lil4399

lil4399

Active Member
Well my P38 experience is over I have decided enough is enough of what must be the worst car ever built. Unbelievably by Land Rover who make the greatest.

I have owned it for 4 years, got stung buying it - overheated on the way home! bought new: Radiator, Viscous fan, water pump, then eventually the head. It had a new engine at 80k but obviously cheap-skated on the rad etc so the head went.

ran ok for a year then had to change all the air bags.

had starting problems so new battery. cured for a while, but then they came back. recent issues, new alternator fitted 4 weeks ago. SRS light came on (intermittent at first) then "select neutral" - works in every gear, high and low range.

Last few days I have been under 3ft of snow and surprise surprise, the bastard will not start. The only time I REALLY need 4WD it will not start. Walk/dig through 8ft snow drifts on my lane to a main road and hitch lift to work.

So it is going.

Where I need help - what is a broken bag of ****e worth? which breakers will give the bet price? it has to be a breaker, I have a conscience, I will not sell this evil stress inducing spawn of Lucifer to someone to try and fix, it is the devil car and must be broken. But I need as much as poss to go back to a Defender so all suggestions gratefully accepted.
 
lil4399 said:
Well my P38 experience is over I have decided enough is enough of what must be the worst car ever built. Unbelievably by Land Rover who make the greatest.

I have owned it for 4 years, got stung buying it - overheated on the way home! bought new: Radiator, Viscous fan, water pump, then eventually the head. It had a new engine at 80k but obviously cheap-skated on the rad etc so the head went.

ran ok for a year then had to change all the air bags.

had starting problems so new battery. cured for a while, but then they came back. recent issues, new alternator fitted 4 weeks ago. SRS light came on (intermittent at first) then "select neutral" - works in every gear, high and low range.

Last few days I have been under 3ft of snow and surprise surprise, the bastard will not start. The only time I REALLY need 4WD it will not start. Walk/dig through 8ft snow drifts on my lane to a main road and hitch lift to work.

So it is going.

Where I need help - what is a broken bag of ****e worth? which breakers will give the bet price? it has to be a breaker, I have a conscience, I will not sell this evil stress inducing spawn of Lucifer to someone to try and fix, it is the devil car and must be broken. But I need as much as poss to go back to a Defender so all suggestions gratefully accepted.
Click to expand...
Apart from the head, none of that sounds serious, shame to break a MY 2000 car that should be easy to fix.
 
Your descion or the other halfs??

Shame to see a P38 that can be fixed go the breakers in the sky....flog it to be fixed...you'll get more that way than a breaker will give you!
 
I felt the same about mine p38s are defo like marmite either love em or hate em ! I hopefully going to carry on with mine for awhile but if you do find good breaker let me know just incase lol
 
and there me got rid of mine about 6 months ago and im after another one at mo keep looking and ecen the wife and my parents said they knew i would end up getting another lol
 
I understand that some owners get fed up with the constant repair costs overburdening the wallet - I have been there, but it is no reason to scrap them...pass them on the others who will not be so burdened, those that will fix them and put them back to former glory...

I understand there are some P38's that can't be saved due to terminal rot, major failure etc....but it seems a shame to just scrap them because you get bored/fed up/annoyed/broke....

Much like a pet - it is a responsible choice wether to take them on....like a pet, they will cost money when they need fixing....like a pet you as the owner take the responsibility to ensure it is fed and watered.....

Would you give a dog/cat/rabbit et al to the RSPCA just cos you are fed up with it...??? no....

Whenever a potential owner comes on here asking for advice I always tell them to think hard on if they are fully prepared to put up with the costs involved in running what was once a very expensive car, just cos you can pick them up for peanuts doesn't mean they will be peanuts to run, they will be expensive when they go wrong, which is frequent...and I try and forewarn people about this....but they are also brilliant vehicles and unsurpassed by few....

A Range Rover is for life, not just for Christmas....
 
Datatek said:
Apart from the head, none of that sounds serious, shame to break a MY 2000 car that should be easy to fix.
Click to expand...

Datatek,

You have been the greatest source of sanity for me in my battles against this Satan-Car. I would love to beat it but it has beaten me. I have a lot of stress at work, not knowing if I am going to get to work/between sites/home is one too many.

I have been working my way through all the threads on here re the "select neutral" to no avail, I know the SRS is a simple fix but to not have a reason for the non starting is beyond it. I went outside - just, jump leads to my battery (which is fully charged) and it cranked over for 10 seconds then it slowed down "traction failure" - the technical term for flat battery, put the charger on and yes, it flat. When I put the new alternator on, I took it and had the battery hooked up to a Snap-on tester, battery fine.

Forgot to mention the battery drains overnight because of (I suspect) the sub station on the power line post over the fence. so it spends every night hooked up to a charger.

It has just worn me down. Life is about knowing when you are beaten and walking away. That time is now for me with the P38.
 
