Tamora to VX220 Turbo?
Discussion
I recently sold my rock solid and rock hard Tamora (faultless for the three years I owned it, BTW), as we’re moving to Italy once we have a buyer for our house and I didn’t want the hassle of finding a reliable TVR expert in Italy, at least until we have everything sorted.
Trouble is, I miss it terribly – my wife has an MG Trophy 160, which is OK, but after the Tam, it mat as well be a horse and cart!
I have always had a soft spot for the VXT (turbo version), as I know it accelerates at least to 60 as quick as a S6 TVR, and I have heard the handling is just as good.
What are the service schedules like for these (very underrated) cars, and are they cheaper to own than a TVR (£2K per year minimum for the Tam)?
Essentially, I’m looking for a ‘stop-gap’ for my driving fix, and I feel the VXT would fill that gap perfectly, am I right, and is it worth getting one?
Cheers
Trouble is, I miss it terribly – my wife has an MG Trophy 160, which is OK, but after the Tam, it mat as well be a horse and cart!
I have always had a soft spot for the VXT (turbo version), as I know it accelerates at least to 60 as quick as a S6 TVR, and I have heard the handling is just as good.
What are the service schedules like for these (very underrated) cars, and are they cheaper to own than a TVR (£2K per year minimum for the Tam)?
Essentially, I’m looking for a ‘stop-gap’ for my driving fix, and I feel the VXT would fill that gap perfectly, am I right, and is it worth getting one?
Cheers
Servicing is 10k or a year and won't cost more than an average hot hatch.
The handling will be better than the Tamora.
Have a look round www.vx220.org you'll find everything you need to know there.
The handling will be better than the Tamora.
Have a look round www.vx220.org you'll find everything you need to know there.
Very neally bought a tamora recently myself having test drove 3 or 4 but the more i read about the reliability the more it put me off and i 'bottled' it!Having previously owned the non-turbo version vx i can honestly say in two years it only cost me fuel and the services!I have now bought the turbo version as an alternative to the tamora and have to say am more than happy with it after the initial disappointment of deciding against the tvr.Servicing at a vauxhall dealer your looking at approx £200 so its way below the running costs of the tvr.Have to agree the vxt handles at least as good as the tvr and with a full exhaust system and remap your looking at 4secs to 60.Obviously in a straight line the tvr will have the edge but believe me the vxt is quick!Sure theres a few people on this forum that would back me up on that!Quarter mile times for a tamora your looking at 12.5s im lead to believe and although i havent put mine on a track yet at last years vauxhall show vxt's varied from 12.9s-13.5s which aint too bad!Hope this helps.
simonrockman said:
The VX220 is a fantastic car. I love mine and enjoy every journey. It's my daily driver.
BUT. It's not a good stop-gap car. They are hard to sell and the depreciation is poor.
Simon
BUT. It's not a good stop-gap car. They are hard to sell and the depreciation is poor.
Simon
Not a prob for me, I would more likely than not keep it - I would never think as these cars a a sound investment, money-wise, but the fun you can have in them outweighs any financial deprecition - you simply cannot put a price on the way you feel as you come out of yet another impossible corner at full pelt on the right day, and on the right road - to me, it's the experience of the drive that counts, not bean counting.
Edited by chris watton on Friday 27th April 10:41
I tend to disagree with them being hard to sell and that they lose alot of value.I lost £2k in two years when i sold my last one and dont think that is a huge amount in fairness,you would lose that on most cars over £10k if not more.As for selling them from my own experience it took me a couple of weeks to sell and had loads of interest in the car even though it went up for sale in the winter months so dont think it would be difficult to sell in the summer.As you say its not an issue for yourself worrying about losing cash on it because thats not why you buy these type of cars but dont think it would be any harder to sell than perhaps a tvr for example.So for me these cars have everything going for them.
i think the only time you lose quite a chunk on these cars is if you brought them new or near new. I got my vxt 1 year old with 2k on the clock with pretty much all the optional extras, new it would of cost 31k, I got it for 24k.
looking at prices now you can get a 03 plate for around 14k, thats a 10k loss in 3 years
dont regret it at all, i dont see me getting rid of it any time soon.
