My TVR dream

[QBee]

Willtl said:

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The way I see it is that worst case, I get the TVR stuck on my drive or I'm out for a ride one day and have broken down at the side of the road waiting for the RAC. But guess what? Running or not, I'm still the one with the TVR

My wife and I have three cars. An Audi, a Mercedes and a TVR.
I will give you one guess which one was starting and running every time it was needed between 15th December and 15th January?

Saturday I had to take my father in law back to south Wales. Audi battery inexplicably showed 3 volts, car was electrically dead, Mercedes turned over but wouldn't start. TVR was fine.

They are more reliable than you might think, at least the Rover V8 ones are. Barn door engineering and low tech has a lot of positives.

[Zippee]

OP - My blog on my profile lists all my T35s costs over the last 6 1/2 years so should give you an idea of running costs.
Where abouts in the country are you? If near Cambs/Beds I'm happy to show you round mine and have an open chat about ownership.

[Willtl]

Zippee said:

OP - My blog on my profile lists all my T35s costs over the last 6 1/2 years so should give you an idea of running costs.
Where abouts in the country are you? If near Cambs/Beds I'm happy to show you round mine and have an open chat about ownership.

Thanks - some scary costs averaging £4k per year, although I guess if we don't include your engine rebuild and decadent items it would fall to £2k per year.

[Zippee]

Willtl said:

Zippee said:

OP - My blog on my profile lists all my T35s costs over the last 6 1/2 years so should give you an idea of running costs.
Where abouts in the country are you? If near Cambs/Beds I'm happy to show you round mine and have an open chat about ownership.

Thanks - some scary costs averaging £4k per year, although I guess if we don't include your engine rebuild and decadent items it would fall to £2k per year.

Don't take mine as gospel, some people will have higher some will have a lot lower - luck of the draw I guess.
Mine is maintained with a if it needs doing then do it attitude, ie/ it wants for nothing. Again not to say the majority of others aren't also as theres still an element of luck eg/ my engine was 100% fine, it was a failed half time bearing that lunched it for me.

[Targarama]

Zippee said:

Willtl said:

Zippee said:

OP - My blog on my profile lists all my T35s costs over the last 6 1/2 years so should give you an idea of running costs.
Where abouts in the country are you? If near Cambs/Beds I'm happy to show you round mine and have an open chat about ownership.

Thanks - some scary costs averaging £4k per year, although I guess if we don't include your engine rebuild and decadent items it would fall to £2k per year.

Don't take mine as gospel, some people will have higher some will have a lot lower - luck of the draw I guess.
Mine is maintained with a if it needs doing then do it attitude, ie/ it wants for nothing. Again not to say the majority of others aren't also as theres still an element of luck eg/ my engine was 100% fine, it was a failed half time bearing that lunched it for me.

I had my half-time bearing changed at the last service as it was on its way out. Luckily just before it went completely. Jason at Str8Six diagnosed a rattling noise and replaced it with a modified version which will last much longer. It was an engine out job. (the rattling noise was the timing chain hitting the cover as the bearing allowed the timing gear to shift around

My car has cost around £750 a year in servicing costs to run most years, with the exception of last year when I had the above done, plus a gearbox rebuild and a few other bits which came to £5k (gulp). Mind you, out for a drive yesterday and the car runs better than it ever has, even when it was new (30k miles).

From what I read broken half-time bearings are a major source of engine failures in the Speed Six.

[ChilliWhizz]

Er, what's a half time bearing? I've rebuilt engines (many years ago when I was a youngster) but I've never heard of one of these....

[Speed 3]

PeteB said:

I was in a very similar position to you about 14 years ago (blimey time flies by!). Had wanted a TVR ever since my days as a paper boy when every morning I would see a white 450 seac start up and rumble past and I would just sit there on my Raleigh Grifter (a fine work horse for delivering papers I should add!) in awe. When I was finally in a position to be able to buy one, I did exactly what the advice was on here. Read this forum to death, joined the TVRCC, drove a load of cars to get a feel for different conditions, and even bought Steve Heaths manual. I wanted a chimaera as it was in budget and I've always liked that shape and the rover V8. I had a Corrado VR6 at the time and was travelling a lot around the country doing a bit of kart racing. I loved the Corrado, but wanted to scratch the TVR itch and so started looking for one. I was also about to move to London so needed something that I could leave outside and it would work in London traffic. A week before I left for London, I picked up my Mercedes SLK and the TVR option was shelved again! When it came to the crunch I bottled it and went with reliability and peace of mind. That didn't work out though as the Merc had loads of issues, and was not in the same league performance wise as the Corrado. So all in all a crap decision!

