Classic or P38?......mmm help!

[Sir Snaz]

Good morning to you fine Land Rover folk!!.....it's my first foray into this section of PH ...so please be gentle .....I have recently been struck with the desire for a 4x4...have a little bit of pin money to spend (say £2.5 - £4k max) and have found myself looking at rangies.
I intially looked purely at p38s, and have done a bit of homework on all of their various foibles - so 'think' I know what I would be letting myself in for.
In doing my research I have obviuosly stumbled accross the odd Classic here and there ......and the more I see of them ...the more I like them!!
Heres the questions - I am a bit of a mechanical numpty, so would I be in for more problems with a Classic over a P38?...with my budget how good a Classic could I buy?....and more importantly ... where could one find a good Classic for sale?...they seem to be very thin on the ground

looking forward to all your wise words of advice

snaz

[Meeja]

Not sure how "good" a Classic you will get with your budget.

Depends whether you have additional funds to "sort" a car.

Also not sure how frequently "decent" classics appear on the market.


P38's can be a nightmare moneypit (several PH'ers been burned in the past)

I have a P38 that is (touch wood) a good un, running well, and not costing an extortionate amount of cash to look after, but suspect that I am in the minority.

Plenty of them around, but do your research and take a knowledgable person with you (and when I say knowledgable, not just someone who knows about used cars - someone who knows about used RRs)

[budrover]

In that price bracket a Discovery is a much safer option

[300bhp/ton]

Sir Snaz said:

Good morning to you fine Land Rover folk!!.....it's my first foray into this section of PH ...so please be gentle .....I have recently been struck with the desire for a 4x4...have a little bit of pin money to spend (say £2.5 - £4k max) and have found myself looking at rangies.
I intially looked purely at p38s, and have done a bit of homework on all of their various foibles - so 'think' I know what I would be letting myself in for.
In doing my research I have obviuosly stumbled accross the odd Classic here and there ......and the more I see of them ...the more I like them!!
Heres the questions - I am a bit of a mechanical numpty, so would I be in for more problems with a Classic over a P38?...with my budget how good a Classic could I buy?....and more importantly ... where could one find a good Classic for sale?...they seem to be very thin on the ground

looking forward to all your wise words of advice

snaz

A p38 uses the same basic mechanical parts as a classic but with more electronics. The only real difference is a classic will be older, maybe done more miles and might have less corrosion resistance than the p38. But apart from that I'd suspect the classic would be the cheaper less hassle purchase.

As for prices, well I've not looked for a long time, but I'd be staggered if £2.5-4k can't get you a classic. They where in production for 25 years and all parts for them are available pretty much.

It is worth remembering that a Discovery is largely the same as a Range Rover, so you'll be able to buy more Disco for your money. But they maybe don't have the same class appeal.


P38's are nice too, just know what you are buying and don't be scared by some of the tech.


A Jeep Grand Cherokee is a worthwhile non LR alternative to look at too.


BTW - we've had a number of RR's over the years.


89 plate 2.5 VM Classis Vogue. Had for many many years and was superb. Shame this engine is knocked so as we never had issues with it apart from a broken water pump.

91 plate 3.9 Vogue SE auto. Very nice and somehow managed to get it to read 125mph on the clock!!!

An 82 plate 3.5 carb 4 speed. Older, quite tidy and a lot of fun.

88 plate 3.5 Auto Vogue. Sadly a hole in the piston, but no probs otherwise.

3.9 Vogue SE auto 1989/90. Went very well, sadly written off after it was sold.

And another 90/91 H plate 3.9 Vogue SE.


None where huge trouble and all where fantastic!



In addition we've also had a couple of 4.6 HSE p38's and a few Discovery's (Tdi and V8).

[DKL]

You should have no problems getting a decent classic for that money. Assume it will need fixing fairly frequently but it needn't be life changing - depends how much you DIY or how convenient the garage is!

Mine cost the lower end of your budget in May and has cost me 700 since although half of that was routine service and premptive changes rather than actual fails.

Plenty of buying guides on the net but mainly its rust and more rust.

