£15000?

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I've wanted a griff for a long time. Almost had the budget to get one back in 2004 but life took over.

Have just found £15k in my lap - but seemingly nothing left in my budget.

Have I missed the boat?

Will I be better to buy something in November?

Or do II need to look elsewhere.

The irony is that the alternative of a 996 can still be found in my budget whearas it would have been far more costly than the griff 10 years ago.

Advice please!

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GlynMo said:

If you see a Porker as a TVR alternative the TVR probably isn't for you. Totally different driving experiences. IMO.

Maybe the Porker isn't really for me - but is more attainable.

As to my questions above......?

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philipbrown123 said:

Why don't you consider a chimaera ?

Hi Phillip - purely the looks. I realise its practically the same car underneath.

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Pete Mac said:

Searider said:

I've wanted a griff for a long time. Almost had the budget to get one back in 2004 but life took over.

Have just found £15k in my lap - but seemingly nothing left in my budget.

Have I missed the boat?

Will I be better to buy something in November?

Or do II need to look elsewhere.

The irony is that the alternative of a 996 can still be found in my budget whearas it would have been far more costly than the griff 10 years ago.

Advice please!

In my honest opinion, you will find a Griff for £15k but all Griffs are now elderly cars and you will need to maintain a programme of repair and maintenance to keep it on the road and a Griff at £15k will not be the best.

If like me you enjoy doing the repairs and maintenance yourself then go for it, they are beautiful cars, exciting to drive but often massively frustrating. If you plan to farm out the maintenance to a 3rd party then you could find yourself with a very large ongoing bill. In my opinion you also need to keep the Griff in a garage because if you leave it outside it will deteriorate.

Spares are not expensive and there is a big network of loyal and knowledgeable fans so with that either go for it or if you want something reliable, trouble free but perhaps with considerable less character then go for the Porker. Decisions, decisions. Pete

Some bits an pieces I will do myself but most oily bits will be dealt with by professionals.

It will live outside for the summer but garaged / stored over the winter. Maybe I need to move the kids bikes etc out into a shed!

Thanks for the comments.

Heart says TVR - sensible head says Porker.

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GlynMo said:

Searider said:

Maybe the Porker isn't really for me - but is more attainable.

As to my questions above......?

Yeh, sorry.

I think Pete has it covered. A £15k Griff is likely to be a bit of a money pit unless you can work on it yourself. If you can, it could be very rewarding.

Hi,

I realise that my budget won't buy the "Best" but I'm happy to have something that is useable and solid which can be improved / restored / fettled / updated ? as an when desired.

I'm thinking stuff like trim, hood, paint etc.

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SMB said:

andy43 said:

There's a silver 4.3 on eBay and a nice looking taraka 500 on ph - but both are just over budget. May be worth waiting for winter - anything at 15k when the suns out will need something doing. Prices do seem to have firmed up over the last couple of years - but you'd get a great British sports car for not much more than the price of a set of 911 shocks and a Hartech engine rebuild

I waited until winter last year, and the cars for sale were the ones that needed a fair amount of work. you find that unless the owner is desperate for cash, they all start †o appear for sale in April/May timeframe.

The 4.3 looks interesting, but That interior colour scheme doesn't match the exterior colour.

Interesting you mention Hartech. I put myself off a 996 about 4 years ago reading about bore de-chunking!

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andy43 said:

There's a silver 4.3 on eBay and a nice looking taraka 500 on ph - but both are just over budget. May be worth waiting for winter - anything at 15k when the suns out will need something doing. Prices do seem to have firmed up over the last couple of years - but you'd get a great British sports car for not much more than the price of a set of 911 shocks and a Hartech engine rebuild

4.3 looks interesting - but I see what you mean about red and silver!
Taraka looks nice in the pictures - in 50 words or less what's a "Taraka"?

Edited by Searider on Monday 6th June 13:27

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geeman237 said:

This one is close to your budget. Depends on your location too.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C637884

.

I had seen that ad - I'm in Southampton, so, a flight away!

Thanks

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Thanks for all the suggestions - it would seem my £15k doesn't give me a great choice of cars - but there might be some out there.

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Well,

Two in the classifieds this week.

Just need to get my house purchase sorted and then start looking properly. (Double garage!)

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clarkmagpie said:

Big Ashy said:

Yep, careful with the Porker, 7K for an engine rebuild is a common figure for a 996, oval cylinders and bore scoring is a big problem for this era across the Porsche range I understand? Be aware!!

That put me off when I was considering 996s as a daily.
In the end went with an equally bork enducing rs6 which has since made way for a ever so slightly less bork enducing SL500.

I ran a B5 RS4 as a daily for 4 years and it was mostly OK. Considered an RS6 but that was a case of "When" it went wrong rather than "if" it went wrong with the Porsche. You certainly have a large supply of brave pills.

I think with a 996 if the engine starts to score the bores you get a little warning with some smoke and oil consumption. That's the time to stick it back on ebay or in the Autotrader and move on.

