Beginner's TVR

[LedbetterJ]

Hi

I am very, very seriously thinking about buying my first TVR.

It's such a bad idea I think it may be the best idea I have ever had.

As I am not that technically minded, can anyone advise me please, what is the best model to go for as a first TVR.... so the most reliable / the one I am least likely to crash.... etc

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

[scotty_d]

Hi welcome along to the Forums

Best bet is to post this up in the TVR section as the guys in there will be more focused on TVR matters.

But to do my best to help for now It really depends on what you are looking for and your budget and what car you like the most. They are all great cars i am on my second now and can't seem to look past them.

[Mattt]

Budget is the most important.

Starter could mean Wedge, or Sagaris.

[Blackpool Rocker]

.....Three golden things to observe. Condition....Condition and Condition!

Always buy the best condition one you can. My Chimaera has been fantastic, I have had it for nearly six years and its never let me down. However, I did buy the best one I could find.

...Now I am sure someone with more TVR insight will be along shortly to give you more advise.

[Druid]

Mattt said:

Budget is the most important.

Starter could mean Wedge, or Sagaris.

Spot on! Mine is my only owned TVR and the most mechanical thing I do is plug the laptop in!

[robsco]

I'm the least technically minded person imaginable, but I still manage to run a Cerbera. It has had issues already, most of which are very simple fixes that a lot of people could remedy at home but I don't have the skill or the trust in myself to undertake them. In short, this means your running costs will be higher than the person who has a little mechanical knowledge to fall back on; if you can justify those extra costs, then do it! Oh, and prepare for the most emotional rollercoaster of a relationship you'll ever build with a car.

[tonys]

Fixedhead or softtop? Depends whether you want to do some maintenace yourself, budget, intended use etc etc. Let us know more detail and you will get hundreds of different suggestions

[Templedog]

Go and see and if possible drive a couple. I was very keen on a Griff but ended up in a Tam. Very much a personal thing, like all cars I guess.

[Smooth Smith]

I was always of the opinion that a first 'sensible' Tiv would be a Chimaera. Less expensive to run than a Cerb or a T car. This is what I told myself but went out & bought a Tuscan instead!

As above, buy on condition & service history as oppose to mileage & read lots.

[stainless_steve]

See what model takes your fancy,then test drive them/buy it

My first TVR was a 450 SEAC

[Campbell]

My first Tvr is a 420SEAC

Just get any Tiv you will like any of them.

Cambelt

[lazyitus]

I'd also chuck 'experience' into the equation.

I don't know how old you are or how much driving experience (particularly RWD) you've had.

If the answer to one or both of these questions is Young and Inexperienced, I'd suggest maybe an 'S' model or a Wedge 3.5. It might benefit you learning how to handle and drive something with nearer 200bhp instead of 300bhp to start with.

I started with a 350i which was quick for me at the time. The jump to a Griff 500 was an eye opener, the extra power is massively noticable.

Just a suggestion.

[C3BER]

There seems to be lots of new people to the forum asking the same questions. Some are asking questions about not been able to get into the car when electrics go in a roundabout way.

I realise if your new to the forum you don't always know were to look in the search area of the site etc. Took my missus to point out to me the Yorkshire section.

Perhaps a sticky for newbies so we can collate all the basic questions that get asked and asked again & again.

[quattrophenia]

LedbetterJ said:

Hi

I am very, very seriously thinking about buying my first TVR.

It's such a bad idea I think it may be the best idea I have ever had.

As I am not that technically minded, can anyone advise me please, what is the best model to go for as a first TVR.... so the most reliable / the one I am least likely to crash.... etc

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

I was lucky in that I only ever wanted a Chimaera, so do not feel the urge to move on to other models. I also had no prior mechanical skills, yet in the last 2 years have changed/renovated the rad, suspension, chassis, bushes, brake lines, pads, discs, ball joints, rod ends etc. Whilst there are some very knowledgeable TVR owners out there who could strip an engine and rebuild it over the weekend, what I am trying to say is that as an owner you will be able, and actually want to carryout some work yourself and a Chim is a fairly good car to start with.

If I had really wanted a T350 and had the funds available I would probably have jumped straight in and gone for it. Let’s be honest, if you have no common sense or driving ability what so ever, a Chimaera is just as likely to put you in a hedge as any other. So my advice would be to get the model you want to own, be careful and maybe get a few sports car driving lessons if you do fancy a Sagaris!

Unless your unlucky and have a serious mechanical problem, most parts are readily available and fairly reasonably priced. When you consider what you get for you money in a TVR and compare it against other similar sports car marques. There are plenty of good independent specialist garages out there who can help if needed. I don’t mind a few bills as I accept it as part of owning a 10 year old car, but I must confess to finding it a little more awkward convincing the missus. In short, don’t tell her!

