running costs(potental buyer)

[sye68]

How cheap can you run an s series,i use to dismantle my 3 litre capri yonks ago and put it back together again quite happily ,is a tvr exactly just a capri/granada with a nice body or is there a bit more to it.

[Podie]

Bit more too it than that... take a look at the costs I've incurred... www.pistonheads.com/members/showCar.asp?carId=6345

You can do a lot yourself... I just tend to get a specialist to do the bits I can't be bothered with (don't fancy wiring stuff thanks)...

Quite a few hard to find, and bespoke parts... others stolen from vehicles no longer in production... the rest are as common as muck

[ukbob]

Podie said:

Bit more too it than that... take a look at the costs I've incurred... www.pistonheads.com/members/showCar.asp?carId=6345

fg hell youve done a lot of work on your car Nice Are you selling up Pod?

Simon, im not very knowlegable on maintenance related issues, but from what I hear, the S series is THE cheapest and easiest tvr to maintain by a long stretch, so youve got nothing to worry about on that front. Who turned you onto the S series, and whats your budget?

[sye68]

my bro had an S2 once .
but mainly i,ve fancied one my self,just need to sell a porsche first though.
One thing that i have to admit that is putting me off an s at the moment is the posts about speed bump problems(god knows there a nuff of them around my way)

[z_chromozone]

IMHO if you are a competent mechanic the S will cost you very little every year to run. But you will need to have plenty of time for doing the work and access to a garage etc. It will also need to be second car. For instance, my body off resto cost me £400 including paint, but if you paid a garage to do it you would be looking at thousands. It is not that difficult but did take me five months.

A 5,000 mile service breaks down a bit like this for the V8S

Oil Mobil 1 8L 15/50 £70
Oil filter £15
K&N air filter cleaner and resto £20
Plugs £25
5L ATF £15
EP90 diff oil £15
Fuel filter £15
Various other consumable items, and £5 bung to local garage for grease gun £15

Pads and disks are not expensive unless you uprate. Exhausts can be, especially if manifolds needed. Major engine rebuild on V8 could get expensive (depending on how much you do yourself). The V6 would be cheaper in all respects.

Z

[dern]

Podie said:

Bit more too it than that

Can't agree with that. Running mine was exactly the same as running any other old car. There's always some jobs specific to an s3 that are quite difficult but that doesn't make the s3 more difficult to maintain on the whole than a capri I wouldn't have thought. It was just lots of remedial work fairly frequently.

The costs are pretty much the same as any other car too. If you take it to a garage to be done by the book it'll cost you a lot, if you do it yourself then it'll cost you substantially less.

Regards,

Mark

[KentishS2]

dern said:

Podie said: Bit more too it than that Can't agree with that. Running mine was exactly the same as running any other old car. There's always some jobs specific to an s3 that are quite difficult but that doesn't make the s3 more difficult to maintain on the whole than a capri I wouldn't have thought. It was just lots of remedial work fairly frequently. The costs are pretty much the same as any other car too. If you take it to a garage to be done by the book it'll cost you a lot, if you do it yourself then it'll cost you substantially less. Regards, Mark

Mark I do see your point but IMHO the S isn't really as simple to work on, I agree the technology is exactly the same in principle as are the major components but some of these bits are a fair bit harder to get at on an S as you can only access the engine from each side. For example the Rad and cooling fan is hard to get at without removing the bonnet and the lack of space underneath the car involves a bit more effort when doing some jobs. On the other hand things like shocks are easy as they are exposed.

You gain with some jobs but not others I guess.

Some jobs at the front end are probably more easy if you have small children that are dextrous with a spanner!

[dern]

KentishS2 said:

Mark I do see your point but IMHO the S isn't really as simple to work on, I agree the technology is exactly the same in principle as are the major components but some of these bits are a fair bit harder to get at on an S as you can only access the engine from each side. For example the Rad and cooling fan is hard to get at without removing the bonnet and the lack of space underneath the car involves a bit more effort when doing some jobs. On the other hand things like shocks are easy as they are exposed.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be argumentative but again I have to disagree. To get at the engine stuff you simply raise the front of the car by a couple of inches and the bonnet will go way past vertical and will stay there if you support it. Then getting to the rad, water pump and so on is very simple. I've always found getting a rad out in a monocoque car more difficult as they can only come out upwards or downwards with the associated removal of stuff.

