Considering the P38's reputation for both luxury and mechanical issues, can it truly be considered the best of both worlds for off-road enthusiasts? What are the most common pitfalls owners face, and do the benefits outweigh the costs in the long run?
Common pitfalls are ignorance and a lack of maintenance. I'm writing this in a hotel in Calais before getting the ferry back having driven to Amsterdam and back yesterday in a 27 year old P38 with (now) 537,000 miles on it.
For off-road enthusiasts, I'm not aware of a more luxurious vehicle that can go offroad. I haven't done any extreme off-roading in mine, but I have taken a stock P38 shooting, down muddy farm tracks, over soggy fields and that sort of thing. I probably wouldn't take it to a pay and play because I like it, and those places are quite brutal. I've taken my Jeep, because that's what it's for - but I don't want my Range Rover beaten up.
However, it does have a proper chassis, live axles and plenty of torque. The later ones have a really good traction control system which will help overcome the lack of locking axles, and works evern better if you can afford/care enough to fit a LSD. The downsides for off-roading are basically size and weight. Size limits where you can go without scratching it, and weight makes it harder for the tyres to keep traction. Otherwise it's very capable, even stock and there's no need to remove the airbags and go to coil springs unless you're really messing about with big lifts/large wheels and at that point it's going to be a different animal.
For reliability, yeah - it has a bad rep. But honestly, I'm not a gifted mechanic and mine is still running. You can see what I've changed in my details on here (although I've run out of space for the latest couple of lines so there's been some new exhaust bits this year).
Here are some jobs you need to know how to do:
- Check EAS for leaks, how to replace/refurb an EAS compressor, how to refurb the solenoid block, how to replace the whole EAS box. These are all easy jobs and not even expensive.
- Change CoilPacks. They don't last forever, although I've only had one new set in 60k miles. It's a bit of a git for access but otherwise simple enough if you have a chart handy showing what goes where.
The next most common bit you need to look at is leaks in the cabin. It might be the sunroof, it might be the heater core O-rings. You might want to go the "one and done" route to take the dash out, replace the heater core (I have the Nissen/Audi spec core which eliminates the O ring situation) and check/replace the blend motors at the same time. Time consuming, but not expensive on a DIY basis. I had help from Marty who is now back in NZ but there are guides online.
Otherwise it's just preventative maintenance. Fluids (inc all three diffs) and filters (inc pollen filters to keep those HEVAC motors happy) Airbags don't last as long as springs, but they don't cost as much either, plus you can remove them with a stanley knife instead of coil compressors.
The glorious news is that P38s really don't rust badly at all. The most common spot is the tailgate, which is hardly structural and easy to spot. My local garage mechanic took the time to say that he was converted to the P38 now, have been a D2 fan but with there being so many Discos around here he was sick of welding them, and would buy a P38 everytime now just to avoid the rusty subframes.
Nothing is perfect, of course and there are definitely some dogs out there - but there are still enough good ones to find a decent vehicle. I'd definitely budget £1500-£2000 to go through it properly (plus tyres) to fix everything I've mentioned and I'd budget for a Nanocom to save a ton of time and money asking garages to scan for codes. It's not just a handy gadget - you do actually need one if you're planning to do the necessary tasks to keep it all running well.
Two keys is a good sign. The dealers either don't have them anymore or charge £300+
Jst my £0.02 - ymmv, E+OE, Caveat Emptor etc....
As a few have already suggested, I’m pretty sure the op is a bot