Tuscan, 350, or Viper?

[Excalibur]

I'm a forum virgin, so excuse any faux pas, errors, or general drivel.

New job forces imminent purchase of a half decent car.. finally! I've been checking out everything from Top Gear to Ebay and then the Forums here. Im now at the point where I'm trying to decide between a Tuscan (inc 'S), a 350, or a Viper GTS. Budget is going to be somewhere around £30K.

I keep reading about leaky roofs on 350T's and Tuscan's though, so that might narrow it down a bit... at least to the 350C. If it wasn't for the (possibly) leaky roof on the Tuscan and the dodgy back window, which Fernhurst TVR informed me rattled if you were to go over 80 (not in the UK of course... being such a model driver ) and was advisable to stuff in the boot. The Viper I know little about, apart from the fact that it looks cool, is fast, and a model that has done around 10K miles would be priced at around $50-55K (if you import from the USA) or £30-£40K for one in the UK.

Can anyone give me a little advice here (especially members who have knowledge of both TVRS and Vipers?

I live in Dublin , so I also have to take into consideration that any breakdowns or problems will require a trip across the aul' Irish pond to sort out.

I've heard so much about TVR unreliability. The bloke at Fernhurst assured me however, that many TVR breakdowns are due to the driver caning them 'apparently' and said that if you drive them like a 'normal' car, you should get good reliability. They said that providing you look after the car, get it serviced regularly, you should be fine. In the Forums here though, I keep reading about 'minor' yet 'frequent' faults cropping up with both Tuscans and 350's.

Taking all of that into consideration, Do I buy a Tuscan, Tuscan S, 350C, Viper GTS? And if I should go the Viper route, is it cheaper to import, or to buy one in the UK?

I'm getting more confused every day!! HELP!!!

[kingb]

www.pistonheads.com/sales/74402.htm

problem solved

[targarama]

Where have you read about a T350T's roof leaking? I've never heard of this. To be honest the design is such that they should not leak unless you're under water. They can be noisy above 80mph if badly fitted (or a crappy fit in the first place).

>> Edited by targarama on Friday 28th April 16:03

[m1spw]

Out of that lot, I'd take the Viper, or correctly named SRT10 ( car swot ). But what about a 'Vette or even a Monaro as a bit of a sleeper

[cqueen]

Go for the 350

[m1spw]

In fact, sod all that, get a Saggy!

www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/75294.htm

[oe_cosgrove]

Viper or as another poster suggested a Corvette, but how about a Monaro VXR or Holden HSV GTS or GTSR? They will out-handle and perform the others, tuning available to make them monsters (reliably I would add) from good tuners like Monkfish Performance in Brackley at affordable prices. They use the Corvette LS1 or LS2 engine and 6 speed box. Best of luck with your search

>> Edited by oe_cosgrove on Friday 28th April 20:00

Forgot...........the Monaros and HSVs are right hand drive which makes a HUGE difference IMHO.

>> Edited by oe_cosgrove on Friday 28th April 20:11

[LuS1fer]

Depends what you want really. I always wanted a Viper but when it came down to it, my research showed the Corvette Z06 to be universally acknowledged to be the better car apart from over the quarter mile drag. So I bought and imported a Z06. Obviously you get really miffed thereafter every time you see a Viper or people start salivating at the very mention of one.

In short, Corvette for purist drivers, Viper for drop dead gorgeous, jaw-slackening looks. The Viper's downside is width and a bad ride. If you want ease of maintenance and very little chance of a breakdown, a Corvette will serve you better but won't look half as good if you're a poser.

I can't comment on the TVRs as I've never had one. A friend has a Griffith and if he had the chance of a Viper, the Griffith wouldn't get a look-in. The Viper is that sort of car. I sometimes wish I had.

[Viper]

youll get plenty of viper help here
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?f=76&h=0

there are a few in that forum that have owned TVR's in the past, a few still run both
marques.

I can tell you a GTS is extremely reliable even when modified an caned I havent heard of any major problems in the UK over the 10 years I've been running vipers, they're are also very cheap to insure and maintain, parts are cheapest sourced from the US which isnt a problem

Youll get a huge choice if you source from the US and better value to, getting a newer car for your money.

If you come to Silverstone next sunday for the FIA GT/GT3 race we've a club space in the infield, should be around 18 vipers there to look at and you can question the owners




>> Edited by Viper on Friday 28th April 20:18

[Viper]

m1spw said:

Out of that lot, I'd take the Viper, or correctly named SRT10 ( car swot ). But what about a 'Vette or even a Monaro as a bit of a sleeper

not quite true, only the newer 03 onwards design is called the SRT/10, everything before that is VIPER

[chris watton]

What a choice to make, to be honest, I don't think you'll be disappointed with any of that three, each have a great sound and each have a great 'WOW' factor, although I'm sure if put side to side, the mighty Viper would look like the bully of the three (my car looked like it was cowering when a Viper was parked next to it at Pistonfest!)

[Viper]

that would be me Chris, I was the only viper owner at the last 2 PF's

[chris watton]

Viper said:

that would be me Chris, I was the only viper owner at the last 2 PF's

You know, I think you're right;

[Excalibur]

Blimey, I didn’t expect to get so many replies… Thanks everyone!!

Targarama, I see you bought your 350 from new, do you know how often full services and rebuilds are recommended? If it wasn’t for the whole ‘living in Ireland' thing with being a long way from a TVR service centre, I’d be more inclined to go for either the 350T (point taken re the roof question, Ta) or the Tuscan ‘S’. The Viper seems a better bet possibly re reliability, though my question here would be...

Are the Vipers very reliable? And are the TVR’s as unreliable as Mr Clarkson would have us believe?

