Best starter TVR, insurance etc etc
Discussion
Hey. I'm borrowing my dad's account to ask a few questions on TVR. He's just bought a Chim 4.5, and I am rather envious, and would like a TVR of my own. The problem is, I am 20 (21 in december). I am wondering what TVR I can get for around 4-5k, what insurance I can expect to pay on it (I'm not having it as my main motor so the mileage will be low), and which dealers may offer good options on finance? Oh, I have 3 points on my license (for something I didn't do, I hasten to add!). Any advice would be great!
I would be looking at S3's personally. Nice amount of power to enjoy plus open top and very simple to fix/service.
When I was looking about at that age I had a few quotes around the £800 mark. In the end I went for a Toyota Supra as it was going to be used every day.
Try Adrian Flux they were the best place under 25's when I was shopping about for the Tuscan. I have also heard Bell are very good.
When I was looking about at that age I had a few quotes around the £800 mark. In the end I went for a Toyota Supra as it was going to be used every day.
Try Adrian Flux they were the best place under 25's when I was shopping about for the Tuscan. I have also heard Bell are very good.
Don't wan't to put you off as they are excellent cars!!!
But, are you sure you wan't one on finance???
The repayments with yearly servicing charges won't be cheap, and any other issues that may arrise during the year will cost too.
Not that i always look on the bad side, but, if you can afford a worse case scenario ontop of the annual car costs and it not effect your standard of living then go for it.
If it were me i'd save every spare penny i could over the next few years and buy it outright (no intrest to pay), plus you'll be a year or two older and end up with cheaper insurance costs.
Also i'm not sure if many garages will give finance on TVR's in that price bracket (may be wrong)!?
Apart from that S Series or Wedge 350i would be my choice!
But, are you sure you wan't one on finance???
The repayments with yearly servicing charges won't be cheap, and any other issues that may arrise during the year will cost too.
Not that i always look on the bad side, but, if you can afford a worse case scenario ontop of the annual car costs and it not effect your standard of living then go for it.
If it were me i'd save every spare penny i could over the next few years and buy it outright (no intrest to pay), plus you'll be a year or two older and end up with cheaper insurance costs.
Also i'm not sure if many garages will give finance on TVR's in that price bracket (may be wrong)!?
Apart from that S Series or Wedge 350i would be my choice!
As Daston says any of the S series would be a good starting point. Although if you want something a bit cheaper to buy and don't mind a bit of spannering, then you could get a 2.0 liter Wedge or a 280i Wedge. I don't think insurance companies like the age 21 and V8 in the same sentence. M series is an option as well. You might be able to get a 1600 M.
Been shopping around for insurance. Adrian Flux, A Manning, etc etc have all failed me. I'm trying a small company called H&R. The real problem is that I was looking at a 5 grand S2, and that means a loan, and I doubt I can repay it whilst also attending university. The other options is get an old S series for cheap, but run the risk of unreliability/chassic rot/expensive repairs......
stimshady said:
try elephant, add your parents as named drivers and watch the price tumble.
Good idea! Question is, do I get an old S series with 70K+ on the clock (with all the added risks), or do I wait a few years and get a chim from a dealer? I'd like to be insured on my dad's chim 450, but the cheapest quote he got for a 20 year old was £4,200. So I have to enjoy the TVR from a passenger's perspective.....for now. Edited by stimshady on Friday 12th June 08:27
Im 20.... Bought myself a scrap 1972 2500M ... Tax is free and its a relativley simple car...
Provided all the bits are there (mine wernt) its a fairly inexpensive car to work on.. provided you dont have rust issues... there was one on ebay the other day for £900!!! (You would need to spend around 3K on that to get it on the road mind you!)
Get a classic (pre 1972).. Tax is free! Then call a specialist classic insurer like MSM... They insure me and my old man (they dont care who drives more)..... For £500 a year!
The 2.5L engine in the car is not the most powerful thing in the world... but the car is still a handful if you are not used to a light RWD car...
Provided all the bits are there (mine wernt) its a fairly inexpensive car to work on.. provided you dont have rust issues... there was one on ebay the other day for £900!!! (You would need to spend around 3K on that to get it on the road mind you!)
Get a classic (pre 1972).. Tax is free! Then call a specialist classic insurer like MSM... They insure me and my old man (they dont care who drives more)..... For £500 a year!
The 2.5L engine in the car is not the most powerful thing in the world... but the car is still a handful if you are not used to a light RWD car...
tegwin said:
Im 20.... Bought myself a scrap 1972 2500M ... Tax is free and its a relativley simple car...
Provided all the bits are there (mine wernt) its a fairly inexpensive car to work on.. provided you dont have rust issues... there was one on ebay the other day for £900!!! (You would need to spend around 3K on that to get it on the road mind you!)
Get a classic (pre 1972).. Tax is free! Then call a specialist classic insurer like MSM... They insure me and my old man (they dont care who drives more)..... For £500 a year!
The 2.5L engine in the car is not the most powerful thing in the world... but the car is still a handful if you are not used to a light RWD car...
They sound promising, just waiting for a quote back on an S2. Other than that, anybody have any idea how much it'd be for me on the Chim 450 with specialist car insurance? If I can get insured on the Chim, it means I can wait to get my own TVR and get a Griff or Chim instead. Provided all the bits are there (mine wernt) its a fairly inexpensive car to work on.. provided you dont have rust issues... there was one on ebay the other day for £900!!! (You would need to spend around 3K on that to get it on the road mind you!)
