Dual money pits
I read with interest that Buckley has acquired a P38 Range Rover (The marketplace, November). Snap! I’ve been stuck with mine for over a decade now. I’ve tried to punt it on a number of times but no joy, so good luck to him with that. Once, my wife found the paperwork for it and decided to add it all up – to say she was unhappy would be a gross understatement. From that point on it was decided that for every pound I spent on the car, she was to have the same to spend on some type of footwear – needless to say, I don’t drive it much these days, and I keep my fingers crossed that one day values will skyrocket.
Things took a turn for the worse with this fiscal policy when my grandfather passed away and left me his pride and joy, a Bentley T1. In a short period I learnt that there are more expensive cars to run than a P38. On my first outing in the Bentley, I decided to take it to Moreton-in-marsh. We made it as far as the steep hill at Fosse Bridge and the car was running like a top, but I thought I’d just check the brakes – imagine the horror when my foot, and the pedal, disappeared into the lambswool. I pumped like hell, which worked – fortunately, because I had no plan B. Disaster averted, I pulled over and, once the shaking had stopped, gathered my thoughts enough to phone the AA, who towed me to the only local garage willing to take it on, Broughtons of Cheltenham. They where enormously helpful, and the service manager informed me that it was going to cost the price of a brand-new small car to fix it.
Now that my expectations have been duly adjusted, I don’t find the P38 so bad. It’s only marginally less terrible than the T1 on fuel, but when I thought about converting it to gas I was told by someone ‘in the know’ that it makes them run hot. Given that it’s on its third set of head gaskets, I am of the view that making it run hot will only lead to further growth of my kind, wise and beautiful wife’s wardrobe.
The T1 has ‘failed to proceed’ on a number of occasions, mainly due to a dodgy fuel-pump solenoid, which I refuse to change – “How much?!” – and I’ve subsequently discovered that, if I hit it with a bar of some kind, it works again.
The P38, however, has not once let me down in its 12 years and 100,000 miles. It’s been the most reliable car I have ever owned, so now I’ll never sell it – I’m very unlikely to get back anything close to what has gone into its upkeep, so what’s the point? Maybe I’ll leave it to a wayward grandson, to teach him a lesson on the importance of living within your means…
Either way, anything Buckley can do to raise the profile of these underrated Range Rovers would be very greatly appreciated – although possibly only by me.
Alex Stewart
Via email