P38 Range Rover?

[Graham B]

Hi guys,

After some advice. We need a car that we can put our dog in the back but will also be used for my girlfriends daily 10 mile commute each morning and the odd trip up north (therefore not mega mileage each year). I've been looking at various Audi/BMW estates however have noticed what fantastic value the P38 model Range Rovers appear to be at the moment. Girlfriend seems to like them although neither of us has actually driven one.

Just after some advice really, been reading the forum so know that the cooling system must be kept in top notch. Are there any other things to watch for? What are the service costs like at a specialist or main dealer? How frequent are the services? What goodies are a must?

Don't plan to go off road, but you never know may get the bug! Should I stick with the estate car plan instead?!

Edited to add: Budget would probably be around 10k as I want to keep my TVR

Cheers,
Graham

Edited by Graham B on Saturday 29th July 23:17

[120a]

look out for air suspension, blend motor o ring failure, coolant system probs etc etc, list as long as my arm :d. servicing at main dealers is very pricey and they need to be serviced every 12k if petrol 6k if diesel.
BG

[_deejay_]

Graham B said:

Hi guys,

After some advice. We need a car that we can put our dog in the back but will also be used for my girlfriends daily 10 mile commute each morning and the odd trip up north (therefore not mega mileage each year). I've been looking at various Audi/BMW estates however have noticed what fantastic value the P38 model Range Rovers appear to be at the moment. Girlfriend seems to like them although neither of us has actually driven one.

Just after some advice really, been reading the forum so know that the cooling system must be kept in top notch. Are there any other things to watch for? What are the service costs like at a specialist or main dealer? How frequent are the services? What goodies are a must?

Don't plan to go off road, but you never know may get the bug! Should I stick with the estate car plan instead?!

Edited to add: Budget would probably be around 10k as I want to keep my TVR

Cheers,
Graham

Edited by Graham B on Saturday 29th July 23:17

We bought a '2000 4.6 with LPG (60,000 miles, 10k on a new engine) for around that kind of money. It's been great so far. It's a nice relaxing drive - very refined for that sort of vehicle.

I'd personally not even consider a diesel - we did and it simply is not up to the job, chipped or not. I'd sure many will agree with me though!

If you get a 2000 or later model they have a different ECU and are generally more reliable. The earlier 4.6 petrols are prone to overheating if not properly maintained (mine had a new short engine because of this).

I also only looked at LPG cars (or those cheap enough to convert). Ours has a multi injection conversion and does about 20mpg @ 39.9p per litre. Otherwise, fuel wills will mount up...

D

[Willo M900]

Graham B said:

Hi guys,

After some advice. We need a car that we can put our dog in the back but will also be used for my girlfriends daily 10 mile commute each morning and the odd trip up north (therefore not mega mileage each year). I've been looking at various Audi/BMW estates however have noticed what fantastic value the P38 model Range Rovers appear to be at the moment. Girlfriend seems to like them although neither of us has actually driven one.

Just after some advice really, been reading the forum so know that the cooling system must be kept in top notch. Are there any other things to watch for? What are the service costs like at a specialist or main dealer? How frequent are the services? What goodies are a must?

Don't plan to go off road, but you never know may get the bug! Should I stick with the estate car plan instead?!

Edited to add: Budget would probably be around 10k as I want to keep my TVR

Cheers,
Graham

Edited by Graham B on Saturday 29th July 23:17

I have owned my 99 model for about 4 years now and I haven't got anything negative to report (hope this isn't the kiss of death!) I have the 4.6 Vogue SE top of the range model with all the toys and trim etc - £65k new and £21k cost to me with 20,000 miles on the clock. How's that for depreciation - over £2 per mile! I now have 42,000 miles on so as you can see I don't do huge miles either, but I guess it's probably worth something around the money you're looking to spend now.

I started out using main dealer service but gave up due to collossal costs (mostly for work not needed I fear), damage!!, work not done that was charged for etc etc and simply the worst customer care I have ever come across. I have been using an independent for about 3 years and can't fault the advice, service and costs.

Mainly my expenses have been minimal regular servicing - mine is petrol but I still have a basic service and engine oil change every 6,000 miles rather than the recommended 12,000. A few people have advised this as the best way to hopefully avoid the problem of engine failure with these age cars. Other than some initial bits I had done when I bought it like seat heater not working (don't bother - daft prices and regularly fail apparently,)console lamps not working, electric mirror not dipping etc I haven't had any real work done since. I have replaced the battery with an uprated one as mine can sometimes sit around without moving for weeks and replaced the tyres. In reality it has cost me almost nothing to run since I went independent. The car has never missed a beat mechanically since I bought it, even after long periods of inactivity, and hopefully that will continue. It's a car I intend to keep for the long term and my view is simply that I can't imagine anything else for the money that offers so much. I tend to drive mine easy (other machinery for more fun!!) and have averaged between 17 and 18 to the gallon, sometimes more on a good open run. If you plan to floor it around get ready for some serious fuel bills. I do agree with another quote on here about the petrol rather than the diesel. I have a mate who bought a diesel around the same time and he keeps asking me when I am going to sell mine because he wants it.

Others can give you technical advice but the only thing I would suggest is to look for that bullet proof service record (and IMO a good independent better than main dealer)and if it was me I would have someone who knows the usual pitfalls check the car over first. There are definitely great ones out there if you can find one and they really are a bargain if you do latch onto one. Best of luck. David

[Shed_Jensen]

I have a 2000 P38 County SE diesel with 37k miles for sale if interested.

Immaculate and still under LR Warranty

Cheers,

Steve

[xjsjohn]

Bought a P38 a while ago and whilst hunting asked quite afew questions here, this is teh thread with answers, may help ...

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=269521

I am very happy with mine, but i do wonder if it was worth getting the DSE, mine turned out to be chipped and with an intercooler upgrade, so not super sluggish, but still, if you are not doing high milage, is the price premium for a diesel worth the fuel economy. Realistically i get 25MPG if i dont drive like an 18 year old in a Vauxhall Nova with a mixture of driving in town and open road !! I managed to average 30MPG using cruise control coming mack from Teh Hague a few weeks ago at 75MPH, but this is just not possible in the UK

[triple7]

P38's can go wrong, I ran a 2001 for 18mnths but never had a thing of note go wrong. If you want a big LR get a TD5 Disco.

G

[niva441]

triple7 said:

P38's can go wrong, I ran a 2001 for 18mnths but never had a thing of note go wrong. If you want a big LR get a TD5 Disco.

G

Having had both The P38 has nicer torque characteristics and the air suspension is really useful for loading (plus it sits down a bit at speed). The boot is also larger and tthe rear seats can fold without moving the front seats forward.