School me on Range Rovers

[AFBronco235]

Here is my situation. After driving my Bronco for a bit, my girlfriend is wanting a small SUV for herself. We've spotted a Range Rover at a local pawnshop that from what we've seen, looks clean and well maintained for $2500. However, I've always owned or worked on Ford vehicles and don't really know Range Rovers all that well. The Rover in question seems to be a mid to late 90's model, super clean and devoid of any damage. We're not sure of the year since we spotted it while the shop was closed and weren't able to ask any questions on it. The Rover would be used primarily on pavement and very rarely leave it, except to maybe park in a grassy field. We just need her to have a 4WD vehicle for inclement weather when we move back to Indiana. No plans on any sort of modifications for off road either. Mainly, it will be a grocery getter.

So, my main questions are, what sorts of things should be I looking at or asking about when I go look at it Monday? What would be major repairs that could kill this deal or minor ones that I can easily rectify myself? (I'm a mechanic so not afraid to get my hands dirty.) What are common issues I should look out for? What sorts of maintenance costs are we looking at compared to a standard SUV?

 

[adelatoa]

Check out RangeRovers.net. It's full of insightful information per year of production. There's also a buyers guide there.

Personally having driven all the years they each have their own personality from the earlier years feeling a bit more utilitarian and the later years being more refined. The 95's were a limited production because of the new body style introduction but also the most sought after and personally my favorite.

 

[sydneyman]

is it boxy or a more "classic" safari look? if its a classic then its easy to work on and cheaper but requires more constant attention. if its a P38, then the attention is not as constant but it has some big ticket items like the body control module, overheating, viscous coupling transfer case etc. still pretty easy to work on. I have had and love them both.

 

[AFBronco235]

is it boxy or a more "classic" safari look? if its a classic then its easy to work on and cheaper but requires more constant attention. if its a P38, then the attention is not as constant but it has some big ticket items like the body control module, overheating, viscous coupling transfer case etc. still pretty easy to work on. I have had and love them both.

Its definitely a P38 then. I had to google them to make sure. Again, not bothered by digging into a car to make it work. What kind of issues is the Body Control Module likely to have? For that matter, what is a Body Control Module? Overheating I get and I have a few ideas for that. And what is "viscous coupling transfer case" issue?

Again, the worst I can see us using the Rover for would be hauling heavy boxes of junk down the road. The GF would only use 4WD if there was still snow on the roads.

 

[brushogger]

If it's a clean RR Classic that's a pretty good deal. If it's a P38, run away fast and far. The gremlins will eat you.

 

[sydneyman]

the viscous coupling is what makes the transfer case "automatic". they seem to wear out every 100000 miles or so. my classic had the same case but I switched it to the mechanical manual type when it went bad. the classic used the manual case before they switched to the borg warner viscous type so its an easy swap. not an option for the p38 however.

the BeCM or body control module is the central brain. every single function of the car passes through it from the air suspension to the electric windows. pretty common on cars nowadays but this was one of the first to make everything so central. it can have issues with water intrusion because its under the passenger seat. another issue is it can disable the vehicle and prevent it from starting. there are fixes for all these problems now though. for instance you can send the becm off to be repaired for reasonable money whereas 10 years ago you had to go to the dealer.

forgot to mention about the air suspension. my bet is that its been converted but if not, there are great aftermarket air suspension parts better than oem. I love the air suspension on my p38 but the air suspension on my classic was a more primitive version and has little aftermarket support so i converted it to coils. the p38 however is far more reliable. people will tell you to run from the p38 (see above) but they are fantastic daily drivers. they do need attention more than non land rovers though.

A big difference between the classic and the p38 is that when something goes wrong on the classic, its usually mechanical and fairly easy and inexpensive to replace. most of the time when something goes wrong on the p38 its electric and turning the car off and on fixes the issue! however if that doesnt fix it, then youre on a mission to track down whats really wrong.

I love both but heres the thing; I would and do gladly drive each daily without hesitation. I wouldnt however be happy with my wife driving them daily. when i drive, im looking at engine temp, noticing every early sign of trouble. Im noticing electrical gremlins that pop up one day and disappear the next without my intervention. They are great machines that I truly enjoy but would quickly tire of the wife calling to say the rover is acting up again. I alternate between old range rovers and a 928 so if that tells you anything about me... I put my wife in an A6. She gets to work with no drama and I sleep well knowing shes not going to cook my aluminum rover engine because she ignored the dash light.