[finestjammy]

quattrophenia said:

I was lucky in that I only ever wanted a Chimaera, so do not feel the urge to move on to other models. I also had no prior mechanical skills, yet in the last 2 years have changed/renovated the rad, suspension, chassis, bushes, brake lines, pads, discs, ball joints, rod ends etc. Whilst there are some very knowledgeable TVR owners out there who could strip an engine and rebuild it over the weekend, what I am trying to say is that as an owner you will be able, and actually want to carryout some work yourself and a Chim is a fairly good car to start with.

+1

I'd never even changed a fuse on a car prior to owning the Chim, always had new or company cars under warranty. I've changed most of the ignition and induction system, rocker gaskets fan belt, stepper etc. The RV8 is really easy to work on. If I had ramps etc I'd do even more. There's loads of giudes to help too.

[Chris71]

First things first - buy a good one and maintain it properly and it will serve you well. My previous TVR was more or less the most reliable car I've ever owned. Don't worry if you're not an expert mechanic - there are dozens of people on here who'll lend advice and potentially even come with you to look at cars etc. if they're local.

As for driving experience, I'm kind of the opinion that any of them are as demmanding as you make them. You can spin a basic 160bhp S3 - trust me, that's exactly what a friend did when I lent him my old car! On the other hand, the chassis dynamics of a flame-spitting supercharged 5-litre Griff are actually pretty benign until you apply an overly ambitious amount of throttle. Just make sure you build up gently - whatever you get - and allow yourself plenty of space (preferably on an airfield day or track day) to find out how it behaves.

So there's not really such a thing as a beginner's TVR. There are definitely some which are cheaper to buy and maintain than others, though, and the V6 S-Series is arguably the best value in both respects. It uses largely standard bits from large manufacturers (Ford, for the engine, for example) even in the engine. The Rover V8 cars use a certain number of Ford and Rover bits, but things like engine internals can be bespoke TVR bits. Similarly, the Cerberas and T-cars feature a lot more specialist TVR parts. They're still not especially expensive for what they are (trying buying Ferrari bits made in similar numbers...) but they are less affordable.

Anyway. Without any further info on budget and specific requirements I'm going to volunteer the S3. Cheap to buy (£4-5k), relatively cheap to run (even quite economical by sports car standards) and more nimble than the V8s. They're not as fast, but they're closer to the Chimaeras and Griffs than you might imagine, and a 6.5ish second 0-60 time with noise and torque to match is good enough for 'starters'.

[LedbetterJ]

Wow, thanks for all the advice everyone...

I've got a budget of 15-20k (don't tell the wife though!)

I have basically been thinking Griff (seen a lovely yellow one) a Tuscan (looks coolest). But a nagging thought I keep having is that the Cerbera might be more reliable?

[Chris71]

LedbetterJ said:

Wow, thanks for all the advice everyone...

I've got a budget of 15-20k (don't tell the wife though!)

I have basically been thinking Griff (seen a lovely yellow one) a Tuscan (looks coolest). But a nagging thought I keep having is that the Cerbera might be more reliable?

Of those the Griff will be the cheapest to fix if anything goes wrong.

That much I can state before going into hearsay. It's generally thought that a Cerbera or Tuscan is more likely to be problematic too. Also, £20,000 will buy you a good example of any of those, but it will go furthest with the Griff (or indeed any other RV8 era car) and second furthest with the Cerbera. The Tuscan is the only one where you'd realistically expect to spend the full £20,000 I'd say probably. And only then for a later car.

Of those the easiest to buy, drive and maintain is probably the Griff, so I'd go for that as a starter. You could practically get two for £20,000. Or to put it another way, you could get a top dollar one from a very reputable dealer with a warranty etc. and still have a substantial amount left over for track days or upgrades.

[peteA]

LedbetterJ said:

Wow, thanks for all the advice everyone...

I've got a budget of 15-20k (don't tell the wife though!)

I have basically been thinking Griff (seen a lovely yellow one) a Tuscan (looks coolest). But a nagging thought I keep having is that the Cerbera might be more reliable?

Not sure buying a TVR on the basis of it might be more reliable on a model for model basis (they are not as unreliable as some would have you believe...usually people who have never owned one). As previously stated condition and history are more important and will impact on how reliable 'any specific model will be'.

Generally - Griffs and Chims and earlier cars (S, wedges, etc) will be cheaper to maintain largely because they utilise more off the shelf standard parts where as the Cerbera on have more TVR specific bits...


Best starter TVR for me would be a Chimaera or Griff... but depends on the look you are after? you could save a few quid and go for an S?

[Diablos-666]

I would say don't worry about which will cost the least to run or maintain and go for the one you prefer most.

You should budget around £2k - £3k per year on running any TVR imo.

As has been said before buy the best condition TVR you can afford. Also, try and buy the latest model you can for any TVR you prefer.


Also, i'm not sure i'd agree with you that the Cerbera will be the least problematic of TVR's.

Good Luck