is it really worth the extra £1000's....?
Discussion
I took my S to the Suffolk / Norfolk meet at Hunstanton on Sunday and parked next to a T350T and a Chimaera.
The T350T was probably worth approx £30k, the Chimaera £16k and my S about £6k.
In terms of performance, engineering etc the T350 & Chimaera are obviously way ahead of the S but having owned a Chimaera until earlier this year are they really "worth" that much more?
You pays your money and you makes your choices and I suppose if I had plenty of spare cash I'd have another Chimaera, or perhaps a Tamora...... but in terms of enjoyment versus £'s spent to buy and maintain, the S's take some beating.
I sold my Chimaera, which was my only car, to buy an S and an everyday car for the commute after I moved house further from work. 3 months later I'm still using the S everyday! Perhaps I'll get round to buying the new commuting car when the first frosts arrive?!
Longers
The T350T was probably worth approx £30k, the Chimaera £16k and my S about £6k.
In terms of performance, engineering etc the T350 & Chimaera are obviously way ahead of the S but having owned a Chimaera until earlier this year are they really "worth" that much more?
You pays your money and you makes your choices and I suppose if I had plenty of spare cash I'd have another Chimaera, or perhaps a Tamora...... but in terms of enjoyment versus £'s spent to buy and maintain, the S's take some beating.
I sold my Chimaera, which was my only car, to buy an S and an everyday car for the commute after I moved house further from work. 3 months later I'm still using the S everyday! Perhaps I'll get round to buying the new commuting car when the first frosts arrive?!
Longers
longers said:
In terms of performance, engineering etc the T350 & Chimaera are obviously way ahead of the S but having owned a Chimaera until earlier this year are they really "worth" that much more?
You pays your money and you makes your choices and I suppose if I had plenty of spare cash I'd have another Chimaera, or perhaps a Tamora...... but in terms of enjoyment versus £'s spent to buy and maintain, the S's take some beating.
IMHO you've answered your own Q there. What about a T350 for £20K a C for 10 and an S for 5? Purely depends what it's worth to you IMHO.
Hoover33 said:
The S in terms of thrills per pound is unbeatable IMHO... having owned an S amd now a Griff ( a little disapointed with the Griff)
One of the reasons that if I get rid of the S
, it would be for a cerb, or if i'm feeling pretty confident a T car 
. Only as don't think there is that much of a step up in terms of performance, if any, to go for a griff/chim sad as it sounds. Harry
Hoover33 said:
The S in terms of thrills per pound is unbeatable IMHO... having owned an S amd now a Griff ( a little disapointed with the Griff)
I have to echo Hoover33. Having moved on from the S3 to the Griff (and a nice and fast one as well) I am slightly dissaponted with the Griffl. It looks stunning, and has the performance, but mine has a lot more niggles than the S (maybe somthing to do with only having 27000 on the clock when I got it and beingan early car rather than the S which was a late car) but somthing is missing. I can't put my finger on it, but somthing is not quite right and the buzz isn't quite there.
On'y problem with S's is that they're a bit old now .. my own car has 101k miles on it and the chassis is sagging noticeably in the middle .. body off rebuild is imminent now that i'm going stiffer and stiffer on the springs ..
you've got to factor this sort of thing into your S prices, especially if looking at early S1s and S2s .. in the end a mid price chim might be better value.
A body off chassis resto would be expensive unless you did it yourself.
you've got to factor this sort of thing into your S prices, especially if looking at early S1s and S2s .. in the end a mid price chim might be better value.
A body off chassis resto would be expensive unless you did it yourself.
I think M@H is a good example... he had an S... sold it, bought a Chim... sold the Chim, bought and S... sold the S, bought a Chim...
Personally I still miss my S. Cracking fun, and so "chuckable" you really could hoon around
In terms of a daily driver the Chimaera is far more practical and civilised...
Personally I still miss my S. Cracking fun, and so "chuckable" you really could hoon around
In terms of a daily driver the Chimaera is far more practical and civilised...Hoover33 said:
Podie... thats what it is... Chims n Griffs are so more civilised then the S ..... they sort of desensitive the drive IMHO
The Chimaera certainly isn't as raw as the S was... but I can see the pros and cons of each car.
