What's it worth? (for Friday afternoon natter...)

[crossle]

I've seen a lot on here about what an S should be worth...
I think you only need to look at the PH ads to realise that the people who got the price right are those whoes ads say SOLD VIA PISTONHEADS.COM after only a few days, and there are other quite pricey cars still for sale after weeks...

[M@H]

quite right.. at the end of the day they are only worth what someoene is willing to pay you for them. If your car is clean, tidy, and well known, its possible to sell one here in an afternoon for a fair price by mentioning you might be selling it in a thread post ..some seem to hang around for ages though.

Cheers
Matt.

[Phil C]

My personal prediction is that bottom end of the market on Chimaera's will be just below £10K by Christmas - that has a knock on effect on 'S' series cars - particularly the later S3 and S4's (bugg*r mines an S3). Thinking being that those tempted by an S might be more prepared to fork out another 3-4K for a Chimp in preference.......?
Obviously I'm not too sure how 'raggy' these early Chimaeras might be.... and, personally speaking I prefer the image and shape of the 'S' series, so it is all down to personal taste....
I rank the S as incredible value when you consider that people are paying more for old MG's TR's and MX5's.

[tvrgaas]

I do feel the S series in a transition phase from cheap Sports car to classic - bare with me, I explain.

When I joined the TVRCC 12 years ago a lot of the M series, which were then 12-15 years old, were having new chassis, sometimes due to the previous, founding, directors of David Gerald (DG) selling/promoting new chassis using the factory jigs.
As we've seen the S(1) chassis is start to need work - mine has new trailing arms and DG welded something on the seat belt anchorage last year. Hence they are starting require (some) restoration - the (practical) classic car syndrome.

And before we decry Blackpool steel - just look how many E/F registered Escorts and Astra are around in good condition.

What will this do for values? I guess they may be a pre and post restoration split in the near future. And the values will be always a bit more than 3000M, or MGB's, and the top end will be under pressure the chimaera range, but as they are hovering above the 10K floor - I guess winter will be the test.

Anyway Fernhurst have a very low milage S3 for £13k5 which was more than the list for an S1.

So what do I know - I bought an S1 for £10k5, but in 1991!

All for discussion

[Podie]

Well, to be honest I probably paid a bit over what I should have done for mine. Car was mechanically in good nick, but needed a few things sorted, which I've addressed. Still, it fitted the bill at the time and I'm thoroughly happy I bought it.

No idea what it's worth really, and I really don't care. I bought it to drive it, enjoy it, and that is exactly what I do.

[pete_w]

Paid about £3.25k less than Podie, for an S2....had an awful lot of fun in it over the course of a year, then discovered the dreaded chassis rot. With this age of vehicle, and that god damn awful chassis coating I'd imagine most motors (unless restored or incredibly well maintained) will have a hole in a tube somewhere.

As for my motor, I had a competitive (change out of £500) quote for fixing the chassis....alas I was financially commited to other things, hence 'sold via pistonheads' in about 3 days I think

I've regretted selling it ever since.......

[madgw1ck]

pete_w said:

...With this age of vehicle, and that god damn awful chassis coating I'd imagine most motors (unless restored or incredibly well maintained) will have a hole in a tube somewhere....

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Pete.

I've been considering an S (or Wedge) for a few weeks now and have been doing what homework I can to avoid buying a money-pit.

Having read a lot of comments and experiences of owners here on PH, I can't help but think that some people are paying too much for their cars.

To explain, it seems to me that the one major problem area which can be awfully expensive to rectify is the chassis, right? Now, to my (admittedly TVR-inexperienced) mind, it'd pay to ensure above all else that a potential purchase has a sound chassis before parting with the loot. If the car has had chassis restoration (with an acceptable provenance) then OK, barring obvious mechanical problems it'll probably be worth top-dollar. Without that, IMHO it should be assumed that it'll need chassis work in the near future and the cost of that accounted for when making an offer.

