Hi chilliman - welcome

So you are thinking of taking the plunge on a used P38 Range Rover (no surprise that you have some concerns - its only natural when buying these cars)

My experience with the P38 wasn't all plain sailing BUT I still liked the car enough to keep driving it for 3 years before replacing it for a L322.

I had a 97/P reg 2.5 DHSE and covered 30K miles during the time I owned it. Within weeks of buying it, the dreaded suspension failure message flashed up upon the dash, but it was repaired by the independant dealer under warranty. A few months went by then I had a wet patch appear on the front footwell - Heater Matrix/Pipe had gone pop - already I was beginning to lose my patience with it - but again the dealer repaired the fault (this involved removing the whole dashboard which looked horrendous when I saw it mid repair). Sure enough it was fixed and away I went. Another couple of months went by - SUSPENSION FAILURE warning light appeared again.

Looking back I was ashamed at my behavior but I drove straight to the dealer and went ape in front of him, his staff and his customers - my patience had ended and made it crystal clear that I was not happy with the car he had sold me - things got a bit ugly but once I had my moment he agreed that something had to be sorted out (the 6 month warranty had ended by this time).

Give him his due - he offered to fix the fault if I paid for the parts (at cost - £1500 for valve packs, assorted regulators and suspension bags etc.) Basically along with the original suspension fault repair I had a completely new suspension system - fitted by his team of fully trained Aston Martin race technicians!

From then on I didnt have a single fault with it and continued to own/drive it for 2 more years.

My point is I think it is just as important to buy these cars from reputable specialists who know these cars inside out rather than used car traders that buy their shiny stock from auctions or anywhere and everywhere

Good luck with your search for the right car

Helpful info, thank you. It's comforting to know you had 2 years trouble free motoring from it. The one I was looking at "All Cars Come With 7 Days Free Insurance, Warranty And HPI Certificate Upon Request." I suppose for 7k it should really have a warranty included for the money. I have been told by a couple of friends in the motor trade to avoid the P38 at all costs but they look nice lol.

It's a shame LR didn't make them better at the time, it's amazing they didn't go out of business considering just how bad some people make them sound

I just got hold of a RAVE CD for the P38 and L322 so I shall have a look at that now.

Discovery and Defender (and early Freelander!) saved them while the accident that was the P38a tried its hardest to prove that Land Rover couldn't deal with complex electronics. Luckily BMW came along and the L322 was born  Land Rover Addict
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2009 5.0V8SC Autobiography
2006 4.2V8SC Autobiography
2004 4.4V8 Vogue

My Dad had a 2.5DT and it was definitely the worst car he ever had, it was also So basic! He had a friend who bought brand new P38's he had 3 I think, and even from new they had issues like being locked out of the car in France and it having to be dragged onto a recovery truck and taken back to the UK. It was one problem after another.

For those who'd come from the Classic though it seem so advanced overall, but looking back on it now, I would not have one 2nd hand, there's just too much risk involved. Remember that the P38A was basically a test bed for all the new innovations they wanted to bring to the L322 model, such as air suspension etc. Most things were ironed out by the time the L322 came along. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

chilliman wrote:

MICK wrote:

For £11k you could get this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...?logcode=p

Nice, apart from the blue leather, cream is what I'd want, looks classy

I was about to start looking at diesels next as I have ruled them out due to being sluggish.

Oi newbie - less of the comments about blue leather and diesels!  2010 MY Vogue SE TDV8 3.6 Stornoway Grey- fully loaded

Isn't that why the P38 was replaced so quickly?
BMW took over and though "my god, we can't sell these things to customers!"
The P38 life span was incredibly short for a Range Rover.

The difference between a P38 and an L322 is huge and i would wait, save or borrow the extra money and get an L322.

The cost overall will probally be the same due to maintanance costs, grief and enjoyment levels etc...

Dont know any former P38 owners who didnt have problems etc

L322s Only

noddy wrote:

chilliman wrote:

MICK wrote:

For £11k you could get this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...?logcode=p

Nice, apart from the blue leather, cream is what I'd want, looks classy

I was about to start looking at diesels next as I have ruled them out due to being sluggish.

Oi newbie - less of the comments about blue leather and diesels!

+1 I like the blue!! I had it on my TD6 with cream piping. Sounds awful and needs seeing in the flesh. Looked great!

MICK wrote:

For £11k you could get this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...?logcode=p

Found a pic or two of the blue leather in my old TD6....

I bought a BMW 530i SE Touring in the end on a 2000 X with full leather, widescreen sat nav, tv, electric memory seats, auto wipers, power adjust steering wheel, dual zone climate, auto dim mirror, etc. Not quite a RR but still very nice and stupidly comfy

At least you'll spend less time in the garage or on the hard shoulder. P38's are a labour of love

I had a P38 4.6 on gas.
My word was it costly.
EAS twice at £500/£700 then changed to springs £790
Two water pumps.
Massive lock issues. Worst when it wouldn't start outside of standsted airport drop off!!!
Various trips to reset various ECUs.
Water pump went think that fried the head. Sold after that repair.
Total bills well over three and a half thousand bar the service and LPG conversion!!!
Not bad for two and half years. 15MY SDV8 Vogue SE

save your money and go for a l322, only talking for my self but the p38 looks dated..how about a l322 with front damage and have 2007 or even 2010 race lift on it... V8 facelift Range Rover Autobiography 22" wheels.
1976 Harley Davidson Iron Head Sportster

Quote:

I bought a BMW 530i SE Touring in the end on a 2000 X with full leather, widescreen sat nav, tv, electric memory seats, auto wipers, power adjust steering wheel, dual zone climate, auto dim mirror, etc. Not quite a RR but still very nice and stupidly comfy Very Happy