Looking to Buy
Discussion
I'm looking to buy a 4.0l Chimera with or without power steering, can anyone give me feedback on their views of each. I have been to Adrian Blythe to look at a few can anyone sing their praises? It will be a weekend car, what are the likely pitfalls of keeping it garaged during the week and only playing at weekends?
I have a 400 with power steering and would not want it any other way. I do not subscribe to the view that if you work harder to drive a car you are getting more out of it. People quote “feel”, “response” and other words used by car magazines, truth is a lot of them probably do not know the difference. If you have driven a few cars you will know which way you prefer it, by the time you have driven a few you will have answered that one yourself. From what most people on here say it seems the more you use it the more reliable it becomes. I use mine 3/4 times a week, not enough to knacker it but enough to keep it all working properly. Using it all the time may well keep the car happy but it certainly won’t make your wallet happy, make no mistake these are not cheap cars to run properly!
As far as buying from dealers goes, you pay an awful lot more for the privilege to do so. I sourced mine from within the trade but if that option had not been open to me and assuming I knew a reasonable amount about cars I would go out and look at a good few privately, pick one you want and get it checked out by a TVR main dealer/specialist, they all offer this service. I cannot see any way that anybody could check one of these cars over properly without it going up on a ramp so I would dismiss roadside checks. I would buy the latest standard car you can afford and worry about mods when you have learnt a little more about it through ownership. The later the car the better made they are! Good luck, hope this helps, you could not have picked a better time to buy.
Ivan
As far as buying from dealers goes, you pay an awful lot more for the privilege to do so. I sourced mine from within the trade but if that option had not been open to me and assuming I knew a reasonable amount about cars I would go out and look at a good few privately, pick one you want and get it checked out by a TVR main dealer/specialist, they all offer this service. I cannot see any way that anybody could check one of these cars over properly without it going up on a ramp so I would dismiss roadside checks. I would buy the latest standard car you can afford and worry about mods when you have learnt a little more about it through ownership. The later the car the better made they are! Good luck, hope this helps, you could not have picked a better time to buy.
Ivan
JonGreenyer said:
I'm looking to buy a 4.0l Chimera with or without power steering, can anyone give me feedback on their views of each. I have been to Adrian Blythe to look at a few can anyone sing their praises? It will be a weekend car, what are the likely pitfalls of keeping it garaged during the week and only playing at weekends?
Hi there Jonathan, and a big
Think Ivan has just about summed it up nicely.
I do drive mine everyday (lucky barsteward ain't I) and i'ts fine, if I don’t get to drive it for what ever reason she has been known to sulk a little bit.
Go out there drive um with and without PAS, mine has and I wouldn't want it any other way. Mind you I did find that mine an R reg. was a lot more solid and firmer that a P reg. I first test drove, didn't like that at, all oversteery.. oooohh orrible.
Garaged! Lucky car… just make sure it’s well ventilated and it can dry out if it gets soaked.
Happy hunting.
Keep us posted.
>> Edited by Big Al. (moderator) on Monday 30th June 10:01
Jonathan,
Ribol has said most of it, but I would add that battery condition is hard to determine when buying a car, so get a (Optimate) trickle charger from Leven, and just keep it plugged in when it's garaged.
Personally, I'd go for PAS, the loss of feel is minimal, the rack is quicker, tyres can be wider and you won't get into a sweat trying to park.
Try lots and good hunting,
Dr C
Ribol has said most of it, but I would add that battery condition is hard to determine when buying a car, so get a (Optimate) trickle charger from Leven, and just keep it plugged in when it's garaged.
Personally, I'd go for PAS, the loss of feel is minimal, the rack is quicker, tyres can be wider and you won't get into a sweat trying to park.
Try lots and good hunting,
Dr C
Hi Jonathan,
Rather than get wrapped up in a debate about PAS vs non-PAS I'll just state that whichever is 'better' is entirely up to you, and what you'll be using your car for.
I have a non-PAS car which I chose after spending 250 various miles in a PAS car and 100 miles with non-PAS. For me the road feel is nicer, and with 205's up front in a car weighing just over a 1000kg the steerings not what you'd call 'heavy'. I see you live in London, if you'd like to have a look at a non-PAS car drop me a mail and maybe we can sort something out.
cheers,
Steve
>> Edited by trackdemon on Monday 30th June 13:15
Rather than get wrapped up in a debate about PAS vs non-PAS I'll just state that whichever is 'better' is entirely up to you, and what you'll be using your car for.
I have a non-PAS car which I chose after spending 250 various miles in a PAS car and 100 miles with non-PAS. For me the road feel is nicer, and with 205's up front in a car weighing just over a 1000kg the steerings not what you'd call 'heavy'. I see you live in London, if you'd like to have a look at a non-PAS car drop me a mail and maybe we can sort something out.
cheers,
Steve
>> Edited by trackdemon on Monday 30th June 13:15
Went through this same quandry myself as I had seen a couple of mint cars that I liked but they didn't have PAS. As all the others will tell you, go to Adrian Blyths and drive one with and one without back-to-back and see what is better for you. I think that they were quite different so your mind will probably be made up pretty quickly, mine was and I opted for the one with PAS.
Also worth bearing in mind that if you see a car that you love, right colour combo for you and in good condition you can have the PAS fitted afterwards using TVR parts for about £1500.
Also worth bearing in mind that if you see a car that you love, right colour combo for you and in good condition you can have the PAS fitted afterwards using TVR parts for about £1500.
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