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P38 whats the worst that could happen?


SmasherWebbs

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Well im ever more drawn to getting a Range Rover P38.

I had a look at one today with the need of a few aesthetic touches and possibly a small leak on the oil cooler.

Im not affraid of getting my hands dirts so most issues like that i can fix.

But what i want to know is:

Iis there anything major to look out for when buying??

How good is the BMW engine and auto box common faults etc. ??

Thanks :i-m_so_happy:

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give yourself a shake and buy a proper land rover

my mate has 1 and its allways in for repair ie suspension air bags and pump

gear selector keeps falling out and thats just off the top of my head

but if your not bothered about wasting your hard earned cash its your choice

good luck

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Have had a 90 (now a 300tdi) for the past 18 months that I have almost rebuilt from the bottom up and have started to wain on the enthusiasm to put any more money into it.

Work supplies the every day driving. The 90 is for towing and poping to the shops in.

So my second set of wheels would only do 4000 miles a year tops.

And why not do the miles in more comfort....?

Nice as the 90 is for a all rounder i really dont get the chance to use it off road much if at all.

And doing a 4 hour tow at 50-60 on the motorway with the turbo whisle as your only companion does get on your tits after a while :blink: .

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Complex vehicles electronically. If any you look at have things not working or fault messages showing walk away. Unless you want to be lining the pockets of your local dealer/independent than you will need model specific diagnostic equipment not just a code reader.

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I bought an n reg 4.6 last october as my disco rebuild is taking forever !!

Have to say I love it.

The heater is possessed by Satan himself ! Some times it works other times its just crazy hot. I believe this to be the blend motors and I might get round to fixing them.

There is a silly locking issue (the locks only work on the key not the bipper) But for me thats all the bad points on mine

It goes well and is very comfy (im 6'8") also with all the seats folded down the loadspace is HUGE

I was only going to use it till my disco is rebuilt so wasn't going to fix any of the faults just run it. But now I think I will keep it and fix them.

The first thing I would buy before I fix any faults is a decent diagnostic box. I think there is a good one made by black box. I believe the hawk eye doesn't do a full diagnostics.

The diagnostics come in at around £350 ish and would save trips to the dealer every time a light comes on. Although I've not had any warning lights come up on mine.

maybe I got lucky but I love my one and enjoy driving it.

Andy

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I'd stay away from the diesel + auto, absolute pigs to drive, and you either feel like you're standing still or that you're breaking it.

The V8s are much nicer, and on LPG not too expensive to run.

People have a lot of horror stories, but most problems are fairly straightforward if you know where to look.

Mine was very cheap, and it drives great. Sure it has its faults, but it also has 255k km on it, so I don't blame it too much. Very comfortable, and will surprise you off-road too!

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Plus anyone comparing a LR Def/90/110 to P38 reliability and saying "it's shocking" is only because the press reported on the P38 as a normal car for reliability, but the 'proper' LRs were already famed for that being unreliable/flaky build quality so...

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If it can be fixed with spares then I can do most things as I am an electrical/mechanical engineer.

It looks like the only thing I need to watch out for is engine faults but a diagnostics box will be worth every penny?!

And is there anyway at all to fix the issues with the remote locking or is it not worth the money? I have had a look at a couple so far and both have this issue.

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If it can be fixed with spares then I can do most things as I am an electrical/mechanical engineer.

It looks like the only thing I need to watch out for is engine faults but a diagnostics box will be worth every penny?!

And is there anyway at all to fix the issues with the remote locking or is it not worth the money? I have had a look at a couple so far and both have this issue.

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I have a mechanic mate who constantly buys P38s with what he considers minor electrical gremlins and other issues, fixes them, drives them for a few months, then sells them at a tidy profit. They DO have numerous electrical issues, the suspension DOES go wrong, but you CAN fix it all fairly simply. The diagnostic box is worth it's weight in copper, at least, if not actual gold. The number of really weird faults the crop up, and could never be guessed without plugging it in, are manifold.

That said, he almost always has a spare one (P38, not box) about to swap bits with to cross-check exactly what the problem is, and has managed to wreck at least one ECU by trying silly things with his snap-on diagnostic box, like trying to adjust the ride height... don't do that. You break the ecu, and have to drive around with the arse right up, and the nose right down until you get another.

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If you buy a diesel get it chipped, especially if it is an auto. Ours did 19mpg before it was chipped, 23mpg after. Guy came from Superchips and did it in the back his van on our driveway. Best £500 ever spent. Without it you'll have a massive flat spot right in the middle.

I personally wouldn't have another one - only marginally more reliable than it's previous which was a T plate Series 2 Discovery V8 - the 1979 Range Rover 2 door was more reliable, got more abuse and had less spent on it!

