About to take the Plunge.....
Discussion
Well, after 2 years of Chim 500 ownership I am about to take the plunge and trade-in for a brand-new, sparkling Tuscan S mk2.
Thing is, living in South Africa this will be the only current example on the road here, the local dealer is pretty inexperienced at servicing and the car costs an absolute bloody fortune here (double what you pay in UK).
Is there anything in particular I should watch out for / check for in the first few months - having been a Chim owner (and all the pain & pleasure that goes with it)naturally I'm very nervous BUT can't resist the "S" - besides over here no other dealer will offer me a good trade-in.
Any hints, tips, advice will be very welcome.
The dealer is offering the much talked about new warranty although I reckon the car was made somewhere in November last year as it has been on the showroom floor since January this year - should I take this one or have they been improved since then?
All comments welcomed.
Thing is, living in South Africa this will be the only current example on the road here, the local dealer is pretty inexperienced at servicing and the car costs an absolute bloody fortune here (double what you pay in UK).
Is there anything in particular I should watch out for / check for in the first few months - having been a Chim owner (and all the pain & pleasure that goes with it)naturally I'm very nervous BUT can't resist the "S" - besides over here no other dealer will offer me a good trade-in.
Any hints, tips, advice will be very welcome.
The dealer is offering the much talked about new warranty although I reckon the car was made somewhere in November last year as it has been on the showroom floor since January this year - should I take this one or have they been improved since then?
All comments welcomed.
Hi Tim
Interesting to see that South Africa features in the TVR world still.
I work for the Iscor/Macsteel Steel Group and am often in S.A., particularly Sandton, VDP and Newcastle area.
Just bought a late 2002 Tuscan myself after 2 years of Chimaera ownership.
Was in S.A. a couple of weeks ago and should be back down again in next month or so. Who is the S.A. dealer for TVR in Joburg?
Recall your import duty on fully assembled cars is something like 100%??? OUCH
Interesting to see that South Africa features in the TVR world still.
I work for the Iscor/Macsteel Steel Group and am often in S.A., particularly Sandton, VDP and Newcastle area.
Just bought a late 2002 Tuscan myself after 2 years of Chimaera ownership.
Was in S.A. a couple of weeks ago and should be back down again in next month or so. Who is the S.A. dealer for TVR in Joburg?
Recall your import duty on fully assembled cars is something like 100%??? OUCH
mwtryan said:
Well, after 2 years of Chim 500 ownership I am about to take the plunge and trade-in for a brand-new, sparkling Tuscan S mk2.
Thing is, living in South Africa this will be the only current example on the road here, the local dealer is pretty inexperienced at servicing and the car costs an absolute bloody fortune here (double what you pay in UK).
Is there anything in particular I should watch out for / check for in the first few months - having been a Chim owner (and all the pain & pleasure that goes with it)naturally I'm very nervous BUT can't resist the "S" - besides over here no other dealer will offer me a good trade-in.
Any hints, tips, advice will be very welcome.
The dealer is offering the much talked about new warranty although I reckon the car was made somewhere in November last year as it has been on the showroom floor since January this year - should I take this one or have they been improved since then?
All comments welcomed.
Hi my thread, running at the top of this page covers my 1st 4 months of ownership of the MK2 S.
The only thing which myself and others have commented on which the dealer cant fix is the pod which is useless in sunlight.
My other niggles are rectifiable by a competant dealer.
Are there many Sp 6's where you are? as there is little dealers can do if there is an engine prob without it being returned to Blackpool.
Good luck
Di
The TVR dealers in SA are Classic Sports Cars based in Midrand.
Currently they have 1 x Tuscan S, 5 x T350 (1 is a Targa) and 3 (I think) Tamora's.
In the past year they have sold 2x T350, 1 x Tamora and 1 x Tuscan 3.6. However they seem to be really putting their money into the brand now with new premises and workshop facilities plus they are sending their mechanics to the factory for training on TVR and Morgan (They are the Morgan dealers too).
Specific problems out here as I've mentioned before are poor octane fuel and high altitude, although the poor fuel is being rectified in January 2006 with new legislation, currently in Gauteng (JHB, Pretoria etc) Octane is only 93 and altitude is 4000 meters above sea level - you can imagine the power drain (almost 20% from coastal conditions!). The new TVRs are all being fitted with modified engine management chips to compensate for this, however at the coast this is not a problem as octane is 98 - it is quite amazing to drive down to the coast and actually FEEL the car getting quicker and livelier from the halfway point.
I must be honest - I did test drive the Noble M400 which is built here and was blown away with the build quality, performance and handling - in my opinion (right or wrong) the car feels quicker than the Tuscan S, however bearing in mind the Tuscan loses almost 20% power being naturally aspirated this is an unfair comparison.
The Noble's handling also felt better - got to admit, HOWEVER - Noble will not trade the Chim in and the biggest drwaback was the lack of luggage space (none actually) - I am not so wealthy to run these cars as week-end toys so they must be practical everyday users, ergo the Tuscan is the way to go for me.
My mind is basically set-up and I am going ahead, thanks to all who came on back with your comments and I'll be keeping the forum informed "from the South African perspective" - cheers all.
Currently they have 1 x Tuscan S, 5 x T350 (1 is a Targa) and 3 (I think) Tamora's.
In the past year they have sold 2x T350, 1 x Tamora and 1 x Tuscan 3.6. However they seem to be really putting their money into the brand now with new premises and workshop facilities plus they are sending their mechanics to the factory for training on TVR and Morgan (They are the Morgan dealers too).
Specific problems out here as I've mentioned before are poor octane fuel and high altitude, although the poor fuel is being rectified in January 2006 with new legislation, currently in Gauteng (JHB, Pretoria etc) Octane is only 93 and altitude is 4000 meters above sea level - you can imagine the power drain (almost 20% from coastal conditions!). The new TVRs are all being fitted with modified engine management chips to compensate for this, however at the coast this is not a problem as octane is 98 - it is quite amazing to drive down to the coast and actually FEEL the car getting quicker and livelier from the halfway point.
I must be honest - I did test drive the Noble M400 which is built here and was blown away with the build quality, performance and handling - in my opinion (right or wrong) the car feels quicker than the Tuscan S, however bearing in mind the Tuscan loses almost 20% power being naturally aspirated this is an unfair comparison.
The Noble's handling also felt better - got to admit, HOWEVER - Noble will not trade the Chim in and the biggest drwaback was the lack of luggage space (none actually) - I am not so wealthy to run these cars as week-end toys so they must be practical everyday users, ergo the Tuscan is the way to go for me.
My mind is basically set-up and I am going ahead, thanks to all who came on back with your comments and I'll be keeping the forum informed "from the South African perspective" - cheers all.
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