S3 Rough Value?

[Lewis's Friend]

Hi all

I'm looking at getting an S3, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

The particular one I have my eye on is listed for just shy of £4500. It looks to be in good condition and the chassis is supposed to be very clean.

Bodywork-wise there is a little crack in the paint on one of the rear quarters, and two small areas of crazing. The interior appears to be in good condition too.

The car has done over 100k but seems to be in good order and has been serviced regularly. It has a fresh MOT and over 6 months tax.

Given the admittedly meager information I can provide, does this price seem about right?

I haven't viewed the car yet, as it is a long way away, but obviously will before agreeing anything.

Any help appreciated.

[PotlessPaul]

That is far too cheap, these cars are worth twice that in ANY condition!!

I'm sure that there will be plenty of advice coming your way soon but for starters,

Chassis condition is everything and needs to be thoroughly checked, engines are well capable of 100K miles provided its been serviced, if you can live with the odd paint defect then it sounds like a reasonable price.

If the car is a long way from you then I'm sure that someone on here who lives closer to it will be happy to give it a look over for you to see if its worth a long trip to look at it yourself.

Good luck with your search. (took me 18 months to find the one I wanted!!)

Paul.

[phillpot]

Is it advertised somewhere, can you point us towards the advert?

I'd say price is in the right region for a good very tidy (but not "mint") car needing only minor niggles sorted.



It's all about Chassis Chassis Chassis don't take the sellers word for it, ask for photo's and or receipts for repair work and inspect thoroughly yourself (are you "hands on" / mechanically minded?) or get inspected by someone who knows what they're looking for. Don't be afraid to ask to jack the car up (do you have jack and stands you can take?)

[AutoAndy]

Sounds like the right price to me, if there are no chassis woes and the engine is basically sound, then it is good value...

...after you drive it try not to grin too much as the seller may feel necessary to double the price...

[v8s4me]

phillpot said:

............ ask for photo's and or receipts for repair work and inspect thoroughly .........or get inspected by someone who knows what they're looking for.

And even then you can get caught. Mine was inspected by an expert and came with a receipt for £881.25 from Kerridges dated 2005 but when I did the re-furb in 2010..oh dear. A monkey with a soldering iron could have doen a better job, and probably mended the holes as well while he was at it.

As above - BE CAREFUL

Best bet is to be patient and wait until one of the regular S Clubers on here decides to sell on and you'll be more likely to get a good one from a decent bloke who's known to everyone else here.

[Lewis's Friend]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've done a little research into these, and I know chassis are the killer! I have phoned the seller, and it had a body off chassis resto in 2010 and is supposed to be very good.

He has sent me additional pictures of the body which while not show winning looks pretty good.

I'll also be taking a friend along who has some TVR experience so hopefully going in eyes open (although I am no kind of auto expert)!

The link is: http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C461615

[v8s4me]

Is this "LastS4"?

[Longers]

Lewis's Friend said:

Bodywork-wise there is a little crack in the paint on one of the rear quarters, and two small areas of crazing. The interior appears to be in good condition too.

The car has done over 100k but seems to be in good order and has been serviced regularly. It has a fresh MOT and over 6 months tax.

I heard of a car a long time ago which had a crack in the paint on a rear quarter. Problem was quite major to sort because the spare wheel had been rolling around in the boot and banging on the inside of the bodywork. Unlikely to be a repeat but might be worth checking in the boot to be sure

I wouldn't worry about the mileage in a car of this age. Most of it will probably have been replaced by now anyway

[Lewis's Friend]

The seller is a dealer/garage I believe, but they say they have known the car a while.

[Niiige]

v8s4me said:

Is this "LastS4"?

No it isn't - although it does look similar in the photos - unless the Last S4 is no longer in my garage......

[DamianS3]

Mmm has the rare and ultra desireable s4 bonnet

[TurboTony]

No photos of the nearside. I would want to see pix of that and close ups of any damage before viewing. The cause of the damage is important as Joe says. The car should be worth a lot more if the damage is only superficial. Do you know when it was resprayed as the colour is unlikely to be original. Best to finsd out the colour reference to match for body repairs. Could have been painted when the replacement bonnet fitted. Usually this happens when a previous owner runs out of talent so worth checking front end chassis for any damage. Is it declared as a Cat D or worse? (Illegal to advertise a car without declaring this). Looks good in the photos (although they all do!). Interior appears to be in very good order. I would not worry about the mileage too much if there is evidence of care, maintenance and routine replacement parts. Oh, I always ask what tyres the car has fitted. If it has different tyres with weird names then I always think that I the owner has skimped on the boots what else has been nickel and dimed.

Best colour combination by the way.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Tony

[Elfit]

Hi Jon

I hope that you find a good 'un

At the top of the page is a thread of "useful links"

One link is for http://www.tvrsseries.com/
Have a look there, especially the "buyers guide " which will give you some pictures and good advice in addition to what you get here

Cheers

Tim

[Lewis's Friend]

Again, thanks for all the feedback. Its all very helpful.

I have a picture of the car's nearside that was mailed to me on request and all looks well with it.

Are we sure that the colour is non-standard? I have to say, I like it but will definitely have to find out the colour code and reason for the respray (assuming it as had one).

[shake n bake]

its not a categorized car, nor is it registered as having a colour change. 12 owners though!

[Lewis's Friend]

That is quite a few owners. In fairness though, each of them has done about 10000 miles in it!

[TurboTony]

Although you could have any colour as a special order it was a standard combination of solid green with biscuit interior. So, the car is still green but metallic so would not shoiw as having a change. This is the situation with my S3 and Philpots amongst others..

[mk1fan]

Long way to go from London. I wouldn't bother.