1996 Range Rover 4.6 HSE (advice before purchase)
 

Hey gang

I found a RR for sale that looks really good on the body and interior. No major rust or rips it looks like. The owner said the engine was rebuilt and he has had a Rover Specialist in southern NY doing all the work on it for the last 10 years. It is originally from Texas.

it has "just over 200,000 miles"
the engine was "rebuilt about 10,000 miles ago"
the suspension has been "replaced and changed to springs"
it "needs a battery"
the radio "works but has no display"
has "two sets of wheels"

these are the things the owner has said about it.
I am about to do a kbb on it just to get some idea. I was hoping that some of you could weigh in on this vehicle. I was wondering what to look for as far issues with this particular year and model. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I do have the vin # but I am not ready to spend the money on a carfax report quite yet.

Thanks in advance.

Chris

I have a 96 and have had good luck with it. On the other hand I would be suspicious of anyone who says their RR "needs a battery" and doesn't just go buy one and install it. The radio can be repaired. I think it was about $300 when I had mine fixed. Mine was converted to springs before I bought it too. Now that I have all of the other issues sorted out, I am thinking about restoring the EAS. If I had it to do again, I would get one with a working EAS. Kind of a cool feature.

what would you say the benefits of EAS over springs is... ?

EAS features a softer ride and a little more utility off road. The biggest benefit of springs, don't have to worry about EAS problems... Throw a battery in the thing, the owner shouldn't have a problem with that. If they do, just walk away.

yeah, the battery that sounds good. I am just curious about a 14 yr old with a rebuilt engine. Also i don't know if I should be looking for any specific indicators or asking about any service schedules. Ya know transmission, head gaskett that sort of stuff...

If the engine was just rebuilt you should not have any issue with anything like head gaskets in the near future.

The EAS is one of the most major issues with the P38, I have the EAS and love it. The other nice part is that it has the GEMS and they seem to be a little better on the head gaskets.

You did not mention how much they are asking for it, just curious.

I had the EAS converted to coil springs in my 98' 4.6 HSE and I was dissappointed in the ride quality. The EAS makes the Rover ride like a dream but you really need to weigh in the issues with the system and whether the nice ride is worth the pocketbook pain with all the fixes you'll have on the EAS. I spent thousands in total fixing my EAS system each time it decided to act like a bratty little girl and in the end, just converted it to coil springs. The ride quality dropped (stiff yet bouncy if that makes sense) yet all EAS problems were bye bye. If the engine on this has been rebuilt and you know you won't have any EAS issues, you might have a nice truck that will give you years of enjoyment. Given the age and mileage on the vehicle, you're bound to have something crap out but at least the big ticket items have been addressed. Just make sure and don't pay too much for it. Try and grab it for as little as possible.

Steve

Well he is asking $7500... I think that it too high. i feel like 5 would be reasonable... but honestly i think maybe 4500 is really what i would want... My old disco was $6k and it only had 90,000 miles on it. I feel like he is trying to get repaid for the repairs he did. I feel likee that happens often with inexperienced rover owners...

My concern is that I will have to replace the not so high ticket items... but that there will be a lot of them. ( at least that is what happened with my land rover)

Are there any things i should know regarding the transmission or the radiator or the for wheel drive components?

$7500 is what I would pay for an 01 or 02. I got mine a couple years back for $2700, with a few minor issues, like seal leaks, radio was out, headliner etc. Nothing major though. I got an incredible deal on mine, the price I paid is not typical. If I posted mine for $2700 on craigslist right now, I guarantee you it would be sold in an hour ;) . Right now there are some local P38s between 96-98 in my area for $4200 and have been for sale for awhile. You might talk to the guy and see how low he will go. Personally, I would not spend more than 4k on a P38 with 200k on the clock.

I think Scott is being generous. I wouldn't go much over $3k unless it was mint with all service records, even then I would max out at $3.5k. For $7,500 you should be able to get a pair of them. ;) I paid $4k for my '97 with just over 100k miles and it is cherry. Keep looking, you can do A LOT better