PH FLEET: LEXUS LS400/TVR CHIMAERA 400
Garlick tries to save fuel on his all-V8 fleet and Petrol Ted's legacy lives on
Paul suffers some barge envy
Has it worked? I think so, and setting the cruise for a touch under 70 on the motorway has resulted in me covering some big miles using relatively little fuel, and being smoother in London has seen my city figure rise from 17 to 22mpg. That'll do me, and I quite like the relaxed pace too. OK, so it's far from frugal but I'm surprising myself with the effect small changes can have.
Generosity of fellow PHers astounding
As you'd expect, the LS has been trouble free for another month. Yes I need to tweak a few things here and there, but it still gets used as a turn-key car without drama. A few thousand miles have been added in silence, and I genuinely don't think I have owned a more comfortable, more reliable car in my life.
A kind person has scraped the front bumper leaving a visible mark on the bumper and paint, but that's the hazard of SW London on-street parking for you. The dreaded MOT test looms, as does a service, so let's see if the love continues after I see the bills.
As for the TVR, well I need a good telling off really as it has not been used as often as it should be. A mixture of busy home life, and being fortunate enough to have had a few of the PH test cars thrown my way by Mr Trent, has meant it languishes in the garage far too often. Not that it complains and since I fitted the new battery it is happy to sit there for a couple of weeks and will still start strongly when required.
Cracked headlamp acquired en route to Le Mans
PH parts services
A few days later a large box arrived containing four immaculate reflector units and four equally nice lenses. To say I was pleased would be an understatement. Turns out this kind PHer has imported two TVRs to Germany (one Chim and one Cerb) and had converted both to continental spec headlights leaving the RHD units spare. The Chimaera was bought from PH founder Petrol Ted, so in a strange twist of fate Ted's Chim lights have left the country only to find their way back onto my own car years later! I hope to pass them down to another PH team member one day, or maybe I'll keep them as a reminder of the PH TVR connection.
Lexus bears the scars of on-street parking
It's a question I ponder a lot, but then I drive the TVR and cover a few thousand miles in the LS and the thought seems ridiculous...what to do.
Fact Sheet:
Car: 1997 Lexus LS400
Run by: Garlick
Bought: Jan 2011
Purchase price: £1,800
Last month at a glance: MPG, parking scrape, relaiabilty, more miles
Fact Sheet:
Car: 1999 TVR Chimaera 4.0
Run by: Garlick
Bought: December 2009
Purchase price: £12,995
Last month at a glance: Old PH connections, not driven enough
Previous reports
The perfect pairing for reformed car buying addict Garlick
Why reading up on your car's history is most definitely a good thing
TVR lives once more, Lexus carries on regardless
MOT time for the Lexus and a reawakening for the TVR
When the weather's grotty and it's all about getting reliably from A to B withi minimal stress and fuss, what better than an LS400? Certainly nothing with an equivalent grin factor to the 4 litre Chim (I love the character of the un-stroked RV8) would suffice. And I think that serieis of LS400 still looks the best.
BTW, your carpet fitter's doing well.
automobile perfection at a relatively modest age.
And that might be the problem here. You're still too young, to take
a deep breath,take some time, soak it all in and leave everything as is.
What you could do is not to fiddle with your car solutions until
a) your bones grow to old and tired for the TVR
b) Gas becomes prohibitevely expensive for the Lexus
Both will be a good 20 years away. You could use those 20 years to
make your path into buddhism or whatever.
On the other hand you could blow it all away and start anew with something
more silly. Replace both with a Maserati Quattroporte. That would give you
a good slapping.
Martin 480 Turbo
Concerning your question selling both TVR/Lexus for one car, here are my thoughts:
1. If you bought the 911 and had that as your everyday car, would you quickly get bored of using it, getting too used to the power etc... Will it just feel like a commuter car, not a weekend toy.
2. Would you miss/regret selling the TVR if you sold it. No matter how nice the Porsche sounds ,theres nothing quite like a TVR sound is there?
Lets not forget that for a car of this age, Garlick and I may well be the last owners. There is a similar LS 400 for sale for £800 I have seen advertised. These cars, at this age should be run on a shoestring, they are virtually worthless as a trade-in.
Mine has a couple of problems: Drivers heated seat does not work, some of the radio back lights do not work and it has a problem with WOT. So far nobody including Lexus have been able to diagnose this but it's still VERY rapid. Other than that EVERYTHING else works.
As for trade in, I don't think I'd even ask what a dealer would give for it. Privately they do OK, relative to what I paid for it anyway.
I'd have another 124 wagon, but I'd like an E320 with all the trimmings.
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