30,000 miles a year... in a Chim?
Discussion
Guys and gals,
Anyone who has a Chim/Grif and uses it everyday - what sort of cash are you spending on services, and how long do your tyres last? I''m planning on selling my convertible 3 series and running the Chim as my daily (i have a bike engined kit car as a weekend toy) and any experiences would be appreciated.
Especially after driving an RX7 today. Build quality makes TVR''s look like solid gold, and rotary engine makes uninspiring noises. Can''t beat the V8 burble.
CHEERS!
i use mine almost every day (main car) and it lives outside fine, does quick hops to the shops and long motorway trips. It can get a bit dronie on a long trip but thats probably as i have the stero on to loud <VBG> i probably do 10-15k per year
servicing about 500 quid every 6k miles
tyres 15k should be reasonable
at 30k some cars can wear the suspension bushes.
You'll get loads of stone chips so probably worht armourfending the nose unless you want to respray it every year.
the seats arent all that hard wearing so they may start to look worn after a year or two.
Other than that nothing springs to mind. it often seems that cars used alot work fine. a\ mate has one with 90k on it and he's never had a problem!!!!
the only other thing worth bearing in mind is the depreciation a 3 year old car with 90k on it would take a heck of a hit...
Cheers
Graham
quote:I'm planning on finding a one or two owner 95/96 car (t5/serpentine) with anything up to 50k on the clock. I live about 5 miles from Thames Racing Services and work about 20 miles from Fernhurst so that should be okay, and i'm planning on keeping the car for as long as possible (anyone done 150k in a TVR yet?)
the only other thing worth bearing in mind is the depreciation a 3 year old car with 90k on it would take a heck of a hit...
We use ours every day - and its absolutely fine.
BUT its only done 21K miles at 3 yrs old. It'll probably do 10-15K a year fior the next couple before we change it.
I think you'll find that servicing is more expensive than £500 and you'll be doing it a LOT at 30K a year!
Still...what the hell....
I had a '96 N 4.0HC which did 15,000 a year. It was left outside, used every day and was usually splatted with mud from November to March - Not a problem apart from a broken door catch. And no-body is going to believe this but I got around 27,000 miles from the rear tyres!!! And yes I did two track days and always drove it hard when I could.
quote:what about servicing costs... how long did you have the car, how many miles, and how much did it cost ya'?
I had a '96 N 4.0HC which did 15,000 a year. It was left outside, used every day and was usually splatted with mud from November to March - Not a problem apart from a broken door catch. And no-body is going to believe this but I got around 27,000 miles from the rear tyres!!! And yes I did two track days and always drove it hard when I could.
Pete, I've got a '97 (P) Chimaera that I use everyday for an 8 mile round trip to work. I also do many longer journeys and clock up around 10K miles per year. It gets serviced every 6K miles at my local dealer for £350-£450. It's just passed 40K miles and I've had it since 19K miles. Perfectly reliable! Around town it does about 18mpg and up to 28mpg when being sensible on the motorway. Even using Super Unleaded all the time it isn't too expensive to run. The tyres that were on it when I bought it (nearly new) lastest a further 17K miles so they're nearly new again now.
I'm just about to start advertising it as I've got a Tamora on order. Let me know if you're intersted? athomas@emea.att.com or 07710 461244.
Edited by gb61390 on Wednesday 19th September 16:27
Hi Pete
I had it for about 18 months, I only sold it because I have bought an old house in need of a lot of work and needed more load space. And I plan to buy another over the winter. I had it serviced at a mian dealer (Kerridges) at about £450.00 every 6K miles and never needed any extra bits!!
Petrol was not too bad, although I did become very friendly with my local garages due to frequent visit's (the tank is not huge and it's best not to let it go too far past the 1/4 mark) I managed 25-28 mpg if taken easy down to about 15 mpg but average over the 18 months was about 20 mpg.
So all together monthly costs:
Petrol - £237
Servicing - £95
Insurance - £70
Not bad really!!!!!!
Bought my Chimaera 12 months ago - since then I've put on 18,000 miles, 4,000 in the last few weeks (small trip around europe). The only problem was a melted sparc plug lead whilst in Monte Carlo - too near the manifold. This was easily fixed at a Land Rover Dealer. It was probably caused at the last service just prior to my driving holiday.
Apart from that it's been fine.
quote:Can you give me an idea of servicing costs? Cheers
Bought my Chimaera 12 months ago - since then I've put on 18,000 miles, 4,000 in the last few weeks (small trip around europe). The only problem was a melted sparc plug lead whilst in Monte Carlo - too near the manifold. This was easily fixed at a Land Rover Dealer. It was probably caused at the last service just prior to my driving holiday. Apart from that it's been fine.
quote:Yep all the unreliable tvrs seem to be the ones used a couple of times a month and thrashed to within an inch of their lives, they also seem to be the ones that get crashed.. the high milers seem to have few problems and the drivers understand them and keep them out of the hedges... Graham (with TVR that gets thrashed every day)
I think a lot of people are about to disagree with you Dave!
Had a Chimaera totally reliable and now with a Tuscan. My TVR was my only and every day car and were driven hard when possible. The Chimaera was about £450 for a 6k and £550 for a £12k serevice I got 15k out of the tyres before I changed to a Tuscan. I expect the service costs will now increase.
Living in Derbyshire the Chimaera was better in snow than I expected, but you do get odd looks in one through 3" of snow!! I do agree that the regularily driven cars are probebly more reliable as the owners are more aware of any problems and have them rectified early, plus as they don't sit there for weeks on end far less problems occur. My Chimaera only had anew battery and a wiper park switch, battery not unexpected for a three year old that previously had been a weekend car and a park switch £5 plus 10 min fixing.
Have Fun
I have 97P bought in August 2000 with 26K on the clock. It has been serviced twice since i have owned it. 1600 and 400. My brother had to do a little work to it just to keep it upto scratch around 500´s worth. Apart from that i have only experienced worn bushes. I have the same set of tyres on from buying it and have done 16K on them now, still have a lot of tred. I use it every day and commute to Reading and back from London. Cant fault it. Just get used to the contstant burble and your laughing. Ah, Petrol, i try not to think of that since they took my petrol card away!!!
Have a look here for the details
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?topic_id=2870&hostId=0 
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