Chim 500 vs Griff 500 - differences?
Discussion
Hi all,
I have been interested in buying a TVR for some time and spent some time yesterday in a TVR garage looking at (and sitting in) various TVR models. My initial purchasing budget is around £15k.
I had initially wanted a Cerbera which I feel is the best looking TVR ever. However, having sat in one, it just didn’t feel right to me - very tight cabin and my wife and I felt quite claustrophobic in there. Plus, we don’t have bags of money to throw at the car and at my budget range I got the impression that a Cerbera may need some serious work.
The Tuscan and T350 felt very comfortable and I loved the layout of the cabins. We were advised that the Speed6 cars are a little more hardcore than the RV8 cars and that it might be an idea to drive a RV8 car as an introduction to TVRs. Plus at the £15k range, I would be looking at a very early Speed6 engine which could give me trouble
In all, I am starting to feel that a Griff might be the best starting point, as it will be cheap to run (compared to other TVRs) and should hold its value the best. I do want something fast though (I already have 230 Bhp as a daily drive) so I will be looking for a 500.
I have driven my friends Chim 500. How does a Griff 500 compare to a Chim 500?
Any comments welcome.
I have been interested in buying a TVR for some time and spent some time yesterday in a TVR garage looking at (and sitting in) various TVR models. My initial purchasing budget is around £15k.
I had initially wanted a Cerbera which I feel is the best looking TVR ever. However, having sat in one, it just didn’t feel right to me - very tight cabin and my wife and I felt quite claustrophobic in there. Plus, we don’t have bags of money to throw at the car and at my budget range I got the impression that a Cerbera may need some serious work.
The Tuscan and T350 felt very comfortable and I loved the layout of the cabins. We were advised that the Speed6 cars are a little more hardcore than the RV8 cars and that it might be an idea to drive a RV8 car as an introduction to TVRs. Plus at the £15k range, I would be looking at a very early Speed6 engine which could give me trouble
In all, I am starting to feel that a Griff might be the best starting point, as it will be cheap to run (compared to other TVRs) and should hold its value the best. I do want something fast though (I already have 230 Bhp as a daily drive) so I will be looking for a 500.
I have driven my friends Chim 500. How does a Griff 500 compare to a Chim 500?
Any comments welcome.
A budget of £15k will get you a very nice Griff/Chimp, but do your homework and if your not mechanically minded get someone who is to come along with you and check the car out. Buying from a TVR dealer/specialist should give you some peace of mind.If you have a search on here you will find some pretty good buying guides and info. Get yourself along to a regional TVRCC meeting and have a chat with the locals, they will be ready to help and you will find this type of information invalueable.
Just remember even with a £15k budget your going to be looking at buying a car thats over 9 years old. In my book low mileage doesn't always mean a good car, the rv8 engines like to be used and sitting in a garage 95% of its life will not have done it any favours.
Good luck with your purchase and when you finally get the car you have a grin on your face that just wont go away.
As far as Chimp/Griff I have never had a Chimp but the Two cars are pretty much mechanically the same just different bodies, depends if you like golf really
Chris
Just remember even with a £15k budget your going to be looking at buying a car thats over 9 years old. In my book low mileage doesn't always mean a good car, the rv8 engines like to be used and sitting in a garage 95% of its life will not have done it any favours.
Good luck with your purchase and when you finally get the car you have a grin on your face that just wont go away.
As far as Chimp/Griff I have never had a Chimp but the Two cars are pretty much mechanically the same just different bodies, depends if you like golf really
Chris
The Chimaera 500 is little more than a rebodied Griff. However, for whatever reason, the Griff is more sought after so prices for cars in identical condition will be higher than for a Chim.
Depreciation has been lower for the Griff but whether this means it is cheaper to own over a set number of years is very difficult to say.
What is true is that a Griff in excellent condition will sell quickly if priced correctly. A Chim might take longer but if condition is good then it too will sell.
As was said previously, the Chim is a little longer, giving a larger boot. And that is just about it. In theory they both have the same unladen weight.
When buying my Chim I looked at a number of Griffs in the same price range and was disappointed with their condition. My Chim was immaculate with the added bonus of a 2-year-old chassis. However, the percentage price drop of my car has been higher than I anticipated. From what I can see the actual price drop in pounds has been virtually the same as for Griffs.
