Range Rover?

Max Power1

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Land-Rover/Range-Rover/2.5-DT/201026198615799/advert?channel=CARS

Hi All.

Im thinking about branching into the exciting world of 4X4 ownership. To this end, what would your opinions be of the above range rover? Is the mileage too high? Do they normally last for high mileage?

Also any tips as to what to look for when buying would be well appreciated!

101sean

These did have a bad reputation for electrical problems although any still around should be ok. Check that absolutely everything works and don't take any BS from the seller.

It has airbag suspension so check it sits level with the engine off and doesn't sink, check all the height settings work and that the pump doesn't run constantly. Airbags are cheap and easy to replace, pumps are not.

The diesel is an OK engine (BMW), bit glacial compared to the current engines.
Check all the tyres match and have no funny wear patterns.

Price wise, it's in the middle of the UK book price but it's a funny market here. Take it you know road tax will be dear (€948 at least). Looks like a base model going by the velour seats, that's worth a few bob off, easy to fit leather seats from a scrapper.

If you're happy doing your own maintenance you can get a Bearmach Hawkeye diagnostic tool for around €400 that will read and reset all the ecus

A Jap 4x4 would probably be more reliable (but not necessarily :rolleyes:) but will have nowhere near the style and comfort.

If you want more info I think there is a P38 (that's the original LR project number everyone refers to them as) owners forum somewhere

JohnBoy

For a used buy at this stage a DT is probably one of the best options.

climate control models seemingly can give arkward, expensive problems, if the air system is giving too much trouble you can convert to coils for around €400


That one looks damm fine in that colour on 18s.

E39MSport

101sean wrote: »

These did have a bad reputation for electrical problems although any still around should be ok. Check that absolutely everything works and don't take any BS from the seller.

It has airbag suspension so check it sits level with the engine off and doesn't sink, check all the height settings work and that the pump doesn't run constantly. Airbags are cheap and easy to replace, pumps are not.

The diesel is an OK engine (BMW), bit glacial compared to the current engines.
Check all the tyres match and have no funny wear patterns.

Price wise, it's in the middle of the UK book price but it's a funny market here. Take it you know road tax will be dear (€948 at least). Looks like a base model going by the velour seats, that's worth a few bob off, easy to fit leather seats from a scrapper.

If you're happy doing your own maintenance you can get a Bearmach Hawkeye diagnostic tool for around €400 that will read and reset all the ecus

A Jap 4x4 would probably be more reliable (but not necessarily :rolleyes:) but will have nowhere near the style and comfort.

If you want more info I think there is a P38 (that's the original LR project number everyone refers to them as) owners forum somewhere

Ahem. 100 Amazon is supremely comfortable My 00 is better looking than that RR imo.

101sean

Must admit I'm not a fan of the P38's looks, the current L322 Rangie is far nicer (or was before the latest facelift)

JohnBoy

I used to be the same, but I think they're aging quite nicely, especially in the right colours.

Max Power1

JohnBoy wrote: »

I used to be the same, but I think they're aging quite nicely, especially in the right colours.

+1

Thats what I like about the model linked - it certainly doesnt look 14 years old!

Overature

all im going to say is do you need one? in your line of work do you need to pull trailers or move large amounts of stuff around? also do you plan on bringing it off road? if not i would advise you not to get one, Im sick of seeing buissness people in them and mums dropping kids off to school in them. there so shiny you dont even want to bring them through a puddle!

Theanswers

What's the harm? Anyone can buy what they want. A 14 year old car is hardly a status symbol.

Fishtits

all im going to say is do you need one? in your line of work do you need to pull trailers or move large amounts of stuff around? also do you plan on bringing it off road? if not i would advise you not to get one, Im sick of seeing buissness people in them and mums dropping kids off to school in them. there so shiny you dont even want to bring them through a puddle!

In case you haven't noticed, we live in a free country. If the OP wants a RR then so be it, they'll pay the relevant tax - both road tax and fuel tax every time they fill up.

Its called choice, its what living in a free country permits.

Max Power1

No, i dont really "need" one.

There is the odd occasion, but not enough to justify buying a 4x4 if im honest.

I love range rovers though. Especially the model I linked to. And ill be damned if someone tells me i cant have one because I dont do enough offroading! As said above, its hardly a status symbol, just a jeep that I liked!