I then decided I needed to get something with some pace again, and did the TVR rounds again and by this time I'd moved out of London and into the leafy suburbs of Berkshire. Perfect for the dream to finally come true. But once again I let it pass me by again and I can't quite remember why. I think it was because TVR was about to go pop, and so the element of uncertainty put me off again. I Had just met my future wife, she had her own car, we had no kids and the timing would have been perfect. But I also discovered M cars and plumped for an E46 M3. It was awesome. A world apart from anything previous, had the power of a TVR, handled brilliantly and never missed a beat. It was the best of both worlds. Then the kids turned up so I kept the E46 for 6 years, had an E92 for 3 and just got an F10 M5 at the end of last year.

The M5 is simply too capable, it commands respect when you push it when the road is anything but bone dry and warm but you are at warp speed before you realise because all the electronic gizmos allow you to drive it so much quicker than you would dare hustle a TVR along the road. And there is the point, for all the capability of modern performance cars, whilst great fun they are becoming too clinical in my opinion. Don't get me wrong I love the M5, it does everything brilliantly but when the sun comes out I still find myself browsing through the Chimaera classifieds and I still have Steve Heaths manual on the bookshelf.

My point with all this is that you seem to be at a point I was all those years ago. So the above hopefully outlines what can happen if you don't just bite the bullet and go and do it. The other option that has not been suggested is why not hedge your bets? Buy something sensible for a daily driver and then go and get a Chimaera to at least enter TVR ownership, before you go for the latter models. From what I understand most Chimaeras are now sorted for most Gremlins and so it's less of a minefield than it once was. 30k will allow you to do this easily. If I had the space, I'd keep the M5 and have a Chimaera for sunny days at the weekends.

Very similar story to myself but in true "Sliding Doors" style I did plump for the Chimaera over the M3 after a VR6 Corrado (which I absolutely loved). Same situation - fiance, no kids, once in a lifetime chance to scratch the itch. Helpfully it was a company car choice so I wasn't picking up the quite considerable maintenance costs (over 20k miles per year not helping). 60k later and I wasn't sorry to see it go. A decade and a half of more modern metal later I decided to scratch the itch again. I prefer the "less use is more" now to preserve the absolute thrill of the Tuscan, although its definitely no garage queen with less money spent on detailing than fuel. Technology has moved on dramtically and whilst its nice to consider stuff like LED lighting was ahead of its time, you now have to appreciate a TVR for what it is rather than trying to rationalise it against modern sports cars. Economically though you can have surprisingly cheap motoring over an ownership term if you buy wisely.

[NCE 61]

ChilliWhizz said:

Er, what's a half time bearing? I've rebuilt engines (many years ago when I was a youngster) but I've never heard of one of these....

At the top of the block:-



OP running cost of my 2006 Tuscan S Link a bit less than 2K a year, and it's very well looked after.

[so called]

Also, don't forget that the value if your TVR will stay the same or increase.
There are so many reasons why owning a TVR puts a smile on your face.

Don't get me wrong, I made the cardinal sin of if buying from the heart with my first Tuscan and payed for it big time when the engine blew after 34 miles.
Even them, I was so excited to get it back and all was forgiven and forgotten when I was back on the road
Wonderful machines.

[Willtl]

so called said:

Also, don't forget that the value if your TVR will stay the same or increase.
There are so many reasons why owning a TVR puts a smile on your face.

Don't get me wrong, I made the cardinal sin of if buying from the heart with my first Tuscan and payed for it big time when the engine blew after 34 miles.
Even them, I was so excited to get it back and all was forgiven and forgotten when I was back on the road
Wonderful machines.

I've noticed the prices now seem steady so I'm quite prepared to get one and if for some reason it doesn't work out feel that I won't lose too much if I get rid of it.

As for buying from the heart I suspect everyone buying a TVR does this! My heart wants it and my brain is in agreement, but says "be careful and make sure there is a good warranty".

