Does age make a significant difference?

[jimmyVX]

For a while I have been reading about the Speed Six engine and its apparent pitfalls in regards to reliability. I have been lookig at a Tuscan and while the prices are becoming much more attractive, the thought of having to foot a £5k rebuild cost really puts me off. Having owned a Chimaera in the past I am aware about the running costs of a TVR and also the huge amounts of pleasure to be had from it. I have read that a post 2003 engine had a few minor modifications that as a result are generally more reliable. So should I be looking at a post 2003 car only? Or consider a rebuilt car? ANy thoughts would be much appreciated, many thanks.

[pete]

The 2003 cars seems to be a little better in terms of reliability, but there's no guarantee. Similarly the 2005-on engines are more reliable still, but they still go bang or wear out occasionally. The trend seems to be one of new, subtler flaws emerging as the obvious ones were addressed. For example, when the early soft finger-follower problems were sorted out, people started getting enough miles out of the engines to find that the valves themselves burn away prematurely, or other top or bottom end problems become apparent. All the reputable engine builders can talk convincingly about what they've done to address these flaws since the demise of TVR.

If you want real peace of mind, either buy a car with a recent warranted rebuild, or buy one factoring in the rebuild cost. There's a reason that Tuscans are so under-valued in the market, and it's because the sale price doesn't include the £5-7k you should set aside for an eventual rebuild.

Given the number of cars you see for sale under £15k these days, and the fact that you can have a drive-in, drive-out 4.3 upgrade for £7.5k with a 5 year warranty, I know what I would do

Pete