Discussion
Dusty/Adam,
Thought you might be interested to know I recently got my car- 1992 4.3- through through Rob Ingleby, who basically looks at cars on the market and finds a good 'un within your price range etc- for a fee. He is generally well respected among TVR people and from personal experience gives an unbiased view having driven and seen lots of cars.
Thought you might be interested to know I recently got my car- 1992 4.3- through through Rob Ingleby, who basically looks at cars on the market and finds a good 'un within your price range etc- for a fee. He is generally well respected among TVR people and from personal experience gives an unbiased view having driven and seen lots of cars.
I have recently (pick up tomorrow) purchased a fabulous car, (good condition just needs a little fettle here and there) sourced it myself, but used James Agger to check it over, (fabulous service he offers too! mines a gin and tonic James).
James will source them too.
Purchased a 500 '94 Griff for well under the £15k mark.
Eli
expect the grins to last, but hope to sleep better than I have for the last week waiting for it to arrive.
James will source them too.
Purchased a 500 '94 Griff for well under the £15k mark.
Eli
expect the grins to last, but hope to sleep better than I have for the last week waiting for it to arrive.
jigs said:
Fuel consumption for a 4.3 precat is about 25/27 mpg whereas a 500 rarely clears 20 mpg. No cats to go wrong and a bit simpler under the bonnet. Classic insurance available for precat 4.0/4.3 - £300 for 5000mls fully comp. More likely to appreciate as well.
Fuel consumption for the Griff 500 shopping trolley is around 25. I've had 4.x's down in the single figures BTW...
Ok so there are no cats but the latest 4.x is now 10 years old and are starting to wear out and require a bit more TLC. Seen several 4.x cars which need new chassis in recent months. Costs a lot more than a cat. The 4.x racks are no longer made which can cause a problem if they die and so on. So in truth there are equally many 4.x bits that are more expensive than a 500 to replace/repair.
Insurance for 500s is comparable. All depends on the value more than anything. As for depreciation... All the Griffs are stabilising but I doubt if they are appreciating.
I wouldn't rule out a 4.x but equally don't rule out the 500 on it is too expensive. Work out what your budget is and see what you can get. In the end it will all depend on how much you want to pay and how much someone wants to sell.
Get a bad one and you will spend money like it was going out of fashion. Get a good one and you will wonder what the fuss is all about.
Anyway have the fun is going round making these decisions.
shpub said:
No - myth put about by 4.x owners to try and improve resales.... Running costs are very very similar.
Actually I have a 500. But before that I had a 4.0 for two years, and my personal experience of the two is that the 500 is significantly thirstier and costs more to insure, especially as a 10-year old Griff 4.x can get 'classic' cover.
Based on the rule that 'if it looks too good to be true it probably isn't' - is it likely that you can run a newer, faster, bigger engined and more powerful car for less money than its smaller cousin?
I guess it all comes down to individual cars, but I'm with jigs on this one.
I Started out looking for a 4.3 pre cat , after reading reports in EVO etc. However after looking at many cars and reading the "Bible" , there are many benefits to the 500. Better brakes , better chassis , power steering , better build quality etc etc. The only downside is the pre cat sound is better.
I started with a 15k budget but spent 20K on a low miles 1999 griff 500.
Rob Ingleby found me my car , its well worth speaking to him. I would suggest paying a little more will save much more in the long run. ( Or at least thats what I keep telling myself )
I started with a 15k budget but spent 20K on a low miles 1999 griff 500.
Rob Ingleby found me my car , its well worth speaking to him. I would suggest paying a little more will save much more in the long run. ( Or at least thats what I keep telling myself )
my volvo get 400+ miles out of a £50 tankfull.
my griff doesn't........
thats how I look upon it these days - used to worry about it - got roughly 15-18mpg in the traffic to work and 20-25 on the long runs but I do tend towards a heavy right foot - after all got to enjoy it when you can....
PS - mine's a 4.0 with the factory 'head work'
my griff doesn't........
thats how I look upon it these days - used to worry about it - got roughly 15-18mpg in the traffic to work and 20-25 on the long runs but I do tend towards a heavy right foot - after all got to enjoy it when you can....
PS - mine's a 4.0 with the factory 'head work'
shpub said:
The 4.x racks are no longer made which can cause a problem if they die and so on.
I got my steering rack refurbed by the company that makes them for TVR, done at the last service through Exactly TVR.
I've found that most of the parts I've had to replace have been reasonable priced (not that I've had to do much) the only parts I couldn't get were the original wiper arms but the newer style look and work better!!
Depends on what you mean by run. To me that covers all the costs involved and not just isolating fuel and insurance. Insurance is very similar as classic insurance is also applicable to 500s now. Fuel economy is a right foot thing but if you have classic insurance with limited miles then even a 10% saving is not that great in the grand scheme of things. It might be a bit cheaper in that department but equally if some things break they will be more expensive to fix than a 500. So all in all - very little in it. Or to be more exact some much variation that you can get cheaper 4.x cars cost far more than a more expensive 500.
Thanks for all the help so far.
I have consider talking to James. Shame I didnt get to meet him at BTaP.
Actually, I wish I had started this thread prior to BTaP really!
It was talking with Burriana 500 about his trip to Spain, The black Griff out side my hotel window and seeing(or rather "hearing) balisticbanana do the donut course at Silverstone that has swayed me.
Well, that and my girlfriend saying things to me like "you only live once".
Incidently she loves 'em too
Thanks for all the advice so far, keep it coming.
Im not that bothered about MPG as I already have that bit covered in my plans (Just bought a Golf TDi for the work run).
Running costs to me mean cost of parts/servicing etc.
In EVO it mentioned that the 4.3BV had a "more free reving engine" and it recommended them over the 500.
I value Steve Heaths comments more though.
I have consider talking to James. Shame I didnt get to meet him at BTaP.
Actually, I wish I had started this thread prior to BTaP really!
It was talking with Burriana 500 about his trip to Spain, The black Griff out side my hotel window and seeing(or rather "hearing) balisticbanana do the donut course at Silverstone that has swayed me.
Well, that and my girlfriend saying things to me like "you only live once".
Incidently she loves 'em too
Thanks for all the advice so far, keep it coming.
Im not that bothered about MPG as I already have that bit covered in my plans (Just bought a Golf TDi for the work run).
Running costs to me mean cost of parts/servicing etc.
In EVO it mentioned that the 4.3BV had a "more free reving engine" and it recommended them over the 500.
I value Steve Heaths comments more though.
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