How much are they really worth?
Discussion
I've been forced into selling my Griff recently and it has struck me just how difficult it is to price the car correctly. If you go by other ads for the same year/spec you've got no chance and trying to average it out doesn't always help!
In addition to that time of year has a real impact on valuation from dealers whose price varies considerably come October to what the car might have been worth only two months beforehand.
Strangely though, apparently good Griff's are in demand if your a buyer according to dealers and they are becoming very sought after and a sure fire classic. Clearly, this doesn't equate to what I've heard as a seller where the market seems overcrowded.
Clearly, both statements are correct but in trying to fairly price your car it makes life very difficult?
In addition to that time of year has a real impact on valuation from dealers whose price varies considerably come October to what the car might have been worth only two months beforehand.
Strangely though, apparently good Griff's are in demand if your a buyer according to dealers and they are becoming very sought after and a sure fire classic. Clearly, this doesn't equate to what I've heard as a seller where the market seems overcrowded.
Clearly, both statements are correct but in trying to fairly price your car it makes life very difficult?
I contacted a dealer about part-ex'ing my Griff 500 (in exchange for a Tuscan) and they offered a very low part-ex price. His reasoning was the low demand at the moment (for all TVR's) and the season.
I then advertised mine on Pistonheads and had numerous interested parties the same day (1st one within 2 minutes of the advert going live) and sold it the following weekend.
From speaking to a few people I think mine sold because of its overall condition (most had seen a few tattier newer cars).
I then advertised mine on Pistonheads and had numerous interested parties the same day (1st one within 2 minutes of the advert going live) and sold it the following weekend.
From speaking to a few people I think mine sold because of its overall condition (most had seen a few tattier newer cars).
Looking at your spec, and those in the classifieds, I'd guess that at £23,000 it would sell (though that's probably not what you wanted to hear). However, there's also a similar car (with a few more miles) that has been reduced down to that so unless there's something to distinguish yours from that one you're going to face some competition.
_DJ_ said:
I contacted a dealer about part-ex'ing my Griff 500 (in exchange for a Tuscan) and they offered a very low part-ex price.
I'm very happy with my Griff, but I was curious to see how an ordinary 'prestige' car dealer would value the car. He hadn't a clue so rang round a few TVR dealers. I was stunned at how low they underwrote the car. They seem to live in a world where you can apparently pick up nice Griff 500s for £7k and Chimps for £5k...
>> Edited by mellowman on Wednesday 15th October 07:04
can well believe it. I toyed with the idea of getting a C43 AMG saloon from a Merc dealership last summer...until they offered me 7k for my 4.0 Chimaera. I reckon I could probably have sold privately for 13Kish.
This is what happened:
The guy at Merc took me for a test drive in the AMG, and kept saying how fast it was. "It really wants to go doesn't it?" he said, very excited...I put my foot down and my god! Almost nothing happened at all. It seemed very pedestrian compared to the trev.
"In a word, no" I replied.
Undoubtedly it was a lovely car - everything was electric, amazingly comfortable, all the gizmos, everythin shut with a satisfying clunk etc etc, but it had no soul. It was quiet, soft, and weirdly I thought it was a bit girly. You could drive it with one finger. You didn't drive it, you sat in it, and pressed the accelerator.
When we got back to the dealership, I asked how much I could get for the Chim as a trade in. He really took the biscuit when I heard him ask his manager how much he'd get for "an M plate MX5". I had to correct him and tell him it was a TVR. "Oh. Right" he said...not sure he'd ever heard of them.
"How big is the engine? 2 litre? 2.5?"
Eventually he got the car right, but after some more stupid questions like "is it automatic? Does it have ABS?", they only offered me a piddling 7K.
Didn't buy the Merc, but changed to a Griff 500 in March this year. What a great decision!
Bouffy
This is what happened:
The guy at Merc took me for a test drive in the AMG, and kept saying how fast it was. "It really wants to go doesn't it?" he said, very excited...I put my foot down and my god! Almost nothing happened at all. It seemed very pedestrian compared to the trev.
"In a word, no" I replied.
Undoubtedly it was a lovely car - everything was electric, amazingly comfortable, all the gizmos, everythin shut with a satisfying clunk etc etc, but it had no soul. It was quiet, soft, and weirdly I thought it was a bit girly. You could drive it with one finger. You didn't drive it, you sat in it, and pressed the accelerator.
When we got back to the dealership, I asked how much I could get for the Chim as a trade in. He really took the biscuit when I heard him ask his manager how much he'd get for "an M plate MX5". I had to correct him and tell him it was a TVR. "Oh. Right" he said...not sure he'd ever heard of them.
"How big is the engine? 2 litre? 2.5?"
Eventually he got the car right, but after some more stupid questions like "is it automatic? Does it have ABS?", they only offered me a piddling 7K.
Didn't buy the Merc, but changed to a Griff 500 in March this year. What a great decision!
Bouffy
bouffy said:
... kept saying how fast it was. "It really wants to go doesn't it?" he said, very excited...I put my foot down and my god! Almost nothing happened at all. It seemed very pedestrian compared to the trev.
"In a word, no" I replied.
Sounds like you should have taken him for a test drive in your Chim... ! That would have shut him up.
I really wish that when people don't know or understand Tivs, they would take the time to admit they don't know and just ask us about them - it's so arrogant of them...
quite right. But I think it would have scared him half to death, and I didn't fancy cleaning the brown stuff off my passenger seat.
Besides, I'd just spent the day at Rockingham driving / being driven
around the track at ludicrous speed, so perhaps it was a little unfair to call the AMG slow.
No, sod it. They are slow.
