P38A Why are P38's so cheap?

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Yescafe12

New Member
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Berlin
Hello,
Fellow RR enthusiast from germany here.
I was checking Gumtree recently and found that many P38's (even the RR vogues) are sold for less than 1500£. How come they are traded so cheap? I don't mind the RHD at all, I just find the cars absolutely stunning.
But what's with this cheap price ? Do they have many common problems when sold that cheap? And some even have a LPG conversion - stay away or good to go?
 
Hi there, normally the more expensive ones may have had most of the problems repaired and they all can be repaired!
Most of the time the cheaper busses have been bought worked on and then been given up on as a waste of time or money consuming.
These are a real vehicle that is complicated and will need rebuilding in some areas.
But....... Once you get to the point were all the big jobs (if needed) are done you can enjoy it every day when you drive it.
There are plenty out there, just choose very wisely and VERY carefully:cool:
 
Yescafe12 said:
Hello,
Fellow RR enthusiast from germany here.
I was checking Gumtree recently and found that many P38's (even the RR vogues) are sold for less than 1500£. How come they are traded so cheap? I don't mind the RHD at all, I just find the cars absolutely stunning.
But what's with this cheap price ? Do they have many common problems when sold that cheap? And some even have a LPG conversion - stay away or good to go?
Click to expand...
They are cheap because they are unreliable and difficult to fix, dealers don't have a clue and can empty your wallet swapping bits in the hope of a fix in no time flat. They are only viable if you can DIY electronics where most of the problems lie but if you buy a P38 V8 you need to be a mechanic too for when the engine liners drop.:rolleyes:
 
Mark Piercy said:
Data, you can't say unreliable....
Yours isn't and mine isn't:eek:
You said so yourself it's a good bus:D
Click to expand...
They are unreliable, there are constant niggles that garages cannot fix. Mine has been reliable in the sense that the only serious failures have been a RAD, the viscous fan and a water pump, the latter requiring me to retrieve it with a trailer. In the early days the EAS gave trouble and door lock micro switches have failed twice, the boot button was another problem as were leaking oil pipes. I keep the interior of mine dry with the aircon, others do not and suffer with corroded connectors on the BECM leading to all sorts of hassle. The auto box has been iffy for years now, next month I will collect an HP24 with which to replace it. Diagnostics are essential especially for the EAS. Look at all the problems with the RF receiver and flat batteries. LZ has helped me circumvent many of the potential problems.
Compare that to either my Pajero of Hyundai Galloper which apart from oil changes and other consumables never needed any attention over extended mileages.
 
Mark Piercy said:
Yes but Japanese vehicles are a completely different story and your just being nasty comparing the two...:p
Click to expand...
They are good if you regard them as a hobby and have another vehicle for transport when needed. I cannot deny that when working they are a great long distance cruiser, now I have two I can more or less be sure of always having one that works:rolleyes:
 
A fair few were made, they need TLC to keep them sweet. Many didn't get that so they fail. It is a lot of car for a reasonable amount of money if you can find a good one.
 
Only 167k were made over the 7 year run ;)

A rather low production model by todays standards.

Still outsold the RRC in yearly volume so they did something right ;)
 
DanClarke said:
Well, I've got one, you've got one, @Henry_b has one. So that's 3. I wonder if we can breed them?
Click to expand...

Hmm 2 Vogues breeding wouldn't be a bad idea. ;)

Only 13.000 P38's were made in 2001 so ours are one of those 13k and that is a mixture of Vogue - HSE - Country so by and large these are rare 4x4s ;)
 
I'm just wow! You guys are incredible. What an awesome community. What great answers! Thank you all so much, gave me much clarity and also a good laugh!

So I think my naive dream of driving a cheap RR on a students budget is coming to an end quickly..
I used to have a 74 Mercedes (w115) and 78 Mercedes w123 and hadn't much to repair and if it was mainly mechanical and j had a good garage and could also do many things on my own.
Apart from a 1988 w126 which I had during my time in Australia, a 1986 VW golf 2 (my first car, loved it) and a 1996 lancia kappa (what an awesome car)
The RR would be my youngest... And with most electronic.
I do study electrical engineering, but that usually doesn't qualify you to work on highly car related electronics.. I reckon :(

And you guys didn't even mentioned the fragile air suspension, from which I heard tends to break sooner or later..

Seems to be like the classic S class problem: s class driving requires s class wallet..

On the other hand. If I fly over to the UK, find a nice one for around 1000£, drive it back, change headlights etc register it here. Drive around with a big grinning on my face, even for maybe a year until the big costs start.. isn't that still worth it? :)

I'm a car passionate - sanity with cars is long lost here
 
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