toomuchtime said:

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I apologise in advance for using the following language on this site....but on Monday night I went to look at a Rexton ...going back on Saturday to test drive !

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Omigod!! I'm going to take off my RR tinted glasses for a minute and put you straight on something. The Rexton is by far the worst 4x4 I've ever driven. One of the clients I work for has 2 rextons, 5 Sorentos and 1 L200 for their staff. I've had the misfortune to have spent a good bit of time in each of them.

The L200 is great old bus, does exactly what it says on tin, uncomfortable but tough and honest. Its only downfall is a terrible turning circle.

The Sorento is cheap and cheerful, quick, very willing engine but bad plastics and more than a bit bouncy, not too bad though.
The Rexton is awful! Its got every toy you could want inside it, a 6 disc front loading blaupunkt cd changer even but the plastics are really cheap. Its got seven seats but none are comfortable. Its traction control is terribly intrusive. But none of these are a show stopper. What kills it for me is how dangerous it is on Irish roads. It suffers terribly from bump steer. Now I'm not talk axle tramp or patter you get with a live axle LR. I'm talking serious change of direction when the suspension travels through its movement. I went over a hump back bridge at 55mph that my old E200 merc used do at 70mph without acknowledging and the RRC and P38 dismiss at 60 but the Rexton needed the whole road to recover from. If there had been anything coming the other way I was toast. After that incident I drove it as little as I could and then with treppidation. Talked to the other guys who drive it regularly and its the same. They've all had 'moments' in them. If Ralph Nader was still on the go he'd have a field day with this one.
They're only fit for posing.
The manufacturer has given them a 3,500kg towing weight capacity for UK and Ireland.
This is a salesmans pitch and is possibly criminal. There is no way they are fit for it. Toyota only rate the Landcruiser at 2,800kg and it is a far superior vehicle in every aspect. FFS the hilux is rated at 2,250kg. In Australia the Rexton is only rated for 2,300kg. Thats more like it. Coming from someone who has towed all sorts of weights for thousands of miles but also totaled a LWB Landcruiser while towing a 3 tonne mini-digger I can tell you there is a hell of a difference between towing 3,500kg and 2,300kg.

I know it will be cheap, and maybe all you want is a lump of metal a few extra inches of the ground but there are far, far better options out there. I'd even drive a freelander before a Rexton!!
Give it a month or 2 and 4x4's will have dropped in price again once people have forgotten the ice and are faced with taxing their cars again.
What is your budget?

Mines a UK import too. Didn't even consider buying an Irish one. As the guys say above you'll never get a good spec on an Irish one. Mine has the full HSE spec, Sunroof, HK stereo the lot. Cream leather seats (mind you they're a bit off cream by now )
If the leather seats are ripped at 120k then I would be suspicious.

Just don't but a flippin Rexton. If the P38 sounds like a PITA go for a Disco II, they're a nice bus too.

SSang Yong Rexton..the name just about sums it up. S'pose if you really must have a 4X4 for small money (In the UK anyway), go for it.
Doubt very much if you will get the spares and support to the same extent that the LR models offer. As Spud says, if you want something different to a Rangie..get a Disco..my advice is though, for what it's worth..go shopping accross the water if you want quality and not something that has been used as a mobile rubbish skip.

.....its only me !
thought id open the door slightly to see who was there...was'nt expecting spud h to throw in a flippin hand grenade .
even if i do buy a rexton now - ill get the front windscreen black tinted , in case i meet any of ye
this purchase is mainly for camping weekends + drive to south france.
Current cars , mine -audi tt 225 quattro + 96 bmw convertible ..... (we're not big people). wife has bmw 316....grand,had it in france last year,but fairly squashed.
So originaly was goin to trade convertible since it didnt get much use...and get RR (98/ 99), wouldnt be used every day. To move up in years for 4x4 , i got a garage that might take my tt....for a rexton.
05 ,base model, 2.7 without leather. Good reviews on net, spoke to few people and until now ...got no bad feed back

landcruiser still big money...im not too gone on disco, also looked at
suzuki grand v. jeep cherokeeeee, mitzi sport, nissan patrol....
...it is to be a few more inches off the ground, stretch out a bit and cruise on motorway...pulling power not important, speed not important

GONE TO GET BOTTLE OF WINE

Check out what you can get in a Grand Cherokee, they're a lot of car for the money and would seem to fit your requirements. The Cherokee is decent but a bit small inside. Same with the Grand Vitara, they're a really good jeep but you might find them a bit small. Mitzi sport is a dog, same with Nissan Terrano - absolute dog. Pathfinder is good value though. If you find the P38 a bit rough you've no business looking at a Patrol, they're really good at what they are a tough, cheap workhorse. On the Rexton reviews check out What Car, its a bit closer to the truth. The other thing about people writing internet reviews is that if its your their jeep they're not really going to have a whole lot to compare it to, You'll probaly find that the demograph of rexton buyers is dominated by first jeep buyers.
There's a very good reason the Landcruisers are still big money, and will always be, the boring b*stard of things are bomb proof. We Irish seem to value reliability above style and character.

