+1 A good all around commuter...

Also, +1 on the Jaguar... Buy a 2003 XJR and enjoy your drive every time you get into it. They are AMAZING! About the same price as you are looking at if you search.

 

If you like the P38 and know what you could be in for in terms of future repairs I don't think you're crazy. If you need to have reliability and securing I don't think this truck is the way to go. An Altima sure would be better in many ways.

What are you planning on doing with the P38? An Altima is not a trade off for the places you can take a P38. If your looking for reliability and need space, go for a Land Cruizer (incredible truck). When I need to go somewhere far I will always take the Cruizer and around town I drive the Disco.

 

Yeah, it's more of a reliability issue. I had the DII for a little over two years, and after all of the repairs, maint, and downtime we had, my lady will kill me if we go through it again.

I really love driving the rover, and wish that I still had this one, but it would probably be best to have something that I wont have to worry about for awhile.

 

If your plan is to buy a car for $5000 and then expect it to be dependable transportation without spending a lot more, then the P38 is a no-go. I can conceive of a P38 project vehicle where you start with a clean one for $5000 and expect to spend another $10K or more on parts replacement and upgrades. The end result isn't my desire but it could be a pretty solid car. I believe Lucky 8 has been doing something along those lines. I have no idea what their project car would total for a customer to reproduce, but it wouldn't be close to the $5000 purchase price. If you're looking in that price range and need reliability, look elsewhere.

 

Ok, I'm wrong to say Altima is a rice burner, I know it's a good car, but it seems to me if you're comparing that to a Rover, it's odd, the two couldn't be futher apart. Don't buy Rover if your goal is a good daily driver, there many less expressive cars and SUV's.
I have a hate/love with my DII, and still consider selling it. Just had the fuel pump fail, that follows a year of head gasket, a new Woods driveshaft, the money just keeps burning, BUT then I drive it, and love the POS again, why? It's insane, LOL. Anyway good luck with anything you buy, go enjoy life it's really not about what you're driving.

 

I'd go with a Yota FJ, $5k makes a decent down payment and your lady will think it's cool plus it goes anywhere, mall, parties, camping.

 

Alright. I just test drove the P38. It was a pretty clean ride and a pretty clean rig all together. My biggest concern was the 215 degree idle temp after coming off the highway. PO says that the truck has overheated a couple of times this summer.

Says the radiator ($400 aftermarket) was installed a year and a half ago. The t-stat (unknown brand and temp), water pump, and reservoir were all replaced this summer after the overheating.

PO also says that the head gaskets were done 3-4 years ago. My biggest concern is that he claimed the HG job only cost him $1500.

Ultra gauge showed no codes... Any advice for getting the temps down so I can buy this baby?

Thanks!
Nathan

 

I'd think fan clutch... there isn't much left.

 

On any Aluminum Block motor, that's not a good thing. Personally, I'd be afraid of the internal damage that MAY have been caused by the overheating. Of course, I have no way of knowing if it was even damaged, but with him admitting it's been hot, it's a bit scary.

 

Guaranteed the block is cracked. It's not just the head gaskets, but the cylinder has a crack. You'll be doing the head gaskets again in a little while. Do your research and you'll see that almost all the blocks on these are cracked. Most people don't keep them long enough to care. They get overwhelmed by all the other problems and dump them before even considering dealing with root causes. If you want to fix it, it takes a top-hat liner job. Price that out and reckon that will fix ONE of the problems. Your other option is to get it, throw parts at it every few months until you're sick of it and dump it after you realize repairs are costing as much or more than fuel.