Popping my TVR cherry: some guidance please
Discussion
Hello fellow Trevorphiles,
I’m in the very fortunate position of having roughly £25k to spend on a weekend car, and have fancied a TVR since childhood, when I ‘bought’ a mk1 pearlescent Tuscan on one of the Gran Turismos.
I have experience of fast cars, albeit not of those free of driving aids, so I plan on getting some sort of tuition at some point to minimise the risk of total disaster.
My main question is this:
What should I buy?
A Tuscan would be first choice, but there only seems to be this one in budget: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/38110980...
Failing that, I like the look of this 4 litre Tamora: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/53524758...
And this 4.2 litre Cerbera: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109087...
Can anyone see anything immediately wrong with any of those before I see them in the flesh? I’ve spoken with all three owners, and they all seem nice enough and honest enough.
My research suggests the more modern models are a better drive than the Chim/Griff: can anyone shed any light on this before I discount them completely?
I’ve done some research into running costs, but there’s not much about Tamoras out there: can anyone tell me what to budget for each in terms of servicing/maintenance?
Thanks in for any help!
I’m in the very fortunate position of having roughly £25k to spend on a weekend car, and have fancied a TVR since childhood, when I ‘bought’ a mk1 pearlescent Tuscan on one of the Gran Turismos.
I have experience of fast cars, albeit not of those free of driving aids, so I plan on getting some sort of tuition at some point to minimise the risk of total disaster.
My main question is this:
What should I buy?
A Tuscan would be first choice, but there only seems to be this one in budget: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/38110980...
Failing that, I like the look of this 4 litre Tamora: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/53524758...
And this 4.2 litre Cerbera: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109087...
Can anyone see anything immediately wrong with any of those before I see them in the flesh? I’ve spoken with all three owners, and they all seem nice enough and honest enough.
My research suggests the more modern models are a better drive than the Chim/Griff: can anyone shed any light on this before I discount them completely?
I’ve done some research into running costs, but there’s not much about Tamoras out there: can anyone tell me what to budget for each in terms of servicing/maintenance?
Thanks in for any help!
Nothing wrong with Chimaera or Griffith in terms of driving experience. However, both models are at least 20 years old now and the tightness of a new car will be gone, to a large extent. Of course, the degree of new feel will be directly related to the servicing regime.
The speed six models do cost more to maintain year on year, with more bespoke electronics. having said that, if you’re reasonably handy, you can do a fair bit to solve issues. The Rover engined cars are relatively simple to maintain, with more parts bin components.
The final solution, of course is to drive a variety of cars,!
The speed six models do cost more to maintain year on year, with more bespoke electronics. having said that, if you’re reasonably handy, you can do a fair bit to solve issues. The Rover engined cars are relatively simple to maintain, with more parts bin components.
The final solution, of course is to drive a variety of cars,!
I bought my first TVR in the summer - a Tuscan - so I have been watching the market a while.
Quite a lot of them are in the £25-35k range for a MK1. The one you’ve referenced has been available for a little while, so may be worth a bid if the condition is ok.
Many of the others just outside your price bracket have been for sale a while, so may have some bartering room too.
There were £20k cars up earlier in the year, but with a unclear histories. Worth waiting a while to see what pops up if you don’t like the current ones available.
As with all TVRs, buy on condition.
Mine never had an engine rebuild, but had a full service history and seemed to have wanted for nothing…
Quite a lot of them are in the £25-35k range for a MK1. The one you’ve referenced has been available for a little while, so may be worth a bid if the condition is ok.
Many of the others just outside your price bracket have been for sale a while, so may have some bartering room too.
There were £20k cars up earlier in the year, but with a unclear histories. Worth waiting a while to see what pops up if you don’t like the current ones available.
As with all TVRs, buy on condition.
Mine never had an engine rebuild, but had a full service history and seemed to have wanted for nothing…
Many thanks for the replies, all.
glow worm: I'm aware of the TVR chassis being a weak point, though thought it was less of an issue on the later cars... isn't it..? The Tamora (Powers) and the Tuscan (TVR themselves) seem to have engine rebuilds, so I'm less concerned about that, although it's obviously worth bearing in mind.
