[UTJMAC]

Guys, I need some help assessing the repair costs of a P38 I'm looking at. I'm three days new into learning about Range Rovers, but am fairly competant on any vehicle I've owned, so I know the online forums have a wealth of information.

Here's what I'm looking at, 99 Range, 4.0 Liter 126k miles. Owner says the drivetrain is all recently rebuilt, top end of motor, TC and tranny. New radiator, waterpump, thermostate and belts. That's the good. It seems to idle smooth.

The bad.

EAS has been bypassed, manual fill valves under hood to maintain pressure. No idea if the compressor is salvageable, but I'd like to go back to the way LR intended, adjustable airbags. My friend at LR recommended going to coils, but not really interested in doing that.
AC blows cool, but definitely not cold. I see condensate on the AC lines, making me believe it's cooling some, but not enough to get the vehicle cold in the Southeast.
Radio is shot, doesn't work at all, owner said it did, but potentially condensation dripped down and knocked it out of commission.
Temperature control system brightness is varied.
Computer visual display on the console (shows milage, faults, etc) is dim on one side.
Sunroof is disabled. The owner said he tried to repair, but couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he closed it and disabled it.
Tires look to be worn, he's upgraded to 19" wheels, but there seems to be a lot of road noise. It reminds me of mud tires on my old Jeep.
One headlight has a short requiring a bump to get it to work. Owner indicated he'd installed some aftermarket bulbs in it.

Visual
Needs a new headliner, door panel carpet is all peeling away, needs a new taillight. Missing something behind the armrest, cup holders that fold up maybe? No storage compartment cover. Leather looks ok, just needs some Lexol cleaning. It's got a few dents and dings.


So, I'm trying to determine, is this a gaping hole to throw money into, or an opportunity to get a refreshed drivertrain with 75k reliable miles ahead of me, and only some weekend upgrades and repairs required to get it back to stock status.

Any guesstimate on costs to repair these things? Owner is asking around KBB trade "good" trade in value. Thank you in advance for your feedback and hope to find a reliable Rover to be back asking you guys questions (and eventually giving advice) on the forum.

 

[Spencer]

Hi Welcome to the forum, Personally when I looked at a million cars when buying mine I found the best thing to do is steer clear of one's that have not been looked after by the owner. I found a really cheap one that had a few issues with it (like yours), took it to an independent LR garage to get them to throughly look over it and tell me if it was any good. It came back with so many things wrong with it, I walked away (twice this happened). Seems to me that if someone can't be bothered to fix things that go wrong then there is a lot more bad things lurking that they haven't told you about.

From what you describe there doesn't seem to be anything major that is wrong with it, and if you read up on the main site www.rangerovers.net, there is heaps of info, on what you have listed and www.rover-renovations.com for the air suspension sfuff, you won't go far wrong.

Just my opinion, and I am not a that mechanical minded, but I would always look at buying one is great condition, and walk away from one that hasn't been maintained properly.

Hope that helps

 

[Brett San Diego]

Sometimes you have to learn more about the owner than the car... Do you have service invoices to back up the owner's claims about all the rebuilt and new stuff? I worry about buying a car from someone who says they have spent all this money on all that work but apparently can't be bothered to fix a headlamp that doesn't work unless you give it a knock and can't be bothered to put in the proper headlamps.

I guess I'm not really answering your questions, but for me, I'd walk on this one. Lots of Range Rovers for sale out there. Then again, every car has its price, and you want to know if the price is right for you. I don't think it would be low enough for me. Good luck on the hunt.

Brett

 

[UTJMAC]

I agree on investigating the owner. He didn't have them in thecar,But he saidhecould show documents of the drivetrain work. He has a company car, and doesn't drive this truck, so I can somewhat understand not fixing small things, if he can put milage on another vehicle. the major work he did when he first boughtthe truck. it doesn't even have plates on it now due to his lack of driving it.

what do you guys think is worst and likely case cost on the repairs I've identified?

thanks guys for thee feedback, I appreciate it, but the complexity of the RR has me a bit concerned to the potential hidden costs out the roof!

I found another RR, a 96, that need a new BECM, but I've been told to stay set from 96s due to potential electrical issues.

 

[UTJMAC]

anyone have a repair estimate? I'm just trying to get an idea of parts and most all of it (I hope) I can install/ repair myself

 

[Shadow Keeper]

Ok firstly for all your EAS parts and supplies you can't go past Rover Renovations. Dennis is great at supplying info and pointing you in the right direction.

Most other parts woud be able to be either found on Ebay and at the breakers. For what you have described you could probably get away with spending just under 2 grand at an estimate.

Fix the main things like the lights and suspension. The lights may have been replaced with a higher wattage globe and got too hot melting the solder contacts on the back of the globe (I had this happen to one in my Ford once) and an easy fix, just replace the globe with the correct wattage... The other things are just presentation and can be found bit by bit. The sunroof may be the most expensive part but honestly who really uses it very often??

 

[UTJMAC]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the feedback!

 

[big-t]

I have to agree with Brett San Diego, I'd pass on the deal, sounds like every used car salesman I've ever met. He has an excuse for all the little things wrong with it. The fact that he doesn't drive it tells me he's probably afraid to take it out of the driveway for fear of what will break next. Range rovers are the rolls royce of SUV's and if you own one you drive it cause they're just that nice. Sounds like a nickel and dimer to me (money pit). There are plenty of good deals out there in this economy, I'd keep looking if it was me. Best of luck in your search, Big-t. :naughty: :snooty: :hand:

 

[diff]

Is this a Bosch or gems rangie. Spagetti or coffin on top of engine? With those repairs done at a dealer you could/would be out thousands, otherwise 2k is a good start for parts. As I found out body work, can be quite pricy so if the dents will become an annoyance then maybe pass. The reality is that if you fix everything else the dents will annoy you more. Every time my list reduces I notice the few body issues we have but soon enough something else fails and distracts me. Were the valves done when head gaskets changed. How severe was the likely overheat that made someone do the full monty on the cooling system. It flies in the face of the remaining issues, but then, the issues can build quickly from time to time,