Are TVR's trouble ?
Discussion
OK
We all know TVR have recently gotten themselves a little bit of a reputation for unreliability - whether it's deserved or not.
People like Jeremy Clarkson often like to stick the knife in..
It's true - the S6 engine has not been the most reliable ever..
But - is the competetion that much better.
Here is your chance - to put the record straight.
I'll name a few :
BMW - M3 6 cylinder : small end bearing failure on some later model years
BMW - double vanos : not the most reliable bit of kit and expensive when it goes wrong
Porsche 911 - 6 cylinder engine suffers rear main seal (RMS) problems (not sure of model years)
Porsche 911 - 6 cylinder engine suffers engine block issues were is scraps the block (not sure of model years)
Care to add any more ?
We all know TVR have recently gotten themselves a little bit of a reputation for unreliability - whether it's deserved or not.
People like Jeremy Clarkson often like to stick the knife in..
It's true - the S6 engine has not been the most reliable ever..
But - is the competetion that much better.
Here is your chance - to put the record straight.
I'll name a few :
BMW - M3 6 cylinder : small end bearing failure on some later model years
BMW - double vanos : not the most reliable bit of kit and expensive when it goes wrong
Porsche 911 - 6 cylinder engine suffers rear main seal (RMS) problems (not sure of model years)
Porsche 911 - 6 cylinder engine suffers engine block issues were is scraps the block (not sure of model years)
Care to add any more ?
monstergrowler said:
I belive the Boxsters have similar problems. I did look into buying a boxster at one point and unearthed issues. Basically you need to keep the Porsche warranty going at a couple of hundred every year; otherwise if you run into the problems you mention its is seriously big money.
i think the warranty is a grand a year, which has put me off. But build quality issues are another thing altogether, from what i've seen, and heard here on these forums. I think the media give TVR a really easy ride. I don't think i've ever seen anything in the media regarding the Speed six issues, and indeed have seen TVRs being recommended without mentioning potential catastrophic engine problems.
monstergrowler said:
I belive the Boxsters have similar problems. I did look into buying a boxster at one point and unearthed issues. Basically you need to keep the Porsche warranty going at a couple of hundred every year; otherwise if you run into the problems you mention its is seriously big money.
Same RMS problem because it's virtually the same engine,but porsche warranty comes in a £1000 + an inspection charge of £200 before they will give the warranty,it is quite a good one though. Podie said:
rev-erend said:
We all know TVR have recently gotten themselves a little bit of a reputation for unreliability...
"recently"..?Sorry, did I miss something..? Since I was first able to say the word "car" TVR have always had that reputation.
The catalogue of minor things that have gone wrong is quite amazing! Is it worse than the competition? Not sure. My Porsches have been significantly more reliable (despite them needing low loaders too!) and my Vectra? Up until the cat went it was FAB on a reliability front!
The S6 engine story was a real tale of woe though. That got out of hand and, IMO, was a major factor in the demise of the company. Shame - because by the end it would appear that TVR had actually got the blasted thing sorted out and it *would* have gone on to be a reliable powerplant. By then the damage was done and sales had been seriously affected.
I think later Tuscans will go on to be very desirable, rare, classic cars. Its sooo whacky looking you can't compare it with anything so it won't date.
I don't think TVR's are any more or less reliable than other performance cars if they're well looked after... But, having said that I don't think TVR helped themselves by giving journalists test cars with windows that didn't work, wipers that wouldn't switch off or trim that falls off in your hand !?!? Of course journalists are going to latch onto those kind of things.
Mind you, I think there were a couple of TG reports with TVR's vs Porsche's where the Porsche's broke down and the TVR's didn't. But that was quietly swept under the carpet because, most likely, they had probably reached their conclusions before filming.??
Fingers crossed I've never had any major problems with my Griff and never had to have anything replaced under warranty, but I've read a number of threads about issues that should have been dealt with under warranty that weren't or the factory kept dragging their heels, stopping the garage doing the work. Those kind of things don't help and tend to get passed around by word of mouth... which in turn is why every man and their dog has an opinion on TVR reliability..
Mind you, I think there were a couple of TG reports with TVR's vs Porsche's where the Porsche's broke down and the TVR's didn't. But that was quietly swept under the carpet because, most likely, they had probably reached their conclusions before filming.??
Fingers crossed I've never had any major problems with my Griff and never had to have anything replaced under warranty, but I've read a number of threads about issues that should have been dealt with under warranty that weren't or the factory kept dragging their heels, stopping the garage doing the work. Those kind of things don't help and tend to get passed around by word of mouth... which in turn is why every man and their dog has an opinion on TVR reliability..
.
and yes another German manafacturer is amongst those too
we dont tend to get many Porsches so cant comment on that on.I don't think it's so much about reliability as how you are looked after
when your car goes wrong.
My current Tuscan S that I've owned since new (2002) has been pretty good.
Other than standard servicing costs it has cost me maybe £1500 max in repairs.
Not too bad (especially for a car of its performance) in 5 years.
My previous 4 TVRs were horrendous for reliability, but none of
them cost me more than £1000 per year in repairs IIRC.
However, reading last years evo mags (think it was evo), the running costs
of £100k+ Lambos and ferraris were just unbelievable.
How many £1000s for a new clutch etc etc???????
I have read on here many many times "I've spent £40k on aTVR and just 2 years later I have to spend £1k on a new clutch...It's unnacceptable".
Yet in evo the attitude seemed to be "this £190k almost new Lambo needs a new clutch at £10k a time and a new wing mirror at £1k.....what a fantastically mad car!!!" or "well, it is a Ferrari...so it's worth it".
Anyway, my mates 2 Alfa Romeo's have been FAR worse than any TVR I know of.
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