Slightly nervous - about to take the plunge
Discussion
Hi
I have to admit to lurking on the forum for a while, but registered today, as I am now committed to get a Chimaera.
I am looking to have it as a 2nd car, for the weekend and the odd blast to work. I do not have a garage, but I do have a driveway big enough to accomm the Chim and my daily drive.
There are 2 reasons I have not yet taken the plunge. Primarily its the risk of buying a lemon. Secondary its the cost of running, however having read a number of threads on here, seems as though the running costs look containable, on the proviso I buy the right car in the first place. . . . . .so, back to Primary concern!
I would not know a good outrigger from a bad outrigger if I saw one? boot hinges? and as for checking for clutch wear, hot/cold start, trashed/not trashed, I'd be guessing at best.
I am therefore looking for some advice:
Best place to buy. Simply trawl Pistonheads/Autotrader, or perhaps a dealer, or am I going to pay a massive premium for a dealer supplied car? . . . .recommendations for any dealers in North/North West who generally have good stock/aftersales?
Feels as though given my background I should get an inspection. . . . if so, how much should I budget for, and how do I find someone reputable, given that the car could be a fair way from home, and I would assume therefore I would need an inspection local to the car. Is there a register of inspection people/places anywhere?
Do any of you know of any good cars coming up for sale. . . . .you know, usual mechanical/bodywork gripes addressed, caring/honest owner, good price?
I am in Wilmslow, Cheshire, but am prepared to travel anywhere within reason for the right car.
Sorry this is a bit of a wide one I know, and some of the above has been covered in other threads, albeit some time ago. All part of what is a big step for me, so any advice very welcomed
Cheers
Mark
I have to admit to lurking on the forum for a while, but registered today, as I am now committed to get a Chimaera.
I am looking to have it as a 2nd car, for the weekend and the odd blast to work. I do not have a garage, but I do have a driveway big enough to accomm the Chim and my daily drive.
There are 2 reasons I have not yet taken the plunge. Primarily its the risk of buying a lemon. Secondary its the cost of running, however having read a number of threads on here, seems as though the running costs look containable, on the proviso I buy the right car in the first place. . . . . .so, back to Primary concern!
I would not know a good outrigger from a bad outrigger if I saw one? boot hinges? and as for checking for clutch wear, hot/cold start, trashed/not trashed, I'd be guessing at best.
I am therefore looking for some advice:
Best place to buy. Simply trawl Pistonheads/Autotrader, or perhaps a dealer, or am I going to pay a massive premium for a dealer supplied car? . . . .recommendations for any dealers in North/North West who generally have good stock/aftersales?
Feels as though given my background I should get an inspection. . . . if so, how much should I budget for, and how do I find someone reputable, given that the car could be a fair way from home, and I would assume therefore I would need an inspection local to the car. Is there a register of inspection people/places anywhere?
Do any of you know of any good cars coming up for sale. . . . .you know, usual mechanical/bodywork gripes addressed, caring/honest owner, good price?
I am in Wilmslow, Cheshire, but am prepared to travel anywhere within reason for the right car.
Sorry this is a bit of a wide one I know, and some of the above has been covered in other threads, albeit some time ago. All part of what is a big step for me, so any advice very welcomed
Cheers
Mark
I'm in the same boat, I'm actually going to look at one tomorrow morning as it happens (Private Sale)
Rule of thumb is, buy on condition.
Dealer wise you pay more of course, Lots of good dealers on here selling though.
For more info this website is great and this link most usefull http://www.chimaerapages.com/buyers-guide.html
Rule of thumb is, buy on condition.
Dealer wise you pay more of course, Lots of good dealers on here selling though.
For more info this website is great and this link most usefull http://www.chimaerapages.com/buyers-guide.html
Hi Mark, we're not too far from you in Runcorn and have been through the mill a bit with various 'specialists'. From your location you could do worse than contact Craig at TrackVroad, we can vouch for their trustworthy credentials. They have a stock list on their website and can always source good cars once they know what you're after. No business connection with them, just satisfied customers over several years.
I'm on my second Chimaera.
For the first one, I used Rob Ingleby FindaSportsCar to undertake an inspection, for the second, I knew who had been servicing the car so spoke to them to get a full report.
It's easy to be fooled by a nice shiny paint finish. I would definitely be looking for a well documented service history so you can see what's already been done and don't be too put off my mileage, or a high number of owners. In some cases, each time there's an owner change they spend money sorting out issues, maintaining service history, etc. Low mileage cars with a one or two owners can sometimes be missing years of service history.
As said elsewhere, buy on condition!
Good luck.
For the first one, I used Rob Ingleby FindaSportsCar to undertake an inspection, for the second, I knew who had been servicing the car so spoke to them to get a full report.
It's easy to be fooled by a nice shiny paint finish. I would definitely be looking for a well documented service history so you can see what's already been done and don't be too put off my mileage, or a high number of owners. In some cases, each time there's an owner change they spend money sorting out issues, maintaining service history, etc. Low mileage cars with a one or two owners can sometimes be missing years of service history.
As said elsewhere, buy on condition!
Good luck.
