P38s - which one?

Hi there, im new to this forum. My name is jake, 23 years old. Recently sold my M5 to buy my first house, now thats all sorting im looking at decent motor on a car loan. Thats why im thinking a 95- P38. I know they aint cheap to run but my last car wasnt exactly.

Looking at buying my first RR and been looking at either a 4.0 LPG or a 2.5 diesel. What do I need to look out for on these cars, looking at spending 3-4k after seeing their now soo cheap. Seen them for that price with good mileage (100-130k) and history. Will be doing a fair few miles but often work will pay for fuel.

Please advise me, thanks in advance

best advice i can give you is take someone who knows these vehicles very well and how they work , if you buy a bad one you`ll have to sell your house to repair the damned thing , seriously though find an expert mate there is a lot to check over and a lot that can be wrong with a potential purchase good luck anyway and welcome to the site
rick

Be prepared to spend a few quid a year on things like air suspension, electronic bits and a possible poreous head.

I bought a 1995 4.6HSE on eBay a few years back for £5.5K and sold it at the end of last year for £3.2K. Loved it!!!!

Good luck.

Hi,

I've had a 98' diesel 2.5 for about three months and when it's going well it's great! I bought mine with faults so was prepared to spend a grand getting it sorted out. Mine does 30 to the gallon but you,ve got to plan ahead when coming to big hills or thinking of pulling out in front of somebody because it won't pull your hat off unless you floor it - then it's still slow! Even though it gives you heart stopping moments when all of the suspension lights come on and it drops to the stops - and then it costs a bomb to fix, it's still a brilliant machine to own and drive. If you want years of trouble free driving- I'd seriously look for something else.

Kevin

Just my opinion..
But if you go for the 2.5 Diesel,,,Chipping it is a must...Doesnt decrease MPG (Normally increases it by 1-2) But will make them a nice driveable car..At £200-£300 for a good one,,its an absolute must...No more performance problems!
LTel

Hi
I have a 1996 4.6 on lpg, my dad has a 2002 2.5 diesel that has been chipped. If you go for a diesel as said before chipping is a must, but they are still quite slow in pulling away unless you really give it some welly, quite noisy too, i wouldnt swap my v8 for my dads newer diesel, (interior maybe), but that is my personal choice it`s down to you at the end of the day.
Mark

Cool, cheers. Was reading some past posts on here last night-interesting.

So really its only the electronics and suspension to really worry about?

Thinking LPG now....

I have a 1995 2.5DT that was well looked after by the previous owner. It has been no problem at all (apart from changing leak off pipes and a little problem with central locking which is now sorted), the airbags are still the originals (although pump was changed by lasy owner) and it doesn't have aircon to go wrong, or computer, or cruise control. I've owned it 2 years to date and only really spent on tyres and oil changes etc. Its done 110k.

So it's not all doom! Hopefully you can find one just as good, but have a good look around!

lenb

rick071155 said:

best advice i can give you is take someone who knows these vehicles very well and how they work , if you buy a bad one you`ll have to sell your house to repair the damned thing , seriously though find an expert mate there is a lot to check over and a lot that can be wrong with a potential purchase good luck anyway and welcome to the site
rick

Click to expand...

If ever you heed advice, heed this. I've come unstuck in a big way. I'm not an expert but I'm not a duffer either. I reckon to be able to weigh up if a car's right or not. I've ended up with repairs on my hands you'd never even dream of in your worst nightmares. Worst of all is if you have to go to a dealer, which in some cases is obligatory. Dig a pit and shovel money into it, that'd be an economical proposition in comparison. If you look at my posts you'll see what pain I've suffered. I had a classic which was lovely-V8 lpg. I've now got a P38 p99y [banana manifold]. This model has advantages over pre y99, I gather, injection-wise and goes beautifuuly on LPG. The deisel guys'll give you a major sell, I expect, but 4litre P38 post 99 converted to LPG post purchase by someone you trust- having sought expert advice on purchase is the way to go. When you get it right there's no escaping that it's a great machine. Welcome to the gates of hell. regards P.S