Don't get me wrong, if the Chim had to go for some reason and I could still afford an S... I'd have another
Its horses for courses, go to agree with all the comments above, especially Podie! If you are using the car as a daily driver, buy a Chim or a Grif, if its a second car for thrills/grins then buy an S. Certainly one of the reasons I have a V8S is because its a second car...! I get the speed (faster in some cases) of the Chim/Griff but its so much more fun...?
I do have a soft spot for the Griff looks though, its one hell of a good looking car.........!
IMHO
Mike
I do have a soft spot for the Griff looks though, its one hell of a good looking car.........!
IMHO
Mike
The S generally seems to be more chuckable and entertaining to drive, arguably not as suitable as a tourer compared to the later models. For me the retro looks and rarity all add to the attraction.
It's also worth remembering that for mere tens of thousands of pounds you can upgrade your S to nearly the same levels of performance and handling that the later models have. :tongue-in-cheak-smiley:
It's also worth remembering that for mere tens of thousands of pounds you can upgrade your S to nearly the same levels of performance and handling that the later models have. :tongue-in-cheak-smiley:
V8Smith said:
If you are using the car as a daily driver, buy a Chim or a Grif, if its a second car for thrills/grins then buy an S.
That's exactly why I sold my Chim and bought an S - as an every day car the cost of commuting longer distances in the Chim, and in all weathers, was getting a bit much for me, especially with a new home and wedding to fund.
For what I now want from my TVR ownership, i.e. a second fun soft top car, the costs v pleasure for me means the S wins every time. And I've not stopped smiling yet every time I drive it!!
Seeing the cars lined up on Sunday really brought the above home to me.
All I now need to do is keep the balance from the Chimaera sale away from the Mrs and her "new kitchen fund" so that I can upgrade the S's suspension, brakes etc over next winter!!
Roll on Silverstone.....
Longers
I've found that the S got a different kind of attention to the Chimaera... you only got the real car enthusiasts who knew what the S actually was... whereas the Chimaera seems more recogniseable to the man in the street. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing really - just an observation.
The Chimaera seems to have more "wow factor" than the S for people that don't know about cars... I suppose it just looks a bit more modern. Then again, part of the attraction of the S was that it wasn't quite as well known... nothing like frightening the hot hatch drivers!
It was quite easy to make the S a bit different to the others (although I didn't spend as much as GreenV8S has! 
)... although I'm working on the Chimaera..! 
I love both cars for what they are, but they are very different...
The Chimaera seems to have more "wow factor" than the S for people that don't know about cars... I suppose it just looks a bit more modern. Then again, part of the attraction of the S was that it wasn't quite as well known... nothing like frightening the hot hatch drivers!
It was quite easy to make the S a bit different to the others (although I didn't spend as much as GreenV8S has! )... although I'm working on the Chimaera..! I love both cars for what they are, but they are very different...
A most interesting thread... when TVR ownership first drifted into my conciousness a Griff was the only one to get...the shape ..the sound...the performance..etc. I started saving my pennies, getting so far when the notion of an intermediate TVR, an S, occurred to me. I think I'd still like a Griff but if, as you guys say pound for pound the S is good value for money, I may very well have a rethink....what I need is a good run around in a Griff to make this comparison....I'll have to get along to my nearest dealer posing as a buyer and scrounge a test drive 
S3Paulo if its a second car, try a V8S too, all the grunt/V8 noise and still the same grin......? I was thinking of a grif and MrSheen was convinced I would buy one, until I drove the V8S, it changed my mind. I never want to sell mine and we are buying a third car instead of 'upgrading' the V8S....? So that means I have an A8 for the boring stuff, the V8S for the fun and the wife is going to buy a Porker 996 conv for her fun, job done.....?
See you at SCH3 there are 90 cars registered now, so we might hit the magical number of 100 cars........?
Looks like it will be a good un
Mike
See you at SCH3 there are 90 cars registered now, so we might hit the magical number of 100 cars........?
Looks like it will be a good un
Mike
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