Range Rover P38. Yay or nay?

[CHRIS1980]

What's people's thoughts on these? Are they worth the hastle? I would love one but wondered are they as bad as people say. Has anyone on here ran one?

[dollywobbler]

I've deemed them not worth the hassle. Others on here have bravely taken them on. I guess you'll either consider them great, or not. #helpful.

[CHRIS1980]

I had a RR classic V8 that I loved,but spent a fortune on. I like it so did not mind spending the cash on it. I just wondered if I would fall for one in the same way. Diesel auto flavour would probably be my choice.

[skattrd]

Do a search, there was a lengthy debate on these last year  ... I think the consensus was that most of us are scared of them.

[michael1703]

The air suspension is a major pain in the arse, mine goes wrong quite often, apart from that it's been reasonably* painless

[twosmoke300]

Run away !

[scruff]

Personally I would not bother especially diesel/auto. A V8, top spec job with non-naff interior colour is nice enough but not a patch on a late Classic (IMHO)

Interestingly they don't rot anything like their stablemates and they are proper cheap if you look about. I know a bloke running a 4.0, he paid £700 for it put a secondhand set of wheels/tyres and a secondhand exhaust on it for the MOT and plans to run it until it dies and then break it. 

[CHRIS1980]

The air suspension is a major pain in the arse, mine goes wrong quite often, apart from that it's been reasonably* painless

What issues? Do you fix yourself or have an expert look at it?

[Dave_Q]

They're GR9 in theory, but as I understand it, the engines are shit whether derv or pez, and they have concorde levels of electrical complication done on a lunch money budget.

 

I have a daydream type plan to one day purchase one to re-engineer. Big proper diesel engine, Cummins 5.9 or similar. Keep the air suspension, using bits from a lorry or something. Ditch the BECM etc for some sort of Arduino based computer I cobble together myself. Surely it would be more reliable?

 

 

 

Main argument for them over a disco or classic is that they apparently don't rust.

[michael1703]

I had a 2.5 diesel/manual/coil spring and I'm currently driving v8lpg/auto/air suspension

 

The diesel is painfully slow and not capable of pulling its bulky body

[JohnK]

My mate had a 4.6 petrol a few years back. It replaced an X300 Jag (which was utterly reliable).

 

In just over a year it blew 2 head gaskets, so we bought a rolled example the second time and swapped the engine in. Utter ballache of a job. The air suspension screwed up quite soon after, so he chopped it in against a brand new Defender and cut his losses.

 

When it worked it was good and I found it nice to drive, but by god it was shite to work on.

[alf892]

My brother in law had one.........it tried to commit suicide several times but a cash injection saved it.

 

Eventually he allowed it to top itself though.......it was him or it in the end.

[Sloth in a bowl]

To experience the joy* of RR ownership then follow this simple set of instructions.

 

1. Buy spade and stepladder

2. Dig hole in garden

3. Go up step ladder and look down on other people

4. Throw money into hole

5. When more money has been thrown into the hole than you can afford, fill in hole and take step ladder to scrapyard

 

 

So get it bought now as tales of other people's shite is what keeps this site alive.

[andy18s]

Just bought 1 as I fancied a bit of danger in my life....

97 R reg diesel dse with most of the toys

Needs a transfer box as the drivechain jumps when you boot it but I knew this when I bought it

ABS fault was cured with a new accumulator and 1 new sensor

Air suspension has had all new parts in the last 18m and works v well

Body control ecu tells me all the windows are open when i switch it off,needs a hookup to a diagnostic machine to reset

 

Cracking to drive though.Power is "adequate" for now but it will be getting re-chipped once the transfer box is done

 

Be aware of stuff like balljoints wearing.

They are a press fit Only (no bolts) into the front axle,and are a complete arse to change needing special tools and alignment stuff

Can only be changed 3 times,then the axle is scrap as the hole is deemed to have been stretched too far

Most of the air stuff,heating/aircon and electrics Will need access to a proper diagnostic machine (Testbook/Nanocom) to point you in the general direction when things go wrong,and to cancel any warning lights ect....

 

Depends on what you can do yourself,or are prepared to live with

[CHRIS1980]

What are the better alternatives? Grand Cherokee? I have no need for one other than driving something posh/posh shite. I don't mind fixing stuff myself if I can.

[scruff]

Jag 

[skattrd]

Jag 

 

or a Daimler, I may know where there's one for sale.

[CHRIS1980]

To experience the joy* of RR ownership then follow this simple set of instructions.

 

1. Buy spade and stepladder

2. Dig hole in garden

3. Go up step ladder and look down on other people

4. Throw money into hole

5. When more money has been thrown into the hole than you can afford, fill in hole and take step ladder to scrapyard

 

 

So get it bought now as tales of other people's shite is what keeps this site alive.