I think the prices on vxt's are settling as they have not dropped a great deal over the past 2 years
looking at prices now you can get a 03 plate for around 14k, thats a 10k loss in 3 years
dont regret it at all, i dont see me getting rid of it any time soon.
I think the prices on vxt's are settling as they have not dropped a great deal over the past 2 years
Totally agree with that Joe,if your buying a 2 0r 3 year old car the vast amount of depreciation has already happened and like you say they tend to settle at a certain level then.Beings as they are no longer available new and with the initial depreciation over you can get a great performance car for superb value.
Hi Chris
I definitly understand how much u can miss your TVR and looking for an alternative, as am in a bit of the same position... :-(
Where about are you moving to in Italy, have you heard of UKGARAGE ?? Great team down in Italy, very competent ppl.... in my opinion if u can have another you should.... and you don't see many of them down in Italy, especially Tamoras....
I definitly understand how much u can miss your TVR and looking for an alternative, as am in a bit of the same position... :-(
Where about are you moving to in Italy, have you heard of UKGARAGE ?? Great team down in Italy, very competent ppl.... in my opinion if u can have another you should.... and you don't see many of them down in Italy, especially Tamoras....
joe-turbo said:
looking at prices now you can get a 03 plate for around 14k, thats a 10k loss in 3 years
Thats still not bad... from £24k > £14k in 3 years is ~ 58% retained value.
If it went from ~ £31k to £24k in the first year, as a guide, thats ~ 46.5% per three years retained value... so there is a sharp slow-down in depreciation now they are in the £14k range.
When you add it up, buying one now at ~ £14k on a 58% retained value per three year curve, loosing £193 per month in depreciation over the first year is nothing for a car that costs that much. Most normal cars hit the ~ 50% quite nicely and that would be ~ £240 per month in depreciation, even worse for things like Mondeo's etc @ 45% with ~ £275 pcm...
Think of the poor buggers who saw the £10k in three years. The first year losses per month were ~ £560 pcm!
Anyway, enough babble. Their values are doing really well however you look at it. I can afford £193 pcm depreciation, so a VXT is on my shopping list
I really can't see such a reliable, cheap to run, modern sports car taking any significant hit at it's price range now.
My only concern would be the type of people who can now afford them (like me
), who may make the market a bit more risky wrt to picking up a good straight example as easily as it has been. Dave
I can see you took quite a while writing that all out but unfortunatly it went straight over my head 
As for finding a nice example now they are more affordable your best best is looking on the for sale section on www.vx220.org.uk that way you can see how well it has been looked after by searching on the posters old threads etc.
Then you just have to snap it up quick before a chav does
you do find quite a few damaged/repaired ones on autotrader etc, hopefully at the rate people are crashing them one day mine will be a collectors item
As for finding a nice example now they are more affordable your best best is looking on the for sale section on www.vx220.org.uk that way you can see how well it has been looked after by searching on the posters old threads etc.
Then you just have to snap it up quick before a chav does
you do find quite a few damaged/repaired ones on autotrader etc, hopefully at the rate people are crashing them one day mine will be a collectors item
Edited by joe-turbo on Thursday 10th May 03:11
Yep, not as many on VX220.org.uk but what comes up is often a member owned club recognised car with a known history...
I'll probably aim for a one or two longer owner, or one owner from new model when I buy. Not too fussed about mileage as long as it'll be under 50k because I'll have it as an everyday car and be putting plenty on it anyway.
Great cars though. Pretty spartan and cramped, but easily made up for by the performance, looks and sense of occasion! I really can't think of anything else I really want as much
Dave
I'll probably aim for a one or two longer owner, or one owner from new model when I buy. Not too fussed about mileage as long as it'll be under 50k because I'll have it as an everyday car and be putting plenty on it anyway.
