Is buying a Tuscan always this hard?
Discussion
Folks I'm getting myself into a right qwandry over my entry into the TVR fraternity.
I've been looking since Chrimbo last year and have been a member of the TVRCC for the past year, gone to countless meets, spoken to umpteen people and dealerships.
I am now ready to go for it, but just when I'm decided, something else shows up on the market.
So to start from scratch, I'm after a tuscan 1, ideally an S for the Aircon, ideally in a flip/chameleon/reflex/spectraflair colour, my budget £20k.
I popped into my local dealership down here in Hampshire and saw this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3051118.htm
Car is a 2000, in very good nick, and will be sold with brand new spiders & Rubber, Clutch, Decat, 12000mile service and 12mth in house warranty, No Aircon £20k
Then saw this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3316612.htm
Now its not the colour I'm after but its still nice and the interior is stunning. Spoke with the current owner who is obviously an enthusiast and looks after his cars and it has Aircon. A bargain £14k
Then I see this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3182916.htm
Its an S, Its the right colour, but the mileage is quite high. £15k
And I'll be damned, this appears today: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3102823.htm
My favourite colour, Aircon and redrose conversion, but once again high mileage, but only £14k
Now although my budget is £20k, I have £15k cash and am willing to finance the remaining £5k. This will be my toy, so if I didn't borrow, the guilt factor from the other half would be bearable. So question I guess is, does high mileage matter on these cars? The RG car is nice, but worth the extra premium?
I have also got my eyes on another cascade that has had the 4.3 rebuild, but would need to juggle my finances a bit more to get it.
Any views/opinions?
I've been looking since Chrimbo last year and have been a member of the TVRCC for the past year, gone to countless meets, spoken to umpteen people and dealerships.
I am now ready to go for it, but just when I'm decided, something else shows up on the market.
So to start from scratch, I'm after a tuscan 1, ideally an S for the Aircon, ideally in a flip/chameleon/reflex/spectraflair colour, my budget £20k.
I popped into my local dealership down here in Hampshire and saw this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3051118.htm
Car is a 2000, in very good nick, and will be sold with brand new spiders & Rubber, Clutch, Decat, 12000mile service and 12mth in house warranty, No Aircon £20k
Then saw this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3316612.htm
Now its not the colour I'm after but its still nice and the interior is stunning. Spoke with the current owner who is obviously an enthusiast and looks after his cars and it has Aircon. A bargain £14k
Then I see this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3182916.htm
Its an S, Its the right colour, but the mileage is quite high. £15k
And I'll be damned, this appears today: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3102823.htm
My favourite colour, Aircon and redrose conversion, but once again high mileage, but only £14k
Now although my budget is £20k, I have £15k cash and am willing to finance the remaining £5k. This will be my toy, so if I didn't borrow, the guilt factor from the other half would be bearable. So question I guess is, does high mileage matter on these cars? The RG car is nice, but worth the extra premium?
I have also got my eyes on another cascade that has had the 4.3 rebuild, but would need to juggle my finances a bit more to get it.
Any views/opinions?
Colour/styling etc is always going to be subjective, but for me the one at RG looks the best by a long chalk. Leave the Compos on, let them chuck in Spiders if they want! And Atlantis Halcyon is one of the most beautiful TVR colours of them all. Big service, clutch, decats... Everything seems to check out.
Has the RG one had an engine rebuild? It's a lot of money for a 2000 car without a rebuild. The blue one ticks the boxes for me. The reflex charcoal looks ok although not keen on the interior and don't know much about the reputation of the engine rebuilder. James Agger has a very good reputation.
High mileage isn't necessarily a problem as long as it has had an engine rebuild by a reputable builder, has been warmed up properly and serviced regularly
Difficult choice...good luck and keep us informed.
High mileage isn't necessarily a problem as long as it has had an engine rebuild by a reputable builder, has been warmed up properly and serviced regularly
Difficult choice...good luck and keep us informed.
Edited by S6 Devil on Saturday 29th October 23:03
I went for a higher mileage car at 42k miles wbut with a new TVRPower rebuild and 5 year guarantee. IMO the cars seem to have fewer nggles if used, but some things are milage/use related that I have needed to sort.
1. Wear to the drivers bolster and some marks on the leather £200
2. Scratched door trim £50
3. Very slight power steering leak £700
4. Slight play in power steering needed a new bearing £150
Otherwise I am very happy. Paid £14k have been offerred £17k
But its not for sale
The good things on my car when I bought were:
Front end resparay
Newish clutch
Rebuild
New tyres
No sign of leaks
Also had aircon, full leather, hydratrack,
1. Wear to the drivers bolster and some marks on the leather £200
2. Scratched door trim £50
3. Very slight power steering leak £700
4. Slight play in power steering needed a new bearing £150
Otherwise I am very happy. Paid £14k have been offerred £17k
But its not for saleThe good things on my car when I bought were:
Front end resparay
Newish clutch
Rebuild
New tyres
No sign of leaks
Also had aircon, full leather, hydratrack,
Edited by blueg33 on Sunday 30th October 07:36
I owned a tuscan2 for nearly 3 years and there are three things to bear in mind
1. Condition
2. Condition
3. Condition
My suggestion would be to drive as many as you can this will develop a short list
Then have a look around them yourself you will soon get to know what good looks like and what well loved looks like
Then get it looked over by an expert as these things can eat savings it may cost a couple of hundred but wll save you 20 times that if you buy a wrong un
Then enjoy and drive it like you stole it .(once the oil is hot obviously)
good luck
1. Condition
2. Condition
3. Condition
My suggestion would be to drive as many as you can this will develop a short list
Then have a look around them yourself you will soon get to know what good looks like and what well loved looks like
Then get it looked over by an expert as these things can eat savings it may cost a couple of hundred but wll save you 20 times that if you buy a wrong un
Then enjoy and drive it like you stole it .(once the oil is hot obviously)
good luckFrom those you've posted then i'd be straight down to look at the Reflex Charcoal one. Worth having a chat with TrackVRoad to see what exactly was rebuilt when the engine was done, and if any warranty was still remaining.