I found that the owner is just as important as the vehicle and don't let mileage be a criteria. I bought my 500 with 111k miles on it, now has 121k on it and has never missed a beat, still on original cam and goes like stink. The wife's 1993 430 however with 41k on the clock gives endless niggles due to its lack of use which is their biggest enemy so I would think very carefully about a "show" type of car. Also beware of "specialists", just because someone services a few TVRs seems to be the only qualification. Its only an RV8 and incorporates no rocket science whatsoever. Plenty of places now do outrigger repairs with body on so even that is not the end of the world. You will not necessarily get the best by paying over the odds either. BOTH of ours together owe us less than £14k! Running costs of my 500 over past 2 years and 10k miles is petrol and 2 oil changes! Get one, you are unlikely to regret it and they will only appreciate in value as more and more get written off or dismantled!!
I've had mine now for over 2 years. Like you I was nervous about going for one for many different reasons. Mine has worked brilliantly as a 2nd car, and over last summer I used it as my daily drive as the weather was so nice. Mine is garaged but that's only because I have to leave it for extended periods. That's the only real advice I'd have is just drive it as often as you can - mine seems much happier when it is used regularly. After sitting for a few weeks it can drain the battery and take a while to warm up before us.
On the right day when you have the roof down and driving down a country road you will be so happy you bought one!
On the right day when you have the roof down and driving down a country road you will be so happy you bought one!
I spent 6 months looking at chims I think it was 14 cars before finding the right one there are a lot of tarterd up dogs out there, Most of witch were for sale during the winter months.
The more you look at the more you get an idea what to look for.
No mater how nice it looks on top check underneath you'll soon find out what a rotten out rigger looks like.
Anther clue I learned was to look what tyres were on the car, I seen a few with mix matched budget crap witch told me if the owner skimped on tyres what else had the skimped on.
Also don't blow all your budget try and keep a few quid back for the jobs that the previous owner didn't think it needed but you may want to get done.
Only drove my car home and im already looking at a £500 bill but I factored this into the price when haggling the price down.
The more you look at the more you get an idea what to look for.
No mater how nice it looks on top check underneath you'll soon find out what a rotten out rigger looks like.
Anther clue I learned was to look what tyres were on the car, I seen a few with mix matched budget crap witch told me if the owner skimped on tyres what else had the skimped on.
Also don't blow all your budget try and keep a few quid back for the jobs that the previous owner didn't think it needed but you may want to get done.
Only drove my car home and im already looking at a £500 bill but I factored this into the price when haggling the price down.
I wanted a 450 just after what I read on here but looking at the figures there's not a real lot of difference on paper.
In the real world I don't know I never thrashed a 400
Like with all cars I guess you get good and bad of the same models and some perform better than others.
Maybe a good 400 would perform better than a poor 450.
In my mind if I had found a real nice 400 that ticked all the boxes I would have bought it.
In other words my advice would be by the best you find regardless of engine size.
I didn't look at any 500,s they were out of my price range.
In the real world I don't know I never thrashed a 400
Like with all cars I guess you get good and bad of the same models and some perform better than others.
Maybe a good 400 would perform better than a poor 450.
In my mind if I had found a real nice 400 that ticked all the boxes I would have bought it.
In other words my advice would be by the best you find regardless of engine size.
I didn't look at any 500,s they were out of my price range.
bababoom said:
I wanted a 450 just after what I read on here but looking at the figures there's not a real lot of difference on paper.
In the real world I don't know I never thrashed a 400
Like with all cars I guess you get good and bad of the same models and some perform better than others.
Maybe a good 400 would perform better than a poor 450.
In my mind if I had found a real nice 400 that ticked all the boxes I would have bought it.
In other words my advice would be by the best you find regardless of engine size.
I didn't look at any 500,s they were out of my price range.
That's my thinking too! I'm more than happy with a 400/450 as long as condition is good. 500 out of my budget too. In the real world I don't know I never thrashed a 400
Like with all cars I guess you get good and bad of the same models and some perform better than others.
Maybe a good 400 would perform better than a poor 450.
In my mind if I had found a real nice 400 that ticked all the boxes I would have bought it.
In other words my advice would be by the best you find regardless of engine size.
I didn't look at any 500,s they were out of my price range.
I'm buying as a dream come true/once in a lifetime purchase. I don't think i could ever afford to run a Speedsix or Speedeight, but you never know.
If your plans involve just the public road, then the 4litreV8 is excellent, and about 20% more fuel efficient than a 5 litre. They are all so quick that they make most other 2 seater convertibles in our budget feel slow.
What you don't realise from looking at adverts is two other TVR factors:
1. The wow factor - people like TVRs, you will get loads of interest in your car
2. The number of new friends you make.
Buy on condition, especially chassis and mechanical, but if you want your car to look top notch, buy on body and interior condition too. A full respray is £4000, a full retrim must be a couple of grand. It's always cheaper and easier to buy a car in the right condition, than get one to that condition.
What you don't realise from looking at adverts is two other TVR factors:
1. The wow factor - people like TVRs, you will get loads of interest in your car
2. The number of new friends you make.
Buy on condition, especially chassis and mechanical, but if you want your car to look top notch, buy on body and interior condition too. A full respray is £4000, a full retrim must be a couple of grand. It's always cheaper and easier to buy a car in the right condition, than get one to that condition.
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