Does anyone not service their TVR....
Discussion
...any carry out all the work themselves?
Some of the prices i've been quoted by dealers seem extortionate for what is really just change of oil, plug replacement and other sundries. I'm sure the cost is mainly labour
Indy seems like a better idea, but having real difficulty getting hold of CDL Racing or Synergy Motorsport as they're now known. He's not a PHer is he?
Some of the prices i've been quoted by dealers seem extortionate for what is really just change of oil, plug replacement and other sundries. I'm sure the cost is mainly labour
Indy seems like a better idea, but having real difficulty getting hold of CDL Racing or Synergy Motorsport as they're now known. He's not a PHer is he?
Most dealers will give a breakdown of whats involved, cost wise. It IS mostly labour - a proper service takes pretty much a whole day so labour is always going to be several hundred quid.
I'm sure any reputable TVR dealer would be happy for you to take a look at their workshop and see exactly what goes on in a service. These are high performance vehicles, and need to be carefully looked after accordingly. There is slightly more to servicing them than servicing a Mundano.
Having said all that it still rankles that it'll cost several hundred pounds to service my Chim 500 shortly, having completed less than 300 miles since the last service!
I'm sure any reputable TVR dealer would be happy for you to take a look at their workshop and see exactly what goes on in a service. These are high performance vehicles, and need to be carefully looked after accordingly. There is slightly more to servicing them than servicing a Mundano.
Having said all that it still rankles that it'll cost several hundred pounds to service my Chim 500 shortly, having completed less than 300 miles since the last service!
I think the Bible includes a service schedule at the back. From what I can remember it includes checking an awful lot of stuff, some of which can only be got at by dropping the exhaust and so on. Quite a few hours labour when you add it all up, and a heck of a lot more for a plugs-and-lube service on a eurobox.
I had always budgeted for high service bills, but i'm looking to book my first service since purchasing my Chimaera and it's been a bit of a shock!
Dealers have quoted around £700 for a 6k service and £900 for a 12k service
Oh well, guess my headlight conversion / 17" wheels / nitrons will have to wait a little while longer!
Dealers have quoted around £700 for a 6k service and £900 for a 12k service
Oh well, guess my headlight conversion / 17" wheels / nitrons will have to wait a little while longer!
here is the official service breakdown (by TVR POWER)
www.tvrpower.co.uk/6k.service.schedule.php
www.tvrpower.co.uk/12k.service.schedule.php
www.tvrpower.co.uk/6k.service.schedule.php
www.tvrpower.co.uk/12k.service.schedule.php
Yep it takes a full day...
yep it's more than just changing the oil...
but to me, looking after the car is half the fun of ownership. I would rather do it myself and KNOW what I have done (even if I broke it!) than hand it over and wonder what I get for my money.
I suppose the S is maybe a bit more straightforward than many of the V8 models - not sure if I'd want to tackle that, but the principles are just the same...
yep it's more than just changing the oil...
but to me, looking after the car is half the fun of ownership. I would rather do it myself and KNOW what I have done (even if I broke it!) than hand it over and wonder what I get for my money.
I suppose the S is maybe a bit more straightforward than many of the V8 models - not sure if I'd want to tackle that, but the principles are just the same...
If you're the owner of one of the AJP engine models, you'll need the famous laptop to retune etc etc, so that will definitely have to go in for a service (unless someones got a copy of the software?????)
But if you're the owner of the Rover V8 models or older Ford engines... then you can in principle pop it into an indie and get him to service it for you and pick up on a few things of how to get to things easily etc, and in theory you should be able to do it by yourself, of course you'd require a way to get underneath the car comfortably....
Quite a few people service their own RV8's, its another way of getting more in tune with your car and controlling the spendage on nicer things like better alloys and tyres and upgrades etc...
But if the mechanic blood doesnt run through your veins, find a reputable indie, they're a lot cheaper, mainly because of the realistic labour rates and their general trustful nature of not overcharging you for the parts...
But if you're the owner of the Rover V8 models or older Ford engines... then you can in principle pop it into an indie and get him to service it for you and pick up on a few things of how to get to things easily etc, and in theory you should be able to do it by yourself, of course you'd require a way to get underneath the car comfortably....
Quite a few people service their own RV8's, its another way of getting more in tune with your car and controlling the spendage on nicer things like better alloys and tyres and upgrades etc...
But if the mechanic blood doesnt run through your veins, find a reputable indie, they're a lot cheaper, mainly because of the realistic labour rates and their general trustful nature of not overcharging you for the parts...
SXS said:
If you're the owner of one of the AJP engine models, you'll need the famous laptop to retune etc etc, so that will definitely have to go in for a service (unless someones got a copy of the software?????)
But if you're the owner of the Rover V8 models or older Ford engines... then you can in principle pop it into an indie
erm, isn't the man whose name is synonymous with the AJP V8 an indie?
Maybe you just meant the S6s, but then there are loads of indies who deal with them too. I think the pragmatic answer might be it depends what car you have. I think mine would attract a price at the top end of the range for its age, because it's mint. I send it to a well known indie for servicing, partly because I trust him implicitly, and partly because his stamp in the book will keep it consistently at the top of the residuals curve for its age.
>> Edited by rude girl on Thursday 29th April 22:59
rude girl said:
I think the pragmatic answer might be it depends what car you have.
I think that's right - mine is much older and well past the stage where a "service stamp" affects its value greatly (at least, not to the extent that you would recover the service costs!) - if it was worth £40K i'd be a bit more wary!
I used to go to an old bloke for my 300zxTT.. also a bit of a specialised job with it's turbos, and 4 wheel steering, etc, etc.
He used to be turbo technics dealer, semi-retired, vat unregistered himself, and did a great job for 25 quid an hour.
He would write up pages of A4 on everything he did, you'd get a pile of the old bits when you picked the car up ('to prove I changed the XYZ').
He would have comments like
'small leak from rear diff. nothing serious', etc.
or.. 'there was a bit of play in your engine mounting bush, it is the same as one from a nissan $%$ which is much cheaper, so I used that', etc
You just don't get that from main dealers however much you pay 'em in my experience.
If he knew about tvrs he'd be the man, but his area is turbo cars and MGs (!).
I'm a firm believer in a specialist giving you a damn site better service than any main dealer. If you can persaude the mechanic to do it as a 'sidy' then you get even better service since:
1) the bloke loves his job
2) you can afford more of his time.
imho.
If anyone knows of such a being in ipswich area please email me.
The bottom line is 90% of the quality of the service comes from the experience and skills of the bloke with the oil on his hands.
stu
He used to be turbo technics dealer, semi-retired, vat unregistered himself, and did a great job for 25 quid an hour.
He would write up pages of A4 on everything he did, you'd get a pile of the old bits when you picked the car up ('to prove I changed the XYZ').
He would have comments like
'small leak from rear diff. nothing serious', etc.
or.. 'there was a bit of play in your engine mounting bush, it is the same as one from a nissan $%$ which is much cheaper, so I used that', etc
You just don't get that from main dealers however much you pay 'em in my experience.
If he knew about tvrs he'd be the man, but his area is turbo cars and MGs (!).
I'm a firm believer in a specialist giving you a damn site better service than any main dealer. If you can persaude the mechanic to do it as a 'sidy' then you get even better service since:
1) the bloke loves his job
2) you can afford more of his time.
imho.
If anyone knows of such a being in ipswich area please email me.
The bottom line is 90% of the quality of the service comes from the experience and skills of the bloke with the oil on his hands.
stu
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