TVR Reliability
Discussion
Ive owned 2 TVR's, admitedly neither were driven much before I purchased them, but I think im coming up for the 22nd garage/dealer visit in 16 months.
There are the usual handful of niggles to fix this time, plus another no-starter. Ive NEVER been to a garage to fix a problem which wasnt either serious, or suspected to be serious. And when Im there I get the other minor niggles looked at. I used the AA so much I ended up renewing with the RAC for fear they wouldnt pick me up without charging me the next time I broke down (5 or 6 low loaders in under a year).
Am I foolish to believe that Im about to round a corner, and will be able to enjoy some plain sailing? Ive always maintained that the problems are worth the enjoyment the cars give when they run. Still do. But f-u.c-k me, they do test your patience at times! (thats most of the time, then
)
I believe im entitled to kick off on a bit of a rant having been through this much grief. I only have one car, and despite it being my P&J its also my own means of getting about :sigh:
There are the usual handful of niggles to fix this time, plus another no-starter. Ive NEVER been to a garage to fix a problem which wasnt either serious, or suspected to be serious. And when Im there I get the other minor niggles looked at. I used the AA so much I ended up renewing with the RAC for fear they wouldnt pick me up without charging me the next time I broke down (5 or 6 low loaders in under a year).
Am I foolish to believe that Im about to round a corner, and will be able to enjoy some plain sailing? Ive always maintained that the problems are worth the enjoyment the cars give when they run. Still do. But f-u.c-k me, they do test your patience at times! (thats most of the time, then
) I believe im entitled to kick off on a bit of a rant having been through this much grief. I only have one car, and despite it being my P&J its also my own means of getting about :sigh:
I've owned 2 Wedges, a Chimaera, Cerbera and a Tuscan S over the last 8 years or so. The only probs I've ever had were a faulty fan thermostat switch on the Cerb, intermittent speedo connection on the Tuscan and, when I left the Chimaera undriven for 2 months+ whilst abroad, a clutch seal that perished and leaked all the fluid out. Some of my TVRs have been daily drives others not.
(This is bound to have put the jinx on me now so I better get my cheque book warmed up! )
>> Edited by cerbyt on Wednesday 9th November 07:26
(This is bound to have put the jinx on me now so I better get my cheque book warmed up!
) >> Edited by cerbyt on Wednesday 9th November 07:26
UKBob said:
Ive owned 2 TVR's, admitedly neither were driven much before I purchased them, but I think im coming up for the 22nd garage/dealer visit in 16 months.
There are the usual handful of niggles to fix this time, plus another no-starter. Ive NEVER been to a garage to fix a problem which wasnt either serious, or suspected to be serious. And when Im there I get the other minor niggles looked at. I used the AA so much I ended up renewing with the RAC for fear they wouldnt pick me up without charging me the next time I broke down (5 or 6 low loaders in under a year).
Am I foolish to believe that Im about to round a corner, and will be able to enjoy some plain sailing? Ive always maintained that the problems are worth the enjoyment the cars give when they run. Still do. But f-u.c-k me, they do test your patience at times! (thats most of the time, then
I believe im entitled to kick off on a bit of a rant having been through this much grief. I only have one car, and despite it being my P&J its also my own means of getting about :sigh:
You must be a millionaire, bob. Seriously though, that would really hack me off.
UKBob said:
Am I foolish to believe that Im about to round a corner, and will be able to enjoy some plain sailing? Ive always maintained that the problems are worth the enjoyment the cars give when they run. Still do. But f-u.c-k me, they do test your patience at times! (thats most of the time, then
Personally, I wouldn't mind the garage visits (however frequent) if they were only of the drive-in, get-problem-fixed and drive-out variety.
What REALLY vexes me (polite way of putting it!) is the fact the car just sits there for weeks at a time (during which time other things always seem to go wrong
) waiting for some pathetically sundry item. If TVR got their fingers out and sorted their parts supply issues properly, there would be a lot more cheerful owners on the road (literally!).
They seem to take a perverse pleasure in deliberately withholding parts for weeks / months while happily ordering just enough to make new vehicles. This really tests the patience of even the most die-hard fan who owns a 'used' car, and if TVR aren't careful, they will push their most loyal (and profitable I might add!) supporters away.
