Looking for a Range Rover

Hi Guys, Nigel here (a Newbie). I am after a Rangey. I need a vehicle to get me to work and general running about. 400 miles or so a week. I’ve always wanted a Range Rover so now seems to be a good time for me. I’ve seen a few P38’s on E Bay going from about £3,500. I saw a 4.6 HSE with an LPG conversion go for 3.2k (92k miles).
I was wondering am I going to be buying a heap of trouble for this money or if I hold out for one with a FSH will it be fairly reliable. Am I better going for a diesel or an LPG?
Any thoughts would be appreciated…
P.S. I haven’t discounted a Disco or a Pajero but a Range Rover would be favorite

Range Rover 4.6 HSE with LPG on eBay, also, Land Rover Range Rover, Cars, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 25-Nov-07 19:37:51 GMT)

I do own a Rangie 4.6 and it is not really badly behaved, has the odd issue from time to time. At that age I would advise to take your time checking the air suspension on them if you are not familiar with it. If it has been kept in tip top shape there will be paper work showing replacement parts etc. If it is all orginal at that mileage there will be things starting to fail and it can be mightly expensive. Something to be considered in haggling. I am not anti air suspension just the reality is it costs alot generally when things go wrong. Even with the LR diagnostics, my experience is that a garage cannot always find the fault straight away. I think in terms of reliability my one is in the good category, yet over a year it still gets bills of around £3,000 a year from the garage for various things,but that is LR dealer pricing. Given the cost of fuel etc given the mileage you are going to be doing, I would not discount a Rangie but it would be worth looking at a TD5 disco before the front grille facelift, twice the mileage all the toys nearly, and the slabs (disco air suspension system) seems to be more trouble free generally. Only my humble opinion though. Did have a diesel DHSE for two weeks and thought it a little gutless. And according to the MPG read-out it only managed 21 if you drove it with any commitment. the 4.6 is a joy to drive powerwise. Thats my 10 pence worth anyhows. I am no expert though. Good luck with whatever you go for.

I have owned a 4.6 Range Rover and had nothing but trouble complete nightmare I have also owned a pajero which was a good motor I currently have a Td5 which i love to bits.I am no expert just my own experience if any use to you.Oh the brother in law as a 4.0 Range Rover on lpg which as been faultless.

Hi and welcome.

If you decide to go for the 38a, you really only should be lookin at the ones with fsh.Also as much info on any additional work done to the range.
avoid anythin with several owners is my advice.

I chose the 4.6 without gas, I would rather get it fitted to a low miler than buy one with it fitted allready as the mileage is bound to be higher anyway.
I prefer my 3.9 classic, and am toying of the idea of swapping the 38 for a 300tdi/td5 disco.
My heart says go for a pampered fsh late 38a with low miles and no gas.
If you can find 1 it will be a bargain at the dollar they are goin for at present, especially if you have loadsa money!!
Using me loaf, (which dont happen very often) I would say the disco will be the better option.

certainly would not be thinkin about that pagiaro thing.

good luck.

hello mate , everyone has they`re own veiws on whats best , mine is go fr a 4.6 on lpg , but best advice i can pass to you is take along someone who knows the marque inside out , even if it costs you it will be money well spent at the end of the day believe me , there are a lot of dogs out there ( i know i saw loads of them ) before i settled on mine .
i particular choice was a 97my some history , and yes it did have faults but nothing major , it was a good point to argue down the price , ive spent maybe the thick end of £1500.00 on it now may be a bit more ( that included a new sequetial lpg system to replace the crap single point it had fitted it now runs like a dream , ive just got to replace the dreaded heater o rings now and thats it .
good luck anyway mate .
rick.

Hiya Nigeve

The augument here always seems the perpetual Petrol V. Diesel one

what ever you look for

the following prevail:

- Low milage (as low as is afordable in your budget)

- A full service history (ideally main dealer serviced)
&
when you go to look at the vehicle - test all the buttons,switches & levers (even things like the heated seats / rear wash wipe etc)

What i did was buy a owners manual before i went to check out what everything did (the number of times i went to look at a potential vehicle ans ask about the low box - only to be told Dunno - never used it"

Even things like does it have a tow-hook (or trailer socket) might give a indication as to what it has been put to in the past (i was luck mine hadnt one & never had one) I was quite willing to have one fitted later for the small cst involved

Ok you are going to get to the point that the milage on the vehicle has got to a point where they may have started going to non main dealers to save expence but the point remains had it got all the "ring-stamps" in the service book. (at least upto the last one)

Also consider the maintainance csts are going to be more than other vehicles. Ok you can do the oil changes yourself etc but in many cases the service intervals are closer than other more conventional vehicles.

As has been said there are many "dogs" out there & yes whatever you buy iam sure you are going to have "issues" (percieved or even actual) the aim should that they be only minor ones. and a good history should help with that.

Finally & a subject that will "surely open a can of worms" is should you buy a vehicle already chipped (i can hear the clicking of keyboards as i send this)


have a nice one & Happy hunting

Hi Guys, I would like to thank all of you for your thoughts. There’s nothing like getting some real world opinions to tell it as it really is. My thoughts are now tending towards a well looked after classic or disco because on my budget (less than 4k) I think I might buy something I regret. There is an independent Land Rover specialist in Sussex on the A22 but I forget their name, but it would probably be a good idea to get them to check the vehicle over before I part with my hard earned. I’ll start perusing the classics ads and see if there are any nice ones about before I look at Disco’s.
I’ll keep you all posted

Good luck! Hope it did not sound too negative. Sounds like an ideal choice. I would be seriously tempted to have another classic in the family at some point.

