is far, far more reliable than any petrol engine will ever be. As for the comments about the diesels being slow. Mine is certainly not slow. If your getting passed by kids on scooters you have one very sick motor. May i also object to the term Ped as being short for Moped. A Moped has pedals, as in (Motor assisted pedals) or Moped. The things now commonly refered to as Peds are actually Scooters. Rant over.

For that money I reckon you should be able to get a pretty tidy well sorted p38, then like has been said proper maintenance and you should be fine.

The other answer that I'm surprised no one has come up with is for that money you could find a really nice late Classic, then you can have the luxury, parts are cheap, not so technical when it does go wrong, looked after properly you could have next to zero depreciation as good ones are getting more sought after now, you could run it on a cheap agreed value/limited mileage insurance policy and probably still have change out of your £3k to fill the tank a few times........ and they look cool!!

Oh and I run (when it goes!) a 4.6 p38 and a couple of classics

Steve

wammers said:

As with anything else maintenance is the key. But in general terms a well looked after diesel engine is far, far more reliable than any petrol engine will ever be. As for the comments about the diesels being slow. Mine is certainly not slow. If your getting passed by kids on scooters you have one very sick motor. May i also object to the term Ped as being short for Moped. A Moped has pedals, as in (Motor assisted pedals) or Moped. The things now commonly refered to as Peds are actually Scooters. Rant over.

Click to expand...

Im gonna have to agree with you on that one Wammers, my 97 dse isnt relatively slow, & i think a 2.5 ltr engine nowdays is a pretty good option, + yes, she sounds nice when roaring away. these days i think your pretty limited to speed anyway, so why fill up every day when you can fill up every 3-4 days.! Im not a whiz when comes to mechanicals, but the bmw engine itself in my opinion is reliable.

CEZ1869 said:

Im gonna have to agree with you on that one Wammers, my 97 dse isnt relatively slow, & i think a 2.5 ltr engine nowdays is a pretty good option, + yes, she sounds nice when roaring away. these days i think your pretty limited to speed anyway, so why fill up every day when you can fill up every 3-4 days.! Im not a whiz when comes to mechanicals, but the bmw engine itself in my opinion is reliable.

Click to expand...

Yeah your right, my DSE will exceed the 60 mph national speed limit by 50 mph or so pretty easily. 77 mph is as fast as your legally allowed to go on motorways and dual carriageways. But the purists do like the V8 burble as they drink fuel you know.