P38 High Miles, Advice needed.

Hi,

I'm new to this group, I've just been viewing a 96 4.6 HSE with a view to buy SWMBO has released the funds after months of nagging...bless her

I liked what I saw except for mileage 133K. How much more life can I expect from the V8 with this amount of miles on clock?

Motor had slight rattle when started from cold which went after a few seconds running. It had a full service history & is apparently being offered with some warranty (for what they are worth). They do sound nice don't they!

Also the tail gate was starting to show signs on rusting on inside bottom, Is this normal on P38?

I'll be going back for 2nd look...what else do I need to be looking for?

Thanks in advance

Ged

Reply to
Ged
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I'm not the V8 dude, Austin will be along presently. Yea, they sound superb, best sound in the world, second only to "it's ok dad, we'll clean the house for you" but V8's are more common than that.

Usual things to check, be sure it goes forwards and backwards in all gears high and low box, probably an auto - not my area.

I think that V8 has electronic gubbins so listen to the engine warm and cold and see if it ticks over smoothly.

check the engine oil and gearbox oil via their dipsticks, atf should be pink or red and not smell burnt.

someonw who knows what they are talking about will be along presently.

Regards. Mark.(AKA, Mr.Nice.)

Reply to
Mr.Nice.

They do sound nice.

V8's generally need a new cam and followers at around 100k or so - and if this is rattling from startup it sounds like the cam is past its best. The only time I get a cold rattle is if it's stood without starting for a long time (a month or more).

V8's last bloody well, but they have a couple of weaknesses - the cam is one - especially if the oil has ever been missed or run for too long between changes. The V8 does dirty it's oil a bit and frequent changes can more than double the life of the engine (or running on LPG which doesn't make carbon to dirty the oil).

Unless the price of this one is too good to miss, I'd look at another one. There are plenty about at decent prices.

Standard for RR's. How bad is it? Can you rub it down and repaint before it gets too bad? Decent tailgates are expensive.

Check the suspension does what it's supposed to. Air suspension is great - unless it goes wrong, then it's open wallet surgery.

Reply to
Simon Atkinson

Reply to
wps

Actually it has cost you about £600 if you dismiss the bits you decided to spend voluntarily. Surely you did budget around a Grand for unexpected costs in such a vehicle bought second hand in the first year? It should be less costly from now on if that is a comfort. At least it should be, depending on abuse suffered earlier in its life and on that essential with anything mechanical and complex, luck.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

Of course the guy who buys yours off you will say it's great - nothing has broken and most of the bits are like new....

Reply to
Tim Hobbs

You are considering buying an 8 year old vehicle with 133K on the clock. The vehicle in question is packed full of electronics and other sofisticated gubbins such as air suspension etc.

1996 was one of the earlier models of this car, it probably hadn't had all the designs faults ironed out at that point (did it ever!)

Common sense says you will have large bills on this vehicle if you intend to keep it for a reasonable period of time.

But that would apply if the same vehicle was a Merc or a Jag or an Audi....you get the idea.

So really you need to ask can I afford (or do I want to) throw money at this vehicle when it needs it, or would I be better off in the long run doubling or trebling my budget and buying a newer one altogether that has less miles and a warranty.

For years I wouldn't buy a new vehicle, I've always had a hang up about depreciation, but I've recently changed my thought process on this, I tended to buy vehicles at 3 years old or older and just repaired them whenever they needed it, safe in the knowledge I'm saving all that depreciation.

My last vehicle broke down three months running, all the times component failures, items that had just reached the end of their lifespan, each time I had to repair it, hire a vehicle etc etc....

My accountant pointed out to me at the end of the year that I'd actually spent more money owning the used car than I would have spent leasing a brand neew vehicle and being able to claim the VAT back and writing off the rest to income tax also....made me think, and out I went and bought a nice shiney new vehicle on an operating lease, with warranty, free loan vehicles etc....

Of course this is different for me because I rely and run my business with a vehicle.

Any personal car is always a money pit whatever way you look at it. How much of a money pit depends on your choices when buying and a little bit of luck.

Muddy

Reply to
Alan Mudd

Ack... Although the V8s usually last well, that doesn't generally apply to 4.6s, which suffer badly from porous blocks and slipping liners. Look around and see how many 100K 4.6s are being replaced. Personally, I'd avoid it. A 3.9 in a Classic should be fine, but not a 4.6!

I had a '96 P38 with a 4.6 and about 115K miles, but I only bought it because it had had a new engine at 96,000. So my engine had only done

20K.

Not unusual, but mine (same age) was spotless, so look around.

The EAS is another expensive area. Do a search on Google Groups as I posted something on P38 EAS problem areas a few weeks back.

David

Reply to
David French

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