Thread: Tell me about a P38

P38's are a strange beast, but once you are bitten, there is no going back!
They can get a hard reputation for having their quirks, but the drive is hard to beat.
Yes they have thier common issues, most stuff you can fix yourself if you have the time and patience, but like any car, regular maintenance is the big key.
Mechanics will bleed you dry if you are not mechanically minded, so doing it yourself where possible is really the way to go.
This forum is a huge help with any issues, as is rangerovers.net
I have owned my 2001 HSE for nearly 4 years now, had an '89 classic for 7 years prior to that.
The thing is, they are complex machines, so there is more things that can go wrong.
A faultmate is a great help in diagnosing many problems, or even discovering problems you were not aware of.
Mine has been pretty reliable, although I do try and keep on top of any problems as they arise. Most of those seem to be more annoying than car stopping.
I have fixed most stuff myself so far, blend motors, leaky air spring, starter motor, radiator, but I have stuff like saggy roof liner, jumping door locks, among other little things.
If you have a place to do the work yourself, that is definately a big plus in owning a P38.
Be aware of test driving one though, unless you are ready to buy, as driving one gets you every time!
I am very popular when it comes to long drives, everyone wants to ride in the P38! They are very comfortable for long distance, and the high driving position is great for seeing way up the road ahead.
Personally I would go for the 4.6 over the 4 litre, and maybe go for the updated post 1999 model with the highly regarded Thor system.
Oh, they are awesome off road too.
Hope that is of some help, good luck with it!
Cheers, Pete.

I'm in Carnegie if you wanted to have a chat about P38's and the owner experience. Drop me a PM if you have the time. I've had two now. Both GEMS - a 95 and a 99.

I echo the above comments. Go for the cleanest lowest km one you can afford. Looks like there's a few circa 150, 000km Thor's on car sales at present. $15k would get you something sweet.

One in particular is described as being fastiduously maintained. The usual buyer beware warnings apply.

Mate, I live in Townsville, you can come and see/drive mine whenever you like!

I need some competition around here, those other models can't seem to keep up with the ol' P38 off road!

They are a great 4wd, very comfortable and easy to work on. Ill show you what to look out for.

Cheers
Keithy

Hi,

I purchased a very nice MY99 model in Feb this year with 170K on the clock for 15K and have spent the last 11 months going through everything I could think of.

My Motto is "Service it like a plane" and I am a big believer in preventative maintenance

I have a small website and have kept track of what I have done, it adds up to about 3K and 250 hours of time, but I am now pretty confident that I am on top of it all

You can check out the history here
Service Programme

And the mods page
Steve's P38A Range Rover Project

There are also some write ups and a tools page

Range Rover Websites

And don't forget to read the pages on rangerovers.net

Index of Range Rover Mechanical Information is a good start

They are an amazing vehicle and you WILL become addicted

As others have said, if you are prepared to do the work yourself, it is a very viable proposition.

Best of luck
Steve

Originally Posted by Keithy P38

Mate, I live in Townsville, you can come and see/drive mine whenever you like!

I need some competition around here, those other models can't seem to keep up with the ol' P38 off road!

They are a great 4wd, very comfortable and easy to work on. Ill show you what to look out for.

Cheers
Keithy

Thanks for that, I am in melbourne until mid Jan. there are a lot of good examples here that I honestly believe have not left the bitumen. I still have to convince the wife. I think she is getting a bit frustrated shoving everything in a Mazda 3 with a new baby and a 15 month year old. If we go to the beach we take two cars. I take the dogs. I like the idea of the leather and the off road ability. What are the air cons like. I haven't been blown away with the Puma Aircon in Townsville. I might try and test drive the one at Ritters today. It will be 40 deg in Melbourne. How hard is it to change the stereo head unit?

Hi

I bought mine from Melbourne, there seem to be more of them available there for some reason.

The air-con rocks as long as you don't have the infamous book symbol on the display

If you get a 99 or later it has the Alpine head unit, which seems to be easier to swap over than the earlier one

Regards
Steve

I bought mine in Melbourne too!

The air con in mine is better than any other vehicle I've owned! Very good, cools quickly and has rear vents to keep the minions cool too!

The head unit can be swapped with an alpine or clarion unit quite simply dependant on what year model P38 you buy.

