MikeV8SE

MikeV8SE

New Member
I went to look at a 1996/7 P-reg P38a today that's advertised for around £2,750 and naturally, as with every secondhand car, there's pro's and con's. It has had 7 owners from new, covered 160k miles with a FSH (19 stamps in the book) and is a 2.5 DSE. So, lets start with the good stuff:

- Bodywork is OK - its been used for shooting etc, so the mirrors are badly scraped and there's a dent in the rear 3/4, but most of the major panels are dent/scratch/rust free.
- Interior - very grubby but no rips or tears, leather looks OK too. Dash is filthy but will clean up OK.
- EAS - compressor has recently been replaced (non-genuine unit, is this a problem?) and new rear air springs - fronts apparently checked and OK. When I started it up it got up to 'normal' ride height very quickly, similarly it got to 'offroad' height quickly with no funny noises, and it lowered to 'motorway' mode on the test drive. It wasn't very low when I started it up, how much lower than 'normal' should it be, if at all? Front and rear were both sat level at all heights.
- BECM - the unit in the rear 3/4 that picks up radio remote signals has been replaced as it was picking up wireless interference and running the battery low.
- Fusebox has been replaced
- Battery was new in December
- Nice lot of extras - rubber floor mats, rubber boot map, dog guard and the standard Harmon Kardon stereo upgrade
- Tax and MOT until Jan/Feb 2012

OK, so now for the bad bits:

- Climate control system - air con and heater both seem to work fine BUT there's a little 'book' symbol in the bottom right hand corner or the screen; what does this mean and whats the fix?
- Steering - probably the biggest problem, it seemed to 'wander' across the road a lot, felt pretty vague at the front end. What could the cause be? It failed the MOT on radius arm bushes (front and rear) which have been replaced in order to pass the MOT. What else is there that 'commonly' goes wrong or should I budget for replacing?
- Need an oil service soon, last service was a 'big one' May last year. Could probably do this myself as the service book is now full so will have to keep my 'own' record from here on in anyway.
- Needs new front discs and pads but he may be replacing those anyway before it sells as they really are bad.

So, I'm consdering making an offer but needs to be for the right money, and I need to budget for fixing the items mentioned above - so how much do I need to leave in reserve to sort them?

If it helps, I'm no mechanic but happy to give most things a go and am not a complete novice at getting my hands dirty - brake change, oil service, etc should not be a problem.

Cheers for your help and advice!
 
im no expert but can give some info ive picked up while owning mine. The handbook symbol on the hevac means theres a fault and you would need to have the fault codes read. As with the steering it seems to be a thing with the p38, could be steering damper or maybe tyres. it seems a fair-ish price i would try and get some off with the work you want to carry out.
 
For the steering you need to have a look at the tyres. P38s are funny about their tyres. It might be that he's put some all terrains on for the shooting. That plus a steering damper, which is not part of the MOT, SHOULD sort you out. So, front tyres £300, damper £25.

The heater is the bigger problem. If everything is working then you might have a jammed flap or failed motor in the heater. Three motors about £180, the flap problem can be bodged very successfully, HOWEVER it's a pig of a job, even using all of the tricks that you'll find around here and RangeRover.net.

Do a second test drive, check the tyres and pressures if possible (28 on the front) and then push every button on the heater and see if the air direction changes correctly.

To be fair if the suspension works as it should, he does the brakes and you can get a bit off for some tyres and a good clean, it's not a bad deal. There are guys on here who have driven around with the cheque book symbol up for years.

Make sure you get the EKA code and budget for a spare key, an EAS lead from Datatek and a basic fault reader from BlackBox and you're in business.
 
HEVAC is most likely a blend motor, for the steering look at the drag link and track rod ends, a minute amount of play will cause the symptoms you describe and in my case even caused wheel wobble as if the wheels were out of balance.
 
362bkr said:
FULL service history would be 26 stamps in the book at 160k
Click to expand...

Hmm, I didn't pick up on that! Still, I'm happy its been serviced regularly enough to be fair.

juiceyv8 said:
shoulda kept the classic ya tart:p;)
Click to expand...

Not at 12mpg I wasn't!!

dogsbody said:
For the steering...
Click to expand...

Cheers dogsbody! I didn't really test the hevac system out, although I did notice it was blowing cold air on my feet so the air con works. If I go back I'll double check the whole system.

As for the steering, it has new tyres on the front and the car comes with a second set of steel wheels and mud terrain tyres (only 10% offroad bias though) which he used for shooting season, so these are really road tyres I guess. Couldn't tell you what make I'm afraid.

rewmer said:
Bid silly money or walk away.Way overpriced.
Click to expand...

Not really - you find an automatic DSE for sale for much less!

Datatek said:
HEVAC is most likely a blend motor, for the steering look at the drag link and track rod ends, a minute amount of play will cause the symptoms you describe and in my case even caused wheel wobble as if the wheels were out of balance.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks Datatek. Roughly how much would I be looking at for replacement track rod ends and drag links do you think?
 
MikeV8SE said:
Hmm, I didn't pick up on that! Still, I'm happy its been serviced regularly enough to be fair.



Not at 12mpg I wasn't!!



Cheers dogsbody! I didn't really test the hevac system out, although I did notice it was blowing cold air on my feet so the air con works. If I go back I'll double check the whole system.

As for the steering, it has new tyres on the front and the car comes with a second set of steel wheels and mud terrain tyres (only 10% offroad bias though) which he used for shooting season, so these are really road tyres I guess. Couldn't tell you what make I'm afraid.



Not really - you find an automatic DSE for sale for much less!



Ok, thanks Datatek. Roughly how much would I be looking at for replacement track rod ends and drag links do you think?
Click to expand...

