Discussion
Hooli said:
Are they still a really really really bad idea that'll swallow up endless funds & never work? I've just noticed they've gone below £1k & feeling slightly tempted.
They have been £1k for a while now. Yes, you can go and buy one, but it could have a few critical things wrong with it at £1k
Failure of air suspension is quite common. Either the airbags perrish, lines fail or the compressor will fail. AC/Ventilation system can fail at the cost a single O-ring, which is a 50p part, which requires you to take the entire dash out to get to it.
The V8s are known to suffer from slipped liners in the blocks, but tbh, I don't know how common the fault is.
They leak (No surprise there)
Lots of electrical gremlins. From memory, the central locking can be a weak point.
On the plus side, they don't rot
I quite like the look of the P38s. I think they have aged well.
The IL6 diesel is the engine from the 325/525TDS and that is a very solid lump. It can be chipped easily and cheaply to give you just shy 180bhp, which is enough for a car like that
bakerstreet said:
They have been £1k for a while now.
Yes, you can go and buy one, but it could have a few critical things wrong with it at £1k
Failure of air suspension is quite common. Either the airbags perrish, lines fail or the compressor will fail. AC/Ventilation system can fail at the cost a single O-ring, which is a 50p part, which requires you to take the entire dash out to get to it.
The V8s are known to suffer from slipped liners in the blocks, but tbh, I don't know how common the fault is.
They leak (No surprise there)
Lots of electrical gremlins. From memory, the central locking can be a weak point.
On the plus side, they don't rot
I quite like the look of the P38s. I think they have aged well.
The IL6 diesel is the engine from the 325/525TDS and that is a very solid lump. It can be chipped easily and cheaply to give you just shy 180bhp, which is enough for a car like that
Airbags are simple to replace. Compressors are rebuildable. The air suspension valve block can be stripped & new 'O' rings fitted.Yes, you can go and buy one, but it could have a few critical things wrong with it at £1k
Failure of air suspension is quite common. Either the airbags perrish, lines fail or the compressor will fail. AC/Ventilation system can fail at the cost a single O-ring, which is a 50p part, which requires you to take the entire dash out to get to it.
The V8s are known to suffer from slipped liners in the blocks, but tbh, I don't know how common the fault is.
They leak (No surprise there)
Lots of electrical gremlins. From memory, the central locking can be a weak point.
On the plus side, they don't rot
I quite like the look of the P38s. I think they have aged well.
The IL6 diesel is the engine from the 325/525TDS and that is a very solid lump. It can be chipped easily and cheaply to give you just shy 180bhp, which is enough for a car like that
Many have been converted to coil springs - a mistake IMO as it completely spoils the ride.
The dash doesn't need to be removed to replace leaky heater 'O'-rings.
Whilst it does still crop up & does need to be borne in mind, most of the bad V8s - esp common in early ones - have died.
They are electrically complex & many issues/resets need to be dealt with by a diagnostic but DIY diagnostic equipment for these is not expensive.
Have a read through the P38 section of rangerovers.net & you'll get a better idea of potential faults & workrounds.
http://www.rangerovers.net/fixindex.html
Plus lots being broken, so plenty of spares around.
Edited by paintman on Monday 21st July 15:30
Mine has been fantastically reliable in 4 years. New exhaust this year £170 and I replaced the air con rad as I was still using it a lot in summer. The heated heats no longer works, but its not worth fixing them.
Other than that perfect. At this money buy one - if its trouble, move it on
Other than that perfect. At this money buy one - if its trouble, move it on
Had mine twelve years and its pretty much had everything that could go wrong replaced during that time, so mechanically its fantastic. I refuse to sell it as its abilities (and my investment) are worth so much more than the £1000 I would get for it.
So if you're going to buy, just make sure that you get one where someone else has paid for all the pain already. They certainly don't all deserve the label they are given.
So if you're going to buy, just make sure that you get one where someone else has paid for all the pain already. They certainly don't all deserve the label they are given.
Not to mention that they are amazingly good off road especially with some decent ATs fitted...
To be honest, I don't think they are that complicated, certainly not by modern standards. They have a bit of a reputation for complicated electrics but I think my Audi A4 is far worse.
As mentioned before, the air suspension is easy and reasonably cheap to overhaul.
There is a very enthusiastic following with plenty of good walkthroughs for almost any job you can imagine (and a few that you might not) and cheap parts readily available.
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