The Wisdom Of French Ownership?
Discussion
Hello boys & girls! 
Are we sitting comfortably? OK, here's the story... Ever since I was old enough to draw spaceships, I have dreamed of owning a TVR. Unfortunately (as I found out the hard way) abandoning a secure (but no doubt miserable) future in dentistry & following a career path in the (much more fun, but far less financially rewarding) independent music industry, does not a TVR endow (I know, I know, I should've listened to my mother 
).
Anyhoo, many years of life in London, coupled with the sporadic skintness induced by the death of all music that doesn't sup from the reeking hole of Satan's pop anus, have sickened me to the core, & so, like the proverbial rat, I am abandoning this sinking ship & heading for warmer climbs
.
The sale of equipment from my recording studio here will leave me with enough in hand to finally enter the TVR fold. However, I am now wondering on the wisdom of this move - I am well aware of the potential cow-pat type hurdles that can often plop onto ones path during the roller-coaster of TVR ownership, but I have absolutely no idea, what sort of level of service, if any, to expect should something go wrong whilst blasting around the utterly fantastic & mostly empty roads of the Massif Central, in the Haute-Loire region of France.
Are there any French owners out there (ex-pat or otherwise), or indeed anyone else, who'd care to step in with a spot of experience & help to give me some idea of what I might be letting myself in for? Are there any known, competent, independents over there for things like servicing etc. What about for more serious issues, such as (heaven forfend) the dreaded engine rebuild?
My current thinking is there's little point in buying one with a warranty as it'll surely be invalid once I reach foreign soil & would no doubt require the car to be shipped back to Blighty for any work to be carried out anyway? I have thought about buying in France, but I have so far been unable to find anything other than a couple of rather overpriced Chimaera's & rather amusingly, this:- http://www.tvr-viande.com (obviously I'm looking in the wrong places
)
I'll also ask this question on the TVRCC but wanted to check here first as there seems little point in joining if the answer is a definite no-no to buying one.
The nearest major city will be Limoges (if that helps) & I'm looking at buying a T350.
Many thanks in advance for any help (& for reading this far, if indeed, you did).
Are we sitting comfortably? OK, here's the story... Ever since I was old enough to draw spaceships, I have dreamed of owning a TVR. Unfortunately (as I found out the hard way) abandoning a secure (but no doubt miserable) future in dentistry & following a career path in the (much more fun, but far less financially rewarding) independent music industry, does not a TVR endow (I know, I know, I should've listened to my mother ).Anyhoo, many years of life in London, coupled with the sporadic skintness induced by the death of all music that doesn't sup from the reeking hole of Satan's pop anus, have sickened me to the core, & so, like the proverbial rat, I am abandoning this sinking ship & heading for warmer climbs
. The sale of equipment from my recording studio here will leave me with enough in hand to finally enter the TVR fold. However, I am now wondering on the wisdom of this move - I am well aware of the potential cow-pat type hurdles that can often plop onto ones path during the roller-coaster of TVR ownership, but I have absolutely no idea, what sort of level of service, if any, to expect should something go wrong whilst blasting around the utterly fantastic & mostly empty roads of the Massif Central, in the Haute-Loire region of France.
Are there any French owners out there (ex-pat or otherwise), or indeed anyone else, who'd care to step in with a spot of experience & help to give me some idea of what I might be letting myself in for? Are there any known, competent, independents over there for things like servicing etc. What about for more serious issues, such as (heaven forfend) the dreaded engine rebuild?
My current thinking is there's little point in buying one with a warranty as it'll surely be invalid once I reach foreign soil & would no doubt require the car to be shipped back to Blighty for any work to be carried out anyway? I have thought about buying in France, but I have so far been unable to find anything other than a couple of rather overpriced Chimaera's & rather amusingly, this:- http://www.tvr-viande.com (obviously I'm looking in the wrong places
)I'll also ask this question on the TVRCC but wanted to check here first as there seems little point in joining if the answer is a definite no-no to buying one.
The nearest major city will be Limoges (if that helps) & I'm looking at buying a T350.
Many thanks in advance for any help (& for reading this far, if indeed, you did).
hi,
I've been living in France for a few years and have a Griff. In France there is no proper dealer who can service the cars. Maybe TVR France (Nice area) but I don't know if they still do service now TVR has closed down. Myself I have a local garage to sort out simple stuff and for a RV8 this means they can do most things but for a good service you have to go to the UK or Belgium/Holland. For a S6 this is an entirely different matter since no local garage would/should touch them.
The additional problem is that you can't import a Tuscan/Sag/T350 into France so you have to keep them on UK plates somehow.
PS. I live near Souillac, about 1.5 hours south of Limoges so if you are in the neighboorhood ...
I've been living in France for a few years and have a Griff. In France there is no proper dealer who can service the cars. Maybe TVR France (Nice area) but I don't know if they still do service now TVR has closed down. Myself I have a local garage to sort out simple stuff and for a RV8 this means they can do most things but for a good service you have to go to the UK or Belgium/Holland. For a S6 this is an entirely different matter since no local garage would/should touch them.
The additional problem is that you can't import a Tuscan/Sag/T350 into France so you have to keep them on UK plates somehow.
PS. I live near Souillac, about 1.5 hours south of Limoges so if you are in the neighboorhood ...
Edited by Gerjo on Wednesday 21st November 09:52
Edited by Gerjo on Wednesday 21st November 09:53
Mr Heathen said:
Are there any French owners out there (ex-pat or otherwise), or indeed anyone else, who'd care to step in with a spot of experience
Come and say hello : http://www.tvrcarclub-france.net/forum/index.phpThere are also occasionally cars for sale.
