Buying a p38

Hi Im new to this forum im hoping to buy a year 2000 range rover 2.5 dhse
from a local dealer here in northern ireland, and im looking for a few tips on what to look out for? I havent had a drive in it yet as the previous owner had left it at the dealers to try out a 2003 model. so ive only sat in it and started it for a few minutes but i noticed tha the abs light remained on while i had it running, is this normal? so any tips would be greatly appreciated,
best regards Bigjohn

From my experience and from what I have read by other P38 owners is that the P38 suffers from electrical issues.

When I purchased my RR it came with 4 fob keys. This indicates RF receiver problems and left my car stranded in two shopping mall car parks as a result.

After doing some research, I found that in 2004 LR admitted the original P38 RF receiver (Part # AFR1953) was defective and tried to fix this problem twice. Check with the owner if it has been replaced. Otherwise you will be potentially flat trucked back to your dealer with either a flat battery due to spurious RF signals waking up the BECM and draining your battery or simply locking you out and disabling your engine and your keys will need re-synchronising to the vehicle at the cost of £200 odd. This is rectified by part no YWY500170. Also if your keys are well worn, its worth paying out £115 for a new fob aswell.

Fuse boxes are prone to blow too and cause faults, these cost about £80.

BECM is where the money is, it’s very expensive to buy brand new from LR £900 plus vat and labour. There are however places that sell refurbished ones or will fix your old one for £300-500. Again check the owner if the last service brought up any major faults. If you buy from a car dealer ensure you get them to put it through an independent LR garage and perform a full test book before you buy. Any problems with the BECM will show up.

Car battery, make sure you buy a new battery too. Again very expensive for a battery but to be honest its worth doing.

I also changed my RR’s alternator from its original 80 amps to 120. Again it’s sensible to do certain things on the P38.

Hi John.
The ABS, TC (Traction Control) only go out once the vehicle is moving and always seem to take longer than you think, In the centre of the dash is a message centre wich will beep to tell you if there's a fault with anything. If it's been stood for a while the air suspension will be slow to go up possibly but once it has been running for a while it should be brisk up and down and not constantly adjust itself. As with any car good service history helps but is not the answer to everything.

cheers, nick

Many Thanks Guys This Has Been A Great Help The Dealer Phoned To Say The Range Rover Will Be Ready On Sat So I Will Give It A Good Inspection Before Purchase.
Best Regards John