8speed/nawarne: I fully appreciate the Griff/Chim have their charms, and the RV8 does sound superb. The lower maintenance costs are also appealing, as well as the potential to hone my spannering skills. Are you able to elaborate on how they differ in terms of driving to the later models? I'm keen to avoid spending too long travelling around the country, especially as it may involve travelling with an 8 month old...
porterpainter: belated congratulations on the Tuscan! I'm very jealous. I've also been keeping an eye on the market for the past 6 months or so, and autumn/winter seems to be a bad time of year to buy a TVR (unless I'm missing something). I remember seeing there was a lovely titano grigio (?) Tuscan at Amore, 60k ish miles, and less than £25k. Those days seem to have gone (temporarily at least). Tuscan supply seems fairly low currently. Do you know if specialist dealers are open to haggling? There's a nice-looking red mk 1 at Shmoo, but it's a couple of thousand over budget...
swisstoni: good question. Looks-wise, the Tuscan wins it for me. However, the Cerbera seems to have the best engine note (based on various videos I've seen), and the Tamora the easiest as a "beginner's TVR" (so says Jayemm, anyway). I'd also prefer a convertible/targa, but it's not a red line for me.
I'm not really interested in modifying, to be honest: I'd much rather have something I can jump in to, enjoy and then wash down. I can cope with trips to garages, but only through necessity.
Does anyone know anything about the cars I listed?
glow worm: I'm aware of the TVR chassis being a weak point, though thought it was less of an issue on the later cars... isn't it..? The Tamora (Powers) and the Tuscan (TVR themselves) seem to have engine rebuilds, so I'm less concerned about that, although it's obviously worth bearing in mind.
8speed/nawarne: I fully appreciate the Griff/Chim have their charms, and the RV8 does sound superb. The lower maintenance costs are also appealing, as well as the potential to hone my spannering skills. Are you able to elaborate on how they differ in terms of driving to the later models? I'm keen to avoid spending too long travelling around the country, especially as it may involve travelling with an 8 month old...
porterpainter: belated congratulations on the Tuscan! I'm very jealous. I've also been keeping an eye on the market for the past 6 months or so, and autumn/winter seems to be a bad time of year to buy a TVR (unless I'm missing something). I remember seeing there was a lovely titano grigio (?) Tuscan at Amore, 60k ish miles, and less than £25k. Those days seem to have gone (temporarily at least). Tuscan supply seems fairly low currently. Do you know if specialist dealers are open to haggling? There's a nice-looking red mk 1 at Shmoo, but it's a couple of thousand over budget...
swisstoni: good question. Looks-wise, the Tuscan wins it for me. However, the Cerbera seems to have the best engine note (based on various videos I've seen), and the Tamora the easiest as a "beginner's TVR" (so says Jayemm, anyway). I'd also prefer a convertible/targa, but it's not a red line for me.
I'm not really interested in modifying, to be honest: I'd much rather have something I can jump in to, enjoy and then wash down. I can cope with trips to garages, but only through necessity.
Does anyone know anything about the cars I listed?
Where are you in the country?
Who do you intend to service and look after your TVR?
For example even a simple job you think you can do yourself, like an oil and filter, isn't just as easy. No room under the bonnet, absolutely no room to get underneath, and even if you have a trolley jack and axle stands, just getting the jack under the car may not be easy, let alone finding a jacking point.
The Rover V8 cars aren't difficult, they're pretty much tractor technology, nothing is complicated. The later cars are, because TVR started building their own engines and other bits. For example, your local Kwik Fit (shudder) could easily do an oil and filter on a Chimaera/Griffith. They'd also be able to do a Tuscan, but would need to be told what filter, etc. Not that you would, but you could leave them unsupervised to do the Chimaera, you'd be insane to leave them alone with the Tuscan.
Who do you intend to service and look after your TVR?
For example even a simple job you think you can do yourself, like an oil and filter, isn't just as easy. No room under the bonnet, absolutely no room to get underneath, and even if you have a trolley jack and axle stands, just getting the jack under the car may not be easy, let alone finding a jacking point.
