Mantara purchase: will I regret it?
Discussion
Hi Zom.
TVR and Marcos both build great cars and I went through a very similar dilema just over a year ago but after hunting for a while for a GOOD example of Chimera/Griffith/Mantara I ended up buying a Mantara and don't regret it.
I had started out expecting to end up with a TVR but my opinion changed as I looked at more and more cars beacuse: -
1) Most Marcos were bought as second cars whereas many TVRs had been daily drives at sometime in their lives. Consequently Marcos tended to be lower mileage and I saw too many TVRs that needed extra work to bring them back to their original glory.
2) Rarity. Both TVR and Marcos will turn heads wherever they go but if you own a Marcos you have to have a script ready for all the questions you will be asked wherever you go (and get used to being photographed/videod on journeys up and down the motorway).
3) I found the Mantara to have a better ride than a Chim/Griff which pays dividends on longer journeys. (My wife and I did around trip last year through France to Tuscany/Umbria and back and the car was very comfortable for 10 days solid driving)
Mantaras do have some problems that Chims and Griffs dont: -
1) Supply: There are fewer Mantaras around and owners seem to be very reluctant to part with them which may make finding a good one a bit of a quest(although Jeremy's stock of cars has shot up in the last two months - Credit crunch perhaps?)
2) Ground clearance, I have never been defeated by humps and ramps but a Mantara does teach you to watch out for undulations in the road.
3) Many Marcos were built to the specification of their original owners and I found a couple of cars that had a setup that did not suit me. (Jem Marsh - the founder -was well over 6ft and Marcos Cars will easily accomodate people that are 6ft +. Shorter drivers had adjustments built into their cars. I am 6ft 1 but my wife drives ours and she is 5ft 5.)
Mantara parts are not a problem as the mechanicals and a lot of the electrics come out of the the Rover or Ford parts bin. Any other bits can be had from Marcos Heritage spares (at a price).
I note you live in Slough so you are right in the middle of the Thames Valley Group of the owners clubs which is probably the largest and most active in the country. You will have a wealth of knowledge to call on.
In the end I bought my Mantara beacuse it was best overall proposition as a car irrespective of Marque i.e. Condition, price, mileage, mechanicals etc (and in my heart of hearts I had always wanted a Marcos).
Enjoy the hunt!! and whatever you end up buying be it Marcos or TVR.
TVR and Marcos both build great cars and I went through a very similar dilema just over a year ago but after hunting for a while for a GOOD example of Chimera/Griffith/Mantara I ended up buying a Mantara and don't regret it.
I had started out expecting to end up with a TVR but my opinion changed as I looked at more and more cars beacuse: -
1) Most Marcos were bought as second cars whereas many TVRs had been daily drives at sometime in their lives. Consequently Marcos tended to be lower mileage and I saw too many TVRs that needed extra work to bring them back to their original glory.
2) Rarity. Both TVR and Marcos will turn heads wherever they go but if you own a Marcos you have to have a script ready for all the questions you will be asked wherever you go (and get used to being photographed/videod on journeys up and down the motorway).
3) I found the Mantara to have a better ride than a Chim/Griff which pays dividends on longer journeys. (My wife and I did around trip last year through France to Tuscany/Umbria and back and the car was very comfortable for 10 days solid driving)
Mantaras do have some problems that Chims and Griffs dont: -
1) Supply: There are fewer Mantaras around and owners seem to be very reluctant to part with them which may make finding a good one a bit of a quest(although Jeremy's stock of cars has shot up in the last two months - Credit crunch perhaps?)
2) Ground clearance, I have never been defeated by humps and ramps but a Mantara does teach you to watch out for undulations in the road.
3) Many Marcos were built to the specification of their original owners and I found a couple of cars that had a setup that did not suit me. (Jem Marsh - the founder -was well over 6ft and Marcos Cars will easily accomodate people that are 6ft +. Shorter drivers had adjustments built into their cars. I am 6ft 1 but my wife drives ours and she is 5ft 5.)
Mantara parts are not a problem as the mechanicals and a lot of the electrics come out of the the Rover or Ford parts bin. Any other bits can be had from Marcos Heritage spares (at a price).
I note you live in Slough so you are right in the middle of the Thames Valley Group of the owners clubs which is probably the largest and most active in the country. You will have a wealth of knowledge to call on.
