Help..TVR Tuscan 2000/X Crystal Topaz..anyone know anything?
Discussion
Evening all. I'm normally mainly on SportsMarati & MBClukUK forums but looking to get into a TVR and came across one locally. it is being sold by I believe a known TVR specialist Philip Hedonos.
A real mixed bag this one as a double CAT D! First in 2004 due to damage and secondly in April 2016 due to paint/panel scratches recovered after being stolen. It seems a PH'er owned in maybe 2000>2004 on here called Martin (comet) that I have tried to contact through PH.
Trying to find out more about it to see if I should walk away or seriously consider it and delve into its murky past further. The Ebay ad is here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-TUSCAN-2000-PRIVATE-...
Original Plate: X234 HDO (2000-2004)
X10 TVR (2004-2016)
R400 ENG (2016-Current)
I have the engine number and VIN number as well but thought best not to post this on a public forum.
Can anyone help me with trying to find out some more about it please? Also if I should consider it or walk away?
Thanks
A real mixed bag this one as a double CAT D! First in 2004 due to damage and secondly in April 2016 due to paint/panel scratches recovered after being stolen. It seems a PH'er owned in maybe 2000>2004 on here called Martin (comet) that I have tried to contact through PH.
Trying to find out more about it to see if I should walk away or seriously consider it and delve into its murky past further. The Ebay ad is here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-TUSCAN-2000-PRIVATE-...
Original Plate: X234 HDO (2000-2004)
X10 TVR (2004-2016)
R400 ENG (2016-Current)
I have the engine number and VIN number as well but thought best not to post this on a public forum.
Can anyone help me with trying to find out some more about it please? Also if I should consider it or walk away?
Thanks
Thanks all for your input and advice. The seller seems to be known in some TVR circles. He does inspections for Bespoke Performance in Ware and has TVR knowledge built up over 20 years. Buys & sells a few TVR's. His site is here:
http://www.sportscarinspections.co.uk/
I have being doing a fair bit of research as it is amazing what you can find out on Google. Found this post about the engine rebuild done at the factory after 8500 miles Jan/Feb 2003 on here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Seems like Martin Halley (comet on PH here) was the 2nd owner and an unlucky one by the look of it:
http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showCar.asp?car...
Looked like the 2nd owner(Martin) bought the car from the 1st owner or from Kerridges on 18/10/2002 then sold it after a short but sounds like tumultuous ownership on 23/08/2003. I have tried to contact Martin so hopefully we will come across my message so we can chat about the car. I will also contact Kerridges to see what they can tell me about the car.
http://www.sportscarinspections.co.uk/
I have being doing a fair bit of research as it is amazing what you can find out on Google. Found this post about the engine rebuild done at the factory after 8500 miles Jan/Feb 2003 on here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Seems like Martin Halley (comet on PH here) was the 2nd owner and an unlucky one by the look of it:
http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showCar.asp?car...
Looked like the 2nd owner(Martin) bought the car from the 1st owner or from Kerridges on 18/10/2002 then sold it after a short but sounds like tumultuous ownership on 23/08/2003. I have tried to contact Martin so hopefully we will come across my message so we can chat about the car. I will also contact Kerridges to see what they can tell me about the car.
Edited by rockits on Tuesday 6th September 23:20
If it helps, I purchased my Chim 500 from Philip in April 2015.
I know nothing about the car you are looking at though.
The advert for my Chimaera was equally poorly written, but I took a chance and contacted him without knowing who he was thinking he was just another private seller.
In a nutshell he is an ex TVR racer, and his main business is a sports car buying service.
http://www.sportscarinspections.co.uk/full-finding...
As I understood things he does not normally buy and sell cars himself but sources the right car for his customers for a fee. However occasionally he comes across something worth buying and selling on, or as was the case with my Chimaera he purchased it from the chap he had just sourced an expensive sports car for.
In my experience, he is totally genuine and as honest as you could hope for. My car was not showroom condition when I went to view it, nor was it advertised as such and he was honest about the faults he was aware of before I even went to have a look at it. He has most, if not all, of his work done at Bespoke Performance. They changed a water pump on the car between me putting my deposit down and picking it up as he thought it was on its way out, and he covered this himself without ever asking to increase the agreed price. After I collected the car I found an issue with one of the tyres that I had not spotted when viewing it or collecting the car, yet he still offered to pay for a replacement tyre.
If you are not bothered by the Cat D and are not expecting a full on TVR dealer showroom experience, give it a chance and go and have a look or give him a call. You may not like the car when you see it in the flesh but at least you will know.
