P38, bought unseen from Ebay...what could / will go wrong?

P38, bought unseen from Ebay...what could / will go wrong?

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Discussion

SlimRick

Original Poster:

2,258 posts

165 months

Thursday 10th May 2018
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What could possibly go wrong?

4.0 V8, on springs, 163k miles, 6 months MOT for less than a grand. The plans are to build a gun box in the boot and use it for shooting trips on Sunday mornings. The fact that it's from Manchester, it may have already had some experience with this type of activity biggrin

Being delivered on Monday morning by Shiply, I didn't fancy a 200 mile trip home in it myself.







Now to tell my wife...

Munter

31,319 posts

241 months

Thursday 10th May 2018
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I'll just leave this here...I figure you'll be doing similar soon.

https://youtu.be/w1OxvtQSua8?t=1m9s

S100HP

12,673 posts

167 months

Thursday 10th May 2018
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SlimRick said:
Now to tell my wife...
laugh

I've been known to hide cars at my dads house for several weeks for the same reason!

anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 10th May 2018
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I thought gun boxes had to be certified.

SlimRick

Original Poster:

2,258 posts

165 months

Thursday 10th May 2018
quotequote all
Thesprucegoose said:
I thought gun boxes had to be certified.
Not just for transporting them. They usually just go in a gun slip in my car boot.

GIYess

1,320 posts

101 months

Friday 11th May 2018
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When you mention Manchester and its previous activities...

My BIL sold an X5 to Manchester once. Next week it was on the news as taking part in a bank robbery!biggrin

Nice car. You might be surprised and have no bills for a few years.

Hopefully.

Possibly.

mayb.........

Goodmornin

99t

1,000 posts

209 months

Friday 11th May 2018
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Range Rovers, especially when new and newish have a bad rep. and probably rightly so.

I think they "improve" with age - although this perception may well be a combination of lowered user expectations combined with many of the niggles and poor build quality having been flushed out with time and repairs.

My old Classic V8 had stood unsold in the corner of a dealer lot for many months if not years before I bought it. Yet all I did was wash the mildew off, change the oil and use it - never gave me a moment of trouble.

Yours looks pretty tidy, hope it's a good 'un for you.


Mr Teddy Bear

186 posts

191 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
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My experience was that they continously go wrong and it's always expensive. The V8 weeps oil from the head gasket at the back of the head.

No air springs so that's 6 or £700 saved. The build quality of the interior fixtures and fittings for such a expensive vehicle is pretty rubbish imo.

They do around 14mpg, on a long run 19mpg.

Still being on the road with those sort of miles tells you that money has been spent on it.

Are you going to convert her to LPG & put the tank in the spare wheel well?


SlimRick

Original Poster:

2,258 posts

165 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
quotequote all
Mr Teddy Bear said:
My experience was that they continously go wrong and it's always expensive. The V8 weeps oil from the head gasket at the back of the head.

No air springs so that's 6 or £700 saved. The build quality of the interior fixtures and fittings for such a expensive vehicle is pretty rubbish imo.

They do around 14mpg, on a long run 19mpg.

Still being on the road with those sort of miles tells you that money has been spent on it.

Are you going to convert her to LPG & put the tank in the spare wheel well?

It’s already been converted to LPG but I probably won’t use that. I’ll only use it occasionally for 20 mile round trips to work, and sunday mornings for shooting. My daily was starting to get trashed using it for tip runs, throwing muddy boots in etc. so this will do those duties.

williamp

19,248 posts

273 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
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Pics taken outside a nightclub on an inner city housing estate, stick on wing vents. I imagine a full range rover service history biggrin

Good luck. I often see these and think "well, what if this isnt like the rest of 'em...." insanely comcortable at least..

SlimRick

Original Poster:

2,258 posts

165 months

Monday 14th May 2018
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It arrived, and apart from a few niggles all seems to work. A quick wash and polish to make it look slightly more presentable:






agent006

12,034 posts

264 months

Monday 14th May 2018
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Cracking things, these. I had one years ago and everything broke, cost me almost a grand a month on average before it finally cracked a liner and broke the gearbox flex plate in the same week and was sold to some poor sod at auction.
I still really want another though, and for under a grand they make perfect sense. It was just great at everything, town, country, motorway, the lot.

Still the only car I've driven with a stereo so powerful it can make its own cd player skip.

eliot

11,418 posts

254 months

Tuesday 15th May 2018
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Keep a weekly eye on the coolant level.

Mr Scruff

1,331 posts

215 months

Tuesday 15th May 2018
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Damn, I want a cheap Range Rover...

So long as it doesn't behave like a cheap Range Rover!

eliot

11,418 posts

254 months

Tuesday 15th May 2018
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Mr Scruff said:
Damn, I want a cheap Range Rover...

So long as it doesn't behave like a cheap Range Rover!
Lots of dogs out there i'm afraid. Facelift (MY2000) models are much better, better torque and gearbox stays in the right gear thanks to the Bosch electronics over the original GEMS setup.
Main terminal fault on these things is overheating/coolant loss. Slight coolant loss is ok, as long as you keep a regular eye on it - letting it get low, will lead to overheat and a shagged engine.

SlimRick

Original Poster:

2,258 posts

165 months

Friday 18th May 2018
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Predictably, the list of jobs I'm noticing is growing:

Runs like a dog and stalls on petrol
A/C & heater uncontrollable (blend motors?)
Rough spray job on rear bumper
Cracked front bumper
Many, many scratches
Stinks like a 40 a day smoker's car


Fixed:
Passenger seat belt replaced
Sticking passenger window
Leaking LPG filler valve

strangehighways

479 posts

165 months

Friday 18th May 2018
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Watching this with interest. The interior looks very comfortable. I imagine the P38 is a nice relaxing thing to punt about when it's working well.

eliot

11,418 posts

254 months

Saturday 19th May 2018
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strangehighways said:
Watching this with interest. The interior looks very comfortable. I imagine the P38 is a nice relaxing thing to punt about when it's working well.
They are indeed comfortable.

CAPP0

19,576 posts

203 months

Saturday 19th May 2018
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eliot said:
strangehighways said:
Watching this with interest. The interior looks very comfortable. I imagine the P38 is a nice relaxing thing to punt about when it's working well.
They are indeed comfortable.
I had a MY2000 4.6 Vogue SE for a while. It was indeed a lovely old wafter and was what persuaded me to spend a lot more on an L322. Mine developed the "I won't shut down properly so I'll drain the battery" problem but otherwise was a really nice thing to drive around in. Definitely more barge-tastic than the 322. If I could find "the one" which was in perfect condition with all faults permanently fixed I'd seriously consider it as a permanent keeper. Until then however, I shall keep buying the white unicorns which seem to be easier to locate.

eliot

11,418 posts

254 months

Saturday 19th May 2018
quotequote all
CAPP0 said:
I had a MY2000 4.6 Vogue SE for a while. It was indeed a lovely old wafter and was what persuaded me to spend a lot more on an L322. Mine developed the "I won't shut down properly so I'll drain the battery" problem but otherwise was a really nice thing to drive around in. Definitely more barge-tastic than the 322. If I could find "the one" which was in perfect condition with all faults permanently fixed I'd seriously consider it as a permanent keeper. Until then however, I shall keep buying the white unicorns which seem to be easier to locate.
Shutdown problem is caused by wireless thermostat interfering with the rf module. Can be fixed permanently by replacing the module for about £150 or worked around by removing the aerial wire, which just shortens the range - which i’ve been doing for years now.
Perfect p38 would have top hat linered engine, new air bags and height sensors, overhauled eas unit.