Discussion
Evening,
I could be on the verge of buying a 98 Chimera 4.5. I'm buying from a main dealer who is providing me with a 2 year TVR warranty. My concern is that it might not be worth the paper it's written on despite it looking and sounding very good.
Can anyone please help who has had experience? I really want to feel I can buy and run a TVR every day but am I living in some magical dreamworld?
Cheers
I could be on the verge of buying a 98 Chimera 4.5. I'm buying from a main dealer who is providing me with a 2 year TVR warranty. My concern is that it might not be worth the paper it's written on despite it looking and sounding very good.
Can anyone please help who has had experience? I really want to feel I can buy and run a TVR every day but am I living in some magical dreamworld?
Cheers
Thanks for the reply. It's Hawthorns in Farnham. I didn't catch the name of the policy. I asked if it was full parts and labour and he said yes. I guess I need to ask if I can only use it at Hawthron's as I've just read some disturbing stuff on this website about waiting in line behind Volvo cars in their servicing department. I can't afford for it to be off the road for days at a time. The car has done 20k miles but only 1,800 in the last 6 months. makes me think why so few.
I will try to find the policy details tomorrow, but if you have any advice at all I'd be grateful!
I will try to find the policy details tomorrow, but if you have any advice at all I'd be grateful!
Watch this on the full parts and labour, although I don't know this particular garage they often have a "resonable wear and tear (sp?)" option which means any normal wear is not covered. Its supposed to be for brakes, tyres, exhaust and that kind of thing. As 99% of the servicing you have will be under this you will be paying for any repairs. Its only if something unreasonable breaks. However, how do you spot the difference between wear and tear and un-expected repairs? eg suspension?
Having said this, virtually all warantees on cars I've seen are written like this. The advantage of having one is that you can scream blue murder if something is wrong and a good garage will try to do something.
Most warentees also require you to have their servicing done at their garage alone.
When I bought my car (Lotus) I had one of these pieces of paper (1 years warantee) and it was worth nothing, repairs were all under the wear and tear "cover" and after a lot of complaining about their service and cr@p repairs, including a letter to Lotus, I moved to another garage.
Having said this, virtually all warantees on cars I've seen are written like this. The advantage of having one is that you can scream blue murder if something is wrong and a good garage will try to do something.
Most warentees also require you to have their servicing done at their garage alone.
When I bought my car (Lotus) I had one of these pieces of paper (1 years warantee) and it was worth nothing, repairs were all under the wear and tear "cover" and after a lot of complaining about their service and cr@p repairs, including a letter to Lotus, I moved to another garage.
Rammie.
The Mrs and I bought a Chimaera 450 from Hawthorns a couple of years back. At the time Johnathan recommended we take out a warranty for the length of time we intended to own the car. They gave us 1yr free and we bought another two.
You get the extended warranty cheaper by buying at the time.
We have had numbers of small warranty claims which Hawthorns dealt with efficiently. We also have an outstanding warranty claim - for a new alarm siren - which isn't fixed yet but WILL BE.
In short. Yes - the warranty is worth it as it insures you against something humoungous going wrong - e.g. new engine etc. You will still find that general running costs and fixings of things not under warranty (wear and tear, accidental damage etc)is expensive in comparison to other cars - and needs doing a lot more.
TVRs often do very low mileage as owners do not always use them as daily runners. Ours had 5K miles in 18 months when we bought it. Since then it has been a daily runner and my wife travels 80 miles to work and back every day. Yes its a pain in the a*** sometimes but it hasn't yet ever stopped.
Boy does it go, too. Sounds fantastic. People stare. If you get a good one - you will just love it.
Every dealer has good and bad stories about them. Hawthorns have been just fine by us. So what if their service department knows a thing or two about Volvos as well? Can't do any harm....
The Mrs and I bought a Chimaera 450 from Hawthorns a couple of years back. At the time Johnathan recommended we take out a warranty for the length of time we intended to own the car. They gave us 1yr free and we bought another two.
You get the extended warranty cheaper by buying at the time.
We have had numbers of small warranty claims which Hawthorns dealt with efficiently. We also have an outstanding warranty claim - for a new alarm siren - which isn't fixed yet but WILL BE.