BTW, I can't believe you found the P38 small on the inside. Again based on previous jeeps the P38 is one of the best packaged and roomiest. At work, the P38 is the first one people go for when it comes to ferrying them around.

Hi guys

Just spotted this thread - am currently in Kerry just outside Tralee.

Currently using my old but reliable (ish) Disco II TD5 auto. So far so (reasonably) good. Was able to move all my neighbours up and down our steep hill the last Sunday we had the snow here when they couldn't get up or down themselves.

Did have a 98 P38 DSE back in 2003, but was a pain at the time and handed it back to the garage within 2 months - my own fault for buying from a bombsite garage.

Will be looking for another RR in the future but this time will go for an early L322, or thats the plan anyway.

The wife was talking about using the Disco for the scrappage scheme to get herself a Hyundai i10 - sweet jesus no hunny i can't even get into an i10 unless i remove the front seats and drive from the back.

Anyway it be good to know others in Ireland with a P38 and see how they're getting on.

Cheers

Pat

hi pateire

im in dingle but there is another member on here from tralee also. he is going to set up a club soon. you should join up and we can all discuss problems etc so we can avoid being raped by the main "stealer"!!

P38_Ireland said:

im in dingle

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hi mate, is fungus still about?

GRATCH said:

hi mate, is fungus still about?

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fungus? no mate he moved on years ago. but "FUNGI" is still here

yep thats the fella. was over there a coupla years ago fer a mates wedding in tralee and took a trip down the penninsula. lovely scenery you got round there

yep! hence why we need range rovers during the cold snap! lol

joking aside im not from here but it is an amazing place though

Hey all, Irish owner, Corkonian (complete newbie!) Just bought a 2000 DHSE 2 weeks ago. just did the heated seat fix over the weekend, easy:frusty:
have small coolant leak...
Temp gauge showing colder than should be...
SRS fault light (my own doing:suspicious

So feeling pretty much like one of that gang at the moment

I want to start doing my own servicing but with the coolant leak and the srs fault light needing reset, does anyone know someone good (and cheap!!!) in the south that'll do this work for me?

any help really appreciated, feels good to get it out:blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla:

drscoundrel said:

Hey all, Irish owner, Corkonian (complete newbie!) Just bought a 2000 DHSE 2 weeks ago. just did the heated seat fix over the weekend, easy:frusty:
have small coolant leak...
Temp gauge showing colder than should be...
SRS fault light (my own doing:suspicious

So feeling pretty much like one of that gang at the moment

I want to start doing my own servicing but with the coolant leak and the srs fault light needing reset, does anyone know someone good (and cheap!!!) in the south that'll do this work for me?

any help really appreciated, feels good to get it out:blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla:

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A fellow corkonian, Welcome to the fold ye langer . Only got delivery of my p38 at the week end. This place is great for knowledge & **** taking:welcome2:

drscoundrel said:

Hey all, Irish owner, Corkonian (complete newbie!) Just bought a 2000 DHSE 2 weeks ago. just did the heated seat fix over the weekend, easy:frusty:
have small coolant leak...
Temp gauge showing colder than should be...
SRS fault light (my own doing:suspicious

So feeling pretty much like one of that gang at the moment

I want to start doing my own servicing but with the coolant leak and the srs fault light needing reset, does anyone know someone good (and cheap!!!) in the south that'll do this work for me?

any help really appreciated, feels good to get it out:blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla:

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Re coolant leak if it is only a small one, do you have a wet carpet by your left foot on the transmission tunnel

jsut done mine, but also buggered up the srs fault at the same time..:doh:

Cavey_P38 said:

Re coolant leak if it is only a small one, do you have a wet carpet by your left foot on the transmission tunnel

jsut done mine, but also buggered up the srs fault at the same time..:doh:

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coolant leak seems to be very small and only leaking when the jeep is running. it's right up the front left, just to the left side of the rad. there seems to be a fan!!! of some sort down there and you can visibly see the coolant in drips. i know it cld be coming from anywhere
would love to know if you guys know anyone down sunny south eire that cld help
i need to start doing these things myself but i just don't know enough yet

do Jeeps have leaky heaters anorl?

Best guy in Munster is Paddy Buckley, Ballysimon Motors, Ballysimon Cross, Dromahane, Mallow, 087 2514409. He will be able to reset the fault no prob. He will advise you to replace the rad, but will not do it if you don't use an OEM replacement radiator.

P38_Ireland said:

hi pateire

im in dingle but there is another member on here from tralee also. he is going to set up a club soon. you should join up and we can all discuss problems etc so we can avoid being raped by the main "stealer"!!

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Thanks for that. Sounds interesting. What kind of club will it be? Meeting up and offroad days? That would be good to get together with others.

Don't even get me started on the local main stealers Who can even justify €250 for a new key when i broke the buttons on mine - I'll just stick to turning the key in the lock for now thanks

Pat

send spudH a PM and he will take your details im sure

pateire said:

Thanks for that. Sounds interesting. What kind of club will it be? Meeting up and offroad days? That would be good to get together with others.

Pat

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Ha Ha!! iwas thinking more along the lines of group therapy