In the end I bought my Mantara beacuse it was best overall proposition as a car irrespective of Marque i.e. Condition, price, mileage, mechanicals etc (and in my heart of hearts I had always wanted a Marcos).
Enjoy the hunt!! and whatever you end up buying be it Marcos or TVR.
Edited by marcosal on Saturday 2nd August 15:05
Oh difficult one really.
I looked at both and couldn't make my mind up. Actually I started out looking for late 60's early 70's Marcos with the Rover V8 in it and wire wheels just as a rough and ready basic weekender but aspirations gradually went higher.
I too looked at Redline but their prices are very high IMHO and accordingly they have them in stock for a long time. They did have such a car asking about £11,500 if I remember and at the time I just missed a very nice one which the private seller said he would be prepared to sell to me if his buyer failed to come up with the funds of £4995.
A lot of these private sales get hunted down by the likes of Redline and then they add a whopping amount to the sticker price on the forecourt. Same happens with Lotus/UK Sportscars and MG/Former Glory etc etc.
I formed the opinion that the Marcos was a little more limited in the their following and therefore more difficult to sell when you want to.
The Chim does have wider appeal and in the same market has a wider appeal.
I recently saw a nice Marcos at the garage where my TVR was being serviced and mentioned that I almost bought one... "you're better off with your TVR" was the reply. Having had the Chim for 5 years I think he was probably right - especially when your hear that 'bellow'
Good luck with whatever you decide.
I looked at both and couldn't make my mind up. Actually I started out looking for late 60's early 70's Marcos with the Rover V8 in it and wire wheels just as a rough and ready basic weekender but aspirations gradually went higher.
I too looked at Redline but their prices are very high IMHO and accordingly they have them in stock for a long time. They did have such a car asking about £11,500 if I remember and at the time I just missed a very nice one which the private seller said he would be prepared to sell to me if his buyer failed to come up with the funds of £4995.
A lot of these private sales get hunted down by the likes of Redline and then they add a whopping amount to the sticker price on the forecourt. Same happens with Lotus/UK Sportscars and MG/Former Glory etc etc.
I formed the opinion that the Marcos was a little more limited in the their following and therefore more difficult to sell when you want to.
The Chim does have wider appeal and in the same market has a wider appeal.
I recently saw a nice Marcos at the garage where my TVR was being serviced and mentioned that I almost bought one... "you're better off with your TVR" was the reply. Having had the Chim for 5 years I think he was probably right - especially when your hear that 'bellow'
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Marcosal, I remember sitting in a Mantara and LM400 at the factory and being surprised at just how reclined the 'sofa' seating is. What is forward and backward visibility like? I'm about 5' 10". I may need to do some motorway driving, so your comments about the Mantara's better comfort are noted.
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Here are some more practicalities. A couple of TVR Chim owners have sat in my car and their first comments were both Bl**dy H*ll thats low. If you park a Mantara beside a Chim or a Griff the car is physically lower and you actually sit lower in the car (The body work forms part of the seat so no runners to raise the height of the seat base). I live in the countryside which creates problems at junctions at this time of the year because you can't see over long grass verges!! Rear vis in a spyder is ok with the roof down but you cant see the end of the boot. With the roof up vis on reversing is restricted. The view over the bonnet takes getting used to as you sit so low in the car that the leading edge of the bonnet is some way past your line of sight. Your Torso hight is actually more important than total height for forward/rear visbility
At 5ft 10 you should have no problem in a Mantara. I know of two Mantara owners that are not much over 5ft 4.
I agree with some of Dave's comments. If you are looking to sell on in a short period, A Mantara should move relatively quickly if it is a really good one, Credit crunch excepted. (A number of Marcos owners have more than one!! and good cars often change hands between existing or previous Marcos owners). The appeal to the general pulic will always favour TVR (unless you are over age 50) because the 20 and 30 somethings have no idea what a Marcos is. If it is average or scruffy it is likely to stick for a while. It is always worth visiting Redline to test drive a cross sample (the best thing I did when I was looking was to drive a well maintained 95 Mantara with 80K on the clock so I could sort out the difference between genuine wear and tear and neglect).
You may have noticed moans on the Yuku site about the lack of postings in the Mantara section which is pretty much due to better reliability than predecessor models, Dont forget that most Mantulas (the Mantara's immediate predecessor) were kits so build quality can be quite variablle.
