[DarkPanacea]

Ok guys I have a promotion at work and paid off the P38 and I’ve been thinking of upgrading to the Mark III!!! I want your guys’ advice. I have two paths with which to take a couple options like two branches with two branches. This payment will be about $500. This is a large chunk of my income. I’ll be actually fine finically but am sleepless worried of a major system failure. I can afford the payments but not bi-yearly $1200 repair bills. I do all my own labor. Let’s just say if you had an expendable income of $500-$600 per month what would YOU do?

Concept one: just fix the P38 then either turn it into super modified off roader with roof rack and custom bumpers for much less or sell as is. In this way could have awesome expendable income (fix up the house) and a custom rig. But I’ll never get my money back out of it. Right now, I have a ticking valve, a failed blend motor and failed HVAC fan circuit board causing the fan to be on full blast all the time. There are phantom door unlocking and that could mean a bad doorswitch or a bad BECM. There is an unfindable permanent check engine light to do with vacuum leak/lean running I do not know if I will ever solve this. It has rear bumper damage and a broken rear taillight and miscellaneous minor cosmetic issues, this is no status symbol nor rapper-wanna- be-mobile. Resale I’d guess as is is $3500. It has a cracked double din stereo nav bezel and I have no idea how to fix or replace it. There is a brand new heated front windscreen and Arnott Gen III air springs. I have a new compressor and a rebuilt valve block and a manual fill set up from Scotty. 32 inch Duratracs get me about 12 inches of clearance. I bet $2500 to get its motor and guts working perfectly. $2500 instead of $20,000.
Should I rebuild or sell as is for about $2500-3500?

Concept two: F all that, sell the chore list. Buy a 2007 or 2008 range rover. It’s the one I always wanted anyway. I have found them for about 20,000 but the prices vary, add 4,000 for a supercharged or 2,000 more for a LUX. These vehicles are seen rarely but they have a worrying about of miles, I mostly see them at 80-100 thousand miles. This would put any Mark III into the realm of having to start doing major repairs and start costing me money. I can’t stomach dropping 20,000 of something that needs work right away. I would only have 100 expendable income (not including emergency credit card money for larger fixes). I am waiting for a really special unit with around 60-70 thousand miles in black on black or saddle brown or maybe British Green on Saddle brown or black. I honestly don’t mind of I get a Lux or a supercharged or HSE, but miles seem more important but the cost difference is negligible and I might as well wait for a supercharged or a LUX to come around. But what would you pick? I actually think the base model seats LOOK nicer despite not being airconditioned (seriously who needs this?) My philosophy is why don’t they sell an HSX model where there are no luxury appointments rubber floors and nylon seats and sell me all the offroad air ride ability and form factor abilities (gosh I love the tail gate and the internal spaces are perfect) but I digress.

Should I wait for the LUX for a grand or two more, or a Supercharged for two or three on top of that? I heard from Craig at JC’s British 4x4 that he would rather have the LUX and “not deal with all the supercharged bull” so are these Supercharged any better, or less reliable? Anyone regret not holding out for Supercharger or a LUX? I can wait if you tell me it’s worth it. And the 10-15% price hike are negligible to me. Are they worth it for the now and what about helping to avoid the inevitable depreciation a bit?

Sidebar: Just get a Wrangler Unlimited and once the 5 years of payments are over after a life of minimal weird repairs flip it for a Mark 4 and do not over extend myself now one year before graduating college when I will get a real job. Or similarly get a 2006 Mark III for half the cost: 10,000 with it’s much higher unreliability and flip it instead (least favorite option).

The point is I have to start fixing this P38 or get rid of it. IF I want to which…. Hmm meh. That’s the most responsible thing I can do. What’s the fun in that?

 

[Mrmerlin]

for me I would go buy the nicest newest RR you could afford,
and sell the chore list.
Tthats a whole lot easier and you will driving in style today

 

[DarkPanacea]

Oh be still my breathing heart!

But $3,000 expected maintenance per year? Is that true? Read it on a similar post.

 

[mylife1903]

For me it's true and taxes.

 

[Mirage]

Oh be still my breathing heart!

But $3,000 expected maintenance per year? Is that true? Read it on a similar post.

if 3000 dollar is a shock for you yearly(Might even be more depending on what goes bad) the mark III might not be for you, and the wrangler really is the smarter choice. Even if you can do all the mechanical work yourself the parts alone are significantly much more than that of the p38. But if you must move up to the mark III like what most people say, try and get the newest lowest mile one you can get.

 

[DarkPanacea]

I understand if the motor or tranny goes out it can be more than 3000, but I'm doing all my own labor and except for extreme possible cases my own diagnosis. What's a real average yearly maintenance cost for something like a 2007 2008 Range? Can I get a consensus here? $3000 per year average would prohibit me from ever owning one let alone now before college is over! Is that for real? Is that what to expect??

