Minimise damper replacement costs?

[TMan]

I apparently need to replace a leaking set of dampers on my Tuscan and am going to be charged a bundle by the TVR garage to get it done. Can I get the parts cheaper elesewhere and get them fitted at the garage so that service history is complete? Any other ways to minimise the cost?

[j_s_g]

TMan said:

I apparently need to replace a leaking set of dampers on my Tuscan and am going to be charged a bundle by the TVR garage to get it done. Can I get the parts cheaper elesewhere and get them fitted at the garage so that service history is complete? Any other ways to minimise the cost?

As a general principle, the cheapest way to maintain a full service history is to get fixed-price servicing from a cheaper (but decent) dealer (e.g. TVR Power), and then get one of the independents to take care of anything raised on the service - as long as it gets the stamp in the book from a dealer, you're fine.

When you say "a leaking set of dampers", what do you mean? 1x front & 1x rear, all of them, etc? You should only ever replace them in pairs (front/rear).

I'm just having my Nitrons from the Cerb switched over to the Tuscan this week. It's currently got Red Rose (i.e. TVR height-adjustable) dampers on it all round. Or at least it should have - we'll see when I get the car back (ever the cynic)! You're welcome to have those cut-price, and I'm sure a decent indy down South would fit them for you.

[TMan]

Apparently both the rears need replacing. How much do you want for the set? I've heard that the Nitrons give a much better ride and handling? Worth the investment do you think?

[j_s_g]

TMan said:

Apparently both the rears need replacing. How much do you want for the set? I've heard that the Nitrons give a much better ride and handling? Worth the investment do you think?

Handling will only really be improved by replacing the fronts. Ride quality comes from the rear (along with a little extra stability/grip if you can lower the rear end sufficiently).

If you were going to do Nitrons, I'd suggest doing the front only/all of them. A full set of Nitrons with fitting by an indy is going to set you back a minimum of £1200. A budget alternative would be AVOs - not as good as Nitrons by a long way, but better value for money than bog-standard TVR ones. The rear adjustable TVR ones should give a better ride than the non-adjustable ones if you get the ride-height set up best for you. Personally, I really like the Nitrons; but I used to do a lot of Porsche racing, and came to TVRs via my Elise, so I'm more than a bit picky about handling.

Not sure on the price yet - I'll check out what they normally cost this afternoon, and get Joolz to let me know if they're in a decent state to be sold on as soon as I can get hold of him (I'm not going to sell them if they're no better than the ones they're replacing!)

Joolz, how's my car coming along? Worked your way through the whole list yet?

>> Edited by j_s_g on Wednesday 28th April 14:08

[TMan]

Good info - many thanks for the reply. Let me know if your Red Rose set are in good condition to sell.

Thanks again