£15k will buy you an excellent Chim and a very good Griff. I would suggest you’ll be more than satisfied with either.
I’ve driven various examples of both and can say that from behind the wheel there is virtually no difference.
Depreciation has been lower for the Griff but whether this means it is cheaper to own over a set number of years is very difficult to say.
What is true is that a Griff in excellent condition will sell quickly if priced correctly. A Chim might take longer but if condition is good then it too will sell.
As was said previously, the Chim is a little longer, giving a larger boot. And that is just about it. In theory they both have the same unladen weight.
When buying my Chim I looked at a number of Griffs in the same price range and was disappointed with their condition. My Chim was immaculate with the added bonus of a 2-year-old chassis. However, the percentage price drop of my car has been higher than I anticipated. From what I can see the actual price drop in pounds has been virtually the same as for Griffs.
£15k will buy you an excellent Chim and a very good Griff. I would suggest you’ll be more than satisfied with either.
I’ve driven various examples of both and can say that from behind the wheel there is virtually no difference.
I find the hole thing rather puzzling to be honest. The chim and the griff ARE vertualy the same exept the chim looks nicer.( my opinion and many tvr owners that i know). The fact that the griff is 2 k more means the chim is more of a bargain. If you find a nice one , you are on to a winner. My guess people will figure this out very soon (couple of years or so) and the 500 will soon demand the same deserved value as the griff.
It's all about Supply & Demand plus a bit of cult status.
The Griff is IMO what really put TVR on the map in the 90's and has a real cult status.
The Chim is a victim of its popularity and bottom line is that too many Chims still exist.
I think the Griff will always fetch a small premium over the Chim but once the Chim 'Well' dries up a bit then values should hopefully go up to what a classic British sports car should be.
The Griff is IMO what really put TVR on the map in the 90's and has a real cult status.
The Chim is a victim of its popularity and bottom line is that too many Chims still exist.
I think the Griff will always fetch a small premium over the Chim but once the Chim 'Well' dries up a bit then values should hopefully go up to what a classic British sports car should be.
Part of the attraction of Chims is that there is a variation in engine size. Many suggest that the 450 is the best engine size to have as it is an excellent compromise between power and smoothness. It's too subtle for me, I have to admit, as they all seem pretty smooth. I've never thought the Chim to be any softer either.
The looks are a personal thing. If the Chim is best for you then go for it. And, of course, the Griff likewise. But I'd suggest checking the prices first. Although it is impossible to make judgements on the blurb alone, you will see that the cheapest Griff on this classifieds is £10,000, in excess of 50% higher than an equivalently described Chim. The most expensive is £28000, some £8k higher than the most expensive, and somewhat younger Chimaera.
Further, there are three times as many Chims on sale as Griffs. This does vary and sometimes it drops to just twice as many but it does mean that there are more to choose from.
Long term ownership costs with regards to depreciation are difficult to work out but over 5 years or so I would suggest that a £15,000 Griff and a £12,000 Chim would be about the same if you don't take into consideration the investment value of the £3000. Other costs would be all but identical.
The looks are a personal thing. If the Chim is best for you then go for it. And, of course, the Griff likewise. But I'd suggest checking the prices first. Although it is impossible to make judgements on the blurb alone, you will see that the cheapest Griff on this classifieds is £10,000, in excess of 50% higher than an equivalently described Chim. The most expensive is £28000, some £8k higher than the most expensive, and somewhat younger Chimaera.
Further, there are three times as many Chims on sale as Griffs. This does vary and sometimes it drops to just twice as many but it does mean that there are more to choose from.
Long term ownership costs with regards to depreciation are difficult to work out but over 5 years or so I would suggest that a £15,000 Griff and a £12,000 Chim would be about the same if you don't take into consideration the investment value of the £3000. Other costs would be all but identical.
The Lukas said:
You'll find more 500 Griffiths than 500 Chimaeras...
True, but there are a lot more Chimaera's in total to Griffs. Other than the badge on the rear there is nothing external to tell a 400/430/450 and 500 apart (other than the wheels, but there are so many Chims running on Estorils thats sort of a moot point) - that sort of does for the exclusivityEdited by RIP_puffsorted2 on Monday 10th August 11:30
Oh god, this damned can of worms again.
