After hanging around here for quite a while, mostly reading but ocasionally adding my 2 peneth I have finally bought..............a Jeep 2.7 CRD Grand Cherokee.
To be honest its all thanks to you guys. I looked high and low for a good DSE/DHSE but everything I saw (for my budget) was either beaten to death with farm work/off roading. Or had a list of faults as long as your arm! Or was too old for the money (96 P plates for 4k etc!)
At least thanks to you folks I knew what to look for so thanks for that...and I really mean it. I think the decision was largely made, to buy something else, due to the lack of reliabilty, or at least thats how it seems looking at this forum and my own experience viewing lots of P38s with faults.
I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD (that the same Merc 5 cyl engine you find in Merc E270's and thrashed sprinter vans!) for £3800 on a 53 plate (2004 model so one of the last WJ models) 85k miles and history. I was trying hard to avoid the old 138bhp 3.1 TD that gets sold for the same money but has near RR DSE levels of economy and power (ie not much!!). Nearly the size/ usefulness of the RR. 163 bhp (easily chipped to 200) and 295 flb of torque. In the 4 months I have had it nothing has broken/ fallen off! Im averaging 30 mpg commuting and 34-36 on a run. Pretty good for a 2.25 ton auto.
Dont get me wrong. I still aspire to own a RR and when funds allow I WILL get a RR, prob a L322 as these (from experience of the ones my work owns- 108000 miles in 3 years and no real probs!)) seem slightly more reliable. And the prices are falling like stones on the earlier ones. In the mean time i will still be watching and learning!! Have fun people!

PS The one prob with the new car is the forums. The best one is Jeepforum.com but its still rubbish compared to here and is mainly yanks!

Well, as a Yank who drives a Landy I will quietly say, "Good choice.", but too bad it didn't come with the straight six.

Let the flamage begin!:flame:

West Slope Rover said:

Well, as a Yank who drives a Landy I will quietly say, "Good choice.", but too bad it didn't come with the straight six.

Let the flamage begin!:flame:

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The later ones do (well a V6 but near enough) as well as 215 bhp, 376 ftlb or torque and better mpg but well out of my price bracket!

My bosses wife has an 06-reg Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD and he has a P38 as a winter/tip car - the Jeep did ok in the snow 2 years ago, apart from skidding down a hill into some cars, but that hill was black ice so slippery you couldn't stand on it!!

Personally, having driven both you don't get the same feeling in the Jeep as you do in the RR - but the Jeep is the one they drive down to the Alps everytime, although that may be because it's a diesel and the P38 is a V8!!

posts like this make me even more chuffed with mine, had a long search and saw a few 4x4`s and pondered all the options inc jeep, heres the 96 dse i bought for 2250 inc an extra set of 18" hurricane alloys like new with superb tyres !! (£400 id maybe get on ebay for them?,not for sale mind)

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/here-she-my-new-range-rover-p38-dse-164927.html

seeing and going in mine,my mates now wanting one, saw a couple of the other day and today we went to see a year 2000 one, 4 years newer than mine, 35k more miles, auto, and mine was in much all round nicer conditon, all the walnut dash/console trim was shagged, all peeling and looked rubbish, chassis and underneath was quite flakey, 3 of the air bags looked ropey, and it was £4000 !!! cruise control didnt work, air con didnt work, 1 of the rear door central locking didnt engage, better sound system in mine, my interior was nicer, less leather wear, general interior plastics were more worn and marked than mine,more scratches here n there, double the price of mine and mine was a lot nicer condition and a better range rover all day long

my mate was a bit shocked really, after giving it the "yeah its 4grand , 4 years newer, etc etc etc, and i was quite smug and also made me even more pleased with my one and at half the price !!!!

The Grand Cherokee looks great value and I'd actually decided to buy one. I thought I'd just do a quick google for recalls before buying a lovely looking V8 in silver about 10 miles away. I didn't like the debate about whether the fuel tank's location was causing too many fire deaths so I bought a Rangie.

good choice , better than a rr for the money wel er and all together really

The Merc V6 diesel is a pretty decent engine, far far better than the 2.5 in the P38. Nowt wrong with Jeeps. I think the interiors are a bit nasty but they are pretty solid and very good value. Dunno how you were being offered '96s for £4K. I paid £2K for a mint (thor) 2000 4.6.

StuckAgainSteve said:

The Merc V6 diesel is a pretty decent engine, far far better than the 2.5 in the P38. Nowt wrong with Jeeps. I think the interiors are a bit nasty but they are pretty solid and very good value. Dunno how you were being offered '96s for £4K. I paid £2K for a mint (thor) 2000 4.6.

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Agreed! I could have bought about a dozen petrol RR's for about £4.38 each !! (Joke) but the diesels (god ones at least) seem to command quite a premium (round here at least). Petrol at £6.50 a gallon probably!!

The jeep is not a bad choice the only downside (in my opion) is that it will never make you feel like a king when you drive it ,the way a rr does.

The 2011 Grand Cherokee is supposed to be a cracker, beautifully supple ride and good off-road. I'll probably get one when they drop below the £15K mark - just don't like the look of the L322s - hope they grow on me.

362bkr said:

The jeep is not a bad choice the only downside (in my opion) is that it will never make you feel like a king when you drive it ,the way a rr does.

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this !

Leased a new 5.7 Hemi Commander a few years back. Superb engine but when I handed it back (12 month contract) bits of trim were falling off and despite being looked after you would have thought it was much older.

They're just not screwed together as well as a RR. Just a shame that Hemi engine doesn't go in a Rangie (cheaply) coz its a cracker.

Great buys in todays second hand market they are givin em away.

Just hope you don't need to buy any bits. That's when you will need a mortgauge.

alfaitalia said:

I think the decision was largely made, to buy something else, due to the lack of reliabilty, or at least thats how it seems looking at this forum.

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Although to be fair most people only come on to post when they need help with a problem. Posters like Polsta are few and far between, they're usually out driving their cars!

i agree about the problem thing

any car can go wrong, a luxury 4x4 thats not been well maintained, could go more wrong, but ones that have been looked after ?

my 96 seems pretty decent, wel see how it goes

went to see a 2000 yesterday... 1 air bag had been replaced, 3 looked lvery dry,brittle,cracking all around...i have no idea how they last and go,all the walnut trim inside was knackered,cracked,peeling,manual gear box didnt sound that great, 165k, ...if you paid the 4k for it, wouldnt be long before problems arrose, them 3 air bags might go ? air con, cc, some other electrics were iffy, seemed like one that was in midst of problems and more would arrise

i dont truly know how p38 ownership will go, but ive spoke to owners of them, a mate up the road has got one, ive tried to buy it from him, he said its been reliable, not driven to death or abused, he uses it for the odd weekend towing, said find a good one, look after it, it will serve you well, find a ****ter...youl have problems

so wel see, just pray mines a good one, where mines a 96 and had good owners by the look of it,im hoping its had things go wrong and been replaced and sorted out, rather than them things comming up now for my time of ownership

one thing i do know, range rovers look so much better and feel better to own than most other 4x4s and british too

fortgrange said:

Leased a new 5.7 Hemi Commander a few years back. Superb engine but when I handed it back (12 month contract) bits of trim were falling off and despite being looked after you would have thought it was much older.

They're just not screwed together as well as a RR. Just a shame that Hemi engine doesn't go in a Rangie (cheaply) coz its a cracker.

Great buys in todays second hand market they are givin em away.

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hemis are my fave engine.

Had a nice 5.7 hemis in canada the other year, did 2000 miles in 2 weeks- lovely!