Hope you manage to get a "good one"......

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There great cars, as said complex but usually easy enough to fix. You do need some patience & skills, a good diagnostic tool (not so much for the engine, but for everything else) and it doesn't hurt to know someone with experience on these cars. a lot of info on here, also tips to test everything is working before buying one. And www.rangerovers.net is a great source as well.

Alarm en lockingproblems are often caused by worn or damaged doorlocks (either the actuators or the switches).

I do agree the diesel and autobox is not the best combination. You wont like it if you have any tendency to spirited driving. And it wont like you for it either! All the chipped ones I've come across had engine problems and/or overheating sooner or later, so I'd not go there. Main failure point on the BMW diesel is the injection pump, with poor/non hot starting being a typical fault. There is a workaround, proper fix is to replace the pump, so expensive!

I had a diesel manual before, and that was OK to live with, with very good fuel consumption (8.5-9l/100km). Cruising was also fine, acceleration was another story. The automatic is even worse, unless you rev it hard, resulting in a screaming engine and mileage not unlike a sensibly driven V8...

Filip

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A P38 DT I have has done 250,000 miles and still running like a sewing machine.

As suggested you will need a diagnostics machine.

I'd avoid a V8. It is by a country mile the better engine (I had a 4.6 it was brilliant), but you will not be able to sell it LPG or not.

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Some of this posted in a earlier thread......and a bit extra with updates

Owning a p38 requires fairly deep pockets and a love of the marque, trying to reason it's good value doesn't add up. But then the enjoyment driving when it is working is nice.

Things to look for air spings, condition of and eas working (changes height and holds the height)
ABS modulator condition £600-£1000
air con working and heater etc £pig to find leaks on older RR
2 keys and making sure car doesn't flatten battery over 2-3 days. £170 ish for radio receiver mk3, new keys from alarmremotes.co.uk for £100
rusty tailgate? bottom edge of lower tailgate
gearboxes are prone to need doing around 100k miles. autobox needs regular fluid changes. If its not been done at 60,000 walk away £1500
diagnostics can be pricey unless you buy a dedicated per vehicle/vin box (not per model) £400

Having said all that the comfort over a defender is nice, loving over the winter with 3 weeks of snow on the ground. Also is very useful for going to the tip as it's still classed as a car with windows and not a van. Drop the air suspension and it will sneak under the barrier no worries.

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Thanks all for that info.

Had a look at one today.

looks in great order for its age S plate. few spots of surface rust on under carrage body has a few minor chips etc.

Engine a little noisy needs a service i think.

2 keys one still works on bipper.

air ride works quickly and holds

down point

small leak from possibly oil cooler (starts around the rad area. (couldnt see without crawling in the engine bay)

ABS light on when running but have not driven yet (normal or not?)

Radio wouldnt pick up anything....

inside ok seats all good etc. rear headlining dropped but nothing i cant fix.

does 4k sound good for 112k miles BMW auto???

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If it can be fixed with spares then I can do most things as I am an electrical/mechanical engineer.

I nearly fell off my chair! I still have your laptop with the fist shaped dent in the keyboard because you got annoyed with it.

You know there are options other than in the LR fold. Risking being burnt as a witch, I'm quite taken with my Land Cruiser.

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does 4k sound good for 112k miles BMW auto???

If this is the 2.5 Diesel auto, I can only suggest you try driving it and then decide whether it's truly your kind of vehicle.

Some time back I had one of these as a short-term hire and can only describe its mid-range acceleration performance [like you need when going down a typical UK dual-carriageway or motorway sliproad and wanting to merge with the 85MPH+ traffic] as "forget the stopwatch - use a sundial".

If you want to tow 3500Kg of trailer with it, forget the sundial and invest in a calendar!

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Had a 2.5dse, great drive but never trusted it.Got 27mpg on a round trip of 460miles fetching a range rover classic on Bio

Hated going to Asda pain to park.

Replaced all the air suspention so it only let me down once.

In the end never used it because of the lack of trust so sold it and got a 300tdi auto. Not as nice to drive but you can fix it and park it.

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I nearly fell off my chair! I still have your laptop with the fist shaped dent in the keyboard because you got annoyed with it.

You know there are options other than in the LR fold. Risking being burnt as a witch, I'm quite taken with my Land Cruiser.

ha there is a similar shape dent in the foot well bottom of the 90 where i lost my temper adjusting the sodding hand break.

Cant belive that laptop is still going :hysterical:

I did consider the same but my father has just aquired a 5 year old Cruiser and has had more than a few issues with common rail pressure and injectors leaking.

Plus you dont look like a pimp in a Land Cruiser

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