 

[AFBronco235]

That's what I was afraid of. My GF has ZERO mechanical skills. Like you, I wouldn't mind driving it myself, but she couldn't handle any sort of gremlin that likes to pop up. I guess I'll go back to looking for another ride for her.

 

[adelatoa]

My fleet a few weeks ago. I've since then sold the '93 LWB and acquired a 1995 SWB and Discovery 1.

Don't flee the Range Rovers they are a pleasure to drive. It's easy to own one go through the systems and have spare parts of the absolute critical components. Find a California or Az truck and for any issues or questions there are many here and on others sites that would be more than happy to guide you through any process.

Test drive one and see if it's a suitable truck for you or your significant other.

 

[evaliquette]

I had a 97 and had so many problems with it. Cost me a fortune but still loved every moment


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zelatore]

Having grown up in Indiana, my first thought is why does your wife need a 4wd for the winters there? She'd be far better served by learning some basic driving skills. Nobody I knew in Indiana owned a 4wd unless it was a work or play vehicle yet we all got by quite well. In fact, my friends and I survived quite well driving Alfa Romeos and other sports cars all year.

Btw, in the interest of family harmony I would strongly recomend you not be the one providing her driving instruction.

With that rant out of the way, and speaking as a multiple Rover owner myself, I probably would not recommend a P38 for the average wife. Sexiest though it may seem, most women simply aren't enthusiasts and are not likely to pay enough attention to the Rovers needs. And an ignored Rover quickly becomes an unreliable Rover which quickly becomes the genises of all those Rover (un)reliability stories you read about on forums like this.

I would be happy to encourage and help you down the road to Rover ownership, but unless your wife is different than mine (or most for that matter) I feel this might be a bad match for your described needs.

 

[AFBronco235]

Having grown up in Indiana, my first thought is why does your wife need a 4wd for the winters there? She'd be far better served by learning some basic driving skills. Nobody I knew in Indiana owned a 4wd unless it was a work or play vehicle yet we all got by quite well. In fact, my friends and I survived quite well driving Alfa Romeos and other sports cars all year.

Btw, in the interest of family harmony I would strongly recomend you not be the one providing her driving instruction.

With that rant out of the way, and speaking as a multiple Rover owner myself, I probably would not recommend a P38 for the average wife. Sexiest though it may seem, most women simply aren't enthusiasts and are not likely to pay enough attention to the Rovers needs. And an ignored Rover quickly becomes an unreliable Rover which quickly becomes the genises of all those Rover (un)reliability stories you read about on forums like this.

I would be happy to encourage and help you down the road to Rover ownership, but unless your wife is different than mine (or most for that matter) I feel this might be a bad match for your described needs.

My gf main problem is she's never had a license before. (She's 23 btw you pervs.) She's an air force brat and spent the first part of her adult life outside the states where she didn't need a car or it was too complicated to get a license. She's just now getting around to getting one. So NO driving experience what so ever until recently when I let her drive my bronco on some sand bars on a nearby river.

I also grew up in Indiana and I normally agree, that a 2wd and some common sense is all you really need, but we'd both feel safer is she had 4wd as an option, especially in the places we'll be living.

However, since there will be gremlins that she won't know how to handle or want to deal with, she is that type, I think I'll look somewhere else. If it were for me, I might buy it, but my 24 year old bronco is still more reliable than that. Oh well.

 

[sydneyman]

probably a wise decision. good luck!

 

[zelatore]

An old (er) Rover is a wonderful toy...I currently own 3. But none of them have to get me to work every day...

A late model Rover, say LR3 or newer, I could recomend as a daily driver for your wife. To daily drive an earlier Rover sorta takes the right person.

I think you are going the right direction here. Probably best to put her into a late model 'simple' car. Perhaps something in a Subaru? Or the new small Jeeps if they are within budget?

You however....we could maybe get you out of that Bronco and into something a bit more stylish. And British.