RE: TVR Chimaera: PH Buying Guide

[Squirrelofwoe]

I purchased my 400 back at the end of July having wanted one for years. It's tough to describe just how much of an 'event' it is to drive- the looks, the noise, as well as being more than decent dynamically. It turns heads absolutely everywhere, certainly not a car for shrinking violets!

I am still using mine most weekends (when the weather is good). Not having a garage means it lives under a car cover, so I figured it is better off being used when the weather permits rather than sitting & potentially gathering 'lack of use' issues while we wait for the summer to return. I've done around 2k miles in the last 6 months including a week of daily commuting in October while my daily driver was off the road having a new clutch.

I paid closer to £12k for mine as it came from a dealer with a warranty and had paperwork showing £5k worth of recent work including new outriggers, hood, carpets, clutch, LED rear-lights, carbon dash, and door re-trims. It came with a few scuffs/marks on the paintwork, but this suited me fine given it lives under a cover and was bought to be driven regularly.

I would definitely echo the comments about not buying the first car you view/drive- the experience is so intoxicating it's easy to get overwhelmed by the looks & noise... Obviously I completely ignored this and ended up buying the first car I viewed I did however manage to look at a few others in-between viewing the first and actually handing over the money for it- which was enough to convince me I hadn't been too silly.

It's also worth pointing out that Pistonheads has an unbelievable community on here for these cars- I received an absolute wealth of advice/information prior to buying mine (and since!), and have already met up with several other owners from here in the last 6 months- so I can confirm they're a friendly bunch in person too...

Mine is standard apart from GAZ shocks, a sleeved exhaust, and the aforementioned LED 'afterburner' rear-lights.

A picture of mine out in the typically overcast British Autumn weather:

[raceboy]

Had mine 16 years now, although currently having thoughts of changing to another British Classic.
Love how it holds it's own on 'supercar' runs and the noise, sleeved+de-cat.
Defiantly going to miss it, and just hope I don't regret selling a car that has been part of the family for so long.

[angelicupstarts]

Squirrelofwoe said:

I purchased my 400 back at the end of July having wanted one for years. It's tough to describe just how much of an 'event' it is to drive- the looks, the noise, as well as being more than decent dynamically. It turns heads absolutely everywhere, certainly not a car for shrinking violets!

I am still using mine most weekends (when the weather is good). Not having a garage means it lives under a car cover, so I figured it is better off being used when the weather permits rather than sitting & potentially gathering 'lack of use' issues while we wait for the summer to return. I've done around 2k miles in the last 6 months including a week of daily commuting in October while my daily driver was off the road having a new clutch.

I paid closer to £12k for mine as it came from a dealer with a warranty and had paperwork showing £5k worth of recent work including new outriggers, hood, carpets, clutch, LED rear-lights, carbon dash, and door re-trims. It came with a few scuffs/marks on the paintwork, but this suited me fine given it lives under a cover and was bought to be driven regularly.

I would definitely echo the comments about not buying the first car you view/drive- the experience is so intoxicating it's easy to get overwhelmed by the looks & noise... Obviously I completely ignored this and ended up buying the first car I viewed I did however manage to look at a few others in-between viewing the first and actually handing over the money for it- which was enough to convince me I hadn't been too silly.

It's also worth pointing out that Pistonheads has an unbelievable community on here for these cars- I received an absolute wealth of advice/information prior to buying mine (and since!), and have already met up with several other owners from here in the last 6 months- so I can confirm they're a friendly bunch in person too...

Mine is standard apart from GAZ shocks, a sleeved exhaust, and the aforementioned LED 'afterburner' rear-lights.

A picture of mine out in the typically overcast British Autumn weather:

Love the colour .... looks great from that angle as well.
i know they have started to go up in price over last few years ,but even now cant think of another car at same price that comes close

[swisstoni]

Had one from new in 1995 and kept it for 9 years. It retained 50% of its value over that time.
I have a 500 now and although I hardly get to use it, it still looks good and feels special when I do.

