Should I buy a chimaera?
Discussion
The good news is £10k will definitely still buy you a reasonable 4.0 litre Chimaera if you're buying it from a private seller, but you'll probably need to travel a fair bit and view a number of cars to find the right one for you, be warned there are plenty of dogs out there at this price point.
It's not until you actually view the car that you'll properly understand its true condition, and it's worth accepting from the outset for your £10k budget you'll very likely be facing some sort of chassis restoration in the next few years, outriggers fitted properly (body lift) will cost in the region of £2k and a full body off chassis restoration will easily eat up £6k.
If it was me I'd look for a car with the chassis restoration already paid for by the previous owner, for example there's a silver Chimaera in the classifieds right now that without its restored chassis would probably be your £10k car, but looking at the photos I'd guess the chassis restoration would have cost the seller somewhere in the region of £6k.
So by rights that car should be being offered at £16k right?... Wrong!
As we all know and to the disadvantage of the seller it doesn't work like that, to the advantage of the buyer and with some realistic negotiation there's an immediate £3k saving to be had with this chassis restored example.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
But remain cautious, the chassis side is just one element of any restoration, a Chimaera (or any TVR) with a full chassis restoration could still very easily become a money pit if it needs engine work, paint, a re-trim, ect ect. But the basic rule is simple, buy the best car you can afford and buy the car where the previous owner has absorbed as many of the big bills on your behalf.
If I had a £10k budget I'd still view that silver car with it's full chassis restoration, if it's what it seems then I'd negotiate hard to try to secure it for £13k. I'd then look to beg, borrow ect the missing £3k any way I could, I see from your profile you're in the South West so with this chassis restored Chimaera being in Wellington it could be reasonably local to you too?
But always keep in mind buying that restored chassis car just means one of the many potential big bills has been covered by someone else, its definitely a nice to have but by no means a guarantee against further big bills on the horizon. The full story beyond the chassis on any Chimaera is the car could easily eat up a further £10k if it needs engine work, paint and some interior trimming.
I hope the above helps in some way?
Happy hunting
It's not until you actually view the car that you'll properly understand its true condition, and it's worth accepting from the outset for your £10k budget you'll very likely be facing some sort of chassis restoration in the next few years, outriggers fitted properly (body lift) will cost in the region of £2k and a full body off chassis restoration will easily eat up £6k.
If it was me I'd look for a car with the chassis restoration already paid for by the previous owner, for example there's a silver Chimaera in the classifieds right now that without its restored chassis would probably be your £10k car, but looking at the photos I'd guess the chassis restoration would have cost the seller somewhere in the region of £6k.
So by rights that car should be being offered at £16k right?... Wrong!
As we all know and to the disadvantage of the seller it doesn't work like that, to the advantage of the buyer and with some realistic negotiation there's an immediate £3k saving to be had with this chassis restored example.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
But remain cautious, the chassis side is just one element of any restoration, a Chimaera (or any TVR) with a full chassis restoration could still very easily become a money pit if it needs engine work, paint, a re-trim, ect ect. But the basic rule is simple, buy the best car you can afford and buy the car where the previous owner has absorbed as many of the big bills on your behalf.
If I had a £10k budget I'd still view that silver car with it's full chassis restoration, if it's what it seems then I'd negotiate hard to try to secure it for £13k. I'd then look to beg, borrow ect the missing £3k any way I could, I see from your profile you're in the South West so with this chassis restored Chimaera being in Wellington it could be reasonably local to you too?
But always keep in mind buying that restored chassis car just means one of the many potential big bills has been covered by someone else, its definitely a nice to have but by no means a guarantee against further big bills on the horizon. The full story beyond the chassis on any Chimaera is the car could easily eat up a further £10k if it needs engine work, paint and some interior trimming.
I hope the above helps in some way?
Happy hunting
benny4x said:
Hi, yes that was really useful yes I know Wellington well and used to go to Colin at tvrsw so he might well know this car!
Thanks again
By the look of it I wouldn't be surprised if you find out Colin did the chassis restoration himself, the car probably belongs to one of his loyal customers. The fact it can be viewed in his workshop means you can get it on the ramp for a proper inspection, this is worth its weight in gold and a clear benefit you'll seldom enjoy with most other private sales.Thanks again
Given the above, the fact you already know & Colin and the car is local to you it would be insane not to take a look. Just remember a Chimaera is an evolution of an old school design, it will feel like an improved 60's classic and should be viewed as such.
A Tuscan was another animal altogether, yes the basic recipe is the same tubular back bone chassis and drive train layout but in my experience the T cars have a noticeably different character. The T cars are more of modern "new millennium" interpretation of old school car, which is subtly (but importantly) different to the Chimaera which was a genuine old school car improved just enough to be a wild card new car purchase for the slightly maverick sports car buyer in the 1990's.