Believe me its tempting to jump in here and say how brilliant the Griff is, but you are highly unlikely now to go out and find 'standard' cars so your Chim 500 vs Griff 500 isn't really what you need to know. From brake pads to shocks to big brake systems to induction changes to engine work, they are pretty much all likely to have their own little tweaks which set them apart from each other.
The Chim and Griff look nothing like each other, so at least choose which you prefer the look of and get that hurdle out of the way.
Then go test drive some. Don't be fooled into thinking the smaller engined cars are less of a car either. Rolling road results regularly show pre-cat 4.3's being practically up there with the 500's in terms of horse power and they have very different characteristics.
They all have enough power to show up one single frailty though - YOU (and me for that matter) so it should be your own training you focus on as soon as you get your TVR
When you've narrowed down your search to a model and engine size the hard work begins to find a good one.
Be picky only in terms of the cars condition, then its history (or the owners enthusiasm for his car and his mechanical abilities as few have FSH these days).
You'll quite quickly find if you decide you want a specific car, engine, paint and interior colour your options become very limited.
Finally, get underneath any car you are serious about and have a damned good look and poke around.
Any prospective owner worth his salt will get the car in the air if you have done all the above and stress you are serious about their car.
Good luck and happy hunting.
I hope to see you at a future Griff Growl
(sorry, couldn't resist!)
Ian
Believe me its tempting to jump in here and say how brilliant the Griff is, but you are highly unlikely now to go out and find 'standard' cars so your Chim 500 vs Griff 500 isn't really what you need to know. From brake pads to shocks to big brake systems to induction changes to engine work, they are pretty much all likely to have their own little tweaks which set them apart from each other.
The Chim and Griff look nothing like each other, so at least choose which you prefer the look of and get that hurdle out of the way.
Then go test drive some. Don't be fooled into thinking the smaller engined cars are less of a car either. Rolling road results regularly show pre-cat 4.3's being practically up there with the 500's in terms of horse power and they have very different characteristics.
They all have enough power to show up one single frailty though - YOU (and me for that matter) so it should be your own training you focus on as soon as you get your TVR
When you've narrowed down your search to a model and engine size the hard work begins to find a good one.
Be picky only in terms of the cars condition, then its history (or the owners enthusiasm for his car and his mechanical abilities as few have FSH these days).
You'll quite quickly find if you decide you want a specific car, engine, paint and interior colour your options become very limited.
Finally, get underneath any car you are serious about and have a damned good look and poke around.
Any prospective owner worth his salt will get the car in the air if you have done all the above and stress you are serious about their car.
Good luck and happy hunting.
I hope to see you at a future Griff Growl
(sorry, couldn't resist!)Ian
Edited by Barreti on Monday 10th August 13:05
FreeLitres said:
I got the impression at the dealers that the Griff is a tighter, more raw ride than the Chim. Is there any truth in this? Could it be that more Griffs have an after-market suspension system?
I think that the dealer's comments are fair. The Griffs generally had stiffer springs, dampers and ARBs. Remember that TVRs were all hand built and specified so you could find an unaltered Chim 500 which is stiffer than any Griff. Don't know which has the most aftermarket stuff but I remember shpub saying that he's met many Chim owners with Griff suspension but no Griff owners with Chim suspension.I was originally looking for a griff 500 and ended up with a chim 450. Having sat in the cars sid eby side at a dealer I concluded that I liked them both equally and the bigger boot on the chim made it slightly more practical. The deciding factor was them what cars were available for my budget, and the fact that i could get a newer chim for the same money as the griff. As for ride and handling of the ones I test drove I didn't really notice any difference. They were all felt much more planted than my old wedge!
An objective view :
- The Griff is better looking than the Chim
- The Chim has a bigger boot
- The 500 variant of both are mechanically the same
- There were far more Chims produced than Griff's in terms of total numbers
- The Griff is perceived as an, if not the, iconic classic TVR
- The Griff depreciates less and hence is the better investment if that concerns you
- A good example of either will give you endless pleasure at a reasonable cost
:- The Griff is better looking than the Chim
- The Chim has a bigger boot
- The 500 variant of both are mechanically the same
- There were far more Chims produced than Griff's in terms of total numbers
- The Griff is perceived as an, if not the, iconic classic TVR
- The Griff depreciates less and hence is the better investment if that concerns you
- A good example of either will give you endless pleasure at a reasonable cost
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