TVR to Noble

[WYSIWYG]

I'm currently driving a Tuscan Red Rose and am getting increasingly nervous by all the engine rebuild problems, even though mine had a rebuild 10k miles ago!!

Anyway, I have seen an M12 that I quite like but was hoping for some advise regarding reliability, servicing costs and schedules plus generally living with the car on a day to day basis etc. - over to you guys.........

[lucozade]

WYSIWYG said:

I'm currently driving a Tuscan Red Rose and am getting increasingly nervous by all the engine rebuild problems, even though mine had a rebuild 10k miles ago!! Anyway, I have seen an M12 that I quite like but was hoping for some advise regarding reliability, servicing costs and schedules plus generally living with the car on a day to day basis etc. - over to you guys.........

Hi

Firstly your not alone. Lots of people on here have went from TVR to Noble and not regretted it one single bit.

Having had 3 TVRs. One Cerb 4.5 and two Tuscans I too hit the same problems and have experienced nothing but hassle from them. Don't get me wrong I loved all of them to bits but I couldn't put up with the continued problems. My Cerb was swapped via laywers for my first Tuscan, and that had an engine rebuild at 22,500 miles. My second Tuscan only made it to 4000 miles before I handed the keys back to the dealer and got my money back.

Noble reliability is by far much better than that of TVR - in my experience. A few issues have popped up with the M12 but nothing that neither the dealer nor the very helpful factory cannot sort it. I've completed nearly 10,000 miles in my brand new 3R in less than a year and it's never let me down. I've had some little niggles but nothing as major as a mechanical breakdown.

In stark contrast all my TVR's ended up on Flatbed trailers on numerous occasions.

What one are you looking at? M12 GTO, GTO 3, GTO 3R, M400?

Noble factory staff hang about on the forums too and have proved to be very helpful. It's a great little community to get involved in

[WYSIWYG]

Its is a 51 plate (2002) GTO 2.5 if that helps. How will the performance compare to my RR?

[joust]

Staight line, they will be similar "figures", but the way the Noble 2.5 delivers it's power is quite brutal and reasonably "peaky" around the turbos coming on boost, so you'll notice a difference there. It's a cracking little engine, and if it's had the factory engine upgrade so much the better!

Handling wise, it'll make your eyes wider than a very wide eyed thing indeed

J

[WYSIWYG]

What does the factory upgrade involve.

[DanH]

WYSIWYG said:

What does the factory upgrade involve.

More bhp for a few thousand quid. Probably better off getting a 3l car if you can find one reasonably priced as the money won't be too different. Of course if the 2.5 has already had the upgrade you are quids in.

[lucozade]

WYSIWYG said:

Its is a 51 plate (2002) GTO 2.5 if that helps. How will the performance compare to my RR?

The big difference I have found with my 3R compared to any of my TVRs is the confidence you gain in taking speed into a corner. TVRs are renowned for great straight line speed but I was never confident going round corners - certainly not with standard fitment shocks.

The Noble out of the factory is good enough and fast enough to give you more enjoyment than you've ever had - excepting the fact that the roof doesn't come off.

[CRB1]

WHY ZI !

Prior to taking my Red 3R to Le Mans it went for a post Noble Day/Pre Le Mans check up in Cwmbran. Nothing doing except oil change etc. (We did over 100 miles on the track at Rockingham in March)

Others will confirm (including Obes) that I spent most Le Mans evenings (cos I'm the non-drinker in the Jimmer LeMans team) giving locals and others, experiences in rapid acceleration from the traffic lights in our 'local' French village. 0-*** (kph)in no time at all really. The locals love it. In other words the car wasn't treated well

Gripes from the past were alarm going off at 2am and the only other one was an exhaust mounting bracket coming lose.

The engine.. its a Ford dammit!
Chris.

[brianj]

Not perhaps a good week for convincing a TVR owner to switch! - recent posts include steering wobble, rear end squeaks, vibrating brakes, 2 exhaust brackets and an exhaust manifold bracket gone. Meanwhile I'm off the road for the fourth time with both suspected head gasket and starter motor failures......

Brian J

[joust]

Given there is 700 of the things out there, what a large minor list of things, shocking isn't it!

Without dragging the clitche up yet again, at least we aren't driving a car of which thousands have been made where a recent survey on certain motoring website found that 30%+ of owners had had at least one engine rebuild, and many had had more than one....

J

[brianj]

Speaking personally only obviously, I don't regard the fact that the car has let me down completely 4 times now in 15 months and has been out of action for a week already this time as "minor".

[Matt_FP]

DanH said:

WYSIWYG said: What does the factory upgrade involve. More bhp for a few thousand quid. Probably better off getting a 3l car if you can find one reasonably priced as the money won't be too different. Of course if the 2.5 has already had the upgrade you are quids in.

For those with MBE management on their 2.5 40BHP extra doesn't have to set you back a few thousand quid. It can be provided at a much more reasonable cost....

Best Regards
Matt

[obes]

CRB1 said:

Others will confirm (including Obes) that I spent most Le Mans evenings (cos I'm the non-drinker in the Jimmer LeMans team) giving locals and others, experiences in rapid acceleration from the traffic lights in our 'local' French village. 0-*** (kph)in no time at all really. The locals love it. In other words the car wasn't treated well

Oh yeah, not to mention drag racing against CSL's and entertaining the local 'talent'

[CRB1]

Owen,
You Pajero