Discussion
Have got £20,000 to spend and am very tempted to buy TVR but am put off by horror storys off braking parts and engine changes after 1000 miles E.C.T .I am a hard driver who covers alot of miles can T.V.R build a realible car?Did used to own 400se that robbed me of £2,000 in one year and then created a problem with engine that had local TVR garage scratching their heads.
My opinions for what they are worth...
It very much depends on your expectations - if you want guaranteed trouble free motoring, then look to Honda or Lexus, but if you are prepared to look after a TVR, put up with (and more importantly fix!) the odd niggle or problem, then the bang for buck is unbeatable.
It also depends on what you mean by high mileage. 6k service intervals, 15k tyres, and 220 miles to a 55L tank of optimax make for reasonably high cost (but also high grin) motoring.
Using it as daily driver, you also need to be mindful of where you take it, where you leave it, and have a plan 'B' available if at all possible for the couple of days a year that we have really really heavy rain or snow. Hence many people having them as 2nd car/toys
20k should buy you an excellent condition 2000-2001 Chimaera (poss even with money to spare this time of year), or an early Tuscan. Of the two, I know far more about the Chim; The Tuscan is a phenominal car, but early ones can be prone to expensive engine problems - fewer people use them daily than the Chims, but some will be along to explain how they use theirs daily.
I run a 1999 chim as a daily driver - 10-ish k / year; in 8000 miles since May it's needed a bit of fiddling with (doors & mirrors), a service (£600), I've treated it to a chassis treatment (£300) and 4 new tyres (£500) since I got it, but my partner's (2005) Astra is currently losing in the reliability stakes (currently running in ECU 'limp home' mode. Some have spent more, some have spent less, but with a budget of 20k, you should be able to find a good one.
Best way is to go along to a local TVRCC meet, look at lots, speak to lots of owners and make up your own mind. I've not looked back since making the jump; Good luck with whatever you chose to do!
It very much depends on your expectations - if you want guaranteed trouble free motoring, then look to Honda or Lexus, but if you are prepared to look after a TVR, put up with (and more importantly fix!) the odd niggle or problem, then the bang for buck is unbeatable.
It also depends on what you mean by high mileage. 6k service intervals, 15k tyres, and 220 miles to a 55L tank of optimax make for reasonably high cost (but also high grin) motoring.
Using it as daily driver, you also need to be mindful of where you take it, where you leave it, and have a plan 'B' available if at all possible for the couple of days a year that we have really really heavy rain or snow. Hence many people having them as 2nd car/toys
20k should buy you an excellent condition 2000-2001 Chimaera (poss even with money to spare this time of year), or an early Tuscan. Of the two, I know far more about the Chim; The Tuscan is a phenominal car, but early ones can be prone to expensive engine problems - fewer people use them daily than the Chims, but some will be along to explain how they use theirs daily.
I run a 1999 chim as a daily driver - 10-ish k / year; in 8000 miles since May it's needed a bit of fiddling with (doors & mirrors), a service (£600), I've treated it to a chassis treatment (£300) and 4 new tyres (£500) since I got it, but my partner's (2005) Astra is currently losing in the reliability stakes (currently running in ECU 'limp home' mode. Some have spent more, some have spent less, but with a budget of 20k, you should be able to find a good one.
Best way is to go along to a local TVRCC meet, look at lots, speak to lots of owners and make up your own mind. I've not looked back since making the jump; Good luck with whatever you chose to do!
Dont build up the stories of unreliability into a case for not buying TVR.... If you listen to any group of car owners includind Porsche, lotus, masserati etc you will hear rumblings of concern and gripes about reliability problems, major breakdowns blah blah blah.!!!......Either you WANT a sports car or you dont. A car with a tvrs performance and character is never going to be run on a shoestring..... The two grand you spent equates to the price of a packet of fags a week.!! Hardly a valid reason for worrying about impending financial disaster now is it.!!..... Most of the real horror stories would appear to come from people who happen to know someone who had a car that lived in the next street to a bloke whos best mates first wifes eldest sons best mate from schools Dad had a car that looked like it might have been a TVR, and it was really unreliable !!!!!!. In my honest and modest opinion, if you want to see driving in a totaly different light next summer, A TVR is your ONLY choice..........JUST DO IT !!!!! 
Mad Mitch said:
The two grand you spent equates to the price of a packet of fags a week.!!
I know I haven't smoked in a while now, but are cigarettes really £40 a pack nowadays???
More constructively, a Chimaera is expensive to run, but well worth it, especially compared to anything else in its price bracket. But do remember that anything that is designed (and indeed driven!) for performance is going to be under (much) greater stress than something that isn't.
axel rose said:
Have got £20,000 to spend and am very tempted to buy TVR but am put off by horror storys off braking parts and engine changes after 1000 miles E.C.T .I am a hard driver who covers alot of miles can T.V.R build a realible car?Did used to own 400se that robbed me of £2,000 in one year and then created a problem with engine that had local TVR garage scratching their heads.
you could always buy mine
axel rose said:
Have got £20,000 to spend and am very tempted to buy TVR but am put off by horror storys off braking parts and engine changes after 1000 miles E.C.T .I am a hard driver who covers alot of miles can T.V.R build a realible car?Did used to own 400se that robbed me of £2,000 in one year and then created a problem with engine that had local TVR garage scratching their heads.
I've had three TVRs over 8 years and had:
One flat battery
Two leaking radiators
The current Griffith 500 I have has proved far more reliable than my S-Type Jaguar. I would steer you towards a Griffith or Chimaera (well-sorted and with well-proven V8 engine) and choose one that's been properly looked after. For £20K you should get one that's virtually mint.
Simpo,
Not sure that, even at this time of year, £20K will get you into a really sorted minter (but £29k will see my profile)
I'm not going to get drawn into the S6 reliabilty debate but I can say that,since advertising my car on PH classified, I've had at least 5 owners of later cars contact me looking to PX their Tuscans back into a Griff!
I'm going into a 2004 Maserati Coupe next as I need some back seats but I'm still staying with a V8 ( although it's a Ferrari one)
Not sure that, even at this time of year, £20K will get you into a really sorted minter (but £29k will see my profile)
I'm not going to get drawn into the S6 reliabilty debate but I can say that,since advertising my car on PH classified, I've had at least 5 owners of later cars contact me looking to PX their Tuscans back into a Griff!
I'm going into a 2004 Maserati Coupe next as I need some back seats but I'm still staying with a V8 ( although it's a Ferrari one)
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