Mind made up......just a few opinions please....
Discussion
Earlier, I asked the general opinion of "wedge or s?" The answer was pretty well matched, but I posted it in the wedge section where I happened to be at the time and stirred up a bit of a hornets nest. (inadvertently)
Although very impressed with wedges, and still am, I think I would prefer an S.
I have had a chat with John mac who is a friends father and spookily enough has an S2. He gave me excellent advice with regard to the S series. Just a couple of questions though.....
What is a good average price for a non pristine, but safe and sound example.
Are there any garages around the bristol area.
Which 's' would you recommend....(hopefully not another hornets nest!)
Thanks for the friendly interest and banter so far. A colleague has just bought a griffith, so the Bristol section will have a couple of new patrons....
Regards,
Mike.
Although very impressed with wedges, and still am, I think I would prefer an S.
I have had a chat with John mac who is a friends father and spookily enough has an S2. He gave me excellent advice with regard to the S series. Just a couple of questions though.....
What is a good average price for a non pristine, but safe and sound example.
Are there any garages around the bristol area.
Which 's' would you recommend....(hopefully not another hornets nest!)
Thanks for the friendly interest and banter so far. A colleague has just bought a griffith, so the Bristol section will have a couple of new patrons....
Regards,
Mike.
What is a good average price for a non pristine, but safe and sound example.
....
Which 's' would you recommend....(hopefully not another hornets nest!)
Mike.
Average price - see the classified section for asking prices!
.....
Which S - 'go for the newest you can afford' used to be the advise, hence I have an S1 which in 1991 was much cheaper than the then new S3! However these days condition (and colour preference) may be more important. The S1 has "keep fit windows" and other fault tolerant devices like a mechanical boot release. It also has the sweet 2.8, which is much better than the 2.9 (unproved assertion) - but everyone goes for the S3 with it's big doors and boring dash! :P
Queue V8S owners:-
>> Edited by tvrgaas on Monday 12th May 23:04
tvrgaas said:
What is a good average price for a non pristine, but safe and sound example.
....
Which 's' would you recommend....(hopefully not another hornets nest!)
Mike.
Average price - see the classified section for asking prices!
.....
Which S - 'go for the newest you can afford' used to be the advise, hence I have an S1 which in 1991 was much cheaper than the then new S3! However these days condition (and colour preference) may be more important. The S1 has "keep fit windows" and other fault tolerant devices like a mechanical boot release. It also has the sweet 2.8, which is much better than the 2.9 (unproved assertion) - but everyone goes for the S3 with it's big doors and boring dash! :P
Queue V8S owners:-
>> Edited by tvrgaas on Monday 12th May 23:04
Nah, I'll let the car do the talking
. Seriously as has been said by david it's the overall condition and colour to suit yourself that is the most important thing, don't be put off by the bigger is better school of thought. There are plenty of V6 S's out there, that if well driven, would embarrass the average 4.0ltr 'S' or grifmaera in anything but a straight drag. As for price it's not difficult to do a search of the classifieds to see that a V6 will go from £3.5K up to £8.5K, V8S's ummm £9K to £13K seems about the going rate.
Obviously you can pay higher or lower than the above, but, if at the end of the day you feel you've paid the right price and are happy with the car it doesn't matter IMHO.
Harry
Having an S2 myself, I would have to say that the S3C would be the best model. However I much prefer my curved dash to the squared off style. All in all though, a very good S1 is better than a poor S2 or 3 and probably cheaper too.
My main priority when looking was the metal bits. I needed an everyday car and I didn't want to find problems with the chassis or powertrain. Cosmetic stuff like bodywork and trim were a secondary consideration. Of the few I looked at most were average condition all round and would have used up all my cash to buy, leaving me nothing in reserve for the unforseen. I bought £2k below what I could afford and have used most of that £2k to tidy up the trim, carpets, suspension, etc. Whatever you buy you ought to consider keeping some in reserve. Ren Dao bought a well cared for V8S and still came across problems, TrevyTrev has sadly found problems with his new aquisition too.
If you can get John Mac to look at them with you then you have a distinct advantage. I had a great deal of input from M@H and Podie, who had already seen the car I bought when Podie was looking for his. It was invaluable.
Good Hunting.
Andy
My main priority when looking was the metal bits. I needed an everyday car and I didn't want to find problems with the chassis or powertrain. Cosmetic stuff like bodywork and trim were a secondary consideration. Of the few I looked at most were average condition all round and would have used up all my cash to buy, leaving me nothing in reserve for the unforseen. I bought £2k below what I could afford and have used most of that £2k to tidy up the trim, carpets, suspension, etc. Whatever you buy you ought to consider keeping some in reserve. Ren Dao bought a well cared for V8S and still came across problems, TrevyTrev has sadly found problems with his new aquisition too.
If you can get John Mac to look at them with you then you have a distinct advantage. I had a great deal of input from M@H and Podie, who had already seen the car I bought when Podie was looking for his. It was invaluable.
