Discussion
Hi,
Just wondered which type of TVR would be best. Drove the silver chimaera at Christopher Neil yesterday and liked it. But they didn't like my offer, lol! I have a budget of around 12k but might stretch it for the right car.
Which TVR would you suggest for me? Would like it to be a convertible of some sort. We have had a Lotus Elise R and a boxster s in the past but fancied something a bit different. Won't be doing the mechanics myself but have a good garage just down the road in Middlewichl
Advice much appreciated, cheers,
Jonathan
Just wondered which type of TVR would be best. Drove the silver chimaera at Christopher Neil yesterday and liked it. But they didn't like my offer, lol! I have a budget of around 12k but might stretch it for the right car.
Which TVR would you suggest for me? Would like it to be a convertible of some sort. We have had a Lotus Elise R and a boxster s in the past but fancied something a bit different. Won't be doing the mechanics myself but have a good garage just down the road in Middlewichl
Advice much appreciated, cheers,
Jonathan
Each to their own really so depends what you like the look of & which and which you prefer after driving.
If you're after roof off thrills then there's the wedges, the Griffith and Chimaera. All have the RV8 engine and are within budget. If you stretch it slightly, a Tamora is a possibility which has the S6 engine. There have been a few of these recently around the £13/14k mark.
You're unlikely to find a Tuscan for £12k unless it needs work or is a Cat D car. You should be able to find a reasonable one for around £14k with some searching.
It might be worthwhile you going to one of the regional TVR CC meets to look at some of the cars there and have a chat with their owners.
If you're after roof off thrills then there's the wedges, the Griffith and Chimaera. All have the RV8 engine and are within budget. If you stretch it slightly, a Tamora is a possibility which has the S6 engine. There have been a few of these recently around the £13/14k mark.
You're unlikely to find a Tuscan for £12k unless it needs work or is a Cat D car. You should be able to find a reasonable one for around £14k with some searching.
It might be worthwhile you going to one of the regional TVR CC meets to look at some of the cars there and have a chat with their owners.
Weekend car or daily driver? Doesn't make a lot of odds really as either Griff or Chimp will happily do either job though if your mileage is high the 6,000 mile service interval soon adds up.
Clearly I'm biased, Griff all day long. If you can bear the looks of the Chimp then go for it - you'll get a 'better' one for your budget but for better read prettier. TVRs are bought on appearance as much as performance so the 'well maintained' (polished) ones attract a premium. The properly maintained ones i.e. mechanically can sometimes get overlooked when all they need is a lick of paint and a set of carpets.
Buy on condition - chassis, engine, running gear, etc. - Buy the best you can afford keeping a couple of grand in reserve for an emergency. If you keep the reserve you'll never need it - if you spend your last penny buying it the first service will find an expensive issue. Sod's Law.
Clearly I'm biased, Griff all day long. If you can bear the looks of the Chimp then go for it - you'll get a 'better' one for your budget but for better read prettier. TVRs are bought on appearance as much as performance so the 'well maintained' (polished) ones attract a premium. The properly maintained ones i.e. mechanically can sometimes get overlooked when all they need is a lick of paint and a set of carpets.
Buy on condition - chassis, engine, running gear, etc. - Buy the best you can afford keeping a couple of grand in reserve for an emergency. If you keep the reserve you'll never need it - if you spend your last penny buying it the first service will find an expensive issue. Sod's Law.
Edited by LordGrover on Monday 27th September 08:43
Thanks for the advice. The TVR wouldn't be a daily drive but I'd expect to do around 5000 miles a year in it. Problem is, I like the look of them all. But I've done a lot reading around this site and it seems that, on balance, the Rover V8 is slightly less problematic than the straight 6. As I've said already, I won't be doing major mechanical work on this myself so will need to keep some money aside for work as and when required.
Hey, great community here so thanks for your advice and support for this newbie!
Hey, great community here so thanks for your advice and support for this newbie!
Dr K said:
Try this one...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
Do you know this to be a good example or just one picked out at random?http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
I did like the look of this one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1793390.htm
But, even adjusting for mileage, it did seem a bit pricey?
I've sent the owner an email to find out a bit more about the car.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1793390.htm
But, even adjusting for mileage, it did seem a bit pricey?
I've sent the owner an email to find out a bit more about the car.
jchallis said:
Thanks. Just looked at these. Could carry some kids too! But not convertible?
Not convertible and generally cost more to maintain, especially if you're not doing any of it yourself, a search on the Cerbera forum will give you a better idea of the potential costs, in my opinion it's worth it, however many others will disagreeThe AJP engine is very reliable, near indestructable, if well looked after, not thrashed while cold and correct oil changes. It is more expensive to work on than the Rover V8 engines but not hugely so. Biggest problems are that the valve clearances are done with shims so servicing is more labour heavy and the clutches get a lot of hammer as the engines are much more powerful that the RV8 units. Life expectancy of the clutch is 25-35000 miles and they are circa £450 plus fitting. The rest of the car is pretty much like any other TVR of that era, it's a chimera that got stretched and fitted with a silly engine. Many of the suspension parts are interchangeable between Tuscan, Chimera and Cerbera. The 6 cylinder engine (speed 6) is noted for many things, not all of them good, especially at your budget which will not get you a car with a new speed 6 engine and a warranty. Personally I would not touch any 6 pot without both. I hear later ones are OK, post 2003 that is, but I don't think that you will find out around the 12K mark. I've been running a Cerbera 4.5 V8 for around 3 years now with no major failures, still costs an arm and a leg to run though!
Smooth Smith said:
jchallis said:
Sorry, very new to this, an AJP engineered Cerbera?
V8 Cerb (AJP8 engine), probably a 4.2 with your budget.They also did a 4.5 Cerb (most likely above budget) & a Speed 6 Cerb.
Thanks for all that advice. I had a good chat with Stephen James (from Telford) today and he went through some of these things with me. He has a couple of Chimaeras and one Cerbera in his garage. On balance, I think that a Chimaera is a good start for me given my lack of TVR experience. Whatever I buy, I'll probably keep for a couple of years and then review options again. But, great advice from the TVR community all round!
I would definitely go for an RV8 car at that price. Whilst you might just get a SP6 car, you are unlikely to get a good one and it will cost you a lot more to keep going.
Chimaera or Griff, take your pick. A Griff will cost more, but will resell for more as well. However at 12k you should get a really good Chimaera which shouldn't give any nasty surprises at service time.
Remember however that these are performance vehicles which are 10+ years old and so things WILL need replacing hence do not under budget for the annual service!
Personally, I'd go for a good 10k Chimaera and hold 2k in a 'just in case' fund.
Chimaera or Griff, take your pick. A Griff will cost more, but will resell for more as well. However at 12k you should get a really good Chimaera which shouldn't give any nasty surprises at service time.
Remember however that these are performance vehicles which are 10+ years old and so things WILL need replacing hence do not under budget for the annual service!
Personally, I'd go for a good 10k Chimaera and hold 2k in a 'just in case' fund.
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