Which version should I buy?

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james81

New Member
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4
Hi all

New member to the forum as I am hoping to find some advice before I buy. Situation is as follows; have a company car but would like some 'fun' at the weekends. Never owned a 4x4 but always been attracted to the P38. I appreciate that some of these end up being expensive to fix with all the various things that can go wrong, but hoping to pick up a cheap(ish) one in the first instance and then have money put aside for repairs. Have a budget of about £3-4K but don't know whether I should get the diesel, petrol (and if so which engine) or LPG. I like the idea that the diesel will give better mpg but is that at a cost elsewhere? I am not particularly fussed with high speeds, this car would be for sitting back and relaxing, not thundering around the country at top speed, so do I need the 4.6 petrol option if this is its only advantage? I have no idea of LPG other than that you have to pay close attention to who did the conversion and check they are known for doing a good job?

I have seen some for sale (petrol) with mileage of 120,000 for example, is this a rather risky high mileage given its a petrol engine, or should this not be a problem?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks

James
 
greetings and hello
ok the words cheap and p38 not a word you hear every day i bought a 1998 4.6 hse ltd edition last year for £1400 yes £1400 ok mileage at the mo is 149k its on lpg use it every day..
have replaced eas compressor a few o rings and a battery oh and changed the oil ...my advice if you can find a good one buy it i would buy another one no worrys diesel not really my thing carnt really say much about em spec wise get the best you can ..most petrol ones seem to have had replacement engines at some point ..avoid any that have had eas replaced with coil springs ..heater O rings a pig... hope this helps and good luck
 
If it's a car for weekends only then V8 all day. You can't beat that rumble :)

However if it were a daily driver then I'd say diesel.

The petrol engines have a reputation for trouble but to be honest, since being on this forum, I've seen more post about overheating, cracked blocks, etc in relation to diesel engines vs the petrol counterparts.
 
stjohnsmythe said:
If it's a car for weekends only then V8 all day. You can't beat that rumble :)

However if it were a daily driver then I'd say diesel.

The petrol engines have a reputation for trouble but to be honest, since being on this forum, I've seen more post about overheating, cracked blocks, etc in relation to diesel engines vs the petrol counterparts.
Click to expand...

You have never seen a post about a cracked block on a diesel.
 
V8 on Gas returns similar running costs than a Diesel....plus with it not being a daily driver, you can spend time on the inevitable repairs.

Yes the Petty models suffer issues, but if it is not a daily driver and/or you can suffer the thing being off the road at times, why not choose a petrol...aslong as you are fully aware on the potential repair costs at times!
 
john-sussex said:
The diesel one i had cracked its head, gone back to a 4.6! :)
Click to expand...

Diesel will only crack it's head if it's been overheated to extreme at some time. Usually through lack of proper maintenance. Other than that they are bullet proof. V8s are far from bullet proof.
 
Above everything IMO take your time and look for one with FULL service history and be prepared to be disapointed at some stage during ownership. A Range Rover petrol or diesel will break your heart and ruin your bank balance cause arguments with the other half on the amount of cash and time you devote on her (the car i mean :D) but the rewards when things are all well are well worth the hassle. And when things DO go wrong you can seek the advice of the guys on here.
Good luck
 
P38guy said:
Above everything IMO take your time and look for one with FULL service history and be prepared to be disapointed at some stage during ownership. A Range Rover petrol or diesel will break your heart and ruin your bank balance cause arguments with the other half on the amount of cash and time you devote on her (the car i mean :D) but the rewards when things are all well are well worth the hassle. And when things DO go wrong you can seek the advice of the guys on here.
Good luck
Click to expand...
A Range Rover is not a car, it's a hobby and if it's an L322 it's a very expensive hobby:rolleyes:
 
God this is one of those threads which will run for ever. Diesels are a bit underpowered butseem to have less engine problems. Doesn't matter what engine its got any sign of overheating walk away. How ever it's the bits which all models share you also want to be aware of. I do all my own spannering. If I had to put it in to a garage every time it went wrong I'd be broke. If you have to pay for repairs I'd not recommended an p38. If you are hands on then get a decent diagnostic kit as they are heavy on the electrics. I brought an 02 115k model. Now it's a bit unfortunate but I've had some unforseen issues resulting in me needing to replace a lot of bearings, also my shocks were tired. Labour would of been loads. Good thing is p38's are easy to work on and cheap for parts
 
doz said:
God this is one of those threads which will run for ever. Diesels are a bit underpowered butseem to have less engine problems. Doesn't matter what engine its got any sign of overheating walk away. How ever it's the bits which all models share you also want to be aware of. I do all my own spannering. If I had to put it in to a garage every time it went wrong I'd be broke. If you have to pay for repairs I'd not recommended an p38. If you are hands on then get a decent diagnostic kit as they are heavy on the electrics. I brought an 02 115k model. Now it's a bit unfortunate but I've had some unforseen issues resulting in me needing to replace a lot of bearings, also my shocks were tired. Labour would of been loads. Good thing is p38's are easy to work on and cheap for parts
Click to expand...
I do all my own work too, impossible over here otherwise, no indy's and the LR dealers are not realy interested if you don't want to order an Ejoke or L405:)
 
Go for a car with full servicing history and try and buy from an enthusiast that has looked after it mechanically spot on.
Diesel Westminster..would be my 1st recommendation.
if you have to go petrol, all the above is still valid and I would try and get a Holland and Holland.
But as Data has said, they are a hobby and not a car..
 
V8 all the way, the diesels are way underpowered & no fun to drive.
V8 on LPG will be similar in running costs as a diesel.
V8's have their problems but we are talking about a P38 here so reliability is not a key factor anyway.
 
martynv8 said:
V8 all the way, the diesels are way underpowered & no fun to drive.
V8 on LPG will be similar in running costs as a diesel.
V8's have their problems but we are talking about a P38 here so reliability is not a key factor anyway.
Click to expand...

Nonsense, my chipped diesel has maybe just a little less bhp than a 4.0 petrol and the same torque. It is not slow by any stretch of the imagination. It is lots of fun to drive if you are normal and not a boy racer.
 
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