The Rover V8 cars aren't difficult, they're pretty much tractor technology, nothing is complicated. The later cars are, because TVR started building their own engines and other bits. For example, your local Kwik Fit (shudder) could easily do an oil and filter on a Chimaera/Griffith. They'd also be able to do a Tuscan, but would need to be told what filter, etc. Not that you would, but you could leave them unsupervised to do the Chimaera, you'd be insane to leave them alone with the Tuscan.
Tyre Smoke said:
Where are you in the country?
Who do you intend to service and look after your TVR?
For example even a simple job you think you can do yourself, like an oil and filter, isn't just as easy. No room under the bonnet, absolutely no room to get underneath, and even if you have a trolley jack and axle stands, just getting the jack under the car may not be easy, let alone finding a jacking point.
The Rover V8 cars aren't difficult, they're pretty much tractor technology, nothing is complicated. The later cars are, because TVR started building their own engines and other bits. For example, your local Kwik Fit (shudder) could easily do an oil and filter on a Chimaera/Griffith. They'd also be able to do a Tuscan, but would need to be told what filter, etc. Not that you would, but you could leave them unsupervised to do the Chimaera, you'd be insane to leave them alone with the Tuscan.
I’m near Manchester, so I think my options are X Works, TrackvRoad and TorqueRVT. I wouldn’t dare go near Kwikfit for anything I care about.Who do you intend to service and look after your TVR?
For example even a simple job you think you can do yourself, like an oil and filter, isn't just as easy. No room under the bonnet, absolutely no room to get underneath, and even if you have a trolley jack and axle stands, just getting the jack under the car may not be easy, let alone finding a jacking point.
The Rover V8 cars aren't difficult, they're pretty much tractor technology, nothing is complicated. The later cars are, because TVR started building their own engines and other bits. For example, your local Kwik Fit (shudder) could easily do an oil and filter on a Chimaera/Griffith. They'd also be able to do a Tuscan, but would need to be told what filter, etc. Not that you would, but you could leave them unsupervised to do the Chimaera, you'd be insane to leave them alone with the Tuscan.
To be honest, the idea of doing some of the work myself sounds appealing, but it’s not a desperate desire of mine (I have a 2005 V8 XJ for that).
Some stuff is easy. I changed the battery on my Chimaera at the weekend. Ten minutes. And that included removal of the battery box and other paraphernalia.
Sorting out the non start after buying it took a bit longer.
Fitting a Bluetooth head unit was another quick job.
Spark plugs look easy enough, but a bit fiddly. And the oil and filter without a ramp, impossible!!
And it won't be going to a TVR specialist either. My local garage is well able to look after it. And I trust him implicitly.
Sorting out the non start after buying it took a bit longer.
Fitting a Bluetooth head unit was another quick job.
Spark plugs look easy enough, but a bit fiddly. And the oil and filter without a ramp, impossible!!
And it won't be going to a TVR specialist either. My local garage is well able to look after it. And I trust him implicitly.
As a new owner it’s not a bad idea to use a Tvr garage in the first instance. They can usually warn you of issues etc and are usually friendly enough to show you around the car a bit.
Service costs are about the same at a Tvr garage as any other reputable centre so for resale/ service record it’s always good to have Tvr stamps in there.
Drive a top line well sorted Chim on an after market ecu as your budget would allow a very good example. They are surprisingly fast against the later engined cars
Service costs are about the same at a Tvr garage as any other reputable centre so for resale/ service record it’s always good to have Tvr stamps in there.
Drive a top line well sorted Chim on an after market ecu as your budget would allow a very good example. They are surprisingly fast against the later engined cars
bobsavage789 said:
porterpainter: belated congratulations on the Tuscan! I'm very jealous. I've also been keeping an eye on the market for the past 6 months or so, and autumn/winter seems to be a bad time of year to buy a TVR (unless I'm missing something). I remember seeing there was a lovely titano grigio (?) Tuscan at Amore, 60k ish miles, and less than £25k. Those days seem to have gone (temporarily at least). Tuscan supply seems fairly low currently. Do you know if specialist dealers are open to haggling? There's a nice-looking red mk 1 at Shmoo, but it's a couple of thousand over budget...