Corkladddd!!

OP if you want one go right ahead there a lovely looking jeep but if it is reliability etc you're after stay away!!! When they go wrong, they go horribly wrong!!! e.g. a gearbox will probably soct as much as you get it for!!!

But as said above, that looks to be a base model so there should be a bit of leeway on the price....offer 3k and dont go abode 3.4k....hold out there will be others come along...

JohnBoy

Manual box is £575 exchange

Auto box is £725 exchange

There are potential expensive issues in em, but landy gearboxes are cheap

Corkladddd!!

had slow internet at work and didnt check the ad properly...my gearbox experience with these was a 04 that the gearbox replacement cost over 4.5k when all was said and done

BeardyGit

Corkladddd!! wrote: »

had slow internet at work and didnt check the ad properly...my gearbox experience with these was a 04 that the gearbox replacement cost over 4.5k when all was said and done

Very different machines with very different gearboxes. P38's are nice if you can find a good clean one. If Sean doesn't object, I'd suggest looking at this one over on Landrover addict:

http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=388572.0

It's a 2.5 DT with a manual box and basic enough spec, but it's been very well looked after from the looks of things. If they've replaced the airbags it's likely to be in good working order, without a tired or worn out compressor as mentioned before. I don't know the seller, but the two lads who commented on it know their rovers and mean it's at least worth a look, if you're not hell bent on auto and SE/HSE spec. If you wanted to get it chipped, you'd have a reasonably nippy machine too, especially without the drag of an autobox.

A word of advice if I may - If you're looking at a range rover, buy on condition, not age or mileage. If it's been properly looked after you could end up with a cracking machine at the right sort of money.

E39MSport

RoverCraft wrote: »

Very different machines with very different gearboxes. P38's are nice if you can find a good clean one. If Sean doesn't object, I'd suggest looking at this one over on Landrover addict:

http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=388572.0

It's a 2.5 DT with a manual box and basic enough spec, but it's been very well looked after from the looks of things. If they've replaced the airbags it's likely to be in good working order, without a tired or worn out compressor as mentioned before. I don't know the seller, but the two lads who commented on it know their rovers and mean it's at least worth a look, if you're not hell bent on auto and SE/HSE spec. If you wanted to get it chipped, you'd have a reasonably nippy machine too, especially without the drag of an autobox.

A word of advice if I may - If you're looking at a range rover, buy on condition, not age or mileage. If it's been properly looked after you could end up with a cracking machine at the right sort of money.

Well said there RoverCraft. Wise words.

101sean

Yes, wise words there. Saw that P38 on LRA, looks tidy alright.

No objection to useful links, I frequent LRA anyway :rolleyes:

rrv8

Run a P38 2.5 DSE manual as a everday car , tow cars on trailers with it and horse box's ,best thing for towing and generally all round comfort I have ever had , still on air as well and there is no way I would even consider fitting coil springs to it
The only time maintenace becomes expensive on them these days is if it has to go into a main stealer but what 4x4 doesn't , had a few issues with it which were there when i got it but all sorted now as do all my own work and not been any more expensive than other car had on the road , parts are easily got as well .The internet is full of info on them

jizzyboner

Max Power1 wrote: »

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Land-Rover/Range-Rover/2.5-DT/201026198615799/advert?channel=CARS

Hi All.

Im thinking about branching into the exciting world of 4X4 ownership. To this end, what would your opinions be of the above range rover? Is the mileage too high? Do they normally last for high mileage?

Also any tips as to what to look for when buying would be well appreciated!

Hi Max Power

Just spotted this and looked at that 96 on carzone.

To me anyway it seems a bit overpriced, even with all the upgrades from the original DT model. The hurricane alloys, roof bars, clear lens updates. From what i have seen lately you can get a 00 or 01 for very little more money.

The one thing that puzzled me about it was that it seems to have front fog lamps fitted and that was always a definite no-no in the diesel automatic since the P38 first arrived. The reason being that Land Rover in their usual wisdom fitted the autobox oil cooler right behind the space where the NSF fog lamp should be, and with fog lamps fitted there was a possible problem with cooling should you be towing or up in the alps.

The original bumper fitted to the diesel automatic had a blanking plate fitted on the drivers side and a mesh fitted to the passenger side to allow enough air in. The petrols and the manual diesel had no problems ( with cooling the box anyway )

Anyway it looks clean enough but still overpriced for a 96 with 170,000 miles.