Taking the bonnet off does give you even more room and is a simple job and makes the removal of the engine and gearbox pretty straight forward even withe the manifolds still attached (drop me a line if you fancy doing this as there's a couple of gotchas) whereas there's usually a lot less room in a normal car.

Working under the car shouldn't be any different to any other car as you simply jack it up and put it on axle stands. The back of the car will go up on ramps but the front won't (unless you take the bonnet off, which at least is an option)

KentishS2 said:

You gain with some jobs but not others I guess.

True. I understand the diff is a git to get off with the body work on but speaking as someone who couldn't believe the number of hours required to change something as simple as an alternator on my mondeo I'd say that in my experience at least, in most respects the S3 is at least as easy to work on as any of the other rwd cars I've worked on.

You do get ripped off on some parts though but if you shop around there's always a way around it.

All the best,

Mark

>> Edited by dern on Wednesday 18th August 09:41

[Podie]

ukbob said:

Podie said: Bit more too it than that... take a look at the costs I've incurred... <a href="http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showCar.asp?carId=6345">www.pistonheads.com/members/showCar.asp?carId=6345</a> fg hell youve done a lot of work on your car Nice Are you selling up Pod?

and - car will in the PH classifieds VERY soon (once I've written an ad!)... if people are interested in purchasing the car, they can always express an interest and mail me via my profile.

[Ali B]

dern said:

The back of the car will go up on ramps but the front won't (unless you take the bonnet off, which at least is an option)

it will if your bonnet is non driving light, like my s1

[full-thrust]

Ali B said:

dern said: The back of the car will go up on ramps but the front won't (unless you take the bonnet off, which at least is an option) it will if your bonnet is non driving light, like my s1

Uhhmm, looking at my S2, you'd struggle to get the front up on ramps. I tend to use a jack and axle stands for everything, only trouble is it damages the underseal each time even when using a block of wood.

[martyn-s1]

I've found my S1 very easy to work on , easier that my first car, which was also a Capri. Some bits are hard to get now, but the unofficial parts list obtainable from various web sites is very useful.

Jobs I have done myself include, new front dampers, exhaust inc manifolds and general servicing such as oil change, plugs etc..

Once you have got the car up onto 4 axle stands and the wheels off getting underneath is easy and the bonnet will swing forward giving perfect access to the radiator area.

[tvrgit]

take two ramps

take two bits of wood about 18 inches long

put the two bits of wood on the second "rung" of the ramps

drive up.

[max-thrust]

tvrgit said:

take two ramps take two bits of wood about 18 inches long put the two bits of wood on the second "rung" of the ramps drive up.

Ahhh so that's how it's done!
Might get me some ramps then.

[tvrgit]

Important additional advice.

Remember to put the two bits of wood back before you drive back off again.

[max-thrust]

tvrgit said:

Important additional advice. Remember to put the two bits of wood back before you drive back off again.

Or, attend local evening course in fibre glassing!

[tvrgit]

or that, yes

[max-thrust]

tvrgit said:

or that, yes

My fibre glassing skills are pretty dire but at least it's underneath.

[gefopsman]

Removing the diff with the body on is not that bad. The hardest bit was getting the exhaust off.

I did mine on a four post ramp which helped but found all bolts easy to get at. It wouldn't have been much harder on the axle stands providing a lead lamp was used to see the bolts at the top of the rear mount.

[Dodgy Dave]

I can say as a new S3 owner that buying one (assuming its a gooden) will be a purchase you wont regret!

I've had mine two weeks now and had no problem dismantling the exhaust and changing the cats to straight through pipes.
And after getting back yesterday from a 800 mile drive over 6 days in the Lake District stopping first at Oulton Park and getting an unplanned drive of my new S3 for 15 laps over two sessions!!!!
I'm still smiling, best driving experience of my life!