 

[RRToadHall]

There is no consensus or average that can be given. Rover A may go another 60K miles with absolutely nothing more than oil changes, spark plugs and tyres. Rover B make be a money pit of hidden issues with no sign of neglect. Every older used car purchase is a crap shoot. You;ve been through gauntlet with P38s and have a good feel for Rovers. You are way ahead of the curve compared to most buyers. The best you can do is diligent research and follow your gut.

 

[lear60man]

I came from a 99 P38 to a 2005 HSE. Night and day as far as creature comforts and ride. Im in the camp that has little or no problems over the last 40k miles. I also bought an Icarsoft I930 to reset the 'once a year' code or fault. One front air bag developed a hole so I replaced both with Arnotts, a coolant hose sprung a leak and I paid to have the PCV (?) valve and tranny flushed as preventative measure.

I dont see myself replacing it with anything anytime soon. The only thing that catches my eye in the 2014 RR's but no way in hell am I going to pay $85+ for a used daily driver. Ill drive this for another 5 years and re assess.

 

[rfdiii]

I've got over 122,000 miles and have a "good" one (until I post, that is...). Regular and preventative maintenance only, except for the front suspension airbags that were changed out last year, and new tires as needed. I think airbags were less than $1000.

 

[Mirage]

If you really want a markIII Range rover i say go for it, the 07/08 are known to be more reliable than the Bmw units, and it's a huge step up from a p38 so you wont be disappointed. S/C vs NA it's up to you, i say drive them back to back and make up you mind, "Go for the S/C it's better!! ". But as RRtoad said when you're buying any used car you're gambling, and with a used Range rover you're REALLY gambling, could be $3000 a year or could be standard wear and tear items like oil/pads/tires and nothing else.

 

[ddillenger]

Buy one that has had the transmission replaced already-when I was looking nearly every single one had issues. I ended up buying one knowing it needed a trans, figuring it was the lesser of two evils.

 

[leftlanetruckin]

It's like talking to my soon to be 19yr old....
You are seriously debating a USED $20k rig, on such a tight budget? Really?
Either keep the P38 and keep figuring out it's niggles, or get something that is affordable for you, like the JK.
Yep I have them both, 2 P38's, and the MkIII, as well as a wheeling Jeep and an 04 Discovery.
The '04 Disco would be a good fit for you too. Same motor as the P38's Bosch version, easier to keep on top of than ANY Range Rover, cheap admission, nice interior and very wheelable.
It's time to stop dreaming and start thinking as a mature adult. Spending 90% of your disposable income on a car payment is idiotic at best. Not to mention you posted this in the MkIII section, so the answers for the most part were very predictable.
Now if you were talking about MY 6.0 P38.....The answer would be a lot clearer huh? lol

Martin

 

[DarkPanacea]

Wow great advise especially on the specific repairs. My wife and I are pretty established and the expendable income, while not quite 90% is literally expendable. I am 30 and we have our own house and my wife's career is in full swing. I've just always noticed when you roll the dice, you typically are forced to adapt either way. After 5 years I'll have something of value left. If I keep repairing my P38 I'll have nothing saved up in equity. I know that buying car is not an investment. But if you take risks you almost always come out ahead because it forces you to make the impossible happen. We are in a safe place to buy a newer vehicle but my heart and brain are as conflicted as a 19 year old's, so that's not condescending to me at all actually, that's why I am seeking the advice of older men.

For instance, I'm a supervisor at a non-career job making 32k. Not bad for still being in college. I'm still not totally making the most of my potential at work but its a great company. My renter is deciding to move out of the lower level and there goes $500. I could still afford the truck since I am very good with money and have have minimal liabilities. But when my renter told me yesterday he was going to move out that took the flexibility of the emergency repairs right out of it. Still could do the payment but not the peace of mind. This really stressed me out but I remembered Robert Kiosaki's words when he wrote that one always finds a way to cope with a financial situations and that you should never say, "I can't afford this, but say HOW can I afford this.

So guess what? I put my feelers out into the universe and asked one of my coworkers about her father's advertising firm. She told me that I would be a perfect copywriter in the creative department (this is what I am going to school for) she then informed me her father said for me to put my app in and he would put it to the top of the list. Wow. I've been thinking of asking her for a referral for a year and a half. This renter issue forced me to seek out HOW I could afford it.

I'm big believer in risk taking as a path to prosperity. However, I am going to wait because when I get my dream Mark III I want to actually be able to care for it just in case.I drove the supercharged and the answer to that question is a resounding YES! Plus, I want a safari rack... a steel bumper set... max sized Duratracs... a... (ramblings fade away inaudibly)

 

[jcole21]

Wrangler man you don't need a car payment and a huge liability. You're young and should be popping the top with a jeep full of young honeys anyways. That's if you want something newer and the list has you concerned.

 

[jcole21]

Disregard the honeys part didn't make it to page 2.

I like the disco advice or maybe even look at a newer grand Cherokee. Good luck man.