Advice for a noob

OK. So I've been patiently watching the adverts, and a nice late P38 has come up, in the colour of choice, with low k's and supposedly a FSH too.

I've only had a cursory glance round at it, but it's not 100% on the outside. There's some stress marks on the rear bumper - so it's obviously had a prang of some sort, and whilst generally pretty tidy, is not perfect.

Asking price is $21k. From what I've seen so far with similar cars sold interstate,it seems to be about right, what's everyones thoughts?

Mick.

Buy it, live it, love it. Learn its weaknesses and overcome.

You can fix those irritating faults yourself. Dealers will rip you off.

'nuff said.

Cheers, Paul

Cheers Paul.

Looks like from the lack of general response that it's going to be one of those hard decisions - take the risk - or hold out for something better?

I'm going to view it on Friday, and have a good poke about - any advice on specifics to look for?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by T34

OK. So I've been patiently watching the adverts, and a nice late P38 has come up, in the colour of choice, with low k's and supposedly a FSH too.

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How late is 'late'? I'd say that would be top dollar for a 2002MY.
A few more $$ & you're into LM (Mk III, L322) territory.

The rear bumper takes about 2 minutes to remove if the seller will let you have a look at what's behind it.

Scott, I'm not sure of exact year - but I think it's a 2000MY. Most of these I've seen are about $15k, but the prices seem to go up for FSH and low K's. $20k seems about right from what I've seen for sale for a top grade one, but at that price, with the bumper ding, I know that it's definitely no bargain. That said - $20k is what I've seen similar put up for sale at - but not necessarily what they sold for.

It's hard for me to make that judgement call on the value, after all I've only been watching them for a couple of months, and they don't come up for sale too often.

i'm going to go take a look at L322's - never bothered looking before as I thought they were out of my price range. But if they are only a tad more, I might hold out. The longer I wait - the more I can afford.

Send a PM to Catch-22 on here. He's just been through this process with the later model RR & ended up with a nice V8 2002MY (I think).
Just be careful with these though - while the BMW V8 is a very sweet motor, some of them have problems too.

I viewed the P38 on Friday, took it for a spin, and all seems well - turns out it's a one owner car, which was a nice surprise, and the history is a full main dealer service history. It's a 2001 model and has been well looked after and is generally very straight and clean. The worrying rear bumper damage is little more than a parking knock.

All of the things I could remember to check for worked - air suspension, climate control, electric gizmos, and it also drove nice and tight with no creaks rattles or other anomalies.

I also had a bit of a search for L322's, but couldn't find anything below 30k. Most seem to start at about $35k, and trying to find a relatively low miles + FSH pushes it up just that little bit too much $$-wise.

So given the choice between the best of an older model and the shabbiest of a newer model - I've decided to go with the P38. I've bought out of my price range before (back when I was a lot younger and less wise) all I ended up with was a money-pit. Hopefully buying the best P38 I could find will mean that there should be less surprises.

I pick it up in a few weeks, which should give me some time to sort out some later alloys for it, which will be my one indulgence.

So - if anyone wants to buy a '71 SWB Series 3 Ute (otherwise known as the 'rat-rover' ) Mine is now up for sale.

Thanks for everyone who offered advice, no doubt I will be back asking lots more P38 type questions - old cars seem to have a habit of keeping you occupied. :)

Mick.

I think you have made the right choice, best of the last and by your description it sound worth the money. One owner and full dealer history is hard to find.
A little while ago there was a brand spanking new bumper on e-bay, NSW. If you are thinking of renewal keep your eyes peeled.

Dont forget to post some pics