Thanks 
I bought mine privately from eBay of all places. There’s the fewest number of Tuscans available now that I’ve seen all year, so maybe not the best time to buy.
The Shmoo one is fairly new listing, sometimes they discount their cars before they prep them so there may be wiggle room.
As for dealers haggling, I’m sure most will. Quite often the cars are sold on consignment, so they’ve not got much skin in the game when it comes to pricing.
A lot of the dealers and garages store TVRs or know their customer base well enough to know who might be thinking about selling their car, so might be worth ringing around once you know which model you want and you may get the inside scoop on a car that’s not actually for sale yet.
There was a nice Atlantis blue (I think) Mk1 Tuscan on eBay recently with a big front and rear wing. The seller knocked that down to £26k at last look, but it’s not listed anymore.
bobsavage789 said:
I’m near Manchester, so I think my options are X Works, TrackvRoad and TorqueRVT. I wouldn’t dare go near Kwikfit for anything I care about.
Which part of Manchester? I’m north Liverpool and pretty much equidistant from all 3 garages at about an hour’s drive away. All have good reviews. I ended up calling TorqueRVT first and they were friendly folk so I take mine there now for any work.I looked at buying a TVR about 8 months ago with a similar budget, and got one. My only advice is look for cars with a recent rebuild for piece of mind. I ended up buying a Chimaera 500 from Shmoo (Eds a top bloke) I basically paid for the receipts from 2017 and got the car thrown in for nothing! The difference in budget has enabled me to re-trim, do some paintwork and book in for an emerald ecu. I’m hoping with everything that’s been done previously I should see circa 340bhp what the factory claimed.
Try and get one that has had regular use over the last few years. Happy hunting.
Try and get one that has had regular use over the last few years. Happy hunting.
Frankly, op, you’d be lucky to find a low hassle £25k Tuscan. The classifieds show that really top end examples are up for £50k plus.
I’m not saying excellent £25k ones don’t exist privately but it’d be a lot of effort to find one. Maybe.
£25k seems to get you a nice Griffith or a really nice Chimaera.
But if you like the Tuscan, save a bit more to get a better example of the car you really want imho.
Also, these aren’t Audis. If you see one, you have definitely not seen them all. Condition can differ greatly, car to car.
I’m not saying excellent £25k ones don’t exist privately but it’d be a lot of effort to find one. Maybe.
£25k seems to get you a nice Griffith or a really nice Chimaera.
But if you like the Tuscan, save a bit more to get a better example of the car you really want imho.
Also, these aren’t Audis. If you see one, you have definitely not seen them all. Condition can differ greatly, car to car.
Edited by swisstoni on Wednesday 10th November 19:46
Classic Chim said:
As a new owner it’s not a bad idea to use a Tvr garage in the first instance. They can usually warn you of issues etc and are usually friendly enough to show you around the car a bit.
Service costs are about the same at a Tvr garage as any other reputable centre so for resale/ service record it’s always good to have Tvr stamps in there.
Drive a top line well sorted Chim on an after market ecu as your budget would allow a very good example. They are surprisingly fast against the later engined cars
Yeah that's the plan. Depending on where I buy from, I'll have a specialist give it the once-over, as well as the first few services at least. Plus the stamps look better for future buyers...Service costs are about the same at a Tvr garage as any other reputable centre so for resale/ service record it’s always good to have Tvr stamps in there.
Drive a top line well sorted Chim on an after market ecu as your budget would allow a very good example. They are surprisingly fast against the later engined cars
It sounds like I'll have to take a trip down to Amore to take a closer look at some of their Chims/Griffs!
porterpainter said:
A lot of the dealers and garages store TVRs or know their customer base well enough to know who might be thinking about selling their car, so might be worth ringing around once you know which model you want and you may get the inside scoop on a car that’s not actually for sale yet.
