Thread: Want to Get a p38

Hi Wyll
I have owned a few cars over the years, and since owning my p38 ( bout 3 months now) I have forgotten every car I have ever owned. There is something about these rigs that let you know the first time you take it for a test drive if you are gonna love it. If you don't feel it, then it may not be for you. My wife is not usually into cars, but she got the same buzz as soon as she drove our p 38.
As for juice, mine uses about 14.5 ltrs to 100k around town and about 13 on the highway. I don't push it. I am not a mechanic but enjoy working on this car. Mostly just service stuff till now, oils etc, and a bit of cosmetics. For comfort they are the ducks guts, and mine is on standard height springs, (EAS let me down 4 weeks in, it was so unpleasant it's not happening again). The bags were a bit sloppy on corners, and weavy at speed for my liking, and I really like the way the car feels and responds on coils. Firm and direct, but not rough at all.
Compare what you will get for 7k and 10k. I'd spent 10k if it's a pearler, because for my money you will get a lot of car for the dough.
I usually change my cars every 2 years, but I don't see another type taking this ones place. It is simply the most enjoyable car I have ever owned.
Hope this helps.

Cheers

For $10k you might get something that needs a few grand put into it. I'd budget $14k and change all the fluids once you got it. For that money you should get one with EAS that's been fixed up - they are getting to that age where bags are perishing and things need work.

I'm on my fifth now, about to buy it.

It has only done 135k kms and the owner is a pneumatic engineer, so the suspension is tip top, as is the steering.

I drove it and was astonished by the ride compared to the previous four (one on coils).

It drives like a car (almost), taking bends beautifully.

However, there is a vibration at 100km which I think is the front prop shaft. There are also several other niggling faults ..... and he wants top dollar (actually top Dirham). For a car in very very good condition.

Whatever you do, try not to but one with "just a few little things to fix" because yo don't know where that path will lead.

Good luck.

They are an addictive car for sure. Since selling my blue 99 P38, I have been doing a lot of odd jobs on my wife's 00 HSE like changing the radiator, cooling hoses, shocks and steering dampner... which means I need to use the car for a few days after to make sure all is ok

You will get a P38 for under $10k. Go private rather than dealer so you can speak with the owner and get a sense from him/her of how they treated it.
If they haven't taken care of the air suspensions, count on changing the air springs (about $1k for a set of Gen III's from Arnotts), doing the o-rings in the valve block and seal on the compressor.

Other than that, it is a Rover V8 and should not pose much of a challenge for a mechanic. Parts are quite cheap if you know where to look... you've had a Disco so you probably know all the usual suppliers.

Go for a 99+ model if possible... better Engine Management System, 4W Traction Control, seat airbags. Pre-99 had the GEMS EMS and 2W TC.

Last bit of advice is to spend another $500 and get a Nanocom Evolution from Blackbox Solutions which will let you read/clear faults and tweak the settings of your P38. Keep it in the glovebox as an emergency diagnostics tool.

Welcome to the family

Cheers, Paul.

I am loving my P38, I decided i wanted a Bosch model on LPG, (no prince of darkness electrics for me ) so that narrowed the options down, i looked for about 5 months and finally picked up the 99 with 179K on it for around 15K.

Air suspension had been done and the car is in A1 condition, it looks as if it has been garaged all its life.

All in all very happy, despite still having to spend some money as i go through the beast from end to end.

A great quote i saw recently on this forum was "they need to be serviced like a plane"

Steve

Hi Sandy and welcome to our branch of certifiable insanity. I must agree with the comments that these cars are an addiction. I've had a 2000 P38 for almost 8 years and before that I had a 92 Sherwood. I also own a 2003 Suzuki Grand Vatara 2 door. I keep thinking to myself that I don't need 2 vehicles and I decide to sell one. Trouble is that they are both delightful to drive in their appropriate domain. I drive the little Suzi around town and it's brilliant in car parks and traffic...so I decide to sell the Rangie. I then hop in the bigger car for a highway or off road trip and immediately say out loud "nope, no way I can sell this!". The only way I will sell my P38 is when I'm ready to buy a later model.

As for fuel usage, mine is around 11-12 lt per 100 on the highway and between 15 & 18 in traffic. I think I use the most fuel whilst idling! Anyway, the car hasn't given me too much grief mechanically but it did only have 20k on the clock when I bought it (it's now 128k) and I've managed to fix things myself. I discovered that it's better to have my own learning curve than to let some one else learn at my expense...which seems to apply especially in regards to Range Rovers. Plus there are so many forums like this one around the world where people as equally or moreso deranged than myself can be tapped into for insight- yeah it's a paradox.

Have fun.

Regards,

Lani

At the risk of cruel ironic twists I must come to the defence of the pre 99 p38a
RRs as I have one. I paid $7000 for mine and bought it from a RR enthusiast like myself who maintained the car very well and it seems dealt with the POD gremlins as they arose. Point being, if your budget only allows a GEMS model
there are good ones out there that the previous owner has sorted most if not all
of the electrical problems. Like buying any thing, do your homework, take your time and pay good money for a inspection by a RR specialist.

B P3

Originally Posted by bruce p38

At the risk of cruel ironic twists I must come to the defence of the pre 99 p38a
B P3

Bruce,

If my budget had only allowed for a GEMS model, then i would have gone for it. Luckily I had enough bugs bunny to get a later model.

There are plenty of GEMS models still getting around, but the general opinion is that it is less reliable than the Motronic system, that doesn't mean they are lemons though !

The "Prince of Darkness" was particularly apt when applied to British motorbikes of a certain era

Steve