What V8 / odd, fun car to hold value for 10 months?
Discussion
It's been weighing me down recently that ULEZ expands in October 2021 and the congestion charge hours have been extended under the guise of covid19 and I doubt they will ever go back.
This means most old, interesting cars will cost £30/day to drive in London in 10 months time. I have never experienced a V8 and I may never own one if I continue living in London.
So I'd like something that I can hopefully put £10k into now and get £8-10k out of in October 2021 when I will have to sell.
That might mean spending £6-8k, having £2-4k for repairs and selling for £8-10k at the end of it. Whatever - ideally I don't want to lose more than £2k not including running and admin costs like tax, insurance etc.
I'm open to pretty much anything. I want to minimise the risk of the car spending weeks/months in the garage however. Prefer manual. The cars I grew up loving are the Diablo, NSX, Skyline etc. but all are too expensive. I like quirky, under appreciated cars like the Honda Prelude.
Current car is a RX-8. Also ride a motorbike so with my cars I don't particularly care for fast in a straight line. What I love with the RX8 is the handling. Turns, not straights make for good driving in my opinion. The car will also have to put up with the drudgery of 50% motorway driving and 25% city driving with the remaining 25% being proper fun country road driving or euro trips.
This means most old, interesting cars will cost £30/day to drive in London in 10 months time. I have never experienced a V8 and I may never own one if I continue living in London.
So I'd like something that I can hopefully put £10k into now and get £8-10k out of in October 2021 when I will have to sell.
That might mean spending £6-8k, having £2-4k for repairs and selling for £8-10k at the end of it. Whatever - ideally I don't want to lose more than £2k not including running and admin costs like tax, insurance etc.
I'm open to pretty much anything. I want to minimise the risk of the car spending weeks/months in the garage however. Prefer manual. The cars I grew up loving are the Diablo, NSX, Skyline etc. but all are too expensive. I like quirky, under appreciated cars like the Honda Prelude.
Current car is a RX-8. Also ride a motorbike so with my cars I don't particularly care for fast in a straight line. What I love with the RX8 is the handling. Turns, not straights make for good driving in my opinion. The car will also have to put up with the drudgery of 50% motorway driving and 25% city driving with the remaining 25% being proper fun country road driving or euro trips.
Edited by .blue on Tuesday 17th November 13:13
Edited by .blue on Tuesday 17th November 13:15
In my case I bought an LS400 with BC coilovers fitted and the back boxes removed.
It sounds great and handles quite well.
Yes it's not a sports car, it's a near 2 ton saloon, but it's a laugh on a nice piece of road to lower the windows, use the gearbox in manual mode, turn off the traction control and listen to a V8 scream.
On boring roads and in traffic you just sit back and cruise.
All for £3k.
Dave.
It sounds great and handles quite well.
Yes it's not a sports car, it's a near 2 ton saloon, but it's a laugh on a nice piece of road to lower the windows, use the gearbox in manual mode, turn off the traction control and listen to a V8 scream.
On boring roads and in traffic you just sit back and cruise.
All for £3k.
Dave.
If you get the right V8 they'll be ULEZ compliant so you won't have to sell 
C55 AMG prices are stable with these & the drivetrain is bombproof
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008022...
Monaro
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009143...
6.0 VXR8
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011176...
Audi S5
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010295...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011015...
CLS55 AMG Bombastic drivetrain & prices a steady
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009203...
C55 AMG prices are stable with these & the drivetrain is bombproof
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008022...
Monaro
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009143...
6.0 VXR8
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011176...
Audi S5
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010295...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011015...
CLS55 AMG Bombastic drivetrain & prices a steady
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009203...
PrinceRupert said:
I'm looking at a similar question (albeit I live inches outside the extended ULEZ so not worried about keeping it longer term) and am looking at a Corvette C5. You won't get a good one for 10k but should for 15k, V8, RWD, sports car, different, apparently cheap to run ...
And, IIRC, ULEZ compliant. Corvettes are probably one of the better bets not to lose too much irocfan said:
PrinceRupert said:
I'm looking at a similar question (albeit I live inches outside the extended ULEZ so not worried about keeping it longer term) and am looking at a Corvette C5. You won't get a good one for 10k but should for 15k, V8, RWD, sports car, different, apparently cheap to run ...
