HOW MUCH!!

[RayTVR]

check this one out!

clicky

[Longers]

Excellent news... it's good see the market starting to realise the value of these cars (although that asking is price is on the very very high side of optimistic!)

[glenrobbo]

I think it would be worth a lot more with the toilet roll holder mod.

[GadgeS3C]

It's the premium for the best bonnet.

Does look nice.

[greymrj]

Yep, it is on ebay as well:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-TVR-290-S-/15127599...

Only about 15 mile from me, think I might feel the need to go over and see if they would offer me £10k for mine!!

[tvrgit]

You can get one for half of that. That would be one that looked cosmetically good, but had a lot of hidden niggly faults, that are hard to fix because rusty bolts and bits break while you are trying to fix those niggly faults. I am not being derogatory - I include my own in that category.

I have seen cars win "best category" at S-club, only because they kept the bonnet shut - lift the bonnet and it looked like it had been stored for the last 100 years on the foredeck of the Titanic.

So if you have a car that is either in original unblemished condition, or that you have restored to the last nut and bolt (as this one appears to have been), and everything works properly, and you are a dealer who has more responsibility if things go wrong after its sold, then why not look to charge a premium price? You are unlikely to get back every penny you spend on a restoration, and personally, it doesn't float my boat, but it's still worth more than the majority out there, to the right buyer.

[magpies]

must admit I found out the hard way that having what looks like a nice spray job along with new hood and shiney wheels can hide a crumbling chassis and very tired interior

[Longers]

tvrgit said:

....then why not look to charge a premium price?

Cannot disagree with that at all. My view is that in recent years the prices of the "premium" cars have been dragged down by that apparent bargains being offered at very low prices.

For example...
Question - "why should I pay £8k for that red one when I can get the green one for £3k?"
Answer, which will often (but I admit will not always, if you're lucky) become apparent after buying the cheaper one - "because it will take more than £5k to get the green one to the standard of the red one".

[mohitos]

Not just that. Buying one for £3k and spending £5k rarely gets you a car worth £8k. There is an argument to say always buy the best, as the value if preserved well will always fare better.

Unfortunately a restoration project on an S is a bit of a fool's game, as prices just aren't high enough to cover the expense. Ask me how I know

[phillpot]

"Horses for courses"


I'd be bored silly buying an immaculate car that just needed a clean & polish every weekend!


And of course finding 8 or 10 grand in one lump sum is very different to starting with 3 or 4 and then a bit more...and a bit more ...and....

[ChrisGadd]

For me the enjoyment is not just about driving the car (all be it several years ago now) but about pride in it's state of repair and the enjoyment of being able to tackle most jobs these cars throw at us.

[QBee]

In 2012 I set myself a budget of ten grand for a fun car, looked at all sorts and ended up with a Chim 400...

Great car, fun on track, good road drive, great with the roof off. Well you S owners know all this, as you have the same car in a different body, wolf in sheep's clothing.

So I have spent about as much again over the last two years "improving it".
Still as tatty in the bodywork and trim department, but by 'eck it was fun at Snetterton yesterday, with its 888s, 324mm brakes and 300 bhp 500 V8D engine.

What's it worth now, 17,000 miles and two years later? About two grand more than I paid for it. Do I care?

Nope.