[cerbera8]

Quite like the article on the whole however most of the interiors were half hide and had very little actual leather as full hide was a rather expensive (£1800ish from memory), although lovely option. On the half hide cars the only actual leather was on the seat facings ie the bit that comes into contact with your legs, bum and back. The centre console, dash and door areas were vinyl.

[ph1l5]

We bought our Chimaera 10 years ago. and have made lots of friends and had many adventures. Its a slow old girl by today standards. But every drive is an adventure 120,000 miles and still going strong. She is like a family pet that we couldn't live without now !!

Don't be put off by higher mileage cars in my opinion they are very well loved.

[TimmyArt]

I've had 4 Chimaeras... I liked all of them really but every time I sold one and looked for something else I found myself returning for more - I've been told to keep this one. I have a 2001 Mk3 450. There are faster and more refined cars out there but they're so useable and interesting to drive. Sound great, look great, still pretty fast and feel special to sit in. I always wanted one after I saw it at the Motor Show as a teen. You get the usual morons saying it's an unreliable TVR but in about 10 years of total ownership, I think I've broken down once due to an alternator.
I would suggest buy a nice one, not too cheap and then they can be pretty affordable to run. Buy a cheap one and it can be a money pit, depending on how you want to run it.

[voyds9]

Had 2, a 400 and a 500 both had the 'normal' problems. Hot starting and wet passenger footwell

Best bit of advice never drive them with a hangover they will destroy your sanity.

Power and speed never an issue as they look like they are doing 40mph when stationary.

Enjoyed burbling around at 30-40mph feeling like I owned the world.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Now on my 4th TVR and 2nd Chimaera. I'd say the article is pretty much spot on. Buy the best you can and if a private sale then a professional inspection is a must. My 450 only sees 1000 miles a year and has yet to hit 20,000 and still feels like new. Of course, it's not as quick as some of your modern hatches but it sure feels it with the hood down and V8 soundtrack. What's not to like?

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

One of my most favouritist things in the world...


......ever

[Al 450]

In my opinion there are only two types of cars, those that have had the chassis done and those that will need it doing soon. The original factory powder coating was poor so if the car is on original outriggers then there is a high chance they will need replacement soon even if looked after as realistically you can only delay the inevitable with painting etc. Budget £3-£4k for this and double that if the body needs to come off for repair on the rest of the chassis. Camshaft change is realistically the only other big bill to expect, budget around £2k for this.

There's a great community for these cars and more options for spare parts now than there ever was. Part of the fun is 'rebuilding' the car to how you want it to be (the factory didn't quite get around to finishing them) and I don't think I know of another car type that is so extensively modified to the owners tastes. There's cars out there with Chevy LS engines, turbos, superchargers, Nitrous, amazing paint and interior trim all sorts.

Can't recommend the car more highly though, I'll never sell mine as I simply can't think of anything better at the price. Plus it's now appreciating in value!

Just a tip for those who may be considering one as a daily drive, I've done it and it can be done however a) it's cheaper to have a second car to use as a daily driver as I quickly realised and b) if you have any mechanical sympathy at all you don't want to take it out in all the winter salt and grime.

[Ace-T]

raceboy said:

Had mine 16 years now, although currently having thoughts of changing to another British Classic.
Love how it holds it's own on 'supercar' runs and the noise, sleeved+de-cat.
Defiantly going to miss it, and just hope I don't regret selling a car that has been part of the family for so long.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
As you know, judas bought mine back for me, I missed it that much! So will you, guaranteed. Please don't do it.

Unless it is another TVR?

Back on topic though, owned mine twice, crashed once and rebuilt. Everything (bar the husband and the cats) will go before that car

[cib24]

The noise man, yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZiLTMCY4_Q

[Harry Flashman]

I have not owned a TVR for some years, as I live in London and had street parking only, meaning that a parking ding to the GRP shell could be an expensive problem.

I now have a London house with a driveway and garage. My Morgan has been sold, and the Aston, whilst lovely, is not a roadster. It is pretty tempting to chop the Aston in for one of these, given that my priorities are less about high speed comp[osure, and more about low-down grunt and sense of occasion (both of which the Morgan had, but after 8 years with Morgan I decided to move on).