With a Chimaera you get a lazy V8 that you could easily argue is rather crude in it's behaviour, what you soon learn is it also gives the car surprisingly good GT manners and the sound it makes will give you a huge grin every time, what it won't do is rev onto 7,000rpm plus like your Tuscan's Speed Six engine did.
If you feel you'll miss some of the refinement and the howling high revving nature of your Tuscan then maybe a Chimaera isn't for you, but if you like low down torque and a more old school flavour then a Chimera is going to be right up your street.
It's all in the way you choose to view a Chimaera, see it as a cheaper alternative to your Tuscan and you might find it lacking, view it as an improved classic British sports car from the 1960's you can still easily use every day on modern roads and you'll immediately fall in love with your new TVR bargain.
My best advice is.... try one
benny4x said:
thanks again, to be honest I didn't really do much of the howling high revving stuff your talking about lol.you sound like a great salesman lol. it's not your car by any chance???
I have no connection with the car at all, I'm just trying to help by pointing you in the direction of what might prove to be a great car with at least one of the big bills removed, and a car that's presumably not too far from you either which surely has to be a significant benefit?
Lets say my maximum budget was £8k, I'd happily go shopping for a nicely restored V6 S model, but if my budget was £10k as you say yours is, I'd definitely do my best to up my game to a Chimaera. Be honest with yourself, won't you end up wishing you'd pushed that little bit harder to secure what is a more complete design with an all aluminium V8 instead of the rather work-a-day cast iron Ford V6 engine?
As sweet as the S models are... if it were me in your situation I know quite soon on I'd be kicking myself for not buying a proper grown up V8, and that alone would really start to eat at me. You've already said you'd prefer a V8 and who could blame you, so I guess it all boils down to what your budget really is?
And remember a V8S saves you next to nothing over a Chimaera like this one, a car that will almost certainly sell for £10.5k.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
A Chimaera that also benefits from a recent TVR Power engine rebuild with a 12 month warranty, and new outriggers too!!!!
One of the first rules in use car buying is to view as any examples as you can, now consider there are 72 Chimaeras currently for sale on PH and only 4 of the S model to choose from, all of the S models on offer are V6 engined and only two of the four could be considered within a reasonable striking distance to view.
If you can stretch to it I'd definitely dig a bit deeper and go the Chimaera rout, you'll end up with the better car for sure
As COG says,the old S cars are really old school,the chimera is imo far more updated to the S but no way as money intensive as the T cars can be,if you get into chassis refurbs and interior updates then they are all expensive but the chimera is at least a car that if you have any mechanical ability then you would be able to work on it yourself
The only S I would consider would be the v8 and these appear to be pretty thin on the ground
The Chimera is a very versatile car and even the 4ltr is plenty quick enough,if you didn't scream your Tuscan then you probably drove it fairly conservatively,you may find the Chimera a lot more relaxed,try before you buy. I've driven a few T cars and I know which I prefer
Rich
The only S I would consider would be the v8 and these appear to be pretty thin on the ground
The Chimera is a very versatile car and even the 4ltr is plenty quick enough,if you didn't scream your Tuscan then you probably drove it fairly conservatively,you may find the Chimera a lot more relaxed,try before you buy. I've driven a few T cars and I know which I prefer
Rich
Just gonna put this here
I previously owned a screaming banshee cerbera 4.5
Loved it a lot but drove me completely mad with her tantrums constantly demanding new parts and work
Sold it
Bought a merc had it gor two months
Sold it
Bought a chim 500
Love it
And have raced a Tuscan and and I wasn't disappointed at all
My little chim beat it hands down
That goes well was the Tuscans remark
Ok my chim has had some light engine work so she's quite a quick car
I don't coming from atuscan to a chimera will disappoint you
There awesome cars
I previously owned a screaming banshee cerbera 4.5
Loved it a lot but drove me completely mad with her tantrums constantly demanding new parts and work
Sold it
Bought a merc had it gor two months
Sold it
Bought a chim 500
Love it
And have raced a Tuscan and and I wasn't disappointed at all
My little chim beat it hands down
That goes well was the Tuscans remark
Ok my chim has had some light engine work so she's quite a quick car
I don't coming from atuscan to a chimera will disappoint you
There awesome cars
ChilliWhizz said:
QBee said:
A good friend of mine is presently racing a standard 4 litre Chimaera in the TVR championship and is mixing it with the Tuscan racers. He only loses out slightly on the straights.
Half of it's missing Anyway, I am sure he only got rid of the roof and the interior because he had to weld in an FIA approved five-bar gate (Norfolk roll cage), and he weighs a cool 100 kg himself.
Gratuitious photo opportunity (though not in this year's livery).
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