Tvr chimera,talk to me!
Discussion
Really considering one of these now as my next car.
However will I be buying just hassle and bother?
My xjr has been a great car and I am not totally convinced to get rid of it just yet,but one drove past me yesterday and looked fantastic.
That pretty much sold it to me.
Can I get some owners opinions of chimera,s good and bad welcome.
However will I be buying just hassle and bother?
My xjr has been a great car and I am not totally convinced to get rid of it just yet,but one drove past me yesterday and looked fantastic.
That pretty much sold it to me.
Can I get some owners opinions of chimera,s good and bad welcome.
Just sold mine in the spring after 3 years ('95 4.0). Only failures i had were- flat battery in cold winter due to battery conditioner not being up to the job (£55 for great Ctek one made sure that never happened again- it has a cold temperature setting); oil pressure sensor broke but cheap fix by local specialist; ignition leads had degraded leading to interesting misfire patterns at high revs but again not too expensive to fix; got 3 bad windscreen chips so had to replace and this was expensive (£400 for screen & £300 to properly fit).
All in all ownership was easier than expected. However, our weather was so pish the last few years that driving was not worth it on far too many occassions. It's much more fun on dry roads, and I got tired of not being able to use it so sold up.
I'd say go for it. Buy on condition and history, expect a smattering of issues, and don't engine brake on wet roads!
Oh and mine had not had chassis done (it was in surprisingly good nick), and in my opinion i would only have done this on a really nice 5.0 since the rarity factor would have made long term ownership more sensible. So get one with a good/reconditioned chassis or seal a knock down price on an average one and fix it.
All in all ownership was easier than expected. However, our weather was so pish the last few years that driving was not worth it on far too many occassions. It's much more fun on dry roads, and I got tired of not being able to use it so sold up.
I'd say go for it. Buy on condition and history, expect a smattering of issues, and don't engine brake on wet roads!
Oh and mine had not had chassis done (it was in surprisingly good nick), and in my opinion i would only have done this on a really nice 5.0 since the rarity factor would have made long term ownership more sensible. So get one with a good/reconditioned chassis or seal a knock down price on an average one and fix it.
I've had mine just coming upto 3 years, it's been my daily driver all that time.
Buy on condition, there's loads of well looked after examples but there are equally some not cared for.
Most (if not all) of the spares are available and lots are pinched from other cars - rover v8, vauxhall steering column, ford brakes etc.
There's a really helpful community in the forums on here and there quite a few specialist garages out there, but I guess that's relative to where you live.
Buy on condition, there's loads of well looked after examples but there are equally some not cared for.
Most (if not all) of the spares are available and lots are pinched from other cars - rover v8, vauxhall steering column, ford brakes etc.
There's a really helpful community in the forums on here and there quite a few specialist garages out there, but I guess that's relative to where you live.
Had one for a year or so. Nothing went wrong other than flag battery after leaving it standing for 2 weeks so you will need a trickle charger.
Biggest expenses is the chassis so be sure you know what your looking at.
I had the 4.0 and found it pretty slow. 5.0 obviously the one to get if your budget and stretch.
Biggest expenses is the chassis so be sure you know what your looking at.
I had the 4.0 and found it pretty slow. 5.0 obviously the one to get if your budget and stretch.
Had a 4.0 for 5 years, she had a major electrical problem but an auto-electrician rewired her and that solved it (battery would die after 7 days non-use so holidays were an issue) - he did say she must have been wired by a colour-blind gent previously.... Had the gaskets go on the exhaust at some stage as well.
Now got a 5.0. No problems with her really.
There isn't a lot that beats starting them up and going for a drive.
I would say what cars have you had before? And take it very easy when you first start driving them, don't think you can point and squirt and drive fast - you will end up in a ditch if you do that.
Now got a 5.0. No problems with her really.
There isn't a lot that beats starting them up and going for a drive.
I would say what cars have you had before? And take it very easy when you first start driving them, don't think you can point and squirt and drive fast - you will end up in a ditch if you do that.
Get yourself over to the Chim section. We wont bite.
My wife and I have had 2. A 450 (Daily driver for my wife) and a 500 (weekend toy). Both have been great.
You need to try a few to see what you like. What is your budget?
Like any car when you start researching you can scare yourself with the possible issues, but buy the right car and it can be fine.
Most important is chassis condition. A replaced alarm system is nice too as the original one is crap and causes all sorts of spurious issues.
If you want a nice one with some warranty, take a look at Fernhurts stock,
My wife and I have had 2. A 450 (Daily driver for my wife) and a 500 (weekend toy). Both have been great.
You need to try a few to see what you like. What is your budget?