The relatively cheap price I got a Chim 500 for helped me see past some of the minor issues with the car. The Tuscan, like mine, might need a bit of cosmetic attention , but with a good clean and polish my Chim was transformed.
The biggest risk I suspect you face is with the engine. However at that price you are never going to get a car with a fully rebuilt and warranted engine. If you do end up have to pay for an engine rebuild the Cat D may restrict your chances of recouping that cost come sale time.
I know nothing about the car you are looking at though.
The advert for my Chimaera was equally poorly written, but I took a chance and contacted him without knowing who he was thinking he was just another private seller.
In a nutshell he is an ex TVR racer, and his main business is a sports car buying service.
http://www.sportscarinspections.co.uk/full-finding...
As I understood things he does not normally buy and sell cars himself but sources the right car for his customers for a fee. However occasionally he comes across something worth buying and selling on, or as was the case with my Chimaera he purchased it from the chap he had just sourced an expensive sports car for.
In my experience, he is totally genuine and as honest as you could hope for. My car was not showroom condition when I went to view it, nor was it advertised as such and he was honest about the faults he was aware of before I even went to have a look at it. He has most, if not all, of his work done at Bespoke Performance. They changed a water pump on the car between me putting my deposit down and picking it up as he thought it was on its way out, and he covered this himself without ever asking to increase the agreed price. After I collected the car I found an issue with one of the tyres that I had not spotted when viewing it or collecting the car, yet he still offered to pay for a replacement tyre.
If you are not bothered by the Cat D and are not expecting a full on TVR dealer showroom experience, give it a chance and go and have a look or give him a call. You may not like the car when you see it in the flesh but at least you will know.
The relatively cheap price I got a Chim 500 for helped me see past some of the minor issues with the car. The Tuscan, like mine, might need a bit of cosmetic attention , but with a good clean and polish my Chim was transformed.
The biggest risk I suspect you face is with the engine. However at that price you are never going to get a car with a fully rebuilt and warranted engine. If you do end up have to pay for an engine rebuild the Cat D may restrict your chances of recouping that cost come sale time.
Thanks chaps...very helpful. I had a good half hour chat with Phil last night and got o with him well. He lives about 20 mins away and I know Enfield well as lived there a few years back.
The engine had a full rebuild at the factory in Blackpool in Jan/Feb 2003 at 2.5 years old at 8500 miles. Not sue if that is good or bad!
The engine had a full rebuild at the factory in Blackpool in Jan/Feb 2003 at 2.5 years old at 8500 miles. Not sue if that is good or bad!
My first Tuscan had a factory engine rebuild at 35k miles in 2003.
I bought it at 70k and it needed another rebuild.
My understanding is that post 2004, many of the engine issues and poor materials were dealt with and so later engines are much better. My 2006 Tuscan is on 75k without rebuild.
Early factory rebuilds replaced the worn bits with the same poor original parts.
Rebuilds by TVR Power or Str8sux include oil way improvement amongs other important corrections.
I would recommend a cylinder compression test.
I bought it at 70k and it needed another rebuild.
My understanding is that post 2004, many of the engine issues and poor materials were dealt with and so later engines are much better. My 2006 Tuscan is on 75k without rebuild.
Early factory rebuilds replaced the worn bits with the same poor original parts.
Rebuilds by TVR Power or Str8sux include oil way improvement amongs other important corrections.
I would recommend a cylinder compression test.
It's too expensive. If it needs a rebuild in a year the minimum your looking at is 6k at which point you could buy this
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
Which has had a rebuild, and isn't on the register. The X reg car will always be harder to shift on and at that price doesn't make sense. Needs to be sub 11k. The factory rebuild is worthless.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
Which has had a rebuild, and isn't on the register. The X reg car will always be harder to shift on and at that price doesn't make sense. Needs to be sub 11k. The factory rebuild is worthless.
I agree it is too expensive. I think it is worth £10-£12k.
I think there are good and bad cars. Just to to work out if this is a bad or good one. It certainly seems a little unlucky at the very least which is not a good sign....poor car!
History I can make out so far is:
It was bought by the 1st owner who had it for about 2 years and 7-8k miles. Good start it seems at least. Then the 2nd owner had it for about 10 month with a tumultuous ownership consisting of a Blackpool factory engine rebuild, a broken windscreen(albeit due to stone damage), then overheating issues. He sold it then moved into a Tuscan S and now has a Sagaris.
The 3rd owner had it for just under 7 months before it was CATD damaged in March 2004. A keeper change in July 2004 after the claim then kept for about 2 years.