In short. Yes - the warranty is worth it as it insures you against something humoungous going wrong - e.g. new engine etc. You will still find that general running costs and fixings of things not under warranty (wear and tear, accidental damage etc)is expensive in comparison to other cars - and needs doing a lot more.
TVRs often do very low mileage as owners do not always use them as daily runners. Ours had 5K miles in 18 months when we bought it. Since then it has been a daily runner and my wife travels 80 miles to work and back every day. Yes its a pain in the a*** sometimes but it hasn't yet ever stopped.
Boy does it go, too. Sounds fantastic. People stare. If you get a good one - you will just love it.
Every dealer has good and bad stories about them. Hawthorns have been just fine by us. So what if their service department knows a thing or two about Volvos as well? Can't do any harm....
Don,
Thanks loads for your email. Sounds like you wife has a hell of a time doing 80 miles per day! Bet your services come round regularly?
I'm in love with a car Hawthorn's currently have. Spend 2 hours with it yesterday. Last night I planned on buying it until I read some things on this web site. I can't afford to be without her for up to weeks at a time. I hope if I use her daily she'll stay in good health. The stories of starter motors overheating and leaving owners stranded on petrol forecourts I could really do without.
How many times has a 6,000 mile service cost you more than £750? And is your warranty invalid if you service your car at another TVR garage?
Thanks loads for your email. Sounds like you wife has a hell of a time doing 80 miles per day! Bet your services come round regularly?
I'm in love with a car Hawthorn's currently have. Spend 2 hours with it yesterday. Last night I planned on buying it until I read some things on this web site. I can't afford to be without her for up to weeks at a time. I hope if I use her daily she'll stay in good health. The stories of starter motors overheating and leaving owners stranded on petrol forecourts I could really do without.
How many times has a 6,000 mile service cost you more than £750? And is your warranty invalid if you service your car at another TVR garage?
Rammie, it's been said before but try and put things in perspective, people generally don't write in and say "drove the tiv today and nothing went wrong" the faults you read about in here are often repeatable and therefor easily fixed by a specialist (which I would recommend before a dealer) Servicing costs 186 or 360 and as the car is a simple peice of engineering should be as reliable as anything else. DO IT you will always be wondering otherwise
Rammie,
Take the comments on this web site with a pince of salt (no offence Ted) but it probably isnt a true reflection of the reliability of a TVR. There are over 2,500 Chimaeras in the TVR Car Club alone and there certainly isnt that number on this site....
Reliability is a concern but not an issue. They might be slightly worse than a "normal" car, but then again a "normal" one can cost just as much - I know having had to shell out £600 for a service to a Vectra!!! If you need a car for constant day-in-day-out usage then a Chimaera or Griffith is the best bet - lots of parts available, lots of experience in the dealers / independants and very competitive prices all round.
This site is an excellent source of information and help - most owners dont have a problem (or only small ones) but for the more fanatical fans we all post up questions and problems - probably painting a poor image of reliability.
A waranty is a good idea just to keep costs in line with a budget. You have a level of insurance to protect you from unknown costs - therefore easing you on the ownership of the whole car. Me, my waranty ran out - not too bad and I am not too worried to get a fresh one. I have a couple of other cars to get me around so it isnt critical. However, if it was my only car then I probably would have an extended waranty.
This is something that Ted has said a couple of times before - get the right car for you, keep some money back and build a relationship with the dealer / independant so that you have some more comfort. Ownership neednt be that painful and certainly you shouldnt expect to be without the car for weeks - thats just for engine rebuilds on the Speed engines (and I am not starting that one again) done by the factory under waranty....
Hope this helps and to be honest, you shouldnt regret it.
Cheers,
Paul
Take the comments on this web site with a pince of salt (no offence Ted) but it probably isnt a true reflection of the reliability of a TVR. There are over 2,500 Chimaeras in the TVR Car Club alone and there certainly isnt that number on this site....
Reliability is a concern but not an issue. They might be slightly worse than a "normal" car, but then again a "normal" one can cost just as much - I know having had to shell out £600 for a service to a Vectra!!! If you need a car for constant day-in-day-out usage then a Chimaera or Griffith is the best bet - lots of parts available, lots of experience in the dealers / independants and very competitive prices all round.