Good Hunting.
Andy
HarryW said:
There are plenty of V6 S's out there, that if well driven, would embarrass the average 4.0ltr 'S' or grifmaera in anything but a straight drag.
There are plenty of Mondeo's that, if well driven, could embarass a Griff or Chimaera too. In reality a V6 (or V8S) is dynamically lacking compared to the more modern cars - though they are more raw and can be better fun.
I would say I had more fun in my S3C than the Chimaera. The limit was found at slower speeds, the car was more 'expendable', it sounded just as good (sports exhaust) and was reliable.
The big difference between the S2 and S3 is the door opening. Try getting out of an S2 in a narrow garage then try the same in the S3 - its a lot easier.
The one really important thing to check is the chassis and suspension arms.
www.geocities.com/peter.nixon
My humble opinion. Doesn't matter if it's an S1, S2 , S3, S4 - condition is all - don't worry too much about miles either - remember even the youngest of these is now 10 years old.
Last idea - give Rob Ingleby at Find a Sportscar a ring. He gave me lots of advice, sourced my car and negotiated a deal that was probably better than I would and saved lots of shredded nerves and wasted journeys.
Good luck!
Last idea - give Rob Ingleby at Find a Sportscar a ring. He gave me lots of advice, sourced my car and negotiated a deal that was probably better than I would and saved lots of shredded nerves and wasted journeys.
Good luck!
Hi all,
I've made up my mind also to become an S2 (or 3) owner. It will be my first TVR although my Brother has a Chimaera (Hi!) :-)
I've left a message for Rob Ingleby as I've heard nothing but good things about him and really want to minimise the possibility of being burned.
Waiting for him to call back...
I've made up my mind also to become an S2 (or 3) owner. It will be my first TVR although my Brother has a Chimaera (Hi!) :-)
I've left a message for Rob Ingleby as I've heard nothing but good things about him and really want to minimise the possibility of being burned.
Waiting for him to call back...
The 2.9 is supposed to be more reliable than the 2.8,the 2.8 has an oil pump drive problem (they shear and then its wot no oil pressure). I had an s2 and it had 5 points of contact with the road, four tyres and the exhaust!I beleve the s3 is better in this regard but I dont know for certain. If I bought another S I would go for a de-catted S3C.
Definately buy on condition... but then if you're mechanically adept then you may want something to work on... or fancy having a crack at the interior... choice is yours. There are some immaculate examples out there, but obviously you pay a premium.
Personally I went looking for for an S2.. as I loved the curvy dash... ended up with an S3c, since I have a knee problem and struggled to get in and out of the shorter door'd variant...
Personally I went looking for for an S2.. as I loved the curvy dash... ended up with an S3c, since I have a knee problem and struggled to get in and out of the shorter door'd variant...
Okay, this goes against all, but...
Having never looked at S's, driven S's or considered S's, I was flicking through Autotrader as is my want on a Friday and saw an S3 advertised. I drove 40 or so miles to see it the next day and bought it for a bit of fun. Now it turned out to be an S2, the paint work is a bit tatty in some places, and the interior was not good. However I have had it for about a year and ever since the day I got it I have been absolutely smitten, addicted you might say and even obsessed at times - much to my wifes dismay!!! Anyway I put it through its MOT last week and it passed first time, which was nice. I have since put on a new hood, and new seats, the dash is to be re-trimmed, and the suspension is getting done next week etc etc. I think my point is only half of my enjoyment comes from driving it, the rest comes from learning, tinkering and generally improving the car. Knowing what I know now, I was a bit daft buying like I did, and have been lucky with the chasis, but don't get too bogged down thinking you are going to get 'burned' as there are plenty of cared for and well looked after examples out there for you to buy.
Cheers
DT
Having never looked at S's, driven S's or considered S's, I was flicking through Autotrader as is my want on a Friday and saw an S3 advertised. I drove 40 or so miles to see it the next day and bought it for a bit of fun. Now it turned out to be an S2, the paint work is a bit tatty in some places, and the interior was not good. However I have had it for about a year and ever since the day I got it I have been absolutely smitten, addicted you might say and even obsessed at times - much to my wifes dismay!!! Anyway I put it through its MOT last week and it passed first time, which was nice. I have since put on a new hood, and new seats, the dash is to be re-trimmed, and the suspension is getting done next week etc etc. I think my point is only half of my enjoyment comes from driving it, the rest comes from learning, tinkering and generally improving the car. Knowing what I know now, I was a bit daft buying like I did, and have been lucky with the chasis, but don't get too bogged down thinking you are going to get 'burned' as there are plenty of cared for and well looked after examples out there for you to buy.
Cheers
DT
RichardR said:News to me!
rab c said:I had an s2 and it had 5 points of contact with the road, four tyres and the exhaust! I beleve the s3 is better in this regard but I dont know for certain.
- seem to recall the bible states that ground clearance improved with each generation of S...Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff