RE: PH Fleet: TVR Chimaera and Mazda MX-5

[pat_y]

I will give it 3 months before the crank bearings fall out, frame corrodes and wheel rims warp, after which in traditional fashion you will be presented with the universal garage standard bill.....That will be a thousand pounds please sir....Good effort though.

[AW35]

I think that is a great pair of cars,but instead of the tvr which does the same job as the Mazda, what about this instead


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

You would have then one Q car with a great sound and then you could get the MX5 off to BBR for a turbo.

This seems to cover more bases.

[morgs_]

AW35 said:

I think that is a great pair of cars,but instead of the tvr which does the same job as the Mazda, what about this instead


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

You would have then one Q car with a great sound and then could get the MX5 off to BBR for a turbo.

This seems to cover more bases.

You can't take the roof off...

[stevo6]

morgs_ said:

You can't take the roof off...

Er, and it's cat d ...

[LotusOmega375D]

A TVR and an MX-5: surely that is the very essence of Pistonheads?

How could he possibly work for anyone else?

[AW35]

morgs_ said:

You can't take the roof off...

Sorry, forgot we were all living in California.

Do you know how many days it is cold or wet in the UK ? He's still got the MX5 for that sort of thing and besides the Merc has a "sunshine" powered roof to let a little bit more light in whilst the TVR is in the murky depths of the local repair merchant.

[AW35]

stevo6 said:

Er, and it's cat d ...

You could be mean and say all TVR's were cat F straight from the factory

[Garlick]

Andy JB said:

Garlick i love to read your TVR updates, however, I do think Fenhurst are enjoying your custom. I do find it hard to believe all your bushes have deteriorated in the space of a year and 4k miles.

I do appreciate the theme of your piece as an ownership prospect, however, i do wonder if either your car is a particularly troublesome example, or whether Fenhurst are maximising the opportunity presented!

Well, I had two top mounts done and some gaiters along with the rad...they were replaced for the first time so have been in use for 56,700 miles and 13 years.

No doubt I pay for the labour, but my list of stuff done in three years (see my earlier post above somewhere) is far from extensive and I wouldn't call it particularly troublesome myself...honest

[Garlick]

AW35 said:

I think that is a great pair of cars,but instead of the tvr which does the same job as the Mazda, what about this instead

Won't be buying another car for a while...that's the plan anyway

[Garlick]

pat_y said:

I will give it 3 months before the crank bearings fall out, frame corrodes and wheel rims warp, after which in traditional fashion you will be presented with the universal garage standard bill.....That will be a thousand pounds please sir....Good effort though.

I've got to replace my bicycle with a £5k carbon beauty. Apparently

[Sevenman]

[redacted]

[Martin 480 Turbo]

Andy JB said:

Garlick i love to read your TVR updates, however, I do think Fenhurst are enjoying your custom. I do find it hard to believe all your bushes have deteriorated in the space of a year and 4k miles.

First I thought along the same lines, but we do not know how Garlick drives it and if Harris
borrowed it one Friday afternoon.

Martin 480 Turbo

[morgs_]

AW35 said:

morgs_ said:

You can't take the roof off...

Sorry, forgot we were all living in California.

Do you know how many days it is cold or wet in the UK ? He's still got the MX5 for that sort of thing and besides the Merc has a "sunshine" powered roof to let a little bit more light in whilst the TVR is in the murky depths of the local repair merchant.

Well that would be nice, except for me it would probably be too hot. The British weather we have suits me far better, even if a few drier days would be a bonus. As for the roads we have here vs Cali..

As great as an MX5 is, it is not the same for "that sort of thing" by any stretch of the imagination. Similar in RWD and no roof, but a very different experience.

[carinaman]

Garlick said:

As I'm amongst friends, I'll share my latest commuter purchase....



Am I still allowed to post here?

Yes. I should really get one.

[Garlick]

Martin 480 Turbo said:

First I thought along the same lines, but we do not know how Garlick drives it and if Harris
borrowed it one Friday afternoon.

Martin 480 Turbo

You know that chap who drove Miss Daisy? That's me...

As for Harris driving it?

[Deadlysub]

I really do like Garlick's fleet updates.

I love TVR's and would love one someday.

As for the bike all I can say is good man I am about to treat myself to a decent road bike also

[V8RX7]

Sorry but taking an old simple car to a specialist to have simple jobs done makes no (financial) sense.

Fair enough for fault finding / complicated jobs.

I fail to believe a car that was fine last year and has covered 4k since needed that much work doing.

And yes I've owned (and maintained) many TVRs myself.

[Garlick]

It has, and always will, go back to Fernies as I'm a bit of a stickler for that sort of thing. Every owner has taken this car there from almost new and I enjoy spending time there and trust them. Some of the work done this year was listed as an advisory last year, some of it wasn't...

They know I cover the car extensively on here, show me what needs doing and explain why and generally do a good job. Sure, it's a well known V8 that any mechanic could work on, but that's just not how I do it (as you all know by now) and I like to use a specialist if I can. The Mazda won't go back to Mazda, but my 'special' car will always go somewhere decent, whatever it is.

To be fair though, whenever I've had work done the comments are similar (including for my RS2, 944, Merc, Lexus etc etc) but I just like using specialists I trust and I guess I'm happy to pay for that level of service too. I'm even happy if a portion of my labour rate goes towards shiny showrooms and good coffee

You don't have to agree, that's just dull.

[Shabs]

[redacted]

[Garlick]

Shabs said:

I am not so sure about this - maybe some people get lucky, but from what I can gather my experience was quite normal. I am not even suggesting that this is a bad thing, but these are hand-made cars that are getting on 15 years old now so maintenance is to be expected. With my Chim, I also discovered many interesting design features that made ownership challenging, but couldn't be bothered going into them here - I understand this is what bearded TVR owners term "character"...

I guess it's not a car for everyone, no car ever is, but I'm certainly not going to say you're wrong! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, especially if they have experienced it first hand like you.