[Emsman]

A classic.

having owned both, i wouldnt give a p38 a second glance now.
Granted, its just an opinion, but the classic will hold its value better, to me was more comfortable, and has a far better image to it.

I regret selling mine daily, i bloody loved that car.

[C Lee Farquar]

I've had both and still have the Classic dry stored. It's difficult to go and look at it in the barn without talking to it. But I have never missed the P38.

[tonys]

Well, I wouldn't be considering a P38 unless I had a pot put to one side to pay for any faults that crop up. You might strike lucky, but you might not.
There's lots of info. on various forums about buying P38s; not the cheapest car to run if you are going to rely on others to maintain/fix it.
I was tempted recently and decided to look at a few locally - the first had 'overheating problems' (nothing to worry about according to the vendor), the next had wet footwells, the next had air suspension issues. Whilst I would be quite happy to look at the issues myself, I didn't really want the hassle at the moment.

If you find a good one, they're superb. If you get a bad one, they can be a pain.

The classic is older but less reliant on electronics, however, more susceptible to corrosion.

Diesel or petrol?

[radzoule]

In terms of image, there is no comparison. A well preserved classic is ageless. People realise that you drive one because you want to, not because you wanted a cheap range rover. I have nothing against the P38 but it just doesn't have the same pedigree, class or character.

Go for the classic!

[Mike_C]

I was in a similar position myself as to the OP! Got fed up of the BMW getting stuck in the snow last year, plus wanted something to keep me amused in the winter months when not trackdaying the bike!

Anyway, I went for a Classic. My boss has a P38a as a winter car and, to be fair, very little has gone wrong with it.

However, there are a LOT more electronics on the P38 than the Classic, and then there's the air suspension, always problems with the BECM...the list goes on.

Your budget should get you a smart Classic. Ignore the stupid dealers with crazy prices - saw a 300TDi for £12,995 the other day! Mine cost similar money to your budget and since then I spent £700 (like DKL, strangely!) on sorting things out - some needed, some just for my own piece of mind.

I'd say find a nice Classic around the £1,500-£2,500 mark, and keep a grand in reserve for sorting things out - hopefully you won't need it, but you'll no doubt need something! This would be a far better buy than a P38 at this price IMO.

Biggest thing to check is rot - if you can find a solid Classic, then check all the electrics work (the higher the spec the more you'll have)!. Beware LSE's and later models - these have First Gen air suspension, which I would say is best avoided.

Good luck with the search and let us have pics when you find one!

[Ecurie Ecosse]

I would go for a Classic.

I recently bought a late soft dash model myself and it is a fantastic car which feels special. Go for it!

[Flintstone]

What would the experts have to say about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Range-Rover-Classic-Vogue-SE...

[Mike_C]

Flintstone said:

What would the experts have to say about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Range-Rover-Classic-Vogue-SE...

Seems expensive compared to this (although I am biased!): http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2477864.htm

[Flintstone]

Mike_C said:

Flintstone said:

What would the experts have to say about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Range-Rover-Classic-Vogue-SE...

Seems expensive compared to this (although I am biased!): http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2477864.htm

Ooooh, that is nice.


Wonder how much it would cost to convert to LPG?

[Mike_C]

£1,500 or so for a decent multi-point system at a guess?

[Sir Snaz]

HI Mike ...thats cool ......may well be dropping you a PM

[Meeja]

Mike_C said:

Seems expensive compared to this (although I am biased!): http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2477864.htm

Advert 1 day old?

I'm sure I have seen those photos elsewhere with an advert a while back.

Re-advertised, or selling on?

Just curious!

[Mike_C]

Meeja - I put the photo's in a thread when I bought the car, but I haven't advertised it previously - and they're definitely my photo's! Unless someone has stolen my photo's for their advert?? Hadn't noticed if they did though!

[Flintstone]

Very arty photos, especially the wellies

[Meeja]

Mike_C said:

Meeja - I put the photo's in a thread when I bought the car, but I haven't advertised it previously - and they're definitely my photo's! Unless someone has stolen my photo's for their advert?? Hadn't noticed if they did though!

Ah - that is probably where I saw the pic - in a thread rather than an advert!

It was the wellies that I remembered!