>> Edited by bouffy on Wednesday 15th October 11:31
Besides, I'd just spent the day at Rockingham driving / being driven
around the track at ludicrous speed, so perhaps it was a little unfair to call the AMG slow. No, sod it. They are slow.
>> Edited by bouffy on Wednesday 15th October 11:31
bouffy said:
kept saying how fast it was. "It really wants to go doesn't it?" he said, very excited...I put my foot down and my god! Almost nothing happened at all. It seemed very pedestrian compared to the trev.
"In a word, no" I replied.
Things like this make me laugh. You can't help but smile when people first get in a TVR and experience that kind of acceleration for the first time. I know I certainly was when I bought my Griff 500.
Funnier still was my mum's reaction when I took her out in it. After flooring it in second she shouted at me "f***ing hell don't do that again", and she never uses that kind of language!!! Still makes me laugh now!!!
I got offered around the "11-12k" mark on my Griff by a dealer (without him seeing it) which I thought was a complete joke. He said he would be able to sell it at 14k tops. I promptly sold it for around a grand more than that, even though it probably wasn't in the worlds greatest condition...
Painey said:I agree. In most circumstances and AMG Merc is pretty quick (about 6/7-ish seconds 0-60?) so you can understand anyone from a normal car that does 0-60 in 10+ seconds finding it has plenty of "go". However, there is a world of difference going down to the sub-5 second bracket.
kept saying how fast it was. "It really wants to go doesn't it?" he said, very excited...I put my foot down and my god! Almost nothing happened at all. It seemed very pedestrian compared to the trev.
"In a word, no" I replied.
Things like this make me laugh. You can't help but smile when people first get in a TVR and experience that kind of acceleration for the first time. I know I certainly was when I bought my Griff 500.
Funnier still was my mum's reaction when I took her out in it. After flooring it in second she shouted at me "f***ing hell don't do that again", and she never uses that kind of language!!! Still makes me laugh now!!!
I know what you mean.
Last weekend a friend of mine asked if he could borrow the griff for a w/e. It's his 5 year anniversary with his girlfriend, and he wants to drive her down to a health spa in a 'flash' car. I told him that insurance might be an issue (he drives an Audi A3 1.6 and has 9pts
), and that it would be very different to drive - rear wheel drive, a*rse happy, no ABS etc etc...oh, and and a little bit quicker than he was used to.
He said he could handle it, but when i took him for a spin up the road and back, he was white when we got back. I'd given it beans admittedly, and had slid the back out a wee bit on a bend, but he was petrified. I hadn't heard language like that for some time.
Suffice to say, he will not be borrowing my tiv next weekend, or any weekend in fact.
People who drive 'normal' cars seem to have NO IDEA what 'real' cars are like. Astonishing, really.
Last weekend a friend of mine asked if he could borrow the griff for a w/e. It's his 5 year anniversary with his girlfriend, and he wants to drive her down to a health spa in a 'flash' car. I told him that insurance might be an issue (he drives an Audi A3 1.6 and has 9pts
), and that it would be very different to drive - rear wheel drive, a*rse happy, no ABS etc etc...oh, and and a little bit quicker than he was used to. He said he could handle it, but when i took him for a spin up the road and back, he was white when we got back. I'd given it beans admittedly, and had slid the back out a wee bit on a bend, but he was petrified.
I hadn't heard language like that for some time. Suffice to say, he will not be borrowing my tiv next weekend, or any weekend in fact.
People who drive 'normal' cars seem to have NO IDEA what 'real' cars are like. Astonishing, really.
MX-5, sorry that's really made me laugh, how did this bloke get a job in the motor trade let alone be let loose in a Merc dealership?
I'm trying to put a package together which will allow me to keep the Griff as the more I get involved with trying to sell it the more ridiclous the whole pricing game is getting.
As I said yesterday the car is too good and means to much to me to just give away to a dealer or a punter trying it on.
On the subject of people not understanding the cars and the monumental performance it also makes me laugh when your mates climb in and ask you to floor it without wearing a neckbrace! How many times do you see them smack their heads into the headrest and then loose the powers of speech! They never refer to a Subaru as being fast ever again!
I'm trying to put a package together which will allow me to keep the Griff as the more I get involved with trying to sell it the more ridiclous the whole pricing game is getting.
As I said yesterday the car is too good and means to much to me to just give away to a dealer or a punter trying it on.
On the subject of people not understanding the cars and the monumental performance it also makes me laugh when your mates climb in and ask you to floor it without wearing a neckbrace! How many times do you see them smack their heads into the headrest and then loose the powers of speech! They never refer to a Subaru as being fast ever again!
Hope you get to keep the Griff mate! Mind you the 450SE isn't a bad alternative 
Remember when I was buying the missus a CLK - wanted to test drive a 200 Kompressor - they only had a 230 - that'll do I said. Oh no - was the reply - different league in performance.
After I'd picked myself up and cleaned the puddle off the floor I told him I drove a Cerbera. He went quiet (sure he blushed) and then went and got the keys. 
Remember when I was buying the missus a CLK - wanted to test drive a 200 Kompressor - they only had a 230 - that'll do I said. Oh no - was the reply - different league in performance.
After I'd picked myself up and cleaned the puddle off the floor I told him I drove a Cerbera. He went quiet (sure he blushed) and then went and got the keys. ASM said:
MX-5, sorry that's really made me laugh, how did this bloke get a job in the motor trade let alone be let loose in a Merc dealership?
I mean, honestly! And I couldn't believe when:
* he asked whether it had ABS
* He didn't really believe me when I said it had a 4 litre engine
* he asked if it had a power hood
B'jaysus..it beggars belief!
PS You'll be pleased to hear that I didn't even go into the Porsche dealer next door!
Bouffy
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