Met someone the other day who is seriously wealthy, like many millions, (point will be relevant in a sec) and despite cash not being a concern for him he was so fed up with his dog of an L332 or is it L322? and the P38 dog he had before it that he made the dealer take his Range Rover back by threatening to publish an advert of his problems with the car and went and found a 1993 LSE classic and says he wonders why the hell he ever changed from one. He says he can live without the extra level of comfort and handling especially as all the extra comfort and handling never really went anywhere except on a flatbed anyway....

I doubt he is the only one who has done that.

Dont have the cash to buy one but am very interested to see how the TDv8 does, that looks like an awesome car and no scary stories so far. Have Land Rover finally got an engine right? Apart from the TDI 200 300 and TD5 of course

Hi Abe,
If you are going to have to get to work in it have a serious look at an RRC soft dash 300tdi manual if you can track one down. IMHO they are probably the most reliable option for an older RR. I know the P38 is better built,handles better, more luxurious, quieter, more room etc but there is far less to go wrong on a soft dash (which fixes most of the bad ergonomics of the original) electronics wise and if the air suspension goes completely its about £500 to put it on steel springs. Just have a look through the threads here and see how many P38s are parked on peoples drives with EAS and overheating problems. Land-over has a point, there are people switching back to late LSE's and Vogues. Only trouble would be to find a well looked after lowish mileage Vogue SE in diesel manual (BTW both of my classics are well over 140k miles and the tdi has never left me down). A point that doesn't get much airing is that they are a good bit smaller and narrower which is a valid point on narrow streets and country lanes.

hiya Spud

I think your reply was probably intended (should have been addressed to Nigeve)

Although in short to your point i went for a P38 as this vehcile is mainly weekly transport to & from work & home at the weekend

In the past I had used company A4`s & A6`s and although they were boring there were OK.

The fun car i used to use was my wife`s renault 1.6 Clio (fully equiped leather, cruise - the lot) a true pocket rocket a bit loud for a really longer run but never-the less fun.

Anyways, why the P38?
I wanted a RR that was later in the production run and reading around the late P38`s seem to have many of the bugs sorted (exception being RF recievers etc ) My intention was to always get it to run as economically as possible hence i shelled out & had the chip - remapped and a fullsize 3x larger intercooler fitted. & this i had budgeted for prior to finding a suitable vehicle. End effect it put out in excess of 190bhp & returns really good milage

My initial choice was the L332 model from about 2004 onwards

Across here road tax & insurance on anything in excess of 2,500cc becomes really excessive add to that a L332 even the earliest model are priced a lot higher to start and so plumbed for a late P38 July 2001 in my case with about 55,000 miles on the clock.

As you can see from the picture, for the weekend a run the Hybrid which is in effect a 1972 serries III with a fearn - intercooled Disco 300Tdi Motor & boxes fitted. (old-timer insurance & tax)
Its used only for the weekend and dont get a big millage on it and gets used mainly to haul & fetch around the locality.

In conclusion anything older than the p38 wouldnt be economical as i do in excess of 35-40,000 miles a yr and in reality, the p38 is more of a indulgence that a necessity

have a nice one

Hi Abe,

I like the sound of that Hybrid! I have a mad notion to try and build a forward control camper on the chassis of my 200tdi. The body is completely gone but chassis-wise and mechanically it is in great shape. The previous owner had the negine and gearbox re-built so they are really fresh. I cant bring myself to scrap it and I've always had a thing for the 101's so I'd love to have a go at doing something like that. I know it will take me years but it would be a great project. Do you know anybody who has attempted a froward control?

Cormac

Morning spud

My aim when looking around was to source a series with a 200/300tdi but more importantly a shortened CRR chassis thus the better suspension & disc brakes all around, power steering etc

as its used only for the weekend and some local trials.

it has a full defender dash and defender seats with as you can see deferder front-end

in reality the only series parts are from the main dash bulhead back
the rear tailgate is a swing one as oppsed to a "drawbridge" type series

what i have noticed with the suspension its far supperior to that of the leaf-sprung series off-road. although this is somewhat imporved with a 2-3 inch lift & pro-comps front & back

Air intake is via the driverside wing top via a airscoop and entry pip round the back of the motor to the conv passenger side air in-take on the motor no snorkel the other wing is airscopped to imporve the heating system. the axles, main box, belhousing and front belt housing are fully snorkeld to a central breather just under the bonnet on the main bulhead

it runs twin-tanks but nowaday i only tend to use one and the fuel system is pure electric running a RRC facet fuel pump which over-pumps & acts as a diesel warmer. theres a extra return curcuit that runs back from the motor via a solonoid switches send the returning fuel via a heating coil on the exhaust maniold to really warm the fuel up on cold mornings.

Exhaust is a std 300tdi middle box & no cat - no rear box with a rear exit just left of the PTO hole on the rear crossmember,

other than that is has the normal share of lights bells & whisles

other than that its standard!