Discussion
Following my previous post looking for a project Chimaera.
I've come across this car that's CAT D registered
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-CHIMAERA-4LTR-1995-/...
It seems very light damage and might be a better bet that one for £4k that needs chassis work etc.
My concern would be resale value in the future, this car seems about £1.5k below book price for a non cat d and is getting on for high mileage.
On the one hand it could be a cheap way into Chimaera ownership, on the other little point spending money on it making it nice (i.e. retrim, carpets hood, dash) as it probably wouldn't' increase its value any.
Thoughts welcomed.
Reading another thread CAT D values are about 30-40% less, so this seems about the right price. Seem odd they would class this as a right off with so little damage (unless there was more damage that the repairer has not shown)
I've come across this car that's CAT D registered
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-CHIMAERA-4LTR-1995-/...
It seems very light damage and might be a better bet that one for £4k that needs chassis work etc.
My concern would be resale value in the future, this car seems about £1.5k below book price for a non cat d and is getting on for high mileage.
On the one hand it could be a cheap way into Chimaera ownership, on the other little point spending money on it making it nice (i.e. retrim, carpets hood, dash) as it probably wouldn't' increase its value any.
Thoughts welcomed.
Reading another thread CAT D values are about 30-40% less, so this seems about the right price. Seem odd they would class this as a right off with so little damage (unless there was more damage that the repairer has not shown)
Edited by mikea4tdi on Tuesday 23 September 11:30
Most of us on here have spent many thousands on our cars as a labour of love, and will never get our money back in resale. The prices are rising of these wonderful cars, so dont get disheartened, if its a keeper you can spend as much money on it as you want, to bring these cars back to the condition they deserve. But if your in it to make a profit or beak even when you sell, thats abit more tricky.
I don't think that's much below the price that it would be without the Cat D status.
It's "only" a 4.0, it's an early car, and it's quite high mileage. Also, there's no documented evidence of outrigger replacement - only the seller's speculation. And at that mileage, what state is the camshaft in? Looks alright though.
Did I read somewhere that it's possible to remove the Cat D status, or at least get it downgraded to "inspected" or something like that? Might be worth a bit of research.
Personally that damage wouldn't prevent me buying the car at all, and I think the price is reasonable. Keep the photographs recording what the damage was and how it was repaired, and anyone who knows about these cars wouldn't be too worried about it IMHO.
It's "only" a 4.0, it's an early car, and it's quite high mileage. Also, there's no documented evidence of outrigger replacement - only the seller's speculation. And at that mileage, what state is the camshaft in? Looks alright though.
Did I read somewhere that it's possible to remove the Cat D status, or at least get it downgraded to "inspected" or something like that? Might be worth a bit of research.
Personally that damage wouldn't prevent me buying the car at all, and I think the price is reasonable. Keep the photographs recording what the damage was and how it was repaired, and anyone who knows about these cars wouldn't be too worried about it IMHO.
I haven't looked at the advert for your proposed buy, but have one thing to say.
The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia"
Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st.
The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia"
Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st. QBee said:
I haven't looked at the advert for your proposed buy, but have one thing to say.
The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia" Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st.
A very nice piece of writing, you should do some articles for sprint The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia"
Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st. 
. It brought a tear to my eye.portzi said:
QBee said:
I haven't looked at the advert for your proposed buy, but have one thing to say.
The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia" Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st.
A very nice piece of writing, you should do some articles for sprint The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia"
Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st. . It brought a tear to my eye.
ChilliWhizz said:
portzi said:
QBee said:
I haven't looked at the advert for your proposed buy, but have one thing to say.
The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia" Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st.
A very nice piece of writing, you should do some articles for sprint The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia"
Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st. . It brought a tear to my eye.
QBee said:
I haven't looked at the advert for your proposed buy, but have one thing to say.
The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia" Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st.
I bought mine with 80k on the clock in december - it was on the cheaper end of the spectrum but it was also the overall best value car I could afford. Mileage SHOULD only be a small consideration in the overall scheme of things when buying a car, in my opinion - but yes the general consensus is that 100k is some kind of magic number for inevitable doom.The big resale price killer seems to me to be mileage - you can advertise all you like, but if your car has over 70,000 miles on the clock it becomes rather tricky to sell, even with a great engine, fresh outriggers, re-furbished hood, new carpets, full respray. Over 100,000 miles, forget it. Even if the only remaining original item on it is the bloody speedo!!
Yes, that's just run in for a diesel Audi, but it's considered stratospheric mileage by the TVR Chimaera/Griff/Speed 6 fraternity.
I will be keeping my 90,000 miler and taking it to my grave - no point even trying to sell it, it will only upset me after all i have spent on it.
I am adding 12,000 miles a year following my motto - "Adventure before Dementia"
Looking forward to my next track day on October 1st. mikea4tdi said:
Thanks Davo, hoping to pick up a bit of bargain over winter then spend some time bringing it back up to nice condition. How much did you pay for yours?
I did the same thing, I paid just under 6 for mine but have since put a clutch and a new battery in it as well as chased away a power drain issue. Just do the sensible checks as much as you can, I pretty much broke every rule in the book when I bought mine but I've done 3000 miles in it including a 720 mile round trip to the Lake District and it's never let me down. Think it's definitely worth more than I paid for it, even if the market doesn't think so.Personally I would hold out and wait for the right car to pop up if you're looking for a project and not in a rush, there's little point in buying an early car with a marker on it for that price as there are always a few good things that pop up for sale over winter. When I was looking for an easy project there were some lovely things on offer, I'm still kicking myself for missing the refurbished 5 litre that was in many pieces and just had to be put back together.
I definitely wouldn't be buying that car anyway because of all of the bad stories about those breakers, you'll struggle to buy a car with a marker on it from anywhere else though as he gets them all.
I definitely wouldn't be buying that car anyway because of all of the bad stories about those breakers, you'll struggle to buy a car with a marker on it from anywhere else though as he gets them all.
s p a c e m a n said:
Personally I would hold out and wait for the right car to pop up if you're looking for a project and not in a rush, there's little point in buying an early car with a marker on it for that price as there are always a few good things that pop up for sale over winter. When I was looking for an easy project there were some lovely things on offer, I'm still kicking myself for missing the refurbished 5 litre that was in many pieces and just had to be put back together.
I definitely wouldn't be buying that car anyway because of all of the bad stories about those breakers, you'll struggle to buy a car with a marker on it from anywhere else though as he gets them all.
Yes I have also heard a few bad stories about them (but have no first hand experience so don't go off that alone). Personally I like to buy privately as there tends to be better bargains and it's always good to talk to the current owner. I definitely wouldn't be buying that car anyway because of all of the bad stories about those breakers, you'll struggle to buy a car with a marker on it from anywhere else though as he gets them all.
Edited by davo23 on Tuesday 23 September 21:02
I'm looking for something similar. What you're buying with a crashed car is an opportunity. Like buying a run down house. Lots of things need replacing and you don't feel bad about throwing away bits that are perfectly serviceable but not to your taste.
The problem comes when someone corners the market in crashed TVRs. In doing so they push the price above what makes financial sense which is really annoying because all of us, to some degree or another, need there to be some kind of logic to our purchases (certain TVR fruit cakes excepted).
Crashed TVR + repair cost should = no more than an undamaged TVR. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that.
The problem comes when someone corners the market in crashed TVRs. In doing so they push the price above what makes financial sense which is really annoying because all of us, to some degree or another, need there to be some kind of logic to our purchases (certain TVR fruit cakes excepted).
Crashed TVR + repair cost should = no more than an undamaged TVR. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that.
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