They are not without constant problems, but they are dirt cheap to fix. I've had lots of problems with mine in 4 years but it has never let me down and the maintenance cost has been less then one years ownership of an Xtrail.
 
I still trying to work out if its a diesel he said head so I presume diesel its not even in profile so as to how much , who knows
 
lil4399 said:
Datatek,

You have been the greatest source of sanity for me in my battles against this Satan-Car. I would love to beat it but it has beaten me. I have a lot of stress at work, not knowing if I am going to get to work/between sites/home is one too many.

I have been working my way through all the threads on here re the "select neutral" to no avail, I know the SRS is a simple fix but to not have a reason for the non starting is beyond it. I went outside - just, jump leads to my battery (which is fully charged) and it cranked over for 10 seconds then it slowed down "traction failure" - the technical term for flat battery, put the charger on and yes, it flat. When I put the new alternator on, I took it and had the battery hooked up to a Snap-on tester, battery fine.

Forgot to mention the battery drains overnight because of (I suspect) the sub station on the power line post over the fence. so it spends every night hooked up to a charger.

It has just worn me down. Life is about knowing when you are beaten and walking away. That time is now for me with the P38.
Click to expand...
Battery going flat is likely to be the Rf receiver or the alternator.
SRS is low battery volts as are probably the other messages.
 
Saint.V8 said:
I understand that some owners get fed up with the constant repair costs overburdening the wallet - I have been there, but it is no reason to scrap them...pass them on the others who will not be so burdened, those that will fix them and put them back to former glory...

I understand there are some P38's that can't be saved due to terminal rot, major failure etc....but it seems a shame to just scrap them because you get bored/fed up/annoyed/broke....

Much like a pet - it is a responsible choice wether to take them on....like a pet, they will cost money when they need fixing....like a pet you as the owner take the responsibility to ensure it is fed and watered.....

Would you give a dog/cat/rabbit et al to the RSPCA just cos you are fed up with it...??? no....

Whenever a potential owner comes on here asking for advice I always tell them to think hard on if they are fully prepared to put up with the costs involved in running what was once a very expensive car, just cos you can pick them up for peanuts doesn't mean they will be peanuts to run, they will be expensive when they go wrong, which is frequent...and I try and forewarn people about this....but they are also brilliant vehicles and unsurpassed by few....

A Range Rover is for life, not just for Christmas....
Click to expand...

Saint,

If you look at the lines on the bottom of my posts, I have persevered with a duff car I got stiched with. I have not quibbled on the expense, every fault has been corrected - with new parts each time. I have put it in the garage for certain work - never complained about the cost, but this amount of stress is unhealthy.

Would I give up my dogs if they were ill? no have and will spend anything on them. Were they harrassing the local sheep and causing them stress and affecting their health - then they would go to the vet.

Four years of fighting the car is not a quick give up, it has drained me - mentally,I am not bothered by the finance, I am not one to quit easily but I know I am beaten.
 
lil4399 said:
Saint,

If you look at the lines on the bottom of my posts, I have persevered with a duff car I got stiched with. I have not quibbled on the expense, every fault has been corrected - with new parts each time. I have put it in the garage for certain work - never complained about the cost, but this amount of stress is unhealthy.

Would I give up my dogs if they were ill? no have and will spend anything on them. Were they harrassing the local sheep and causing them stress and affecting their health - then they would go to the vet.

Four years of fighting the car is not a quick give up, it has drained me - mentally,I am not bothered by the finance, I am not one to quit easily but I know I am beaten.
Click to expand...
Of that I am not disputing, and I am sorry for all your stress...I have been there with one of my P38's I had spent everything I had on it...I was getting further into debt because of it, so I sold it to another enthusiast...who took it on and as far as I know is still going strong...

What I said in post was - just becasue you have to let it go...don't scrap it, sell it as fixable...let someone else take on the repair costs....

What I was saying was far to many repairable P38's go to a breakers/scrap yard just because the previous owner has given up on it....

I urge you to sell it rather than scrap it...

Please don't think I was having a pop at you (or others) I was just saying don't scrap it!!
 
Saint

Datatek has given me dozens of tips over the years - its a 2.5dhse

I don't think you are having a pop, my reason for scrapping is Conscience, I could not face myself knowing I had passed on such a constantly troublesome car, causing the stress I am enduring to someone else.
 
lil4399 said:
Saint

Datatek has given me dozens of tips over the years - its a 2.5dhse

I don't think you are having a pop, my reason for scrapping is Conscience, I could not face myself knowing I had passed on such a constantly troublesome car, causing the stress I am enduring to someone else.
Click to expand...
Understood -

How about you try and sell it to someone on an enthusiasts site (like this one - or the Range Rovers Register - or advertise on a enthusiasts mag) as a good motor but has issues...being honest about it....see if you get any takers....if not then send it to the breakers....

It is well known I am a HUGE Range Rover fan and I die a little inside each time one goes to be scrapped un-necessarily....give it a fighting chance, then if no deal - scrap it.

Shame I don't have the money or space!
 
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