Then it gets interesting. That 4th owner had it for nearly 10 years with a big lay up from roughly 2010 to 2016. It was sold to the 5th owner in Jan 2016 then stolen/recovered CATD'd again in April 2016 where it sustained its current paint/panel scratches. A final keeper change to the 6th owner in May 2016.
You feel like Sherlock Holmes trying to dig out all the history when it is not all there on a plate.....all half the fun though I guess!
I think there are good and bad cars. Just to to work out if this is a bad or good one. It certainly seems a little unlucky at the very least which is not a good sign....poor car!
History I can make out so far is:
It was bought by the 1st owner who had it for about 2 years and 7-8k miles. Good start it seems at least. Then the 2nd owner had it for about 10 month with a tumultuous ownership consisting of a Blackpool factory engine rebuild, a broken windscreen(albeit due to stone damage), then overheating issues. He sold it then moved into a Tuscan S and now has a Sagaris.
The 3rd owner had it for just under 7 months before it was CATD damaged in March 2004. A keeper change in July 2004 after the claim then kept for about 2 years.
Then it gets interesting. That 4th owner had it for nearly 10 years with a big lay up from roughly 2010 to 2016. It was sold to the 5th owner in Jan 2016 then stolen/recovered CATD'd again in April 2016 where it sustained its current paint/panel scratches. A final keeper change to the 6th owner in May 2016.
You feel like Sherlock Holmes trying to dig out all the history when it is not all there on a plate.....all half the fun though I guess!
Edited by rockits on Friday 9th September 15:07
Why do you want a TVR?
If it is to scratch an itch then I suggest you up your budget and buy a 'better' car that will be easier to move on.
While a rebuild is desirable it is not a copper bottomed guarantee.
TVRs all need jobs doing to them. Very, very few are fault free and those that are get priced accordingly.
If you want a keeper then the car would seem a good a good basis for a rolling project. Current condition of the car is more important than what work was carried out in 2007.
If it is to scratch an itch then I suggest you up your budget and buy a 'better' car that will be easier to move on.
While a rebuild is desirable it is not a copper bottomed guarantee.
TVRs all need jobs doing to them. Very, very few are fault free and those that are get priced accordingly.
If you want a keeper then the car would seem a good a good basis for a rolling project. Current condition of the car is more important than what work was carried out in 2007.
mk1fan said:
Why do you want a TVR?
If it is to scratch an itch then I suggest you up your budget and buy a 'better' car that will be easier to move on.
While a rebuild is desirable it is not a copper bottomed guarantee.
TVRs all need jobs doing to them. Very, very few are fault free and those that are get priced accordingly.
If you want a keeper then the car would seem a good a good basis for a rolling project. Current condition of the car is more important than what work was carried out in 2007.
This is pretty good advice. If it is to scratch an itch then I suggest you up your budget and buy a 'better' car that will be easier to move on.
While a rebuild is desirable it is not a copper bottomed guarantee.
TVRs all need jobs doing to them. Very, very few are fault free and those that are get priced accordingly.
If you want a keeper then the car would seem a good a good basis for a rolling project. Current condition of the car is more important than what work was carried out in 2007.
If this is dictated by budget then be prepared for big bills or long periods of it doing nothing.
It is not so much of an itch to be scratched but more of a long term keeper...it would need to be as a double CATD! It is always prudent to have a Plan B to sell if needed but that is not my plan. It will be my 7th car at the moment! Therefore doesn't matter if it doesn't work one day....or several for that matter!! I do need to sell one or two though 
I am just turning a outbuilding I have into a nice workshop so I have the ability to do some works. There is a decent TVR specialist in Ware (Bespoke) about 30 mins from me so not too bad. The idea is to buy a couple of cars that I can work on and keep me busy. I have two small IT/Internet business and have been in the game for 25 years. Just preparing for a change of scenery I guess for the next 25 years
I am just turning a outbuilding I have into a nice workshop so I have the ability to do some works. There is a decent TVR specialist in Ware (Bespoke) about 30 mins from me so not too bad. The idea is to buy a couple of cars that I can work on and keep me busy. I have two small IT/Internet business and have been in the game for 25 years. Just preparing for a change of scenery I guess for the next 25 years
Correct, not really buying to make money just to enjoy (not sure that is the right word!) owning a TVR.
I can't see it losing money but will be a pig to re-sell. Just how much it costs to keep on the road is largely open ended. At least if I can do some/much of the work I will enjoy that and also keep costs down. Just need to give up this crazy thing called work!!
I can't see it losing money but will be a pig to re-sell. Just how much it costs to keep on the road is largely open ended. At least if I can do some/much of the work I will enjoy that and also keep costs down. Just need to give up this crazy thing called work!!
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