Engine Rebuild

[jimmyV8]

I want to ask a bit of a naive question I think but some help would be appreciated. I am interested in a Tuscan but the cost of an engine rebuild worries me. A few of the cars I have seen advertised have had one in the past. As a general rule, if this work has been done should I be less worried? I assume that initial problems with the engine that cause premature failure were rectified during the rebuild and therefore are not such an issue. There will always be cars with problems after and I appreciate that but is it less of an issue. Thanks in advance.

[Steve--P]

As far as I know Jimmy if you can find one that has been rebuilt after 2003 by a reputable TVR dealer then you have half a chance, but then if you look at other threads on here you will find that there are cars around with 40-50k miles that have not and dont need a rebuild. Just remember that if your in the market for this type of performance unless you know the cars history it's all a gamble what ever make and model.
eg: I bought a Chimaera with low miles, fTvrsh got it home and change the engine oil following weekend to find a lot of metal debri in the bottom of the drain bucket on investigation 1 of the cylinder sleeves had dropped 2mm and the crank counter weight had smashed the bottom of it off, New engine required.
The more you look into the question you have asked the more scared and less confident you will get.

Good luck

Steve

[UpTheIron]

jimmyV8 said:

A few of the cars I have seen advertised have had one in the past. As a general rule, if this work has been done should I be less worried?

If a full rebuild from a reputable engine builder then you should be less worried. That doesn't mean it won't need another though.

jimmyV8 said:

I assume that initial problems with the engine that cause premature failure were rectified during the rebuild

Dangerous assumption. It is only very recently that (some) engine builders are offering long warranties with rebuilds (e.g. Power). Even then, the last time I checked Power's website they were charging an extra £750 for a 3 year warranty compared to 2 years, which tells it's own story. This is not a criticism of Dom & co, and it is almost certainly where my Tuscan will be going sooner rather than later.

My advice would be that if you are going to constantly worry about the engine letting go then do not buy. But if you can buy sensibly, and have a rainy day fund for when (or perhaps if) it does and then forget about it until it happens then go for it.

Edited by UpTheIron on Tuesday 9th June 19:33

[Robertjp]

Look for who did the rebuild, ascertain what was ACTUALLY done by phoning the builder that did the work, a reputable builder will have records.

Dont assume cause its had a rebuild it will be fine without asking the guys who did it.

There are a few that have stood out from the crowd as good builders,

Str8 Six, TVR power, Racing Green and Dulfords. But even with a rebuild from these guys, check. Dont mean to scaremonger but i speak from experience 5 weeks into ownership

Otherwise, buy and have fun!! If you buy one that has had a good rebuild it should last at least what the factory cars average - i.e. 25k, which for the average TVR is maybe 6-7 years?

[jimmyV8]

Thanks for the replies. I think it may need some serious thought, the one car I have my eye on had a TVR Power rebuild in 2005 which does inspire some confidence. But the cost of a future rebuild does not. May need to give it a miss at this time, cheers.

[da_murphster]

Mentally add £6k onto the price to account for possible engine troubles and see if you still think its worth the price.

Remember these are supercar performance for Focus money!

If you read back on the threads you will see that actually there is relatively few people having engine trouble these days but always expect the worst.

[jimmyV8]

Thats true but its a huge sum to add to the value. The car in question is priced at around £15k and its around 40% of the entire cars value. Im just not sure I can justify the cost. I know if I go and drive one the TVR bug will hit me again and will want it! Need a good think I reckon!

[tuscan_al]

Well I bought a 26k car in Jan 07 with a Dec 06 TVR Power rebuild. I'm not on 53k and uses no oil, and still makes 360 bhp @ SRR. It only had the top end done because no-one wants one without. I haven't even thought about the engine in my ownership in terms of it going, and am happy to take 1k+ journeys through europe. As long as the person has warmed it up, used it for decent long trips and regular service, it should be fine.