And, IIRC, ULEZ compliant. Corvettes are probably one of the better bets not to lose too much With cars officially sold here, they would have had a Euro categorisation when new, so plenty of cars from ~2003 onwards were already homologated as Euro4 and thus eligible not to pay the charge.
Some fantastic suggestions here, thanks everyone. I've changed my mind though - too many cool V8s are automatic/semi and I think it would be more fun to go with a non-V8 manual car. Definitely has to be ULEZ non compliant as this will be the last hurrah before ULEZ comes in in October.
So now I'm looking at TVRs
1991 Chim - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011206... - only 33k miles this feels like a strong contender for easy resale?
1985 TVR Wedge - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202004209... - possibly too old to be reliable?
Chimaera's seem to hit a sweet spot between not feeling too old, and being reasonably priced and likely to hold their value. Am I missing something? I don't know much about TVRs other than they look great and can be a handful in the rain. I'm about to start learning more.
So now I'm looking at TVRs
1991 Chim - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011206... - only 33k miles this feels like a strong contender for easy resale?
1985 TVR Wedge - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202004209... - possibly too old to be reliable?
Chimaera's seem to hit a sweet spot between not feeling too old, and being reasonably priced and likely to hold their value. Am I missing something? I don't know much about TVRs other than they look great and can be a handful in the rain. I'm about to start learning more.
I think that Wedge has been for sale for ages. Looks expensive. Think it would be difficult to move on without losing money.
If you're upping your budget to 15k there is this manual C5 for sale:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/AmericanCarsUK/perma...
It is also ULEZ compliant...
Likely to be much more reliable than a TVR and should be easier to buy a good one!
If you're upping your budget to 15k there is this manual C5 for sale:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/AmericanCarsUK/perma...
It is also ULEZ compliant...
Likely to be much more reliable than a TVR and should be easier to buy a good one!
.blue said:
Some fantastic suggestions here, thanks everyone. I've changed my mind though - too many cool V8s are automatic/semi and I think it would be more fun to go with a non-V8 manual car. Definitely has to be ULEZ non compliant as this will be the last hurrah before ULEZ comes in in October.
So now I'm looking at TVRs
Essentially, you want a manual V8 that is made between about 1980 and 2004.So now I'm looking at TVRs
In any case, the first thing to bear in mind to have a hope of the car holding its value is that you need to buy privately.
And preferably, sell privately.
If looking at TVRs you should also budget to have pre-purchase inspections done. You don't want to be the owner doing a chassis restoration or suspension overhaul etc so you need to avoid the cheap ones.
A Chimaera is a great shout but you'd better be prepared for the risk that ownership won't be cheap, or reliable
. I'm not saying those outcomes are likely, but they are more than a small probability. What is likely, is that you'll love having a V8 TVR for a while as long as you don't begrudge the car if it starts costing you more than you planned.. Any such expenditure is investment in your enjoyment.
.blue said:
S
So now I'm looking at TVRs
1991 Chim - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011206... - only 33k miles this feels like a strong contender for easy resale?
Chimaera's seem to hit a sweet spot between not feeling too old, and being reasonably priced and likely to hold their value. Am I missing something? I don't know much about TVRs other than they look great and can be a handful in the rain. I'm about to start learning more.
A TVR like the one in your link would be ideal. So now I'm looking at TVRs
1991 Chim - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011206... - only 33k miles this feels like a strong contender for easy resale?
Chimaera's seem to hit a sweet spot between not feeling too old, and being reasonably priced and likely to hold their value. Am I missing something? I don't know much about TVRs other than they look great and can be a handful in the rain. I'm about to start learning more.
It looks a very nice car, but in an unusual colour.I personally do not mind it, but on resale others might.
It is a 450 which is 4500 cc. Some say this is the best size V8 for a TVR.
Advert says the outriggers have been done, which is a must have on these cars now.
Prices are strong and rising, so you may even sell on and make a profit.
Ignore the unreliability people always mention. A good sorted TVR is a very reliable car, and a joy to drive.
I have had my 4.0 ltr Chimaera for over 10 years now. This includes trips to Europe, a blast round the nurburgring and 6 laps of Spa, and it has never let me down.
Repeat in 10 years it has never let me down.
I have constantly serviced/worked on the car through most winters and if anyone intends on keeping one for a few years, then this is the minimum to keep it reliable.
People hear you coming from a long way off and most look with admiration and smile as you trundle past.
