buying advice needed please.

hi there people. i am currently contemplating buying a rangr rover around the yrs 1997-2000 have seen loads of very very nice examples. are there any models that i should stay away from, and is there anything i should look out for when going to veiw/test drive one. dont know a great deal about the range rover so thought that i would come and ask the experts.
cheers for any help you can give me .

Diesels are more reliable.

I asked the same question the other day (and subsequently searched out some good previous posts which was a worthwhile hour of my time as there have been loads).

Diesels are really slow and V8's chew head gaskets, air suspension can go wrong but seems more feared than is justified, electrics are dubious and the heater blend unit is a pain. Buy the best you can and look after it is the short answer (some can be done yourself, but unfortunately you need a garage for other stuff, especially if ECU's are involved). Rust doesn't seem to be an issue at all...

Oh and check the coolant if it's a petrol...
Malcolm

Get a diesel and have luxury,comfort and economy.If you find it too sluggish put a powerbox on it or chip it,either way you'll be glad you bought one.

thanks guys for the advise . will take your advise with me on saturday when going to veiw one.. yeee ha like a big kid here cant wait.

My two-penneth:
Take a mate, way to easy to get blinkered when looking at new toys. 2nd opinions always good.
Check absolutely everything works electrics/airsuspension/hi&low ratios
Check coolant if V8, then drive it and give it the berries then check coolant
Check absolutely everything again.
If a dealer, get a warranty as they're struggling to sell these especially at this time of the year and ensure it's parts and labour.

Check coolant.

best to be safe and don't buy one.

Hi,
I just bought my RR after months and months of waiting for what I wanted. Check out as much of the forum as possible, read the latest stuff as it gives you an insight to issues.
As BigJC says, you become blinkered once you have set your heart on one, this happened to me, been waiting so long for a 4.6 HSE, dark blue with cream leather and below 80k miles with service history, so when it did eventually pop up I had already bought it in my head before seeing it.
As mentined in many threads take if for a spin, give it some welly, listen to the gear box, when you stop check for leaks, check the air suspension move it up and down listen to the motors. Check all the electrics particularly the climate system. This was my major failing, checking the cabin, I was so blinkered that once i had paid for the car and was driving home I had made a list of at least 10 faults that I hadnt noticed before. doooh.
The one thing I would advise...... be prepared to spend money on it and spend time reading the manuals and trawling through the forums then getting your hands dirty, if you are not then dont get a Rangie. Looking at some of the services mine has had £1.4k per pop oooh la la, but she runs sweet and has always been a dream car of mine to own and drive so for the moment (all 4 days), its worth every penny now and the future.
I decided to get the 4.6 and not the 2.5 or the 4.0 as its just a weekender car and I wanted the grunt to look down on all those poxy jeeps, and boy does this baby fly, BUT it as petrolholic, already downed £40 of fuel and getting 18-20mpg,

Dont buy a P38 and then moan about running costs or reliability, its all part of the experience.