I'm looking for honest advice on buying a P38. Would like to know what to watch out for. I joined this site when I decided to buy a Jaguar and found the advice and help to be priceless. Hoping for similar advice for my new purchase.

 

Hey Old Mike.....see the P38 that Wheeler Dealers did a job on, turned out great

Wheeler Dealers Range Rover P38 by kimi1199 - Car Videos on StreetFire

Wheeler Dealers Range Rover P38 by kimi1199 - Car Videos on StreetFire

Wheeler Dealers Range Rover P38 by kimi1199 - Car Videos on StreetFire


If as in the video the air suspension system turns out to have issues, it may be the compressor and our very own bagpipingandy
here may be able to help resolve that issue very cheaply.

I know there are more than a few owner / enthusiasts here so I'm sure you'll get some sound advice shortly.

Good luck

 

Great post Jim, really appreciate it. I watched the entire episode and learned a few things. Thanks!

 

I found this one not too far from me. Looks nice in the nearly 90 photos in the ad, but the asking price is way too high -- $8900 -- might take a look at it after mulling it over for a couple days. If they'll take something closer to $6000 I might be interested.

What do I like about this one? Well, the color isn't my favorite, but it certainly stands out and would be a fun vehicle to own. It has 121k miles on it and looks to be in good shape. With a mechanical history that checks out, I'd be interested.

Since my XJ8 is my daily driver, this vehicle could spend a little time, here and there, in the garage while I fix little things. When it's ready, it could become my 2nd daily driver.

 

My air system went out and I replaced with a spring conversion kit, before the PC version of fixes were available. My P38 was a 4.6 HSE which dropped a liner. The costs back then to fix were astronomical as there were no used engines available and rebuild cost more than vehicle. Now there are new engines and blocks available for far less money. If you do not panic at using laptops and programs to do diagnostics and repairs, the are really good vehicles. The LR Clubs have a lot of help available.

 

Hey Mike, glad it was some kind of help.

I'm sure there are many relatively easy fixes on these like the Jags can sometimes be too, they just seem scary perhaps.

I'm positive there are some great forums for these vehicles too, we also have some lovers / users on this forum of the Land Rover that will be able to help.

Is it just me, but Brutal seems to spring to mind perhaps?

 

Thanks for the info, guys. I've been a member of a range rover forum and found it to be less than informative (compared to this forum!). I am also lurking in a couple other ones, but haven't felt comfortable asking for advice on any of them.

I do plan to keep the wrenches handy when I get my P38, so all I'm really looking for is good, honest advice and warnings about what to get in the first place. I have a pretty good idea, and now just need to find the right vehicle at the right price.

Here's another one that is on my radar. It's a 99 with 73k miles, asking $7995.

 

This is a 2002 with 56k miles that is on the market for $9500.

 

As for coil over mods, I prefer to find one with the air suspension intact and working properly -- for several reasons -- not the least of which is that I feel that the vehicle was well-maintained if the air suspension is working. I've found a lot of them with the conversion but I shy away from them -- I have always preferred vehicles that are in their original condition. And, since this is a vehicle (like Jaguars) that has some known issues, I'd like to find one that has a verifiable maintenance history with a small number of previous owners, and preferable one that has been in FL all its life.

One other note -- I'm not all that terribly concerned about spending a little money (and I mean a little money) and taking a calculated risk that I'm getting a good vehicle. I don't expect to get one that's in perfect condition, but I also don't want to buy a boat anchor! I do want to drive the vehicle, a lot, like cross-country whenever I want to, and not have something that I'm afraid to take on the road. Whenever something like this is mentioned in the range rover forums, the dooms-dayers warn against it as if these vehicles are so unreliable as to be only good for local/weekend driving -- if that's the case, then why do they own them?

So, I will keep looking until I find the right one. I am in no particular hurry -- time is on my side!

 

I was looking at another RR on Autotrader -- fairly close to me (Miami), but when I read the description and it said 1 owner but the Carfax clearly shows FIVE owners, I decided to pass! LOL

What's with that? Do they think buyers can't read?