This site is an excellent source of information and help - most owners dont have a problem (or only small ones) but for the more fanatical fans we all post up questions and problems - probably painting a poor image of reliability.
A waranty is a good idea just to keep costs in line with a budget. You have a level of insurance to protect you from unknown costs - therefore easing you on the ownership of the whole car. Me, my waranty ran out - not too bad and I am not too worried to get a fresh one. I have a couple of other cars to get me around so it isnt critical. However, if it was my only car then I probably would have an extended waranty.
This is something that Ted has said a couple of times before - get the right car for you, keep some money back and build a relationship with the dealer / independant so that you have some more comfort. Ownership neednt be that painful and certainly you shouldnt expect to be without the car for weeks - thats just for engine rebuilds on the Speed engines (and I am not starting that one again) done by the factory under waranty....
Hope this helps and to be honest, you shouldnt regret it.
Cheers,
Paul
quote:
Don,
Thanks loads for your email. Sounds like you wife has a hell of a time doing 80 miles per day! Bet your services come round regularly?
I'm in love with a car Hawthorn's currently have. Spend 2 hours with it yesterday. Last night I planned on buying it until I read some things on this web site. I can't afford to be without her for up to weeks at a time. I hope if I use her daily she'll stay in good health. The stories of starter motors overheating and leaving owners stranded on petrol forecourts I could really do without.
How many times has a 6,000 mile service cost you more than £750? And is your warranty invalid if you service your car at another TVR garage?
Yep the services come round with terrifying regularity. The 12K services have been 1K ish the 6K ones 500 ish. Usually the 12K ones we've had some problem or other to fix as well or we've needed a couple Brigestones or something. Depreciation on a nearly new one (like ours was) is ruinous initially and then OK later. Over a period of years its just fine, actually.
You have to look at your annual mileage you expect to do in the car and budget accordingly. Be realistic and you'll enjoy yourself a whole lot more...
The kind of problem that can be irritating is that even if a TVR manufactured part is being replaced under warranty you still have to wait for TVR to ship it to the dealer. That can be quite a while. You do hear horror stories of Cerberas sitting waiting for weeks before the part that prevents them from going can be replaced.
This has never happened to our Chimaera - or the vast majority of owners I've ever spoken to.
God its great though. Took it out last weekend - roof off - fantastic. The SOUND. Marvellous.
Good luck.
Guys, thanks so much for the support. You're putting my mind at rest. I should explain a bit more about my circumstance. I live in Clapham so the Chimera will be parked on a terraced road (hopefully not being crashed into as much as my M3). My commute takes me across London 12 miles each day to Park Royal by Hanger Lane. It's 45 minutes if I go early enough and 1 hour home. I have visions of how nice it will be on summer mornings without the roof driving through Hyde Park.
I have more questions:
1) Am I mad considering the slow nature of my drive (overheating, starter motor overheating)?
2) How easy is it to respray and repair the bodywork?
3)How many TVRs leak as I've no garage?
I'm coming round to the idea of running an enthusiast's car. The cost doesn't scare me but it not working does.
Thanks again for writing back.
I have more questions:
1) Am I mad considering the slow nature of my drive (overheating, starter motor overheating)?
2) How easy is it to respray and repair the bodywork?
3)How many TVRs leak as I've no garage?
I'm coming round to the idea of running an enthusiast's car. The cost doesn't scare me but it not working does.
Thanks again for writing back.
quote:
Rammie,
Reliability is a concern but not an issue. They might be slightly worse than a "normal" car, but then again a "normal" one can cost just as much - I know having had to shell out £600 for a service to a Vectra!!! If
Is it something about Vectra's?
My mate has one - he's on his 4th engine (and they said Tuscan's had problems!) and I am being *serious* when I say that its breaking down about once every other week at the moment.
One to steer clear of if you ask me anyway..
-andy-
quote:
quote:
Rammie,
Reliability is a concern but not an issue. They might be slightly worse than a "normal" car, but then again a "normal" one can cost just as much - I know having had to shell out £600 for a service to a Vectra!!! If
Is it something about Vectra's?
My mate has one - he's on his 4th engine (and they said Tuscan's had problems!) and I am being *serious* when I say that its breaking down about once every other week at the moment.