Check out Island 4 x 4, Rimmer Bros, P38 spares for prices, lots of other suppliers if you google it.
 
I agree too expensive. bid £1500 and take it away as is. with the steering your going to need 2 track rod ends and check the wheel bearings too. as for the "book" symbol im guessing either your aircon gas is gone or you have a blocked vent motor. take it out for a spin again and check every button. see if its getting warm and getting cold from the dash.
 
MikeV8SE said:
I went to look at a 1996/7 P-reg P38a today that's advertised for around £2,750 and naturally, as with every secondhand car, there's pro's and con's. It has had 7 owners from new, covered 160k miles with a FSH (19 stamps in the book) and is a 2.5 DSE. So, lets start with the good stuff:

- Bodywork is OK - its been used for shooting etc, so the mirrors are badly scraped and there's a dent in the rear 3/4, but most of the major panels are dent/scratch/rust free.
- Interior - very grubby but no rips or tears, leather looks OK too. Dash is filthy but will clean up OK.
- EAS - compressor has recently been replaced (non-genuine unit, is this a problem?) and new rear air springs - fronts apparently checked and OK. When I started it up it got up to 'normal' ride height very quickly, similarly it got to 'offroad' height quickly with no funny noises, and it lowered to 'motorway' mode on the test drive. It wasn't very low when I started it up, how much lower than 'normal' should it be, if at all? Front and rear were both sat level at all heights.
- BECM - the unit in the rear 3/4 that picks up radio remote signals has been replaced as it was picking up wireless interference and running the battery low.
- Fusebox has been replaced
- Battery was new in December
- Nice lot of extras - rubber floor mats, rubber boot map, dog guard and the standard Harmon Kardon stereo upgrade
- Tax and MOT until Jan/Feb 2012

OK, so now for the bad bits:

- Climate control system - air con and heater both seem to work fine BUT there's a little 'book' symbol in the bottom right hand corner or the screen; what does this mean and whats the fix?
- Steering - probably the biggest problem, it seemed to 'wander' across the road a lot, felt pretty vague at the front end. What could the cause be? It failed the MOT on radius arm bushes (front and rear) which have been replaced in order to pass the MOT. What else is there that 'commonly' goes wrong or should I budget for replacing?
- Need an oil service soon, last service was a 'big one' May last year. Could probably do this myself as the service book is now full so will have to keep my 'own' record from here on in anyway.
- Needs new front discs and pads but he may be replacing those anyway before it sells as they really are bad.

So, I'm consdering making an offer but needs to be for the right money, and I need to budget for fixing the items mentioned above - so how much do I need to leave in reserve to sort them?

If it helps, I'm no mechanic but happy to give most things a go and am not a complete novice at getting my hands dirty - brake change, oil service, etc should not be a problem.

Cheers for your help and advice!
Click to expand...

wouldn't go anymore than 1900 the amount of work there is to do,and the fact it is grubby,tells me it may of been neglected,i would look around for another one,there are plenty out there,so finding a better one should not be difficult.
 
Don't know without seeing it but it seems to have had all the major stuff covered like the crappy-sorry eas done, the fusebox and remote arial, as for the rest if it just needs a service and a set of discs/pads thats easy stuff, if it were me I would take it out for an hour and really drive it (be worth putting in 20 quid of fuel) check everything electrical and see how it really acts on the road, might even be worth giving it a quick power hose to see how it would clean up. I would rather start with something that is mechanically sound and needs a good clean than a clean one thats falling to bits underneath and not been properly maintained although service stamps are not everything as like a lot of guys I would rather service it myself. If in any doubt walk away I'm sure your experienced enough to spot a lemon.
Davie
 
OK, the plot thickens, so here goes...

Spare key - he had a new one cut and coded in by Land Rover when he bought the car.

Brakes - he's ordered new front discs and pads today, they're being fitted this week.

Steering/front end - his mechanic drove it this morning, has said he thinks the front end just needs 'tightening up a bit' and will do this when he fits the brakes this week. What does this mean? Just requires an allen key and a 16mm spanner/socket I am told!

HEVAC - apparently it shouldn't be the blend motors as he had those replaced around 12-18 months ago, full dashboard-out job. Will ask the mechanic to put it on his diagnostics equipment when it goes in to investigate further. If not the blend motors, what else could cause the book of doom to appear on the dash?

Currently, I'm inclined to agree with DavieF - for my use I need a mechanically sound car, not a mint show car - so yes the bodywork is a little tatty and the interior filthy, but it genuinely sounds like the guy has had everything fixed when it needs to be! So all it'll need is an oil service, which I can do myself anyway - and would probably do anyway for piece of mind.

So taking the fact that it's had nearly every major problem already fixed, it is becoming a more tempting proposition. What you reckon guys? Worth a punt at £2,100-£2,200?
 
dkl1971 said:
2100/220 starting at around 1800 giving you a bit of "give" should they want to negotiate.
Click to expand...

It's up for £2,750, so below £2k is almost certainly out but we'll see!

Be interested to see what everyone thinks given the info above too :)
 
personally i think thats a lot of money for that car. there are loads of them over there in the UK you should have the pick of the bunch. buyers market so just be prepared to walk away if the price aint right.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
MOT Failed
Replies
3
Views
730
Datatek
Datatek
feyniriel
P38 alarm and immobilizer problems
2 3
Replies
42
Views
1K
Datatek
Datatek
C
Suspension issues, driving me mad
Replies
1
Views
358
Graculus
Graculus
Thewilbury
Back in a landy
Replies
6
Views
329
Grrrrrr
Grrrrrr
pwood999
P38A Drivetrain Whine on acceleration & deceleration
Replies
19
Views
922
pwood999
pwood999