Just about to buy but having the jitters

[currymonster]

just about to buy a bloody gorgeous Chimp, but am having (financially-induced) jitters. After all, for my sins, I am an accountant, and the sight of the current owner's last two servicing bills (£2000 and £3000 respectively), is giving me the willys. As it were. Can anyone reassure me? I need stories of fabulous driving adventures and admiring glances from beautiful women etc....

>>> Edited by currymonster on Wednesday 30th January 14:25

[rthierry]

£ grand to service a Chimaera That's a lot of money. What first spring to mind is a serie of questions:
What engine?
How old?
What does the detail of the bill says - is it strictly servicing or does it include some upgrades?
Is bill from a main dealer or a specialist?

My Chimaera will be up for servicing in a couple of month and if this is what the bill is like... my good lady wife is going to kill me

But the car it great !

[lovemytvr]

There are plenty of independants out there who do a first class job without the horrendous bills - let us know where you are and we will advise some contacts for you - Don`t let the bills put you off - it WILL be worth it!!

All the best

Neal

[currymonster]

OK, it's a 98 4.0L serviced at a main dealer (Mole Valley I think) and the bills were for just about everything, but no upgrades. New brakes, oil leaks, diff oil leaks, you name it. The car has also been shunted from behind so i'm gonna get it checked out by David Batty before I part with the readies. BTW, its a 47000 miler and its just under £15,000. Any comments anyone?

[hughjayteens]

I bought mine privately and had Dave Batty check it over - There is one bill from Mole Valley for £2800, and again it seems fairly routine - Top wishbones, disks and pads allround and full fluids and filter change - The labour alone is £1200....

Dave Batty quoted under £250 for changing the wishbones - Mole Valley seem rather extortionate IMHO..

I have had mine for a week now and LOVE IT!!! (despite the £100 fuel bill so far!!!)

[lovemytvr]

I was going to suggest David Batty - I have used him and so has rthierry and we would both recommend him - good guy and very reasonable costs.

Let us know how you get on

neal
W9 TVR

[AndyX]

I got my first TVR, a 500 Griff, last week. I had the same thoughts as you but after reading through the many threads on this site I was reassured that there are some well regarded specialists out there who don't charge the earth.

Go for it....you won't stop grinning! And the summer hasn't even arrived yet!

[darrenlens]

Get it checked by David (show him the bills) and take his advice, he knows what he is on about. It may mean this is not the one to go for but don't be put off just keep thinking of the summer with the top down and that noise!!

[rthierry]

Since we are talking about David Batty...

Dropped the car last week to sort a few niggles - kindly picked-up by Andrian Blyth warranty (only small stuff like starter motor, locking motor, windows adjustment,...). What I did have to pay was the additional stuff I asked him to do, i.e chassis clean + waxoil and fitting of David's own colling kit (new valves, new temp gauge that kicks in earlier... useful if like me you have to do a bit of urban driving). Total bill £188. The car was a dream when I picked it up.... in fact I was so excited that I found myself facing the wrong direction on a quiet round about - not really surprised as I was trying hard !

[darrenlens]

rthierry, Good value me thinks, my griff has got a service in the next couple of weeks with David and I think I will get him to waxoyl it as well.

[currymonster]

Thank guys, I really want a TVR (and have talked myself into this largely after having read this brilliant site for a few months!) I just want the right car so my enjoyment isnt soured by bills. Anyone got any stories about crash damage and TVRs (see earlier message) as car in question has been banged in the back. It was repaired by a main dealer and I couldnt tell... however, I have heard of cars not 'running right' after a smash... still, I keep thinking of when I will have one and that is just making me grin.

[plotloss]

I very nearly bought a repaired one and asked a friend who is an inspector if he thought that repairs could ever be 'like new'.

He said that yes, of course they could, but everytime you go over a bump, or a pothole etc you will be wondering if its something wrong with the car.

On that basis, I swerved it.

Matt.

[darrenlens]

IMHO I wouldn't (knowingly)buy a repaired vehicle and I especially wouldn't go anywhere near a repaired TVR.

[Paul V]

I bought my S2 a year ago, it had been crash repaired when it was only 2 years old, I used this as a bargaining tool and managed to knock a fair bit off the price, I’d buy the same car again given the choice, how long ago since the repair? How badly damaged was the car?

[currymonster]

quote:
IMHO I wouldn't (knowingly)buy a repaired vehicle and I especially wouldn't go anywhere near a repaired TVR.

ummm... that's a bit off-putting I must say. Last thing I want is a £15,000 lemon.

[yum]

Use the repairs to beat the price down, otherwise find a better example. sounds as if the damage was more extensive than they thought. There are plenty on the market - don't be in too much of a hurry.

None of my services ahve cost more than £500.

R

[darrenlens]

Didn't mean to put you off, you may well find a car thats been repaired better then when it was made but as a TVR is made by hand I would be worried that it wouldn't be as good as the original? There are plenty for sale so don't be put off. See what David has to say?

[RUF 3]

If you are in any doubt about this car either have it thoroughly checked by an independent of repute or walk away from it. If you have any doubts but still buy it, you will always have the feeling in the back of your mind that you have made a big mistake. I did this with a Cerbera, kept it one month and replaced it with a Griffith. What a weight off my mind that was !! There are loads of really good cars on offer, so do not settle for anything less. Good Luck.

[ChimeraWolf]

Hi Guys,

As I have a 24000 mile service coming up very, very fast, where is David Batty's place? Also what can I expect to be forking out of the old pocket for this type of milage service?

I need to get him to fix me bulbs too. And add 2 6x9 speakers to the back.

Cheers,
Shane

[Graham]

Depends what the damage was, if it was just body work, then for F**ks sake its only grp and any monkey could glue it back together and it would probably be better than new. If however the chassis was damaged or the suspension then i wouldnt be so sure, I would at least insist on a 4 wheel laser alignment and maybe get it conrer weighted by a proffessional at the same time. That way you would have the proof the car was square and get it set up properly at the same time. With tvr's having adjustable suspension i reckon probably 90% of them are out of adjustment anway.

As far as running a tvr, well i've had mine for 2.5 years, bought it second hand from a non tvr dealer, with incomplete service history, ive done about 20-25k miles, it lives outside on a main road,and other than upgrades( hee hee) all its cost is servicing, a set of tyres, manifold gasket,speedo sender and a wiper motor...

i run it almost every day and LOVEIT.......

GO for it....