Several owners have made postings telling similar stories of buying an S for all the money, only to find it needing hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pounds worth of work done just to pass the next MOT. Do these cars really go from chassis-sound to chassis-rotten between tests?
GP

>> Edited by madgw1ck on Saturday 5th July 10:25

[Pies]

madgw1ck said:

pete_w said: ...With this age of vehicle, and that god damn awful chassis coating I'd imagine most motors (unless restored or incredibly well maintained) will have a hole in a tube somewhere.... I think you've hit the nail on the head there Pete. I've been considering an S (or Wedge) for a few weeks now and have been doing what homework I can to avoid buying a money-pit. Having read a lot of comments and experiences of owners here on PH, I can't help but think that some people are paying too much for their cars. To explain, it seems to me that the one major problem area which can be awfully expensive to rectify is the chassis, right? Now, to my (admittedly TVR-inexperienced) mind, it'd pay to ensure above all else that a potential purchase has a sound chassis before parting with the loot. If the car has had chassis restoration (with an acceptable provenance) then OK, barring obvious mechanical problems it'll probably be worth top-dollar. Without that, IMHO it should be assumed that it'll need chassis work in the near future and the cost of that accounted for when making an offer. Several owners have made postings telling similar stories of buying an S for all the money, only to find it needing hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pounds worth of work done just to pass the next MOT. Do these cars really go from chassis-sound to chassis-rotten between tests? GP >> Edited by madgw1ck on Saturday 5th July 10:25

Well having just purchased my S i went through all the things you are thinking of now.

In the end it came down to "do i want one or not".Once the decision to get one was made i employed the services of Rob Ingleby to find/inspect the car.
I stressed to him the importance of the condition of the chassis.

It might seem expensive but when you consider i purchased my car from a dealer (PDI not carried out at time of inspection) he found faults with the car that i would have missed.

Now bearing in mind an S its usually most peoples introduction to TVR,and therefor no experience of TVR problems,i would suggest everybody who buys one gets an independent inspection.

As for rust it does not appear overnight,so a well cared for chassis will last IMHO

And as a final note i don't expect to make any money on my car when i sell it,i bought the car to drive and the pleasure it will bring (hopefully).

[madgw1ck]

Pies,

Glad to see you've finally got something at last! I hope it gives you all the pleasure you've been looking forward to.

However from my POV, an S would be my first-foray into TVR territory, an 'entry-level model' if you will and as such I'm afraid I just couldn't commit that sort of money.

I'm in full agreement however, with your comments about getting a potential purchase inspected.

I hope you have fun with your new car and enjoy it!

Have you considered sleeping for the next week until you pick it up..?

GP

[minghis]

Having recently sold mine (due to short term financial problems) I reckon that a good solid S2 with sensible miles, say less than 70k, should fetch somewhere between 6 - 7k.

What helped to sell mine rather quickly was a fully documented history and recent hood, screen, shocks etc. It also had extremely good paint and interior. When I was looking to buy one I looked at a few that were a bit cheaper (high 5, low 6k) and found that the work needed to get them to a good standard was equivalent to paying what I did, so it's all relative.

I don't think that people buying S series will go into it without doing a lot of homework first, so if any are for sale for more than a couple of weeks there's probably something wrong with them.

I had a lot of enquiries for mine, lots more than I was expecting, I think that there are more and more people realising a dream of having a TVR, or anything a bit 'different'. A local garage had a Caterham 7, 1990, Lotus twin cam up for over £9k and it sold virtually overnight....

Get the right one and I don't think it'll ever cost you much to own, how often could you say that with most other cars?

Minghis.

[Pies]

Sleep whats that?

As reguards buying a TIV i think the principles remain the same for whatever one you get

When you consider an S they are IMHO the most reliable ones around and what other car RWD could you buy with the looks and performance and im not refering to V8.

As to value i dont think there is much further (if any) for them to drop.I dont think the Chim prices will affect S prices much as they are different in all respects.

The Chim competes for market against Griffs speed 6 etc,running costs for V8 over V6 are significant so all things considered i think the V6 will hold its value especially a well looked after one

[M@H]

Well I think the early Chim prices will hover at and above the 10k mark for a while longer yet... there are always going to be CatD's, 100,000 milers and untidy cars under 10K, however I don't see the prices of reasonable cars dropping much at all on average in the last 6 months or so..

Cheers
MAtt.

[Podie]

M@H said:

Well I think the early Chim prices will hover at and above the 10k mark for a while longer yet... there are always going to be CatD's, 100,000 milers and untidy cars under 10K, however I don't see the prices of reasonable cars dropping much at all on average in the last 6 months or so.. Cheers MAtt.

I'd agree with that.

[Ren Dao]

I would hazard a guess that as the mark gets older, the importance of condition affects the price more drastically, eventually meaning there is no right price. As well as the chassis, the interior, paintwork, scratches on rims etc etc all come in to play. A top condition S3 for example might well realise £10,000 and as I see it if the car is known on here and is run by an enthusiast it will inevitably sell quicker. A car at the end of the day is worth what someone is prepared to pay, no less no more!