One to steer clear of if you ask me anyway..
-andy-
Don't know what engine you've got in the Vectra but I've run my Omega V6 for the last 4 years and bar tyres, set of front shocks and pads it costs on average £120pa to service, at a main dealer.
Harry and another green V8S
quote:
Guys, thanks so much for the support. You're putting my mind at rest. I should explain a bit more about my circumstance. I live in Clapham so the Chimera will be parked on a terraced road (hopefully not being crashed into as much as my M3). My commute takes me across London 12 miles each day to Park Royal by Hanger Lane. It's 45 minutes if I go early enough and 1 hour home. I have visions of how nice it will be on summer mornings without the roof driving through Hyde Park.
I have more questions:
1) Am I mad considering the slow nature of my drive (overheating, starter motor overheating)?
2) How easy is it to respray and repair the bodywork?
3)How many TVRs leak as I've no garage?
I'm coming round to the idea of running an enthusiast's car. The cost doesn't scare me but it not working does.
Thanks again for writing back.
Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, what you will probably find is that the heat soak in (summer)traffic is that high you will end up trying to miss rush hour rather than spend an hour crawling through traffic with a beady eye on the temp guage....
When the V8 gets hot and the fans start whirring it just seems to blow in to the cabin and you get hot. Clutch may also be a pain in traffic.
Sorry but in my choice of car for a stop start, 2 hour, 12 mile daily commute a TVR (as much as i like them) would be way down there past classics such as a daewoo matiz or fiat strada.
Bennno
>> Edited by bennno on Monday 11th February 23:30
Bennnos right - a commute in London traffic would not be nice, but is possible - there are a few of you out there that do this and therefore it is possible. A well looked after Chimaera will not overheat, but the heat soak can be a pain. I have been stuck in an unfair number of traffic jams (mainly M25) and it does become a drag after a while (45 mins stationary was the worst and most worrying - but it didnt overheat).
They do like to be used and driven and lower speeds wont be as enjoyable to be in - can someone that drives in London traffic comment on how easy it is????
Leaking - well mine doesnt and I have been stuck (Mmm, there seems to be a pattern here) in some pretty awful rain recently and no issues. Carpets are dry and the hood has no leaks - seats are always nice and comfy too. But if there are any leaks they are usually relatively easy to sort out and at a reasonable cost.
Body repairs - simple in comparison to steel bodies. You do need to take it to a specialist (GRP) but in general there isnt much that they cant do with one. Colour match is a bit of a nightmare but usually not too much of a problem as the colour codes are well known onws.
Are you mad? No I dont think so - you can make it work and it wont cost the earth. See if you can rent one for a few days - Bespokes for example - and see if you can live with it. I would hate for you to discount a TVR for the wrong reasons - you may simply adore driving it and couldnt think of driving anything else....
Cheers,
Paul
They do like to be used and driven and lower speeds wont be as enjoyable to be in - can someone that drives in London traffic comment on how easy it is????
Leaking - well mine doesnt and I have been stuck (Mmm, there seems to be a pattern here) in some pretty awful rain recently and no issues. Carpets are dry and the hood has no leaks - seats are always nice and comfy too. But if there are any leaks they are usually relatively easy to sort out and at a reasonable cost.
Body repairs - simple in comparison to steel bodies. You do need to take it to a specialist (GRP) but in general there isnt much that they cant do with one. Colour match is a bit of a nightmare but usually not too much of a problem as the colour codes are well known onws.
Are you mad? No I dont think so - you can make it work and it wont cost the earth. See if you can rent one for a few days - Bespokes for example - and see if you can live with it. I would hate for you to discount a TVR for the wrong reasons - you may simply adore driving it and couldnt think of driving anything else....
Cheers,
Paul
I have a mate who runs one in Clapham, a 4.5 Chimera 98 S with 46,000 London miles on the clock. He's the one who's inspired me!. He recommends finding a car with Air Con. Does anyone know how reliable Air Con is? Is it possible to retro fit a unit to a second hand car?
Would it ruin my fuel consumption further?
How many days a year is heat soak an issue anyway where taking the roof off cannot solve the problem?
Cheers
Would it ruin my fuel consumption further?