RV8 models will be best. Buy a S6 car and you may be shipping it back to UK for any servicing.
Hi,
Thanks very much everyone for your answers. Very useful... Phew, OK, no Speed6 servicing... I had a nasty feeling the answer might be something like that. Bugger.
I'm no stranger to traveling for servicing, but 1500 miles & a ferry? That's a fairly big commitment, although it'd give me a good excuse for a decent road trip a couple of times a year. I suppose I could start looking at another model but I really had my heart set on a T350. Has anyone managed to drop an RV8 into one yet? Lol.
Clearly a lot more chin rubbing left to do on this one...
Still got a lot to tie up here so I won't be over full time until spring next year, no date fixed yet...
May well take you up on that offer when I get there Gerjo, cheers.
Le TVR, I'm going to register on that forum now, thanks!
Thanks very much everyone for your answers. Very useful... Phew, OK, no Speed6 servicing... I had a nasty feeling the answer might be something like that. Bugger.
I'm no stranger to traveling for servicing, but 1500 miles & a ferry? That's a fairly big commitment, although it'd give me a good excuse for a decent road trip a couple of times a year. I suppose I could start looking at another model but I really had my heart set on a T350. Has anyone managed to drop an RV8 into one yet? Lol.
Clearly a lot more chin rubbing left to do on this one...
Still got a lot to tie up here so I won't be over full time until spring next year, no date fixed yet...
May well take you up on that offer when I get there Gerjo, cheers.
Le TVR, I'm going to register on that forum now, thanks!
Edited by Mr Heathen on Wednesday 21st November 13:40
Edited by Mr Heathen on Wednesday 21st November 13:41
I've had my Tuscan in Australia since 2003 and never had to ship it back or anything like that to have it serviced or repaired. Get your hands on the software and any competent mechanic will be able to fix it/ service it. Parts and help from most of the remaining dealers (Dom @ TVR Power for example) are just a phone call away and I can actually get parts quicker from the UK than I can get them from Melbourne (on a good day that is). Don't be put off by the gloom mongerers get a life not security.
Turbo100 said:
I've had my Tuscan in Australia since 2003 and never had to ship it back or anything like that to have it serviced or repaired. Get your hands on the software and any competent mechanic will be able to fix it/ service it. Parts and help from most of the remaining dealers (Dom @ TVR Power for example) are just a phone call away and I can actually get parts quicker from the UK than I can get them from Melbourne (on a good day that is). Don't be put off by the gloom mongerers get a life not security.
See, this is what I'm looking for! Somebody to talk me into it (not hard, believe me! ) I've been waiting nearly 20 years for a TVR & this is my first chance I've had to own the car of my dreams. I like the way you think Mr Turbo! (& if I'd wanted security, I'd have gone for the dentistry). Now then, where do I go about getting that software from?Just noticed the post by Le TVR
"The choice is quite limited because TVR never did a full EU approval"
With regards to Tuscans, T350, Sagaris etc, you are quite correct, but TVR did carry a full EU whole vehicle approval on the Chimaera.
But of interest, perhaps, some model years of the "S", Chimaera, and Griffiths also carried French approval homologation shields!
"The choice is quite limited because TVR never did a full EU approval"
With regards to Tuscans, T350, Sagaris etc, you are quite correct, but TVR did carry a full EU whole vehicle approval on the Chimaera.
But of interest, perhaps, some model years of the "S", Chimaera, and Griffiths also carried French approval homologation shields!
Just noticed the post by Le TVR
"The choice is quite limited because TVR never did a full EU approval"
With regards to Tuscans, T350, Sagaris etc, you are quite correct, but TVR did carry a full EU whole vehicle approval on the Chimaera.
But of interest, perhaps, some model years of the "S", Chimaera, and Griffiths also carried French approval homologation shields!
"The choice is quite limited because TVR never did a full EU approval"
With regards to Tuscans, T350, Sagaris etc, you are quite correct, but TVR did carry a full EU whole vehicle approval on the Chimaera.
But of interest, perhaps, some model years of the "S", Chimaera, and Griffiths also carried French approval homologation shields!
Hi Gerjo,
Who did you try? Florence or Romain?
I dont know if the TCRCCF still exists but the last address I had was contact@tvrcarclub-france.net
Havent seen anything new on the site since 2005.....
A few outings etc are discussed on the forum.
Who did you try? Florence or Romain?
I dont know if the TCRCCF still exists but the last address I had was contact@tvrcarclub-france.net
Havent seen anything new on the site since 2005.....
A few outings etc are discussed on the forum.
http://www.angloinfo.com/showcase/englishCarMech/
Try these guys. I called in during a trip around France in my Griff, this summer, nice chat and some inexpensive oil. They had some interesting cars for sale as well. Certainly worth a call.
Try these guys. I called in during a trip around France in my Griff, this summer, nice chat and some inexpensive oil. They had some interesting cars for sale as well. Certainly worth a call.
DWP said:
http://www.angloinfo.com/showcase/englishCarMech/
Try these guys. I called in during a trip around France in my Griff, this summer, nice chat and some inexpensive oil. They had some interesting cars for sale as well. Certainly worth a call.
Brilliant, thanks! I'll get on to them right now. Try these guys. I called in during a trip around France in my Griff, this summer, nice chat and some inexpensive oil. They had some interesting cars for sale as well. Certainly worth a call.
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