£1500 4x4. Me again, Would a P38 Range rover be in range...

[silverback mike]

Me again folks
I'm after a 4x4 preferably a P38 Petrol/LPG or diesel Range Rover. Does anyone have one for sale?
I now live in the middle of no where so do need a 4x4 for the winter and fancy an older Rangie however if anyone has any other suggestions
I've previously owned a Jeep cherokee which was a good old plugger so may consider one also.
Thanks folks.
Mike.

[eltax91]

P38 is whole heaps of ruin. They just break, A LOT.

Get the Jeep or something Japanese, or go for the older Classic Rangie, or maybe a Disco 300TDI/ Disco2 TD5 (although i don't think they are this cheap yet).

The 300TDi is agricultural and unrefined. But it's very cheap and easy to fix just about anything, at home with a hammer and a half decent socket set. Or get a V8.

[300bhp/ton]

silverback mike said:

Me again folks
I'm after a 4x4 preferably a P38 Petrol/LPG or diesel Range Rover. Does anyone have one for sale?
I now live in the middle of no where so do need a 4x4 for the winter and fancy an older Rangie however if anyone has any other suggestions
I've previously owned a Jeep cherokee which was a good old plugger so may consider one also.
Thanks folks.
Mike.

So you are saying you are too lazy to look and you want others to find vehicles for you and post links....

[schmalex]

Personally, I'd go for a Jeep Grand Cherokee over the P38. Unless you can find a P38 that's been put on to coils and had some money spent on the electrics, you will be potentially entering a world of hurt.

[silverback mike]

300bhp/ton said:

So you are saying you are too lazy to look and you want others to find vehicles for you and post links....

Yep
Or perchance as has happened in the past a fellow PH'er has said "Yes, I have one for sale"

And I've bought it as it's generally a trustworthy source.

Did you find any

[silverback mike]

schmalex said:

Personally, I'd go for a Jeep Grand Cherokee over the P38. Unless you can find a P38 that's been put on to coils and had some money spent on the electrics, you will be potentially entering a world of hurt.

I did hear that differentials may be a little weak on the grand cherokee?

[TwistingMyMelon]

Legacy outback would be my choice

[schmalex]

Here you go (Jeep GC in good nick, under budget): http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

[schmalex]

silverback mike said:

schmalex said:

Personally, I'd go for a Jeep Grand Cherokee over the P38. Unless you can find a P38 that's been put on to coils and had some money spent on the electrics, you will be potentially entering a world of hurt.

I did hear that differentials may be a little weak on the grand cherokee?

I've heard that, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the wallet battering a P38 can easily and regularly hand out.

[PedroB]

Echoing other people's opinions, a p38 will hurt your wallet badly when, inevitably it breaks. Discovery 200/300tdi might be worth a punt but finding one that isn't rotten might be an issue. If you do look at one, check the boot floor and rear arches very carefully.

The Jeep would be my bet, but slightly left field, what about an Isuzu Trooper? I don't know them well but supposedly decent off road and pretty reliable.

[300bhp/ton]

schmalex said:

Personally, I'd go for a Jeep Grand Cherokee over the P38. Unless you can find a P38 that's been put on to coils and had some money spent on the electrics, you will be potentially entering a world of hurt.

Personally having one on coils misses most of the point of owning one. The air suspension is fine, just lots of people are scared of it. But it really isn't all that complex.

[silverback mike]

Thanks folks, good points raised.

Happy to investigate the Jeep route.

[silverback mike]

300bhp/ton said:

Personally having one on coils misses most of the point of owning one. The air suspension is fine, just lots of people are scared of it. But it really isn't all that complex.

I'm lead to believe 4x bags, a compressor, pipework and associated electrics?
Generally the compressor dies if the bags have a longer persistent leak as it's working harder than it should would be my diagnosis..

[cologne2792]

300bhp/ton said:

Personally having one on coils misses most of the point of owning one. The air suspension is fine, just lots of people are scared of it. But it really isn't all that complex.

In sleepy Devon, where the P38 seems to breed, the general opinion favours your post. An owner that converted to coils was the wrong type of owner in the first place - If well heeled it would simply go to the dealer and have a few ££££ thrown at it and be made to work - If not well heeled but practical most of the issues can be resolved. I know we've had Citroens for years but the P38 suspension is not horribly complicated but rather, like the Citroen Hydropneumatic system, is simply different. An AVO and a soldering iron work wonders.

[guru_1071]

we have a P38 rangie and its great, tows beautifully.

in the two years we have had it (bought from the auctions for 2500, 60,0000 miles one owner) its needed a back exhaust (sounded great when it fell off) and a front to back brake pipe burst (easy fix)

the only thing you have to do is just not think about the fuel economy!


we also have an old 200 tdi disco, again, a great car, its mega high mileage and has munched a few parts over the years, but it tows great (but very slow compared to the P38) - but can be fixed so easily when things do break

[bakerstreet]

I also wouldn't bother getting a P38. Something like a Jeep Grand Cherokee would be ideal. Probably the worst time of year to be buying a 4x4.

The winter generally adds a few hundred pounds to 4x4 prices. At £1500, I also wouldn't bother with Disco. The mechanicals maybe good, but its the rot thats the major problem on these. With the price inflation of winter, the Disco would be at the of the bottom of price bracket for Discso and its never a good idea to buy buying at the bottom of the price range

With £1500 to spend you are a bit off the bottom price for Grand Cherokees. They can be had for as low as £800 The IL6 petrol engine is pretty tough and actually quite spritely for its size and weight.

[300bhp/ton]

silverback mike said:

I'm lead to believe 4x bags, a compressor, pipework and associated electrics?
Generally the compressor dies if the bags have a longer persistent leak as it's working harder than it should would be my diagnosis..

There are many foibles and in truth LR's system works the wrong way round.

But the bad rep comes from people charging huge amounts to change the wrong bits and still have a problem. Just don't do this and that part is ok. Although p38a's do have plenty of electrics that can cause issues.

[Geekman]

When I was looking at changing cars, I had a budget of around £4000-£5000, and even then I couldn't find a P38 which filled me with confidence with regards to reliability. My mechanic friend had one a while back, and when I mentioned I was looking at one he made it very clear that on no account should I get one, as it would end up spending more time at his garage than on my driveway.

For your budget, a jeep grand cherokee would be a much safer bet - they seem pretty bulletproof.

[StuntmanMike]

My friend has one, it is a prototype 4.6 with all the toys, its reliable, its on air, it has done 200k, but it won't go above 14.7 mpg, he is a very steady driver as well.
In his opinion its vastly superior to the original range rover, he has owned both, before the haters jump down my throat he has forgotten more about these cars than most people know, he thinks they are a good car, however I would concede he is biased.

[300bhp/ton]

StuntmanMike said:

My friend has one, it is a prototype 4.6 with all the toys, its reliable, its on air, it has done 200k, but it won't go above 14.7 mpg, he is a very steady driver as well.
In his opinion its vastly superior to the original range rover, he has owned both, before the haters jump down my throat he has forgotten more about these cars than most people know, he thinks they are a good car, however I would concede he is biased.

Should be able to get better than 14.7mpg, unless they drive only a set non optimised route.

We've had 2 4.6 HSE's. Best mpg was a steady cruise to N Wales and resulted in about 21mpg.

Normal Average was circa 16mpg however.