How many days a year is heat soak an issue anyway where taking the roof off cannot solve the problem?
Cheers
Air con is more like a cool breeze so dont expect the German efficiency that you can find in any Audi or BMW. But I guess that it does something as people would buy it.
As for the heat soak - I guess that this depends on what you can wear for work. I must wear a suit when working and therefore I am limited as to what I can wear for comfort (although you can get some nice ligh material suits) - heat soak then becomes a pain with creased suits and sweaty shirts. But if you have a little more flexibility then you can wear more comfortable clothes and not a problem. But then again please bear in mind that I dont live in London and I am one of "those" people that breaks out in a sweat as soon as I go into the underground during summer....
Roof off is fine - just be careful, all of these car jackings are scaring me slightly - then again I live in Suffolk and the worst you get here is a few robberies...
Cheers,
Paul
As for the heat soak - I guess that this depends on what you can wear for work. I must wear a suit when working and therefore I am limited as to what I can wear for comfort (although you can get some nice ligh material suits) - heat soak then becomes a pain with creased suits and sweaty shirts. But if you have a little more flexibility then you can wear more comfortable clothes and not a problem. But then again please bear in mind that I dont live in London and I am one of "those" people that breaks out in a sweat as soon as I go into the underground during summer....
Roof off is fine - just be careful, all of these car jackings are scaring me slightly - then again I live in Suffolk and the worst you get here is a few robberies...
Cheers,
Paul
quote:
He recommends finding a car with Air Con. Would it ruin my fuel consumption further?
How many days a year is heat soak an issue anyway where taking the roof off cannot solve the problem?
Cheers
Air con is good idea but on my TVR's with it fitted it provided minimal benefit, more like taking the heat out of the cabin rather than actually making the car cool. Also this is more likely to overheat the car if you are sat in stop start traffic for most of the time as proposed.
The idea of taking the hood off is a good one, and i went almost everywhere in mine with the hood off. point is on a hot sunny day (in stop start traffic) the sun heats you up, the engine gets very hot, the fans kick in and blow all the heat back at you.
To put it another way it is like going to spain on holiday and then plugging in a 2000W fan heater and pointing it at yourself. Its fine on the move but in traffic you will get fed up.
I would take the earlier advice and either rent one, or ask the supplying garage to accompany you on a longer test drive through traffic in london. In my personal view you are buying the wrong car if you need something to sit in for a 12 mile commute that takes 2 hours a day...
Buy a smart car as well for the commute then you can enjoy the TVR for a evening / weekend blast. OR just say you will get up early and leave late to miss the traffic.
Bennno
Paul, I'll chance my luck with car jackings as it's rude not to take the roof off if you have an open top car.
Bennno, I'm pleased someone is still trying to put me off and bring reality back to my life. But to Paul's point, I don't wear a suit to work so linen trousers and a t-shirt I can change would be a good idea in the summer.
I can also flex my working hours an will not drive throught the heat of midday except at weekends so I might just have to go and buy the one I saw at Hawthorn's last Sunday.
Cheers
Bennno, I'm pleased someone is still trying to put me off and bring reality back to my life. But to Paul's point, I don't wear a suit to work so linen trousers and a t-shirt I can change would be a good idea in the summer.
I can also flex my working hours an will not drive throught the heat of midday except at weekends so I might just have to go and buy the one I saw at Hawthorn's last Sunday.
Cheers
quote:
Buy a smart car as well for the commute then you can enjoy the TVR for a evening / weekend blast. OR just say you will get up early and leave late to miss the traffic.
Benno, that is such a *sensible* idea ! Rammie could pick a NEW one up for £6K, and keep the Tiv for more exciting use than an overheating nightmare commute..
Not that I'm trying to dissuade anyone from purchasing such a magnificent beast as a TVR, but the real question is WHY BOTHER ? you'll get as many looks in a Smart, esp if you modify it a bit. You get air-con that works, and terrific fuel economy. Ease of parking, still only got 2 seats, etc.
Keep Sports cars for sports driving ! IMHO city use is a waste - if you had a sports *bike*, you can atleast use it once in a while, but a car? may as well get a city car.
Bike riders respect TVR's !
rgds, Carl.
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