As a daily driver, you'll have to convince the wife that its not 'that expensive' to run... I average about 600km from a tank in the suburbs, a bit worse if I head off for a boys weekend (maybe 550km, fully loaded and lots of low range), and on the highway ill easily get to rockhampton on a tank. Even though its a 100L fuel tank, mine normally takes about 75 to 80L at each fill. Normally ill top up within 40km of the fuel light coming on.

Like the other lads have mentioned, HEVAC and air springs will be your two key things to look out for. Engine wise, it'll be a cooked motor to watch out for. Any issues with head gaskets or anything to do with the cooling system will kill a motor.

Look for the book symbol on the HEVAC. If you see it, try swapping relay #7 in the engine bay fuse box for another one. If that does not clear the issue, you'll be needing diagnostics to help out and I'd be hesitant to buy, or at least knock a few grand off the price.

If I bought another one today, I'd buy a complete set of hoses, a new radiator, a new thermostat (all bought online for around $600 delivered) and fit them up.

I'd also look for a late '99 onwards.

If the air springs are getting old, you can buy a new set of standard ones for about $300 online, or go whole hog and buy Arnotts Gen III bags from the states for a grand. The latter is probably the better option if you like to engage low range, the former if it'll only be mild 4wding.

For a '99 with around 200,000kms and in all-round good condition I wouldn't pay more than $14,000 (that's a HSE). Mine is a '99 Bosch (Thor) and I paid $14,500 three years ago and it'd be a benchmark example with a few minor imperfections to the interior trim (but mine also had Dickie seats so its technically a 7 seater).
For a '00 of same spec and maybe 180,000 to 200,000 if pay up to $15,500.
For an '01 or newer it'd be max $16,500.

It'd have to be in showroom condition with next to no k's and complete log books off a one-owner for me to pay more.

Cheers
Keithy

Originally Posted by Keithy P38

I bought mine in Melbourne too!

The air con in mine is better than any other vehicle I've owned! Very good, cools quickly and has rear vents to keep the minions cool too!

The head unit can be swapped with an alpine or clarion unit quite simply dependant on what year model P38 you buy.

As a daily driver, you'll have to convince the wife that its not 'that expensive' to run... I average about 600km from a tank in the suburbs, a bit worse if I head off for a boys weekend (maybe 550km, fully loaded and lots of low range), and on the highway ill easily get to rockhampton on a tank. Even though its a 100L fuel tank, mine normally takes about 75 to 80L at each fill. Normally ill top up within 40km of the fuel light coming on.

Like the other lads have mentioned, HEVAC and air springs will be your two key things to look out for. Engine wise, it'll be a cooked motor to watch out for. Any issues with head gaskets or anything to do with the cooling system will kill a motor.

Look for the book symbol on the HEVAC. If you see it, try swapping relay #7 in the engine bay fuse box for another one. If that does not clear the issue, you'll be needing diagnostics to help out and I'd be hesitant to buy, or at least knock a few grand off the price.

If I bought another one today, I'd buy a complete set of hoses, a new radiator, a new thermostat (all bought online for around $600 delivered) and fit them up.

I'd also look for a late '99 onwards.

If the air springs are getting old, you can buy a new set of standard ones for about $300 online, or go whole hog and buy Arnotts Gen III bags from the states for a grand. The latter is probably the better option if you like to engage low range, the former if it'll only be mild 4wding.

For a '99 with around 200,000kms and in all-round good condition I wouldn't pay more than $14,000 (that's a HSE). Mine is a '99 Bosch (Thor) and I paid $14,500 three years ago and it'd be a benchmark example with a few minor imperfections to the interior trim (but mine also had Dickie seats so its technically a 7 seater).
For a '00 of same spec and maybe 180,000 to 200,000 if pay up to $15,500.
For an '01 or newer it'd be max $16,500.

It'd have to be in showroom condition with next to no k's and complete log books off a one-owner for me to pay more.

Cheers
Keithy

The one at Ritters in Burwood has 139000 km and they want 19990. It was a customers vehicle that had blown the head. They rebuilt it and have put a 12 month warranty on it. I will try and get out there again today for a test drive. As my wife has just had a new bub and I am on baby sitting duties for my other girl. I did look at it yesterday but didn't have time for a drive. Thnaks for all the help.