Great cars though. Pretty spartan and cramped, but easily made up for by the performance, looks and sense of occasion! I really can't think of anything else I really want as much
Dave
Chris,
I'm in a very similar position to you. I had a n/a VX and then changed it for a Tamora, which I still have.
The Tamora is a fantastic car, but even with the noise of the TVR everybody always asks me about the VX I had and why I changed it. Seems that car attracted far more attention than the TVR!!
I've considered getting a VX Turbo and tuning it to get 250bhp. Performance shouldn't much different to the Tamora then. However, I just love the sense of occasion you get when driving a TVR and in particular, my Tamora.
Will be interested to know how you find a VXT if you do buy one. Keep me posted.
I'm in a very similar position to you. I had a n/a VX and then changed it for a Tamora, which I still have.
The Tamora is a fantastic car, but even with the noise of the TVR everybody always asks me about the VX I had and why I changed it. Seems that car attracted far more attention than the TVR!!
I've considered getting a VX Turbo and tuning it to get 250bhp. Performance shouldn't much different to the Tamora then. However, I just love the sense of occasion you get when driving a TVR and in particular, my Tamora.
Will be interested to know how you find a VXT if you do buy one. Keep me posted.
Anyone noticed how few VXT's are about now. Almost all the ones on PH classifieds have gone, and Autotrader seems to have only a handfull.
I guess winter > spring is time to buy, anyone who wants one for summer has bought one, and anyone who has one will now keep it through the summer!
Hopefully a strong market around this price bracket will keep values strong going forward from now on, but might make picking one up a bit harder...
Just wish Tamora's were a risk free bet wrt to their engine as I'd have one of them in a flash, but I guess they wouldn't be so cheap if they were not likely to have £££ of engine work
Dave
I guess winter > spring is time to buy, anyone who wants one for summer has bought one, and anyone who has one will now keep it through the summer!
Hopefully a strong market around this price bracket will keep values strong going forward from now on, but might make picking one up a bit harder...
Just wish Tamora's were a risk free bet wrt to their engine as I'd have one of them in a flash, but I guess they wouldn't be so cheap if they were not likely to have £££ of engine work
Dave
Yikes...!
I guess if TVR were still up and running and sorting the Speed Six engine and guaranteeing future rebuilds then people would have more faith in the cars and the residuals would be tons better. Any S6 car seems to be taking a pounding right now, while old Rover V8 Tiv's appear to be holding strong. The Griff 500's for example seem to be creeping upwards on value...
The VXT will always do lots better vs an SP6 car, but even yr1/2 depreciation on them has been pretty nasty. That said I can't see such a car ever really getting much lower, only mileage/condition will push them down beyond a certain point irrespective of age eventually I would think, wheras the TVR spectre of a £5k+ rebuild all of a sudden might make Tammys worth even less in a few more years, good for us enthusiasts at the bottom of the depreciation curve, but ultimately it's what has helped TVR go down the tube
I suppose once the TVR dust has settled and good reliable rebuilds are sorted, the SP6 residuals will hold strong where they are just like the older V8 stuff, just hope it happens sooner rather than later!
Dave
I guess if TVR were still up and running and sorting the Speed Six engine and guaranteeing future rebuilds then people would have more faith in the cars and the residuals would be tons better. Any S6 car seems to be taking a pounding right now, while old Rover V8 Tiv's appear to be holding strong. The Griff 500's for example seem to be creeping upwards on value...
The VXT will always do lots better vs an SP6 car, but even yr1/2 depreciation on them has been pretty nasty. That said I can't see such a car ever really getting much lower, only mileage/condition will push them down beyond a certain point irrespective of age eventually I would think, wheras the TVR spectre of a £5k+ rebuild all of a sudden might make Tammys worth even less in a few more years, good for us enthusiasts at the bottom of the depreciation curve, but ultimately it's what has helped TVR go down the tube
I suppose once the TVR dust has settled and good reliable rebuilds are sorted, the SP6 residuals will hold strong where they are just like the older V8 stuff, just hope it happens sooner rather than later!
Dave
Edited by Mr Whippy on Sunday 20th May 15:29
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