That's a good idea: I think some dealers offer a 'car finding' service, so I'll get in contact once I know more.porterpainter said:
There was a nice Atlantis blue (I think) Mk1 Tuscan on eBay recently with a big front and rear wing. The seller knocked that down to £26k at last look, but it’s not listed anymore.
I saw that: unfortunately, it was listed too early for me... Lovely-looking thing though...porterpainter said:
Which part of Manchester? I’m north Liverpool and pretty much equidistant from all 3 garages at about an hour’s drive away. All have good reviews. I ended up calling TorqueRVT first and they were friendly folk so I take mine there now for any work.
AKA PABS: I understand about the rebuilds. Is it the same deal with the RV8? I've seen loads of higher-mileage examples, but few mentions of engine rebuilds. Did you try the other Chimaeras (450/400)? I've heard the 500 is a bit much for the road, but quite like the idea of the full-fat version.
swisstoni: I really hope you're wrong, but appreciate prices have gone berserk recently. I suppose I'll go and see any that take my fancy, and have them inspected by someone who knows what they're doing. I assume it's likely that condition and actual driving will differ, depending on what previous owners have done to them.
swisstoni: I really hope you're wrong, but appreciate prices have gone berserk recently. I suppose I'll go and see any that take my fancy, and have them inspected by someone who knows what they're doing. I assume it's likely that condition and actual driving will differ, depending on what previous owners have done to them.
Lots of useful guidance so far: many thanks.
Can anyone shed any light on Tamora running costs?
Lots of talk about the Speed 6 vs the RV8, but what about a Cerbera? Good or terrible idea? I hear they're very highly-strung compared to other TVRs, but am hoping to be corrected, as I love the idea of the AJP8, despite the hardtop...
Can anyone shed any light on Tamora running costs?
Lots of talk about the Speed 6 vs the RV8, but what about a Cerbera? Good or terrible idea? I hear they're very highly-strung compared to other TVRs, but am hoping to be corrected, as I love the idea of the AJP8, despite the hardtop...
Sorry, but they're incredibly highly strung.
Certainly an occasion every time you drive it, but not an enjoyable experience around town. They are built for the open road. And of course you have the added fun of not knowing when you start out whether you will get to and from your intended destination. Mine decided without warning to strand me in Northern Ireland when leaving for the ferry. Started up, foot on the clutch, clunk. All the fingers broken off the pressure plate. No warning at all.
A Cerbera is brutal in comparison to the others. And insanely hot inside. Oh, and no way is it a four seater!
Certainly an occasion every time you drive it, but not an enjoyable experience around town. They are built for the open road. And of course you have the added fun of not knowing when you start out whether you will get to and from your intended destination. Mine decided without warning to strand me in Northern Ireland when leaving for the ferry. Started up, foot on the clutch, clunk. All the fingers broken off the pressure plate. No warning at all.
A Cerbera is brutal in comparison to the others. And insanely hot inside. Oh, and no way is it a four seater!
Tyre Smoke said:
Sorry, but they're incredibly highly strung.
Certainly an occasion every time you drive it, but not an enjoyable experience around town. They are built for the open road. And of course you have the added fun of not knowing when you start out whether you will get to and from your intended destination. Mine decided without warning to strand me in Northern Ireland when leaving for the ferry. Started up, foot on the clutch, clunk. All the fingers broken off the pressure plate. No warning at all.
A Cerbera is brutal in comparison to the others. And insanely hot inside. Oh, and no way is it a four seater!
That’s very helpful, albeit not what I wanted to hear! I don’t think my marriage would survive a Cerbera, as much as I like the idea of one… Certainly an occasion every time you drive it, but not an enjoyable experience around town. They are built for the open road. And of course you have the added fun of not knowing when you start out whether you will get to and from your intended destination. Mine decided without warning to strand me in Northern Ireland when leaving for the ferry. Started up, foot on the clutch, clunk. All the fingers broken off the pressure plate. No warning at all.
A Cerbera is brutal in comparison to the others. And insanely hot inside. Oh, and no way is it a four seater!
The chap I’ve been messaging about the Cerb I linked earlier said he was spending about £1.5k/year on average, but I suppose a massive, devastating engine failure could happen at any time, as you say.
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