[900T-R]

cerbera8 said:

Quite like the article on the whole however most of the interiors were half hide and had very little actual leather as full hide was a rather expensive (£1800ish from memory), although lovely option. On the half hide cars the only actual leather was on the seat facings ie the bit that comes into contact with your legs, bum and back. The centre console, dash and door areas were vinyl.

Half leather is the sensible option if your car isn't going to be a mere garage ornament, IMO. From what I've seen, cladding the dashboard area right behind the windscreen in leather in particular, isn't the brightest of ideas really...

[birdcage]

Having generally always bought Porsches I have been fortunate to but cars unseen from a dealer I use without ever having an issue.

Does that level of confidence apply to any TVR dealers? It makes life so much easier if you can buy one, go and pick it up and drive off.

I understand the wisdom to test different cars but I have never test driven a car in the history of my car buying and its always worked rather well, all part of the fun.

This one looks quite nice

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Can they be kept outside okay?

[Podie]

He doesn't post these days, but many, many years ago M@H said when buying a TVR buy on "condition, condition, condition"

[swisstoni]

birdcage said:

Having generally always bought Porsches I have been fortunate to but cars unseen from a dealer I use without ever having an issue.

Does that level of confidence apply to any TVR dealers? It makes life so much easier if you can buy one, go and pick it up and drive off.

I understand the wisdom to test different cars but I have never test driven a car in the history of my car buying and its always worked rather well, all part of the fun.

This one looks quite nice

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Can they be kept outside okay?

Fernhurst really prep their cars well. If I didn't have the time (or inclination in your case) to search for private gems, I would head straight there.
They have been a TVR main dealer from the early days so know their stuff.

I really don't think buying TVRs unseen is a good idea at all. They can vary greatly depending on the life they have had.

Edited to add: They can be kept outside but a half cover is pretty essential unless you want to keep up a strict weatherproofing regime.
Otherwise water will slowly seep in (not pour in - they roofs are quite watertight in that respect) and gather on the floor. Not a major issue as nothing is going to rust but wet carpets aren't nice and drying them is a chore.

Edited by swisstoni on Thursday 12th January 09:09

[raceboy]

Over my period of ownership the cars been a weekend toy but left outside all the time, a daily driver and stored outside, a garaged daily driver, and a garaged weekend toy.
It's done continental trips, it's done rush hour traffic, it's done track days.
It's going to be a tough decision to put it up for sale, tried it once before and pulled out of the sale much to the disappointment of a potential buyer, but I think it's time to move on and let someone else have fun and adventures with the old girl, if I could make the man maths add up to keep it I would, but when it's only doing 1000 miles a year it'd be an expensive garage ornament when another 'weekend toy' would be sitting next to it.

Edited by raceboy on Thursday 12th January 09:53

[Squirrelofwoe]

birdcage said:

Having generally always bought Porsches I have been fortunate to but cars unseen from a dealer I use without ever having an issue.

Does that level of confidence apply to any TVR dealers? It makes life so much easier if you can buy one, go and pick it up and drive off.

I understand the wisdom to test different cars but I have never test driven a car in the history of my car buying and its always worked rather well, all part of the fun.

This one looks quite nice

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Can they be kept outside okay?

I keep mine outside (the red one at the top of the second page), albeit under a decent car cover. On a car that's not used every day, keeping a cover on it really isn't a chore- it barely takes two minutes to take on & off, and it's reassuring when it's sat outside in torrential rain.

Having got caught out in very heavy rain a few times I'm pretty happy my car is largely waterproof, but when parked at home the cover is an added layer of reassurance and also protects the car from any leaves / bird crap etc.

I know some people don't like covers due to the risk of scratching/marking the paint, but I reckon it comes down to the cover itself and the way it's used (i.e. not putting the cover on a dirty car and not dragging the cover over the ground etc). I've certainly not noticed any marking from mine, although I personally still wouldn't go for a car with absolute mint condition paintwork unless it was going to be garaged. My cover is a fitted, 3-layer breathable outdoors cover from Halfords.