My car's been absolutely perfect. But today..
Discussion
...an indicator bulb blew. So I replaced it, and it's alright now!
Seriously, I've had the Griff for about a year now and I can honestly say that I've had more trouble with my BMW and my wife's Toyota than my Tiv.
When I first bought the Griff most if my mates thought I was mad. However, now some of them are thinking of buying a TVR now.
Is my experience that unusual? Are there other owners out there who have found their TVR to be utterly reliable?
Seriously, I've had the Griff for about a year now and I can honestly say that I've had more trouble with my BMW and my wife's Toyota than my Tiv.
When I first bought the Griff most if my mates thought I was mad. However, now some of them are thinking of buying a TVR now.
Is my experience that unusual? Are there other owners out there who have found their TVR to be utterly reliable?
srebbe64 said:
Is my experience that unusual?
It isn't unusual for a Tiv to be reliable for a reasonable period of time. Ours has been reliable for about a year before now. Comes in phases we've found...
srebbe64 said:
Are there other owners out there who have found their TVR to be utterly reliable?
Only relatively new owners I'd say. Most of the rest will have found them to be acceptably reliable. A few - worse.
I've had mine since January and although its been off the road for a total of 9 weeks (3 weeks late march & 6 weeks June/July) it has been utterly reliable. The 3 weeks in March were due to hitting a pothole and the damage caused by that, & the 6 weeks recently were due to my neighbour reversing into it and being in the bodyshop.
In other words my car has been faultless, any incidents being no fault of the car itself.
In other words my car has been faultless, any incidents being no fault of the car itself.
Maintain it properly, by someone who knows what they are doing and they will be fine (griff/chims).
Just need soemone that really knows them to pick up any odd things that need doing, plus drive them regularly, ANY car sitting in a garage most of the time will start to get reliability issues....
PARTS do where out with age on high performance sports cars.....
I've just sheled out for new dampers, as the old springs had gone soft, and were sittiing on bump stops... CAr is now seven years old, and to be honest, probbaly not the best quality dampers...
Plus side now now ohlins, which have transformed the handling ( a la the TVR centre developed ones- on this website under griffith)
But this has been my only major expense outside of servicing and consumables.
B
Just need soemone that really knows them to pick up any odd things that need doing, plus drive them regularly, ANY car sitting in a garage most of the time will start to get reliability issues....
PARTS do where out with age on high performance sports cars.....
I've just sheled out for new dampers, as the old springs had gone soft, and were sittiing on bump stops... CAr is now seven years old, and to be honest, probbaly not the best quality dampers...
Plus side now now ohlins, which have transformed the handling ( a la the TVR centre developed ones- on this website under griffith)
But this has been my only major expense outside of servicing and consumables.
B
Yep
This unreliability thing, load of
if you ask me.
When I regularly see 15 year old cars with 60/70k on the clock, it comes as no surprise that the odd bit siezes up and stops working and even now its not uncommon to see modern Tivs with 01/02 plates with 6/8K on the clock, is it any wonder they play up occasionally.
My daily driver is 2001 and has done 100k with no real problems, the reason is probably regular usage.
The SP6 is the exception to this rule,when you overstress an engine, you get what you expect but even then I hear differnt stories around the indi's I deal with that make me wonder if the problem is hyped.
This unreliability thing, load of
if you ask me. When I regularly see 15 year old cars with 60/70k on the clock, it comes as no surprise that the odd bit siezes up and stops working and even now its not uncommon to see modern Tivs with 01/02 plates with 6/8K on the clock, is it any wonder they play up occasionally.
My daily driver is 2001 and has done 100k with no real problems, the reason is probably regular usage.
The SP6 is the exception to this rule,when you overstress an engine, you get what you expect but even then I hear differnt stories around the indi's I deal with that make me wonder if the problem is hyped.
I have questioned a number of Griff/Chim owners for various articles and my conclusions are as follows:
Regular servicing is essential,
Take them out a couple of times a week at least,
Make sure they are warmed up thoroughly before trying anything near the limit,
- the above is good advice when looking after other precious items -
The cars are generally reliable if looked after. Of those who have complained to me of problems, one had no service history, another had been in an accident, one had lots of owners.
However, if yours is 10 years old then you must expect a few age-related problems. Starter motors and generators are heated and then cooled every journey and this does take a toll, whatever car they are fitted to. Electrical connections are bound to deteriorate over the years but are normally so easy to fix. Other things deteriorate with age and items that have functioned perfectly for years can suddenly give up for no reason. I've been there.
Do not be fooled into thinking that other cars of similar age and performance never go wrong just because they don't post on PH. I've talked to mechanics who've been around the various makes and they all, to a man, say that TVR generally are no worse than average, and further that the V8s - if properly looked after - are as good as you can get, regardless of initial costs. I don't want to have a dig at other makes of cars, but some of the stories I've heard about supposedly reliable models have been outrageous.
The reliability of most cars has come on by leaps and bounds over the years, due as much to the improvement in oils as build quality. My last three cars had 167k, 142k and 147k on the clock when I got rid of them. Only the first had anything other than service items and consumables bought for it (one power steering rack and alternator at over 140k). Like most high performance cars, TVRs do not reach this level. If you want ultra reliability, go for a runabout. However, V8 TVRs are about as good as you can get if you want something a bit meaty.
Whilst a defective starter motor can be a bit frustrating, being out-accelerated is much, much worse.
In this coming month's Sprint, check out the reliability of the featured car.
Regular servicing is essential,
Take them out a couple of times a week at least,
Make sure they are warmed up thoroughly before trying anything near the limit,
- the above is good advice when looking after other precious items -
The cars are generally reliable if looked after. Of those who have complained to me of problems, one had no service history, another had been in an accident, one had lots of owners.
However, if yours is 10 years old then you must expect a few age-related problems. Starter motors and generators are heated and then cooled every journey and this does take a toll, whatever car they are fitted to. Electrical connections are bound to deteriorate over the years but are normally so easy to fix. Other things deteriorate with age and items that have functioned perfectly for years can suddenly give up for no reason. I've been there.
Do not be fooled into thinking that other cars of similar age and performance never go wrong just because they don't post on PH. I've talked to mechanics who've been around the various makes and they all, to a man, say that TVR generally are no worse than average, and further that the V8s - if properly looked after - are as good as you can get, regardless of initial costs. I don't want to have a dig at other makes of cars, but some of the stories I've heard about supposedly reliable models have been outrageous.
The reliability of most cars has come on by leaps and bounds over the years, due as much to the improvement in oils as build quality. My last three cars had 167k, 142k and 147k on the clock when I got rid of them. Only the first had anything other than service items and consumables bought for it (one power steering rack and alternator at over 140k). Like most high performance cars, TVRs do not reach this level. If you want ultra reliability, go for a runabout. However, V8 TVRs are about as good as you can get if you want something a bit meaty.
Whilst a defective starter motor can be a bit frustrating, being out-accelerated is much, much worse.
In this coming month's Sprint, check out the reliability of the featured car.
As said previously, the key is using them as often as possible, my S3 & Tuscan has to be warmed up prior to use, the Griffith never missed a beat or sounded differently at any time. The only problem with the Griff, was overheating in staitonary or slow moving traffic, otherwise nothing major to report on any of them.
Just a joy to have been able to own them.
Best Regards,
James Sim.
Just a joy to have been able to own them.
Best Regards,
James Sim.
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