Test drive one and you will buy it !
TJC46 said:
...Ignore the unreliability people always mention....
...I have constantly serviced/worked on the car through most winters and if anyone intends on keeping one for a few years, then this is the minimum to keep it reliable...
...I have constantly serviced/worked on the car through most winters and if anyone intends on keeping one for a few years, then this is the minimum to keep it reliable...
The OP wants a car to drive - during the next 10 months through a winter - not a driveway ornament that needs constant fettling.
TJC46 said:
A TVR like the one in your link would be ideal.
It looks a very nice car, but in an unusual colour.I personally do not mind it, but on resale others might.
It is a 450 which is 4500 cc. Some say this is the best size V8 for a TVR.
Advert says the outriggers have been done, which is a must have on these cars now.
Prices are strong and rising, so you may even sell on and make a profit.
Ignore the unreliability people always mention. A good sorted TVR is a very reliable car, and a joy to drive.
I have had my 4.0 ltr Chimaera for over 10 years now. This includes trips to Europe, a blast round the nurburgring and 6 laps of Spa, and it has never let me down.
Repeat in 10 years it has never let me down.
I have constantly serviced/worked on the car through most winters and if anyone intends on keeping one for a few years, then this is the minimum to keep it reliable.
People hear you coming from a long way off and most look with admiration and smile as you trundle past.
Test drive one and you will buy it !
Very helpful thank you. I think I'll be sepnding the next few months on the TVR section of PH, I'm more or less settled that if I do decide to buy something the Chimeara or 350i are probably the way to go.It looks a very nice car, but in an unusual colour.I personally do not mind it, but on resale others might.
It is a 450 which is 4500 cc. Some say this is the best size V8 for a TVR.
Advert says the outriggers have been done, which is a must have on these cars now.
Prices are strong and rising, so you may even sell on and make a profit.
Ignore the unreliability people always mention. A good sorted TVR is a very reliable car, and a joy to drive.
I have had my 4.0 ltr Chimaera for over 10 years now. This includes trips to Europe, a blast round the nurburgring and 6 laps of Spa, and it has never let me down.
Repeat in 10 years it has never let me down.
I have constantly serviced/worked on the car through most winters and if anyone intends on keeping one for a few years, then this is the minimum to keep it reliable.
People hear you coming from a long way off and most look with admiration and smile as you trundle past.
Test drive one and you will buy it !
And as braddo said - ha, yes it will be parked in a small gated car park without much space to work on the car. While it won't be a daily driver, it will be my only car so starting up when it needs to is helpful! At best I'll do oil changes myself and maybe spark plugs if they're easy to get to. What other work do you do yourself?
And as for the Corvette, that does look sweet. I think it's just a bit too expensive, too few manuals around etc. Also not sure if the LHD will become grating.
It's amazing how slim the pickings are for manual V8s in the PH classifieds around your budget. 2 TVRs and a handful of Audis...
On the subject of LHD - if you don't intend on doing much overtaking then it won't be too bad. But if you wanted to drive it on country roads in the south east (e.g. a weekend morning drive out of London), overtaking opportunities are already brief and infrequent because there are so few straight roads. A wide LHD car will make most of them unviable.
On the subject of LHD - if you don't intend on doing much overtaking then it won't be too bad. But if you wanted to drive it on country roads in the south east (e.g. a weekend morning drive out of London), overtaking opportunities are already brief and infrequent because there are so few straight roads. A wide LHD car will make most of them unviable.
braddo said:
The OP wants a car to drive - during the next 10 months through a winter -
Fair comment, A TVR is not a car for the winter months.To the OP i do all the work on my car as an when required.
I have sold you all the good points, now for some of the bad.
These cars do need to be in a garage. When stored outside in the rain,they are prone to leaking water eventually pooling in the footwell ruining carpets etc.
A waterproof cover is not a good option as this can be a problem for the paintwork. Some owners have had micro-blisters in the paintwork, caused by
condensation under the cover. Some cars also suffer from battery drain,so a trickle charger is a must but again useless if the car is stored outside.
Driving a TVR in any kind of wet or damp conditions is a major challenge. There is too much torque so they are very tail happy.
Does not suit the requirements of the O.P but , if anybody is in the market for a manual V8, you have a garage and you dont drive it in winter then a TVR is
ideal.
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