Get a classic (pre 1972).. Tax is free! Then call a specialist classic insurer like MSM... They insure me and my old man (they dont care who drives more)..... For £500 a year!
The 2.5L engine in the car is not the most powerful thing in the world... but the car is still a handful if you are not used to a light RWD car...
This may be a bit hypocritical as I bought my first TVR at 21, but I would hold off in your current situation.
You'd be looking at an S series car. Whilst these are excellent cars and I loved mine, they are still a TVR with TVR sized running costs and insurance. Despite being older and less powerful than the V8 models, they are still group 20. When I was 21 I paid £1700 for my S3, parked on the street in Newcastle (with a clean license and 4years NCB). Bear in mind that you will have to fork out close on £1k each year until you are 25 as well, it's not just a one off.
I had a very reliable S3 18K in 2 years and never missed a beat. Having said that I had friends with cars who had no end of problems and costs. I was luck enough to have a full workshop, tools and a background in working on cars when things did need adressing.
On finance, with over £1500 on the insurance, I wouldn't. Had I to do it again I would probably have gone for a 200SX or suchlike until I was 24 (or Hagerty's insurance came along).
Just to add I have tried to add my brother as a named driver on the Griff and most insurance companies refues. He is 21, 3 points, and a motorsport engineering student.
For the cash I would go for something Japanese.
Having said that, they are great cars when they are running, but can be very heavy on the pocket and wallet. I am in no better position to run my Griff now than when I bought it. Mind you I have had 2 Elises as well in that time. Have you thought about an early S1 Elise?
For some reason TVR insurance has been sky rocketing lately (I'm sturggling to find a decent quote with 11 years NCB 7 years driving TVR and Lotus, clean license and a garage), but only add your mum and the insurance will fall. I added my Dad when I was 21 (he had advanced driving, history of Porsches, loads of NCB clean licenses etc.) and it went up.
You'd be looking at an S series car. Whilst these are excellent cars and I loved mine, they are still a TVR with TVR sized running costs and insurance. Despite being older and less powerful than the V8 models, they are still group 20. When I was 21 I paid £1700 for my S3, parked on the street in Newcastle (with a clean license and 4years NCB). Bear in mind that you will have to fork out close on £1k each year until you are 25 as well, it's not just a one off.
I had a very reliable S3 18K in 2 years and never missed a beat. Having said that I had friends with cars who had no end of problems and costs. I was luck enough to have a full workshop, tools and a background in working on cars when things did need adressing.
On finance, with over £1500 on the insurance, I wouldn't. Had I to do it again I would probably have gone for a 200SX or suchlike until I was 24 (or Hagerty's insurance came along).
Just to add I have tried to add my brother as a named driver on the Griff and most insurance companies refues. He is 21, 3 points, and a motorsport engineering student.
For the cash I would go for something Japanese.
Having said that, they are great cars when they are running, but can be very heavy on the pocket and wallet. I am in no better position to run my Griff now than when I bought it. Mind you I have had 2 Elises as well in that time. Have you thought about an early S1 Elise?
For some reason TVR insurance has been sky rocketing lately (I'm sturggling to find a decent quote with 11 years NCB 7 years driving TVR and Lotus, clean license and a garage), but only add your mum and the insurance will fall. I added my Dad when I was 21 (he had advanced driving, history of Porsches, loads of NCB clean licenses etc.) and it went up.
Edited by Wildfire on Friday 12th June 13:48
My TVR became affordable to me at 35! The car is a fun toy and uses disposable income only. I do 90% of my own maintenance and a mate does the other 10%. If you are mechanically minded and keen to do your own maintenance then go for it! IMO you need a very mature head on you at 20 years to drive these machines. It's not a car to take your mates out in without significant driving experience. The hedge will await 
I had a 350i at 24, and A plan insured it for £750 a year (that was a long, long time ago).
I would agree with the above comments that these are not cheap cars to run, and if you buy it but cannot afford to run it, it will land up as a SORND liability, and give you a lot of heart ache.
Probably the cheapest TVRS are the 4 cylinder wegdes, but anything "pre-griff / chim" may be affordable.
If you do buy it, enjoy, but be careful, as you if it turns out to be too much of a financial drain, that will ruin your fun.
In my opinion only, you would be best to get a more modest sports car (theres plenty to choose from) until you have finished college and have a decent job. (then buy a Griff!)
I would agree with the above comments that these are not cheap cars to run, and if you buy it but cannot afford to run it, it will land up as a SORND liability, and give you a lot of heart ache.
Probably the cheapest TVRS are the 4 cylinder wegdes, but anything "pre-griff / chim" may be affordable.
If you do buy it, enjoy, but be careful, as you if it turns out to be too much of a financial drain, that will ruin your fun.
In my opinion only, you would be best to get a more modest sports car (theres plenty to choose from) until you have finished college and have a decent job. (then buy a Griff!)
If you can afford to keep up together, then buy one! 20 is MOST defiantly old enough to buy a TVR, I and cannot recommend a V6 S series enough! Insurance is your biggest problem but they are group 17 insurance, not group 20. Try MSM insurance for a kit car policy which should be under a grand for a 20 year old. I say go for it!
I went to MSM. Very very helpful indeed. When I'm 21, it worked out at just over £800 for me on an S2, but the really good news is it's only £1200 for me on my dad's Chim, which is great news. So I'm saving to pay him the insurance money.....then I get to burble about in a top notch Tiv, all the while saving for my own Griff/Chim when I'm 25.
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