Viewing a 2.5d P38 some advice needed

Hi everyone,

I've decided its time I took the plunge into the world of the Range Rover and the hole in the wallet that comes with it.

I'v ebeen lookin for a range rover for a couple of months and ones come up locally thats caught my eye.

Its a T registration manual 2.5 Diesel (not sure on the equipment level) I know it has leather. Its covered 125K miles. Just had a new clutch fitted and the brakes overhaulled. Bloke looking for around £5500.

Normally my father in law (he's a mechanic) comes along with me to give my cars the once over but he's laid up in Hospital at the minute, so It's down to me. I'm no numpty I know my way around a car and I work in engineering so I have an understanding of how things work and more often than not, don't.

What sort of things apart from the obvious should I look for? What are the common things which can fail on a range rover?
I've heard things about air suspension, hows the best way to test this?

All advice is appreciated and I'll let you know how I get on. Hopefully I'll be on here more often just for general chat, not with my tales of woe.

Cheers

Mick

have a look at some of these threads - should give you some idea

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/hello-burton-trent-41959.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/r...uying-42482.html?highlight=buying+range+rover

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/t...rover-37282.html?highlight=buying+range+rover

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/buying-p38-37691.html?highlight=buying

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/p38-2-5-diesel-manual-buying-advice-32781.html?highlight=buying

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/newbie-buying-help-please-22075.html?highlight=buying

& for what it's worth - here's my twopence worth

Radiator - Take the car on a long test drive (30 minutes). Ensure you spend some time in traffic or stationary and turn the air conditioning on. If the radiator is blocked, this will create overheating. Watch the temperature gauge very close-
ly. Turn the engine off if the gauge climbs high (above 75% of its range).

Message centre - When you turn the engine off after the test drive, read the message centre on the dashboard. This will tell you of any faults on the transmission. If there are any faults, the costs can vary greatly. Have the car looked at by an expert.

Heater - 1) Check that all the heating controls work properly. 2) Look for a small book symbol on the heating control unit (in front of the gear shift) to see if it is illuminated. If the symbol is illuminated, the car needs a diagnostic check.

Electronics - Be alert to anything electronic that doesn't work properly. In particular check that lights come on and off when they are meant to (including cabin lights, reverse lights etc.)

Windows - Ensure that all the windows wind up and down correctly. Notice any judder or stiffness in the movement. Judder is an early sign that the window winding mechanism is going to fail, and the window will stop working.


ABS light - 1) Check that the ABS light comes on with the ignition and goes out once the car is moving at more than 5 m.p.h.
2) During the test drive notice if the brake pedal kicks back.
3) When stationary, pump the brake pedal three times. After the third application, you should hear a whirring pump noise. If the ABS light doesn't come on with the ignition it may have burnt out or been removed to hide a bigger fault. Faults can include sensor, modulator or pump failure. If the pedal kicks back then the problem is usually the modulator. If the pump is coming on too early, then the pump is faulty.

Water leaks Feel - the front carpet where the driver's left foot rests to check it is dry and not wet. These two symptoms indicate that the heater O rings have worn and need replacing.

Air suspension - Locate the air suspension rocker switch on the dashboard. Test that the suspension goes up and down. If the suspension doesn't work properly, it can be due to a number of issues but it can usually be repaired.
take the suspension through all stages of ride height - access/normal/off road etc - should move freely between stages within about 30 secs - if it takes a long while for the suspension to raise it could be a leaking airbag or compressor

Wheel bearings - During the test drive, listen for a droning/rumbling noise from the wheels. The droning/rumbling noise indicates that a wheel bearing needs replacing.

Tyres - Check that the sides of the tyres are strong and not cracked or damaged. Cheap tyres, or a car that has been scuffed aggressively against curbs can be damaged.

also make sure you have both keys & that they both work - can cost over £100 for replacement.

Thanks for the advice Burtonboy, I've been and bought it now. I had looked at a few other threads, just couldn't find one which gave alot of detail hense my question. I checked most of the stuff you said. The suspension had just been replaced by an independant at about £650 Ive seen the receipt, new pirelli tyres all round. All electrics worked, Carpets were dry, no rust at tail gate, hi-lo gear box works, all lights ok, both keys available and no faults when the ignition is switched off. Test drive was good, no rattle or knocks. Air con needs a re-gas but I suspect this to be a fault with part of the system as it was re-filled last year so I allowed for this in the price that I negotiated.
Got it for £5100 S reg 129K miles Full leather, Full history.

micko2602 said:

Thanks for the advice Burtonboy, I've been and bought it now. I had looked at a few other threads, just couldn't find one which gave alot of detail hense my question. I checked most of the stuff you said. The suspension had just been replaced by an independant at about £650 Ive seen the receipt, new pirelli tyres all round. All electrics worked, Carpets were dry, no rust at tail gate, hi-lo gear box works, all lights ok, both keys available and no faults when the ignition is switched off. Test drive was good, no rattle or knocks. Air con needs a re-gas but I suspect this to be a fault with part of the system as it was re-filled last year so I allowed for this in the price that I negotiated.
Got it for £5100 S reg 129K miles Full leather, Full history.

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good on yer -sounds a good one - air supsension is the most common/expensive problem, so if that's been done recently you''ve got no worries - welcome to the joy/hell* of landrover ownership

* delete as applicable after first few months of ownership