I'm told that TVR reads these Forums.
If this is the case..........
SORT IT OUT PLEASE!!!!!Roy C said:Too true. But from the day of purchase, both cars were driven daily. And if I needed to nip down to the shops, Id be sure to do the longest journey possible (and keep the engine running if a passenger was willing to pop in for me) to keep stop-starts to a minimum.
...admitedly neither were driven much before I purchased them...
That's probably a great deal to do with it. The cars that get used get sorted.
groucho said:Fortunately, no really expensive problems. I had a clutch replaced under warranty by the dealer, but the rest were not too expensive niggles, like wiper problems which I'd class as urgent (as would anyone who'se ever been caught in the rain without wipers)
[quote=UKBob]You must be a millionaire, bob. Seriously though, that would really hack me off.
But yes. Very frustrating. Admitedly the figure does include a Tyre change, MOT, and 2 services (upon all occasions other niggles were looked at, whilst the car was in)
How could you sell, though. Unless I had upwards of 100k, I already have my dream car. Theres nothing else to upgrade to. Needless... Ive donned my rose tinted specs, and shall drive on, in the belief that Im about to round the corner to happier driving days. (the fool, the silly fool
)Roy C said:
...wiper problems which I'd class as urgent (as would anyone who'se ever been caught in the rain without wipers)
Use Rain-X. Better than wipers.
Only when your driving fast enough for the stuff to work (50mph + usually)
Any slower, espec round town then your stuffed without your wipers.
nelly1 said:
If TVR got their fingers out and sorted their parts supply issues properly, there would be a lot more cheerful owners on the road (literally!).
They seem to take a perverse pleasure in deliberately withholding parts for weeks / months while happily ordering just enough to make new vehicles. This really tests the patience of even the most die-hard fan who owns a 'used' car, and if TVR aren't careful, they will push their most loyal (and profitable I might add!) supporters away.
Scary - I just said the the same thing: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=220559&f=13&h=0
nelly1 said:
I'm told that TVR reads these Forums.
If this is the case..........
Echoed How's the car coming on, btw, Nelly?
I have to say Kerridges,where I got my Chim, were brilliant.
Plenty of little niggles,nothing big,but all sorted without question or delay.Run by proper enthusiasts.
Nothing major went wrong till I had agreed to p/x it for a Merc,I think it heard me becuase for the next 2 months it developed a bad mis-fire!
Plenty of little niggles,nothing big,but all sorted without question or delay.Run by proper enthusiasts.
Nothing major went wrong till I had agreed to p/x it for a Merc,I think it heard me becuase for the next 2 months it developed a bad mis-fire!
IMHO there is a simple response to this 'eternal' question: More so than almost any other type of car two main factors seem to come into play:
1. The more you use them the better they are!
2. Deal with small niggles immediately/lots of preventative maintenance and TLC.
I bought my Cerby (had not been used much and a few things had been neglected), got them fixed and then drove it every day, as long as I dealt with any issues as and when they arose it just got better and better!
(Funnily enough, when I was looking at getting my first TVR, a number of dealers told me that a Cerby would not be great for daily use/commuting or a car that you needed to rely on for work, what a load of rubbish that proved to be!!)
My current TVR (a Chimaera) is the same, A number of pieces of work were required as (again) it had not been used much by the previous owner, and (again) had been subjected to a few 'dubious/bodge' repairs. Once these were done and we got it back, he runs like a dream!
We will be getting another TVR as soon as funds allow, but this will be in addition to the Chim, which we are getting so much enjoyment from we've decided to keep it!
Cerby4.5.
UKBob said:
Ive owned 2 TVR's, admitedly neither were driven much before I purchased them, but I think im coming up for the 22nd garage/dealer visit in 16 months.
There are the usual handful of niggles to fix this time, plus another no-starter. Ive NEVER been to a garage to fix a problem which wasnt either serious, or suspected to be serious. And when Im there I get the other minor niggles looked at. I used the AA so much I ended up renewing with the RAC for fear they wouldnt pick me up without charging me the next time I broke down (5 or 6 low loaders in under a year).