 

I have a 96 Disco and it seems to have the same kind of eccentricities of other late 20th century European cars. Landroverforums . com seems to have good info, there are quite a few forums.

 

I'm going to say this very carefully so I'm not taken wrong -- the LL or RR forums that I've been on are full of Disco owners and have very little RR info (or so that's been my experience), and these forums seem to prove that there is a world of difference between the two (almost as if they come from different manufacturers, which I know they don't).

My unfortunate experience with RR discussion threads is they seem to be populated with nasty, blow-hards who take every opportunity to prove they're smarter than everyone else! In addition to that attitude, is the lack of real help that I've found. I'm speaking as a lurker, not someone who has been "attacked" in those threads, but I've witnessed a lot of rude and inappropriate behavior on those sites. I have little patience with people like that. Almost reminds me of a Honda site I was on for a micro-second -- populated with young kids who had no clue what they were taking about but took the opportunity to act like pros and treat others like ignoramuses!

So, with that said, I am fed up with RR forums, unless someone here can point me in the direction of one that is as good for RRs as this site is for Jaguars.

 

I hear ya. I have a 99 Mercedes e320 4matic and find myself the redheaded step child in a few of the Mercedes forums. That being said diligent lurking and digging has rewarded me with excellent information that has enabled me to make many repairs myself. I can ignore personalities if their info is credible.

I don't own an RR so I suppose I would look for RR specific forums to add to the collection of other information sources.

I'd be curious if you find good resources to post back to this thread. I have thought about upgrading to a RR as the disco I has more in common with a Jeep Wrangler.

Good Luck!

 

Well, I'm trying again on the Range Rover forum. I posted a request for assistance and advice and also posted some photos of Range Rovers available in my area, including mileage and price.

I'm particularly interested in cautions/warnings about the drivetrain in the '99-'02 Range Rovers. The information I got on this Jaguar site helped me focus on MY 2003 when I was looking for an XJ8, and when I found the right one, I bought it without hesitation.

I believe in doing my homework, and part of that has always been to ask for advice from those who have gone before me! If I can't learn from others' experiences, then I deserve what I get!

Here's one that I posted on the other site. It's an '02 with 78k miles with an asking price of $8,900. I don't know the history of this vehicle other than what's on CarFax, which has two minor accidents listed from a few years ago. There's no information about the air suspension and there's no mechanical history that would suggest a transmission or engine problem. But lack of information isn't always the best thing to rely on!

 

I can't help you sorry for that but that last vehicle you linked seems a good one , it looks decent and being a later model must be more reliable
I wanna send my congrats on your choice, to me these P38s are the best looking RRs in the brand history , maybe previous gen just before this very present XXL Evoque thingy might have more presence in front end ,headlamps, grill .
Having no indication of the mechanical history may indicate some parts might be on their last legs considering no maintenance performed otherwise they should have dropped some notes on the part lists that have already been replaced
You may also look craigslist besides ebay

 

Thanks. I have been looking at a number of online sources, including CraigsList, Ebay, Autotrader, CarGuru, etc. There are a small number of these vehicles for sale, and they all keep popping up on the different sources!

Another trick I use is to google the VIN -- amazing what you can find out!

 

Hey Mike, started to have a look at RR forums for you and came across Rangerovers.net which you seem to be on.

I see you've already made a post there and things were a little slow, but looks like the natives are starting to warm up to you Mike?

 

That is exactly what I am aspiring to.

Seems to be a tad high priced, but I only follow UK pricing.

These 'modern' RR will not have been thrashed off road, I always found diffs and UJs to be weak links (exploded god knows how many) but I have never broken a half shaft, more's the pity.

I gather head gaskets on these could be a service item in the 100k region, but I have no personal experience.

Remember Bagpipingandy's compressor kit also workson certain RR Wabco compressors but I can't find the email where he told me about exact years.

Give him a PM, he is a very helpful chap.

For RR forum, personally I would look to the UK.

hth

 

Hey Jim -- thanks for checking it out, and yes they are starting to come around over there! I guess I'm just spoiled with the info/knowledge/respect that I've found here!

Mike

 

Thanks for the kind words Mike.........How goes it?

Any updates to share?