Like any car when you start researching you can scare yourself with the possible issues, but buy the right car and it can be fine.
Most important is chassis condition. A replaced alarm system is nice too as the original one is crap and causes all sorts of spurious issues.
If you want a nice one with some warranty, take a look at Fernhurts stock,
I'd been browsing Fernhursts stock on their website for a while and one fine Saturday morning I made the call, said I liked a certain 3 cars in their stock and would they consider an XJR (like you OP) for part ex. The chap said fine, I bundled all my paperwork in the car and set off for the 130 mile trip.
Drew couldn't be more friendly and the 3 cars were lined up in the workshop ready for me. The last of the Griff SE cars was up on the ramps being fettled, what a place! Long story short, I shook hands on the red one ('97 500 with just 14.8k miles). I took the Jag off to a country pub for lunch while they gave the chim a service and MOT.
From that point on I've been tivving very happily, no regrets at all bar wishing I'd been able to do it years before. I didn't want to put such a nice old car through winter use, so I found a cheap classic to use for general duties.
The superb PH collective is all the knowledge base you need to deal with any of the well known foibles that can crop up, and the well worn advice of buy a good one in the first place, very much holds true. Do it at once chap!
Drew couldn't be more friendly and the 3 cars were lined up in the workshop ready for me. The last of the Griff SE cars was up on the ramps being fettled, what a place! Long story short, I shook hands on the red one ('97 500 with just 14.8k miles). I took the Jag off to a country pub for lunch while they gave the chim a service and MOT.
From that point on I've been tivving very happily, no regrets at all bar wishing I'd been able to do it years before. I didn't want to put such a nice old car through winter use, so I found a cheap classic to use for general duties.
The superb PH collective is all the knowledge base you need to deal with any of the well known foibles that can crop up, and the well worn advice of buy a good one in the first place, very much holds true. Do it at once chap!
buy from someone who knows their stuff !
chassis condition is all important ,
talk to owners , make sure it has a good history, most owners kept files ,
all receipts , mots etc.
4 litre a great starter car , 4.5 best all rounder , 5 litre will bite you !
I have owned 2 , le mans a few times, and drove to Tuscany in 2008, 3700 miles in 17 days ...no issues !
secret is to sort any faults asap and have a good techie to look after your car.
if you buy wisely and look after it ....it will retain its value !
good luck
chassis condition is all important ,
talk to owners , make sure it has a good history, most owners kept files ,
all receipts , mots etc.
4 litre a great starter car , 4.5 best all rounder , 5 litre will bite you !
I have owned 2 , le mans a few times, and drove to Tuscany in 2008, 3700 miles in 17 days ...no issues !
secret is to sort any faults asap and have a good techie to look after your car.
if you buy wisely and look after it ....it will retain its value !
good luck
Had a 4.0 HC for a couple of years and still miss it. NOTHING I've had before or since gives me the same feeling. Every drive is an event, the noise, the driving position and they go well to. I found the lowly 4.0 quick enough, people who say they are slow must be used to some serious metal! I think they are around 5 and a bit seconds to 60 which isn't too shabby!
Oh and people love them! There isn't the "flash car" hatred that other marques get. I've owned a few old Porsches and Mercs and you can tell people are thinking...t
t... However people LOVE TVRs, I can recall people actually smiling and pointing like kids when they were actually grown men.
Just buy wisely and read up. I paid 5 ish for mine and sold for a bit of a loss but was still bloody good fun! biggest thing to check is rot, everything else is simple and cheap. If the outriggers are gone it's going to be at least 1500 quid (and that was a couple of years back) Just be careful and enjoy!
Oh and people love them! There isn't the "flash car" hatred that other marques get. I've owned a few old Porsches and Mercs and you can tell people are thinking...t
t... However people LOVE TVRs, I can recall people actually smiling and pointing like kids when they were actually grown men.Just buy wisely and read up. I paid 5 ish for mine and sold for a bit of a loss but was still bloody good fun! biggest thing to check is rot, everything else is simple and cheap. If the outriggers are gone it's going to be at least 1500 quid (and that was a couple of years back) Just be careful and enjoy!
Check chassis/outriggers for rust
Check camshaft for wear.
If both of the above are ok, go for it.
I bought a 450 earlier this year (new outriggers but I got stung by the camshaft!) and love it. Sounds and looks glorious, other people genuinely seem to like it, so different from euro boxes.
Have fun.
Check camshaft for wear.
If both of the above are ok, go for it.
I bought a 450 earlier this year (new outriggers but I got stung by the camshaft!) and love it. Sounds and looks glorious, other people genuinely seem to like it, so different from euro boxes.
Have fun.
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