Am I foolish to believe that Im about to round a corner, and will be able to enjoy some plain sailing? Ive always maintained that the problems are worth the enjoyment the cars give when they run. Still do. But f-u.c-k me, they do test your patience at times! (thats most of the time, then
I believe im entitled to kick off on a bit of a rant having been through this much grief. I only have one car, and despite it being my P&J its also my own means of getting about :sigh:
I think the4 little used is the issue, for any car...
FErraris suffer from it, left my old golf vr6 off the road for 3 months (only 2 years old) , no trouble before, followed by 2-3 months of hassle.
B
Roy C said:Tried it once, fantastic stuff(!) although zippe does have a point about the speed.
Use Rain-X. Better than wipers.
[quote=cerby4.5a number of dealers told me that a Cerby would not be great for daily use/commuting or a car that you needed to rely on for work, what a load of rubbish that proved to be!!)[/quote]At least you had the opinion of an honest or realistic dealer, and a car which didnt give you too much trouble.
The dealer that sold me my cerb (when I mentioned spending thousands per year) actually said nonsense, only £750 is necessary to keep a Cerbera, which stuck in my mind, as it went against everything Id ever read in the Cerbera forum over the years. I remember the incident, as I wasnt asking "how much per year" I was stating matter of factly that if things didnt go too badly, maybe I could get by on a few k tops.
Commuter yes, but possibly not the most reliable option out there, nor the cheapest. Most fun though
I just had enough and moved on. As much as I loved my TVRs the trip to and from dealer every other Saturday just wore me out.
400SE (no major problems) 2 years ownership
)
Griff 500 (Purchased new. Had to have a complete engine rebuild after 15,000 miles)
Tuscan RR (Purchased new in 2001. 3 engine rebuilds in 1 year!)
Every time I went abroad in the Tuscan it came back on a low loader - what fun.
I've had my current car for 3 years and done 30,000 miles and plenty of track days +
3/4 trips abroad every year. No major problems aside wear and tear.
Although I agree with the fact the cars have to be used - I did do around 15-20,000 miles every year in the TVRs and that didn't seem to help..
I just wish TVR could have sorted out the problems or at least employed a couple of people to take care of customer service.
Calling, emailing and using snail mail to get an update on progress got me no where.
Shame.
400SE (no major problems) 2 years ownership
) Griff 500 (Purchased new. Had to have a complete engine rebuild after 15,000 miles)
Tuscan RR (Purchased new in 2001. 3 engine rebuilds in 1 year!)
Every time I went abroad in the Tuscan it came back on a low loader - what fun.
I've had my current car for 3 years and done 30,000 miles and plenty of track days +
3/4 trips abroad every year. No major problems aside wear and tear.
Although I agree with the fact the cars have to be used - I did do around 15-20,000 miles every year in the TVRs and that didn't seem to help..
I just wish TVR could have sorted out the problems or at least employed a couple of people to take care of customer service.
Calling, emailing and using snail mail to get an update on progress got me no where.
Shame.
richb said:Looks like its been rebuilt too
I've had my current car for 3 years
It goes without saying though, that despite there being some unlucky owners, there are plenty of owners who have had no or very few niggles (in years of ownership)
UKBob said:
It goes without saying though, that despite there being some unlucky owners, there are plenty of owners who have had no or very few niggles (in years of ownership)
Clearly they haven't got a speed six engine or perhaps they do 100 miles a year in them
Sorry guys, couldn't resist. Please don't take it the wrong way though. I'm not posting to cause a stir - merely saying its such a shame. I wish I could have kept the Tuscan but what's the point of paying 45K for a car that spent 6 months of its life at TVR Blackpool..
I honestly wouldn't have had 3 of them if I didn't feel strongly about the make - but having said that - the Fcar just drives and drives without the smallest niggle. I just couldn't get that from my TVRs sad as it is.
Please don't
the messenger. In the end we all like to
and I'd have another Tiv if the problems were sorted. 
Per my other post - get yourself to APM. He will ensure your car is sorted and at a great rate. He isnt your usual TVR servicer. He has looked after both my cerbs and once he had got hold of them I had had very few probs (ie only 2 probs come to mind and they weren't so bad eg starter motor and clutch slave seals).
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