Chimaera costs.

[spally]

I am 26 and thinking about buying a Chimaera or Griffith 5.0l.(have got between 18k and 20k to spend on the car). This will be my first performance car and was wondering if anyone could give me information as to where i could teast drive and also a quick run down of running costs to do about 10k miles a year

[atg]

Rough and ready:- 10k miles is going to be about £1500 for fuel Insurance obviously depends on how many prangs and points you've won and where you live ... but say £1000? 6000 mile services so say 2 per year + some extra for the bits that fall off by themselves ... another £1000 (this might me a little optimistic...) So I guess about £3500 - £4000 per annum, roughly a tenner a day. Obviously that doesn't include depreceation, or any financing costs/cost of capital... but why depress ourselves further? Obviously it's mad to buy a TVR. You should get a five year old diesel Honda Civic estate with cup holders etc. Personally I think sanity is massively overrated.

[gervaised]

have a look at http://www.pistonheads.com/fleet/ for running costs. i'd suggest adrian blyth for test drive and potential purchase. www.adrianblyth.co.uk

[philr]

There are loads of previous posts on this type of subject so its worth checking out the previous messages. Fernhurst ann Mole Valley dealers always come highly recommended and both gave me a test run in 4.0 and 5.0 cars. The advice I was given by everyone when I was looking, was to go for a 1997 + car as the build quality and reliability greatly improved at that point. ( OK I know loads of people will say their pre 97 is fine, but this is what I was told). Sub £20k might just get you a 97+ car privately but "probably" not a dealer sourced car. Budget for £1k insurance per year (depending on circumstances), about £400 for the small services and £600 for the larger services. I was told to expect to spend £1k per year keeping it on the road (presumably includes sevices), which is about right. Tyres cost loads - expect about £100 per front and £130 per rear, but shop around as deals can be found. Fuel - this does get expensive compared to other cars as you are better to opt for Super-UL (or better still Shell Optimax now). I tend to get about 16-17 around town and 22-23 on a decent run, but this depends on how you drive and what your particular engine is like. Yes all these engines seem to have their own little characteristics - they are individuals. Oil-Mobil 1 or similar - I tend to go through about 1 litre per 1000 miles but each engine/driver style is different. Remember that buying a TVR is driven by the heart (especially after a test in a 5.0 Chimaera), but make sure your head is in charge of the final decision. Phil

[caro]

"Personally I think sanity is massively overrated" Hear Hear !!! That almost makes up for the crime of telling me how much it's costing...

[rob hamilton]

Dealers always tell you go for a post 97/98 or whatever as this tends to correspond with what they have in stock.

[davidproe]

I have owned an "R" reg March 1998 4.0 Chimaera since new and have 18,000 miles on the clock. The 6,000 mile service was approximately £700 and the 12,000 service was £1,100 ("minor bits and pieces" according to the dealer!). I took the car to Raven Automotive for the 18,000 mile service and it cost circa £400 together with an informative and detailed review of what might need doing in the future. I have had nothing (touch-wood) go wrong at all with the car and it runs superbly. Best decision I have ever made. n.b. clearly the wife doesn't read this.