Talk me out of being stupid

[ekulluke]

Landcrab_Six said:

Those all look dreadful. The you can feel the cheapness of the Jeep interior through the screen - and the Rangies look a bit knackered. The kind of thing you see parked outside an estate pub.

Lol parked outside and estate pub. Well put.

[ekulluke]

plasticpig said:

My P38 ownership experience is that they are total moneypits. So unreliable that I used to keep an old laptop and diagnostic cable in the boot so I could reset the various faults that randomly appeared.

Oh right. Not great to hear but I was under no impression they tick along like sewing machines for years.

What kind of issues did you have?

[ekulluke]

agent006 said:

Having owned a 4.6 P38, they are not the thing to buy on a "ooh I fancy a RangeRover" whim. You need to go in with your eyes open or you'll buy a pup and get burnt. Even then you can buy a cracker in top condition and still get burnt like I did.
I think at this point, a 4.6 with a rebuilt engine from a proper specialist, and all the other bits sorted is about the only sensible way into a P38 but you're talking 5 figures or close to.

A TD6 is a much better idea if you're scraping round the low end of the market. Also Discovery TD5 is worth a look, if only as their demise tends to be a bit more gradual than a flamboyant P38 style terminal destruction

If I was going petrol I’d go for the 4.0 variety as I understand that has less problems (immobiliser and cylinder lining...) than the .6, or am I sadly mistaken?

I just don’t like the look or idea of a TD6. The ones ZX10R NIN posted just don’t float my boat. Same goes for a discovery, they all seem to look clapped out and if they don’t some fool wants 10k cos the 5 pot LR engine is decent...!

[ekulluke]

I still like the idea of a P38. But seems we have a hung jury here.

Other than the Cherokee (thanks ZX10!), what else is in this end of the market?

Sub 5k, 4x4, waft-able, won’t leave me stranded (at least not much) and can handle towing a motorbike/taking my mountain bike/dog/roof tent.

I think you all get my position here...fed up of the HP life so want something decent to fulfill above criteria for so I can save up for something nice outright (M5, C63) in a year or so.

Thanks.

[Walter Sobchak]

If a TD6 doesn’t appeal what about a TDV8?.
Or again if you need a 4x4 hewn out of granite have a look at the Landcruiser Colarados, admittedly the interior isn’t as nice as a Range Rover but they’re really good cars.

[agent006]

ekulluke said:

Oh right. Not great to hear but I was under no impression they tick along like sewing machines for years.

Far from it. The 4.0 is better than the 4.6 but you still have the air suspension, A/C blend motors, the leaking heater matrix, dropped roofliner, cracked gearbox flexplates, and all the fun of the BECM to deal with.

I owned a 4.6 for just over a year. In that time it went through three starter motors, a water pump, a full set of coil packs, heater matrix, split the gearbox flexplate, and eventually cracked a cylinder liner which wrote it off.

Like I say, owning a P38 is a labour of love, not something to grab on a whim.

[agent006]

ekulluke said:

what else is in this end of the market?

Sub 5k, 4x4, waft-able, won’t leave me stranded (at least not much) and can handle towing a motorbike/taking my mountain bike/dog/roof tent.

I'm making this choice again now, after my P38 I ran a 3.2 Shogun for years which was one of the best cars I've ever owned and faultlessly reliable. If I wanted a 4x4 for work or general life I'd have another in a shot.

This time round it's a 4.4 just for fun, so I need something I can use with the local landrover club (or there's nothing to do with it round here). Don't want a defender, not brave enough for another P38 so I'm looking at late Discovery 2s. You can get a decent one for under £5k, and like I said above they do have problems but they're things that gradually sneak up on you like leaking sunroofs and chassis rust; rather than things that suddenly land you with a bill for thousands of pounds.

[plasticpig]

ekulluke said:

Oh right. Not great to hear but I was under no impression they tick along like sewing machines for years.

What kind of issues did you have?

agent006’s post covers most of the problems. You can get round the air suspension issues by fitting normal springs. I had no end of electrical and ECU gremlins. This is on the supposedly more reliable Bosch system (early cars had Lucas GEMS engine management).