Good luck if you do find one.

Pat

Max Power1

Ive been doing some additional research into these. Interesting to note the problems with the auto diesels as I hadnt heard that one before.

What MPG would be expected in everyday use. Ive seen figures in the low 20s online, would that be accurate?

jizzyboner

Max Power1 wrote: »

Ive been doing some additional research into these. Interesting to note the problems with the auto diesels as I hadnt heard that one before.

What MPG would be expected in everyday use. Ive seen figures in the low 20s online, would that be accurate?

hi max

research is always good for those beasties and there's loads of forums and info from all over the planet with fixes for the usual problems.

no real problem with the auto diesels, except their sluggish even with the box in sport mode. just be careful if you get one that someone decided it was a good idea to fit a new bumper or even just to fit front fogs.

as for fuel, yes low 20s around town. having said that its better than the petrols at about 12ish round town :eek:

on a good run you should be looking at about 28 - 30. not brilliant i know but it is about 2 and a half tonnes of metal that a detuned BMW lump has to pull about. Land Rover changed the tuning of those engines. they reduced the BHP and increased the torque, more for offroad use. A good tuning or remap will fix that though.

let us know how you get on anyway.

Pat

Max Power1

Thanks for all the helpful replies


What do ye all think of the freelander? The baby brother of the one I was looking at, theres quite a few newer ones around with the TD4 engine for a lot less money than the DT.

101sean

Late Freelander 1 with the TD4 (BMW) should be OK. Main thing with these is failed VCU and IRDs, mainly due to owner ignorance. Tyre sizes must match with equal wear all round, if there's funny wear on the front tyres and the tyres scrub on full lock, walk away. More common with early ones, axle ratios changed on later ones. Steer well clear of petrol ones and early diesels.

They are permanent 4wd with a viscous coupling controlling the torque split. If the VCU starts to fail it doesn't allow differential speeds front and rear and if ignored for long enough the IRD (sends drive from gearbox to the rear) fails leaving just front wheel drive, a very expensive fix. Some owners just remove the propshaft and carry on like that. There was a case on here of someone being sold one like this by a dealer claiming the prop had been removed for better fuel economy :eek:

Freelander 2 is a better vehicle but probably not cheap enough yet.

jizzyboner

Max Power1 wrote: »

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Land-Rover/Range-Rover/2.5-DT/201026198615799/advert?channel=CARS

Hi All.

Im thinking about branching into the exciting world of 4X4 ownership. To this end, what would your opinions be of the above range rover? Is the mileage too high? Do they normally last for high mileage?

Also any tips as to what to look for when buying would be well appreciated!

I just noticed that the RR has been reduced from €4250 to €2750.

Cash price and no warranty - better value than originally anyway. Might be worth a look now Max.

_Conrad_

Overature wrote: »

all im going to say is do you need one? in your line of work do you need to pull trailers or move large amounts of stuff around? also do you plan on bringing it off road? if not i would advise you not to get one, Im sick of seeing buissness people in them and mums dropping kids off to school in them. there so shiny you dont even want to bring them through a puddle!

When i was going to school, one particular day for example my mum dropped me off in a defender, then later that day went up a trail which was that rough that a suspension mounting broke off and the exhaust got ripped off, while lookin for some horses.
Then there years later was a landcruiser after the defender, and that's still around having done over 200,000 miles and carrying all manner of scars, sometimes it looks clean though and even the landrover got washed and while it was new, it may even have looked shiny :eek:, she just liked it to look clean if she was going to town or to work.
I bet if you saw her, a quiet, respectable and understated woman driving a washed and well kept 4x4 you'd have been muttering about it, but all the while you'd have been wrong.
My dad on the other hand wasnt one for washing things and his turbo saabs and the like were as dirty as the pajero commercial he also used to drive, after it had been playing in the mud all day. You'd probably have seen him and though ah there's a proper 4x4.




...............anyway, back to the topic at hand, OP: worry less about mileage, and more about how it's been looked after, they'll do loads of miles if they're minded, and the BMW engines while not as silky smooth as newer ones are good and can do big miles, again, when minded.
I woul dmuch rather buy one from a landrover/ range rover enthusiast though, or a landrover or at least 4x4 garage.