[billynobrakes]

Willtl said:

I've noticed the prices now seem steady so I'm quite prepared to get one and if for some reason it doesn't work out feel that I won't lose too much if I get rid of it.

As for buying from the heart I suspect everyone buying a TVR does this! My heart wants it and my brain is in agreement, but says "be careful and make sure there is a good warranty".

I said it before, buy one with a TVR Power 4.3 or 4.5 rebuild. job done

[Willtl]

billynobrakes said:

I said it before, buy one with a TVR Power 4.3 or 4.5 rebuild. job done

Are you suggesting that a privately sourced TVR with a Power engine rebuild would be a safer bet than buying one from Str8six?

[fat80b]

billynobrakes said:

I said it before, buy one with a TVR Power 4.3 or 4.5 rebuild. job done

I don't agree - buy the one you want the most and if it does go bang then you get to spec the rebuild yourself.

I think people get too hung up on ticking a "has it had an engine build?" box - I would much rather know what went into it and which bits should have been upgraded at the same time.
Even a big stack of bills doesn't tell you what the previous owner decided not to address.

The only way you get to do this is to spec it yourself if and when it needs it.

I am almost looking forward to my day at Power if it ever comes

Bob

[RobertoBlanco]

fat80b said:

I don't agree - buy the one you want the most and if it does go bang then you get to spec the rebuild yourself.

I think people get too hung up on ticking a "has it had an engine build?" box - I would much rather know what went into it and which bits should have been upgraded at the same time.
Even a big stack of bills doesn't tell you what the previous owner decided not to address.

The only way you get to do this is to spec it yourself if and when it needs it.

I am almost looking forward to my day at Power if it ever comes

Bob

Sorry to butt in. I see where you're coming from. I would almost completely agree, but buying an already rebuilt SP6 car is always cheaper than getting a rebuild done afterwards. So this is one of the few points, where I understand the "rebuildmania".

I wouldn't be put off by a non-rebuild engine. I actually bought one. I purchased it from a well known specialist, because I saw advantages for a mainland buyer (which i am) in terms of money transfer and test driving for instance.
If I were UK based, I'd probably wouldn't exclude buying from private sellers. On the contrary they can give you even better insight in what was done to the car, if she was treated well, etc. Cheaper most of the times, too.
That a car bought from a specialist will give you peace of mind might be a deceiving assumption.

[billynobrakes]

Right this is my last thread on this matter,

Your budget is £30,000 is that correct

You want a good warranty is that correct

Others are saying buy a T350 then wait till it goes bang before upgrading to a TVR power engine with the warranty it comes with, I cannot comment on other engine builders as I have not got their engine or seen their warranty so that is for you to decide, I can only comment on what I have, I am not knocking anyone else , I have experienced a problem with my car after the engine rebuild that kept cutting out and it was sent to another tvr mechanic who under Dom,s instructions changed quite a few things but still could not sort it out so off it went on the back of a low loader from Kent to Coventry, they had it for a day and it turned out a corroded OBD switch, how much did Dom charge me nada, nothing nilche, so that is good enough for me.

The biggest thing you want it a warranty / piece of mind don,t forget some of these warranties are worse than useless they look great till you make a claim , just buy a T350 there are some around for about £23,000 - £35,000 some with the original engine some with a 4.3 for tvr power, don,t forget a tvr powers 4.3 is about £10,000 the warranty on them are 5,000 miles unlimited mileage if serviced at other tvr garages, 100,000 miles if serviced at TVR power no matter how many years it takes, so lets be fair he must be sure that what he has built will be good for 100,000 miles

again I am not knocking anyone else but if there was T350 3.6 for just say £25600 and a T350 4.3 £26800 similar age and spec its a no brainer

[billynobrakes]

Sorry the warranty should say 5 years unlimited mileage if serviced at other tvr garages LOL, in a rush as usual

[Targarama]

A car with a 'proper' rebuild is worth more - yes. But if you buy one for less that has not been rebuilt then it will probably still run fine for years - get a warranty on this car from the dealer (Str8Six for example) or buy with knowledge privately.

[billynobrakes]

[redacted]

[BlackpoolRock]

[redacted]

[PGNCerbera]

OP, have you spoken to Str8six yet?