[ZX10R NIN]

Landcrab_Six said:

Those all look dreadful. The you can feel the cheapness of the Jeep interior through the screen - and the Rangies look a bit knackered. The kind of thing you see parked outside an estate pub.

What do you suggest at 3k?

[smn159]

ZX10R NIN said:

Landcrab_Six said:

Those all look dreadful. The you can feel the cheapness of the Jeep interior through the screen - and the Rangies look a bit knackered. The kind of thing you see parked outside an estate pub.

What do you suggest at 3k?

Indeed. Those Rangies look fine - what exactly does Mr Crab expect an 18 year old car to look like?

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

What do you suggest at 3k?

Almost certainly not an end of life premium SUV.

Although the Lexus RX and Nissan Murano may be possibilities.

If you need a lot of boot space, surely a conventional estate is the way to go? - or compromise on space if you want an SUV, which puts you into the realms of Rav-4s and Nissan X-Trails.

Those Jeeps and Rangies just look one MOT away from the scrapper.

[ZX10R NIN]

Landcrab_Six said:

Almost certainly not an end of life premium SUV.

Although the Lexus RX and Nissan Murano may be possibilities.

If you need a lot of boot space, surely a conventional estate is the way to go? - or compromise on space if you want an SUV, which puts you into the realms of Rav-4s and Nissan X-Trails.

Those Jeeps and Rangies just look one MOT away from the scrapper.

So nothing the OP asked for then in terms of a premium diesel SUV!

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

So nothing the OP asked for then in terms of a premium diesel SUV!

The harsh reality is that he can't really afford a premium diesel SUV on that budget. They're all shagged.

But the criteria of how it will be used fit with a smaller SUV or a large estate car.

[ZX10R NIN]

At 5k you can get some nice SUV's:

3.0d RR

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010205...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010064...

ML420cdi a Nice V8 diesel to make towing a breeze

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010054...

ML320cdi good car but hard to buy this when for a smidge more I could get a 420

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202002087...

Grand Cherokee

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010215...

X5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007030...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010205...

Touareg

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202005019...

[ekulluke]

ZX10R NIN said:

At 5k you can get some nice SUV's:

3.0d RR

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010205...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010064...

ML420cdi a Nice V8 diesel to make towing a breeze

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010054...

ML320cdi good car but hard to buy this when for a smidge more I could get a 420

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202002087...

Grand Cherokee

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010215...

X5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007030...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010205...

Touareg

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202005019...

Bang on the brief with these. Thank you.

Really like that first RR. Have dropped the seller a line!

You’re also right in your other comment, I’m after an old premium SUV. Don’t need anything too mental like an x trail or ranger. So good options. Cheers

[ZX10R NIN]

Landcrab_Six said:

The harsh reality is that he can't really afford a premium diesel SUV on that budget. They're all shagged.

But the criteria of how it will be used fit with a smaller SUV or a large estate car.

Good job he upped his budget to 5k then

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

Good job he upped his budget to 5k then

It's amazing the difference £2k makes at that end of the market. The first Rangie looks pretty decent (the 2nd one looks on the verge, though!)

[ZX10R NIN]

Landcrab_Six said:

It's amazing the difference £2k makes at that end of the market. The first Rangie looks pretty decent (the 2nd one looks on the verge, though!)

Personally that ML420 would get my money everyday of the week almost double the power & it's a V8 which makes it a winning combo.

[agent006]

Yep. £3k everything's shagged but one in a hundred is a gem. £5k you're up to one in 10.

[NGRhodes]

ekulluke said:

Hi all

I recently posted about swapping my 4 series for an estate. Then I read a few shed of the weeks and other posts.

Now I think I will change for something a bit cheaper for a year and save some money.

A Range Rover 2.5 p38 is top of the list.

Am I an idiot?

I do lots of active stuff like track days on motorbikes and mountain biking so a big old suv makes sense. I also do camping with a roof tent. It really meets all my criteria. Mrs is not happy at all. But that’s not uncommon anyway!

I think a yellow one would suit you perfectly.