Reliability?

[Driller]

Hi Everyone, I'll be buying my first TVR soon, a 3 year old griff500 (loved 'em ever since they came out)and I'm trying to get a feel for the reliability issues. I'll be buying the Griff and Chimp book also. So, if it's not a taboo question, can I ask specifically those folks to reply who have never had an engine breakdown or other problem which has resulted in their Griff being stranded? What sort of % of them have this happen? Many Thanks Rich Seaton

[RobM]

1st week I bought mine, sump gasket went, followed by poly-v- belt. All due ( i think ) to it being stood in the dealer showroom for too long. Since that, its been 100%. In 2 years, the only problem i had was the otter switch. That set me back £15 !

[thegamekeeper]

Like buying a house golden rule POSITION, POSITION,POSITION. With a TVR similar rule DRIVE IT ,DRIVE IT ,DRIVE IT.Standing in a garage is not what cars are for. They are now depreciating so fast regardless of whether you use it or not it is MAD not to use it.I have owned every TVR model ever made(except the Tuscan which is too embarasing to be seen near let alone in )and currently have 2 cars with over 400,000 each on the clock as well as modern TVR's and find with use and good maintainence very few problems

[edward]

40 minutes hassle in 2 years

[Driller]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Surely though, there must be more than 5 people on this forum who have had few/no problems with their griffs?! Rich Seaton Edited by Rich Seaton on Thursday 19th April 16:49

[GasBlaster]

Haven't been left stranded in about six months of ownership and no major problems. One moment of acute embarassment though: Slammed the door shut (roof up) at busy petrol station and locked it with the remote. Only the door hadn't quite shut properly. And so then it wouldn't open. And I was locked out in full view of about a million onlookers. Not pleasant. I ended up pretending I wanted to leave it there anyway and disappeared until all the punters had gone before attacking the door with my knee to get in. Moral - make sure the door has shut properly before locking!!

[jon h]

I've had my 4.3 for 3 years, and only had 2 minor niggles: throttle cable snapped, but with all that lovely torque, I was able to get to a mates house on tickover, reaching about 30mph in 3rd, where we bodged, I mean engineereed, a new one from a bit of a sailing dinghy and part of his garage door. It ran for months afterwards, but my wife pressured me to get a proper one, beieving that the integrity of our DIY engineering may have been compromised by an urge to get to the pub on time! (Also, my mate couldn't open his garage door from the outside until I returned the bit we borrowed.)The gearbox left me with only 3rd & 4th once, again thanks to the torque, it didn't seem to be a big problem! Cost £160 to fix. In the same time period my Saab 9000 cost a bloody fortune with 2 gearbox rebuilds and new timing chain and gears (although in fairness it does do a lot more miles) All in all, a good reliable motor that has never left me stranded, and without loads of electronics, I have half a chance of improvising myself out of the s**t if it does ever happen.

[Dan]

I haven't had mine for too long (3 months)but its done 2000 miles in that time. So far has been totally reliable, if anything it runs smoother now than when I bought it. I'm hoping that any niggles that would have come from the previous owner would have shown themselves by now, and I must say I now don't panic if I forget the mobile, so my confidence must be growing. As has been mentioned in this thread, get a car that has been used. Personally I wouldn't touch anything with unreasonably low milage. Usually they are more expencive and you are paying for a higher risk of niggles. Above all just go and look at loads of cars before you buy. It soon becomes obvious which have been stood for ages, which have been used and which have been abused. Happy Hunting Dan

[graham]

Had my chim for 18 months, it lives out side on the road, when i bought it it leaked ( clutch master cylinder cover not sealed !!!) doesnt now, the wiper self park is intermitant, and the speedo sender packed up.. other than that its great, starts on the button mpg is good 20-24 and always gets me where im going , inc some track days..

[Driller]

"Above all just go and look at loads of cars before you buy. It soon becomes obvious which have been stood for ages, which have been used and which have been abused." ________________________________________ Dan, I've heard this said before. Apart from obvious visible abuse, does this mean how things feel mechanically (engine, suspension) and if so what am I looking for? I've driven both a griff and a chimp before and they both seemed fine. Rich Seaton Edited by Rich Seaton on Friday 20th April 13:08

[pete]

I've owned my '97 Griff for 9 months now, covering 6000 miles, 19000 in total. In that time I've never been stranded, and had remarkably few problems. * New alarm control unit AND siren needed, at different times - what a brilliant combination, British electrics and an Italian alarm system! * I've just ahd a new clutch master cylinder fitted. Gradual loss of clutch pressure, but I got to the dealer before losing the clutch altogether. * It's blown a couple of radiator fan fuses, usually after I get the connectors wet when washing the car. Other than those, it's been great, plus everything was done under warranty. I've just had a 24k service done and the car's running better than ever. Pete

[Dan]

You can tell a lot about a car by just looking at it. There were a number I went to see that just didn't look right, if that’s the case just walk away. One of the key things is the electrics, check everything, if a car has not been used very much by its owner or it has been stood in a dealers showroom (over the period I was looking at cars, 18mths, some dealers still had the same stock) batteries are left to go flat and are recharged a number of times which won't do any car any good, and the last thing you want is a stuffed ECU. As far as actually driving the cars is concerned if, like me you did a lot of research before finally deciding to go ahead, you will probably be amazed how 'together' a good TVR feels. Having read all the articles and seen the TV shows I was expecting something that drove like a tractor on solid rubber wheels. I was willing to forgive this for the looks and the sound, but the truth is whilst they require a little more effort than ordinary cars they are not difficult to drive, are very smooth, pretty much rattle free (as much as any convertible) and everything feels well put together. Having said that I did go out in a car that had clearly not been looked after, and it looked it. The stitching in the interior was coming away on the dash and arm rest, the front end looked as though the car had closely followed a gritting truck for 100 miles and the diff sounded like the tractor I mentioned earlier (and this was a sub 30K miles car). So bottom line is first impressions are very important, but it is important to look at drive and compare a number of cars before you commit to buy. Hope all this helps Dan

[Driller]

Yep certainly does, thankyou Dan(and everyone else for your comments). I've just got the Chimp/Griff book through the post-looks very handy. Rich Seaton

[ADB]

Not seen the thread until today. '97 Griff, been mine for almost 2 years now. Only problem in that time was that having hardly been used before I got it, the alternator overcharged the battery soon after I started to use it, since then, nothing, always starts first time, has yet to overheat, even in Le Mans last year (V hot) I totally agree with the need to use it regularly, otherwise it might sulk.