This was pretty much my life when I had the Classic. Except I didn't take it to the scrappy, I repaired the head gaskets and traded it in 2 weeks later for what I paid for it 3 years prior. Life was different then, I lived with my parents and had loads of disposable income to waste on cars. Now I'm married,a Dad, a mortgage round my neck and drive everywhere with the fuel warning light on.

[Bren]

When I were a lad I used to see tons of SD1's dumped by the side of the road because their owners could not afford to look after them.

 

Rusty, flat tyres, sagging rear suspension.

 

The P38 is the modern equivalent - bought by many new labour fans with the help of an overdraft (remember easy credit?) they soon caught their owners out with their complexity and unreliability. The people who bought them should have stuck with their xsara picassos' to transport their brood to Gregg's and Lidl. Saw loads of the things left to rot on council estates.

 

That means they are pure automotive gold.

[EssDeeWon]

To experience the joy* of RR ownership then follow this simple set of instructions.

 

1. Buy spade and stepladder

2. Dig hole in garden

3. Go up step ladder and look down on other people

4. Throw money into hole

5. When more money has been thrown into the hole than you can afford, fill in hole and take step ladder to scrapyard

 

 

So get it bought now as tales of other people's shite is what keeps this site alive.

 

Brilliant LOL 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

What are the better alternatives? Grand Cherokee?

 

 

Yes. About 4000 times better.

 

P38's are awful - I predict I shall have custody* of one later this year.

 

You don't own a P38. It owns you.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Like most people, I like the idea but have heard too many tales of woe and seen too many collapsed ones sitting in fields behind LR Specialists.

As an alternative,what about a high spec V8 Disco ll ? They're almost as cheap and the petrols are usually less rusty as they won't have spent much time working for a living or up to the windows in mud as OLLI machines in later life. They've even got air suspension to fuck up .

[EssDeeWon]

Bren and Sloth both summed up the P38 perfectly for me.

[dollywobbler]

I just can't see the point in owning a 4x4, unless you want to actually use it for 4x4 stuff. Even then, when I've owned 4x4s, I've realised that most of the time, I'm driving something ill-suited to most road conditions. As Scruff says, if it's a posh way to burn money you seek, Jaguar all the way. 

[MarvinsMom]

and as someone who owns (possessed?) by an X300 XJR they are indeed a quick way to buy through your money.

 

its great to drive and look at though.

 

and given the choice, i would still buy it again.

 

buy one of them (and XJ6, other Jaguars are available) as it is a quick but very pleasant way to end up in the poor house.

[mat_the_cat]

Considered buying a (very) cheap one last year - I liked it, but was too afraid (even though I like working with electrics!)

http://autoshite.com/topic/16425-p38-range-rover-wcpgw/

[sierraman]

I've just seen one tonight on a council estate, it had got grass growing round the wheels, it was on its arse at the back, someone had painted it gold and silver (probably not the factory...) and someone had made a half arsed attempt at 'modernising' it with some eBay clear lenses. Call me a cynic but I'm guessing this will appear on EBay as needs a few small jobs weekends work...

[PiperCub]

I just can't see the point in owning a 4x4, unless you want to actually use it for 4x4 stuff. Even then, when I've owned 4x4s, I've realised that most of the time, I'm driving something ill-suited to most road conditions. As Scruff says, if it's a posh way to burn money you seek, Jaguar all the way. 

 

Each to their own but I agree with this, if you off-road alot then fine otherwise, it's road cars for me too.

[D Spares & Tyres]

What are the better alternatives? Grand Cherokee? I have no need for one other than driving something posh/posh shite. I don't mind fixing stuff myself if I can.

Jeeps are shite too. More reliable than P38 but don`t drive so well

 

You want a Shogun, Patrol or Land Cruiser

 

You don`t see people in remote parts of the world in P38s. They want something that is reliable instead that won`t strand them in the middle of nowhere. I love my Shogun, I cannot understand why anyone would choose a Disco or P38 over it.

[Talbotman]

If a P38 is still running on the road the likely hood of it having anything in common with the spannerwork it was initially put together with in Solihull is minimal! Their definitely now for the 4x4 enthusiast with a sado masochistic enjoyment for electrical and mechanical problem solving. Saying that when I do see a well kept P38 on the road I do feel that the design has aged very well and the flack it took stylistically when it was current was quite unjustified in hindsight. The days of the council estate P38s are pretty much over. The council estate chavs have moved on to early X5s and L322s....who you can normally hear weeping from their local mot depot when their told 3 of their 20inch tyres need replacing...!! I don't think I've seen an early 322 recently with anything other than a mix of Wang chung ling ditchfinders!