As for the Monaro or Holden… just not for me really… a car either grabs you or doesn’t I guess. There’s something about the TVR’s, Viper, DB9, Vanquish, Vantage, DBS Oscar India, etc, that just ‘does it’ for me and I know I’m not alone in that… at least I hope I’m not.

As for the Z06… very fast, though the 350C beat it in a drag race on TG as far as I remember, but the interior looked a bit plastic when I saw one on the telly. If I had the garage space (Gawd I’d need a barn!!), I’d have a ’59 Vette Stingray rag top and a Mako Shark Coupe… and that's just for starters.

Nice ‘stang LuS1fer, when you imported your Z06, was it easy to do and is it likely to cost a fortune to import a motor from the States? Maybe Viper knows? … or is it Mr Viper? (love the silver grey Viper by the way, is it a GTS?) I’ve also been thinking about picking up a 63 Impala (409ci) or 69 Roadrunner which I’ve been offered. Not instead of a TVR or Viper mind, more so that I won’t have to rush headlong into parting with 30 odd grand and can then take my time making the right decision on which car to get. I’ve wanted something like this for as long as I can remember (plus there is a small bonus in that it would make my brother with jealousy…har har!! Serves him right anyway, arrogant b*gg*r he is!) Anyway, enough of that…

Viper, thanks for the info about Silverstone next weekend. I’ll have to pass this time though. Is this an annual event?

Gasboy, who’s Shoebags? Anyone know of folks that have owned both Vipers and TVRs? (Viper, I will check out that Viper forum… thanks for that too).

Still confused

[woolfie]

i've owned in tha past 5 years or so : a TVR Cerbera 4.5, 3 porsches (996,964,early 911 and a Viper GTS '97 - blue & white - the fast one). No comparisons: I hate comparing cars. Sounds like you need to just research, read, go see and drive a whole bunch of cars: and then you'll soon work out whats what. The forum will be good once you have made up your mind and want it validated and rationalised when you are about to hand over up to £40k. If seriously getting a viper, then you should try and chat to a few of the viper club members first: as it will help you get a steer on what to look out for; and its great seeing a bunch of vipers all in one place.

[Nickthebassist]

Excalibur said:

I'm a forum virgin, so excuse any faux pas, errors, or general drivel. New job forces imminent purchase of a half decent car.. finally! I've been checking out everything from Top Gear to Ebay and then the Forums here. Im now at the point where I'm trying to decide between a Tuscan (inc 'S), a 350, or a Viper GTS. Budget is going to be somewhere around £30K. I keep reading about leaky roofs on 350T's and Tuscan's though, so that might narrow it down a bit... at least to the 350C. If it wasn't for the (possibly) leaky roof on the Tuscan and the dodgy back window, which Fernhurst TVR informed me rattled if you were to go over 80 (not in the UK of course... being such a model driver ) and was advisable to stuff in the boot. The Viper I know little about, apart from the fact that it looks cool, is fast, and a model that has done around 10K miles would be priced at around $50-55K (if you import from the USA) or £30-£40K for one in the UK. Can anyone give me a little advice here (especially members who have knowledge of both TVRS and Vipers? I live in Dublin , so I also have to take into consideration that any breakdowns or problems will require a trip across the aul' Irish pond to sort out. I've heard so much about TVR unreliability. The bloke at Fernhurst assured me however, that many TVR breakdowns are due to the driver caning them 'apparently' and said that if you drive them like a 'normal' car, you should get good reliability. They said that providing you look after the car, get it serviced regularly, you should be fine. In the Forums here though, I keep reading about 'minor' yet 'frequent' faults cropping up with both Tuscans and 350's. Taking all of that into consideration, Do I buy a Tuscan, Tuscan S, 350C, Viper GTS? And if I should go the Viper route, is it cheaper to import, or to buy one in the UK? I'm getting more confused every day!! HELP!!!

The TVR does however kick the Viper's butt for performance.

[ninjaboy]

Go for the tuscan, so cool and the true drivers car out the bunch

[Syko]

ninjaboy said:

Go for the tuscan, so cool and the true drivers car out the bunch

Would second that as I used to have a Corvette before, then had the Tuscan, which kicks ass in a kind of way that simply cannot be put on paper.

That said, the TVR is hard work to keep on top form- it is better as a second car. If you want low fuss, consistent performance the Viper is for you. But you will not be as well liked in the road by other drivers, (experience in Corvette IIRC).

You really ought to test drive them both. It will br YOUR car and only you know what really floats your boat.

A very sweet dilemma

[Excalibur]

Just an aside for a moment, I just found this sweet video clip of tiff driving the Swordfish car with a lunatic stunt driver [url]www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTHbONOpu9c&search=TVR[/url]

[Viper]

as a rough guide adding 33% to the cost of any US vehicle will get it on the road over here, you just need to source a car close to the coast better still one with a dock rather than inland, as moving it to the docks can cost more than getting it across the Atlantic. You cant really move it yourself as you wont get insurance,

my current viper is a fairly stock Steel Grey GTS, to say the marque for me has been reliable is an understatement outside of the usual service/wear costs in ten years of viper motoring I can honestly say I've spent zero pounds no failures, no breakages, let downs,or recovery call outs... youll find its similar for just about every UK owner. If you scroll through the 9000 posts in the viper forum and youll struggle to find any major mechanical problems mentioned.

we have quite a few get togethers over the season, and i'll gladly take you for a spin if your about (or any other PH'er) Our UK website is being moved to another provider at the moment so its off line, but it has lots of useful info and the years events schedule, but take a look at www.viperclub.org theres tons on info in the forums

this book is well worth a tenner for a newbie
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760318352/104-6522626-8337516?v=glance&n=283155

I've never had a bad experience on the road from other users, the fun stories I could tell but thats for another day...






>> Edited by Viper on Saturday 29th April 07:28