I've owned my p38 for about 6 months, and am starting to understand how these cars are put together, what I need to do to fix them, and why they are so popular as forever cars.
So my question is, are all the later models built with the same 'all components serviceable with the right attitude' or did they become more disposable modules like the rest of the car industry?

Half of me wants to keep this p38 for a long time, while the other half is saying - buy a 5 yrs old model and grow old with it - ensuring it stays serviced. However, is that possible with the same type of engineering approach, or is it more plug and pay in a modern Range Rover?

The p38 is pretty much the last one you fix with an hammer and determination. Is why we have them. I can get the same engine in an L322 yet although similar id need to be a different, richer and more electric gizmo mental.

Think this best describes owning a newer modelled Range Rover, lol

If you can't weld don't buy a Classic.
Apart from that they're basically a big boy's meccano set and armed with the factory manual & some tools you can pretty much take the whole thing and its various components apart without too much difficulty - including the bodywork as most of the panels including the roof are bolted on.

It depends where you live. Here in Australia, unless you have been using your classic/disco etc for putting the boat in and out every weekend, then rust won't really be an issue, so the need for welding skills diminishes.

A LR specialist Indie who does some work for me from time to time (jobs that I can't realistically do in the garage of the block of units I live in) made the comment to me that the P38 was the last of the reliable trucks they see, anything after that is usually an electrical nightmare and whilst fixable, costs a fortune for the owners every time it stops working. A major issue with the later models is the interconnectivity of systems, so if one system goes on holiday, it takes several others with it. You may not see the fault in the original and spend a day chasing a fult in a secondary system, until you realise there is actually nothing wrong with that system and the fault is an "unrelated" issue elsewhere.

Pretty much all modern cars can be an electrical nightmare. Far too many unnecessary driver aids !! Common bus ECU's also create hard to find issues when the fault displayed is due to a different ECU entirely because communications aren't working.

My son's 2008 Jag XF keeps suffering broken wires in any loom that needs to flex. The PVC has become brittle, and the copper inside seems far too thin. We spent many hours finding a failed boot release issue. Central locking was also disabled because the car thought the boot was open. 2 broken wires in the boot loom!

pwood999 said:

Pretty much all modern cars can be an electrical nightmare. Far too many unnecessary driver aids !! Common bus ECU's also create hard to find issues when the fault displayed is due to a different ECU entirely because communications aren't working.

My son's 2008 Jag XF keeps suffering broken wires in any loom that needs to flex. The PVC has become brittle, and the copper inside seems far too thin. We spent many hours finding a failed boot release issue. Central locking was also disabled because the car thought the boot was open. 2 broken wires in the boot loom!

Click to expand...

This is exactly my worry with too much emphasis on electronics - wires degrade, as my work on old motorbikes taught me, never mind what happens to the boards!

So, if the P38 is the best car I can hope to get, I guess I need to look after it!

Thanks to everyone for their feedback!