Hope this helps (P.S. I am socramsnalla on the other site)
[/quote]
Here are some more practicalities. A couple of TVR Chim owners have sat in my car and their first comments were both Bl**dy H*ll thats low. If you park a Mantara beside a Chim or a Griff the car is physically lower and you actually sit lower in the car (The body work forms part of the seat so no runners to raise the height of the seat base). I live in the countryside which creates problems at junctions at this time of the year because you can't see over long grass verges!! Rear vis in a spyder is ok with the roof down but you cant see the end of the boot. With the roof up vis on reversing is restricted. The view over the bonnet takes getting used to as you sit so low in the car that the leading edge of the bonnet is some way past your line of sight. Your Torso hight is actually more important than total height for forward/rear visbility
At 5ft 10 you should have no problem in a Mantara. I know of two Mantara owners that are not much over 5ft 4.
I agree with some of Dave's comments. If you are looking to sell on in a short period, A Mantara should move relatively quickly if it is a really good one, Credit crunch excepted. (A number of Marcos owners have more than one!! and good cars often change hands between existing or previous Marcos owners). The appeal to the general pulic will always favour TVR (unless you are over age 50) because the 20 and 30 somethings have no idea what a Marcos is. If it is average or scruffy it is likely to stick for a while. It is always worth visiting Redline to test drive a cross sample (the best thing I did when I was looking was to drive a well maintained 95 Mantara with 80K on the clock so I could sort out the difference between genuine wear and tear and neglect).
You may have noticed moans on the Yuku site about the lack of postings in the Mantara section which is pretty much due to better reliability than predecessor models, Dont forget that most Mantulas (the Mantara's immediate predecessor) were kits so build quality can be quite variablle.
Hope this helps (P.S. I am socramsnalla on the other site)
Hi ZOM
I would say that Marcosal has given you a pretty fair and balanced first hand view.
Also yes you are right that Marcos cars tend to gravitate to Redline and yes Paul Stevens although he is more Porker and Ginetta, the former in particular will trawl private ads and buy the customer's car as cheaply as possible after it has remained unsold for some. Apart from a clean up and basic service I don' think much money is lavished on them before a huge hike on the sticker price. They basically make their own market for these cars but we aren't forced to buy from them and I didn't.
The Chim owmers comment about being used is valid - probably is for most cars of this ilk. I bought an older car on overall condition - it looked very good because it had done very little mileage and had everything on it that it left the factory with apart fuel and oil and plugs! However, I did find that because of it's lack of use everything was seized, corroded, gone hard, stiff, stuck etc. Servicing doesn't deal with these things. Better off with a car that may have more miles but is clearly used regulary and therefore where parts may have worn out they have been replaced and are working. Look for a proud owner who can tell you all about his car and clearly uses it. Everything should work because it hasn't suffered from lack of use.
Oh yes and like Marcosal said do use these garages for some test drives and that doesn't mean just up the road and back - if that's all they are prepared to offer then forget it... Jaguar let me test a car for three days - I did buy one in the end before you ask.
Good luck
I would say that Marcosal has given you a pretty fair and balanced first hand view.
Also yes you are right that Marcos cars tend to gravitate to Redline and yes Paul Stevens although he is more Porker and Ginetta, the former in particular will trawl private ads and buy the customer's car as cheaply as possible after it has remained unsold for some. Apart from a clean up and basic service I don' think much money is lavished on them before a huge hike on the sticker price. They basically make their own market for these cars but we aren't forced to buy from them and I didn't.
The Chim owmers comment about being used is valid - probably is for most cars of this ilk. I bought an older car on overall condition - it looked very good because it had done very little mileage and had everything on it that it left the factory with apart fuel and oil and plugs! However, I did find that because of it's lack of use everything was seized, corroded, gone hard, stiff, stuck etc. Servicing doesn't deal with these things. Better off with a car that may have more miles but is clearly used regulary and therefore where parts may have worn out they have been replaced and are working. Look for a proud owner who can tell you all about his car and clearly uses it. Everything should work because it hasn't suffered from lack of use.
Oh yes and like Marcosal said do use these garages for some test drives and that doesn't mean just up the road and back - if that's all they are prepared to offer then forget it... Jaguar let me test a car for three days - I did buy one in the end before you ask.
Good luck
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