As all of these cars appreciate in value the cost of a major repair is less as a proportion of the value of the car and perhaps might not be so painful. - Look at the number of Griffiths and Chiameras having body off chassis repairs / restorations at a cost of £6k or more. 5 years ago that would have been 50%-75% of the value of the car. Now perhaps only 30% and perhaps making more sense.

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ClassiChimi said:

Olly-B said:

Hi there and please don't buy anything other than a Griff 500,

I've had my 500 Griff (blue ext, Mag interior) for 12 years. Have done 60,000 miles, mostly as a 4 seasons daily driver off and on, even in the snow 1 day after a £7000 refit. Never molly-coddled. Driven very hard to 150mph and very often bounced off the rev limiter. Average yearly bills of £3000 comprising of this and that from airflow meters to pipes, rads and general small stuff. I could have bought an Aston Martin for that but I would have felt a bit of a see you next Tuesday. I have driven Astons and Bentley W12s, Big Porsches etc and only the Griff 5ltr has my hands and legs wobbling after a gallop.

Remember, if a 500 Griff was a Mistress then you would have a beautiful,large breasted wildly fornicating blonde that is often to be found drunk and incapable, mascara streaming from mad eyes and needing substantial and regular psychiatric intervention, at great cost. But you will 1)have a drive you will never replicate in any other vehicle 2)spend as much as if you owned a porkey pig but without anyone-one shouting out 'wker' at you. 3) be a genuine individual, clearly demonstrating a healthy disregard for the norm and of financial drudgery.4) be a half way decent driver; no roll cage,no ABS, no airbags. no traction control, no nothing.Just you, 5lts and 4 Toyos.

Buy it. If you hate it, sell it. But I bet you won't.

Olly

Buy one before they ban them ;-)

Best post in ages,, every now and then one needs a good slap across the chops to remind oneself of the great cars we own,, that there hit the spot. Cheers Olley,
I drive along in my little 450 Chim and think just the same thing,, it's like a secret most people have no clue about,,

I never thought I'd own a car and actually respect its power,, I got the speed bug on 500 speedway/ grass bikes as a young lad, nothing ever felt quite so fast and full of torque, it's not actually how fast your going but how fast it feels like your going that matters, and by hell does it feel fast in a sorted Tvr.

We're on borrowed time by the looks of it, I already feel an outlaw when driving said monster car, like a lawless cowboy from a bygone era that's happily slipping through the net and surviving as we go, the car being me trusted steed

Buy one and drive it now for all your worth before the laws change and were restricted to rallies and trackdays,,,,,
Stranger things have happened!
Hopefully such nonsense is years away so the best thing is to get out there, get behind the wheel of a great Tvr and feel every sensation of driving that can be had, all there in your hands/feet and that glorious engine note vibrating through your very soul and dismissing everything in its wake as mere background noise, all encompassing taking the greatest of skill to control and master, the car returning the compliment by performing better and better,,,
I think a Tvr says to the driver,,,, go on then big fella,, try your luck,, you never ever feel like you've actually got on top of it and caused a submission,, it's always the victor,, OK on track you can get them breathing heavy but on the roads they are virtually behond compare, lethal, deadly, but in the hands of someone with great knowledge and depth of talent,,
What a crazy car to be allowed on the open roads,, mine has the 2.2 steering rack, at speed it's responsive to turn like a cat, takes huge concentration but that's why I love it, all those harsh realities, its brutal and takes a deft careful touch, but get it right,, learn its limits and you'll be in a car that's as rare as rocking horse st a completely roar driving experience.

Edited by ClassiChimi on Tuesday 26th July 23:30

As I said - need to get house move sorted first.

I will be getting a tvr of some flavour at some time. Maybe a Griffith, perhaps a Cerbera, or even an S if the budget isn't what I hope.

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ClassiChimi said:

It doesn't matter when you get a Tvr, as long as you do, I hankered over them for many years until I felt confident enough to buy one!
Yes entirely get your home in order then find the right car and if your like most of us you'll never look back.
I had an S2, cheap cheap car for what it is and very capable, I adore my Chimaera but miss the S more than you'd imagine.

The S has synergy with itself, mine had the 2.9 and was more than fast enough for the average road and everything felt right, if I had enough money I'd buy it back again in a flash.

Interesting what you say about the S.

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Rob_the_Sparky said:

If it is just looks putting you off a chimp have you seen these: headlight covers .

Trying to look like something it's not isn't my thing.

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FlipFlopGriff said:

Don't discount the precats. Many 430's making as good if not more power than 500's on the rolling road, year after year. We're lucky enough to have both and although different they are both fab.
Get a good one and you will never look back. Compare prices with mk2 Escorts (a Harrier identical to my old one at £28k) or the 205Gti that sold at Silverstone for over £30k? and you cant get much better bang for your buck.
FFG

I do quite like the idea of a 430 - no cats to have to try and "work around".

I presume all 500s had cats?

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carsy said:

Or get a pre cat and stick a 5 ltr in it.

That had crossed my mind - but budget creep etc etc.