Ranger Rover vs Disco?

[Colin]

So my wife and I are considering buying either a P38 Range Rover or a Disco. What do people feel are the pro and cons of each. One thing we noticed is that the disco is quite a bit narrower than our 87 RR. If I was going to get the P38 I was thinking about getting the longer air springs from
http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_LA ... pid21.html
Comfort is becoming more of an issue, I know the Range Rover wins in this, the disco would be a bit easier to maintain, but I don’t know if I like the swing open door, the tailgate of a RR is quite useful and I like armrests which the early disco don’t have. We both want a sunroof, and both vehicles have them (half the discos anyways)

Our budget is around $10,000 which puts us into the 95-98 year range with 110-150,000 km’s I just drove a Classic LWB, which was nice but….


My wife loves Gold for a colour, although I am happy with silver, gold or dark green.


Any thoughts, experiences or good leads appreciated.

[rhino_ed]

Hi Colin
I can't say I have much knowledge about the disco but I did recently purchase a 2000 p38. The one comment I have about them is that the older ones tend to show their age far more than the later versions. I would suggest not going any older than 1998. There are a TON of things that can go wrong/wear out/get old and have to be replaced. Just last week I had to replace the front U-joint on mine $600 parts and labor. I was also repairing the "subwoofer thump"
( http://www.rangerovers.net/newrremedies.htm#soundsys ) and as i was sitting on the tailgate the cables broke and i fell off (make sure they are not rusted, $120 to replace and surprisingly necessary) I only weigh 190 lbs.

One great website :

www.rangerovers.net

Cheers
Eric

[StuartL]

Hello Colin,

As an owner of both a RRC and a P38 I can telll you that you should be patient and get yourself a Cherry Classic in lieu of a cheap P38. You should be able to get a great and lovable RRC within your budget and have money left over for some great toys.

The Classic is far more comfortable, seat etc and has many fewer sensors to worry about.

Greg at Sikcat in North Van has his personal RRC for sale, you should check it out. I have driven it and it is wonderful. It would also give you a great benchmark to evaluate other vehicles.

Also I bought my RRC in Washington State. It had been a California vehicle so rust wasn't an issue. Check out autotrader.com

Hope this helps.

[DaveB]

Hi Colin,

When we were in the market, we originally were looking at a late Classic or a P38. In fact, as we were first shopping we didn't even consider the Disco. As far as the Rangies go, Stuart is correct, with the Range Rovers you'd likely be better with a late classic than an early P38.

However, take a couple of Disco IIs for a drive as well. I found the ride as good if not better than the Rangies I drove, and we finally settled on a Disco II after driving a bunch of Discos and Rangies.

I haven't found the servicing to be overwhelming, and the electronics, while definitely there, are insignificant compared to those on a Rangie. All in all I've found my Disco II to be a decent balance of tried and true mechanical technology supplemented with some good electronic options, such as ABS, ETC, HDC, however I don't have all the electronic options, air suspension, or ACE on our truck.

Dave

[Colin]

Thanks for the reply’s I did drive Greigs RR, but decided against it, my wife finds the LWB to big for her, we also found the Disco to narrow to be comfortable, although I agree it is a good blend of the old and the new. I just put a bid in on a later model P38 and once I get the report back on it, I will decide whether to buy it. If I do, my 87 RR will be up for sale (sadly, can’t keep all of my toys….)

[Colin]

As some of you noticed, we bought a P38, a gold 2000 "autobiography” version. I got it for $10,000 with 147,000km on it.

A quick inspection determined a number of minor issues, the major issue was the odd behaviour of the EAS. It works in manual mode and sometimes works in automatic mode correctly. I used this fault as bargaining chip, as I was assuming the risk of a expensive repair, hopefully I have gambled well! We went for a nice drive on Monday, what a comfy car, once you get into the seats, you don’t want to leave!!

The previous owners kind of ignored the car for awhile and everything needed a bit of lube, will get it properly serviced and the EAS checked, then the next step will be 2” extended lift springs and perhaps some Disco wheels so I can mount some real tires to it and also a roof rack.

I am going to miss my 1987 when we sell it, it’s a great off-roader, will post a ad here shortly, only selling it because I can’t justify 2 RangeRover and a 109 (not mention my plans to get a barebones110)

[PaulC]

Congrats with your purchase. Did you make it out to Founders Day?
You’ll need to stick to Discovery 2 wheels or P38 wheels. You will likely find the P38 alloys inexpensive. I know someone who purchased a set of 4 just over the boarder for about $200. bucks US.
Have fun and enjoy the ride.