And as already suggested, go and see as many as you can. You'd be suprised how different cars of similar mileage/age can appear. I wouldn't be worried too much about getting an S model, but stick well within your budget and keep the finance option as a spare fund only if you need it. Either way good luck and keep us posted!
And as already suggested, go and see as many as you can. You'd be suprised how different cars of similar mileage/age can appear. I wouldn't be worried too much about getting an S model, but stick well within your budget and keep the finance option as a spare fund only if you need it. Either way good luck and keep us posted!
Good model choice.
IMO £20k for a 2000 car without a rebuild is expensive so it wouldn't be top of my list.
Cascade is also my favourite colour. It says it's had a factory rebuild in 2005 & this was after the period at which they got their act together. Mileage is quite high though & I'd want some sort of inspection done beforehand. James Agger do however normally only sell decent examples.
Charcoal one looks like an option. Had a rebuild done but check whether it's a full rebuild or just top end. Track v Road look after my Tuscan & come highly recommended. They certainly know their stuff. I also think that they use TVR Power parts for their rebuilds.
£13/14k ish is towards the bottom end of the market for a Tuscan so enjoy it & if the worst does happen, you still have a pot of money available for a rebuild.
IMO £20k for a 2000 car without a rebuild is expensive so it wouldn't be top of my list.
Cascade is also my favourite colour. It says it's had a factory rebuild in 2005 & this was after the period at which they got their act together. Mileage is quite high though & I'd want some sort of inspection done beforehand. James Agger do however normally only sell decent examples.
Charcoal one looks like an option. Had a rebuild done but check whether it's a full rebuild or just top end. Track v Road look after my Tuscan & come highly recommended. They certainly know their stuff. I also think that they use TVR Power parts for their rebuilds.
£13/14k ish is towards the bottom end of the market for a Tuscan so enjoy it & if the worst does happen, you still have a pot of money available for a rebuild.
OK:
Nick
- James Agger has a very good reputation within the TVR community....and he works hard to maintain it. I am biased, I bought mine from him!!
- As mentioned previously, drive as many as you can - this will help..the Mk.1 earhole is a good device!!
- Personnally, I'd go for a post '03 or '04 car. I wasn't too worried by mileage, as I believe that regular use is better for any 'mechanical' device. Mine had 29K miles on 2 years ago, I've done 4 trips to Europe, (2 to LeMans, 1 to Spa and a weeks trip to Nurburg and Nuremburg this year) and it didn't miss a beat.
- Service record is essential. Look for Garages that are regularly mentioned on this forum.
Nick
Having just been through the buying process myself I think £20k is more than adequate if you are prepared to buy privately.
Do not get hung up on mileage - its much more important to have a rebuild by a reputable builder and a car that has been cared for by an enthusiastic owner.
If you have your heart set on certain colours and features wait for the right car and be prepared to pay when the right combo comes along. There aren't many about.
Go and see the cars - you may be surprised at the condition of some of them in the flesh despite looking ok in photos.
A lot of quandaries will be resolved instantly.
Good luck.
Do not get hung up on mileage - its much more important to have a rebuild by a reputable builder and a car that has been cared for by an enthusiastic owner.
If you have your heart set on certain colours and features wait for the right car and be prepared to pay when the right combo comes along. There aren't many about.
Go and see the cars - you may be surprised at the condition of some of them in the flesh despite looking ok in photos.
A lot of quandaries will be resolved instantly.
Good luck.
Well after a week of "to'ing and fro'ing" I opted to go for Full Throttles Rolex Blue Tuscan.
He was an absolute gent and star, spent a good two hours going over the car whilst it was on a lift and on the ground. Explained common pitfalls and problems and then gave me a full lesson in bonnet and Targa removal, we then went out for a drive before he waved me off on my way.
The drive from Derby back to Yeovil was superb, although I did find myself shouting at the poor girl at the services, appears that I may have got a tad deaf from the couple of hours driving! I then stopped off to refuel just before I got home and had the attendant run out and start looking at the car as he'd never seen one in the flesh, he claimed it was the "Harley Davidson of sportscars" which I assume was a compliment
Achieved an average mpg of 25.9 mpg for the 200 mile journey, so can't whinge about that!
So the car is now sat in my garage, my wife has already caught me sitting in it at night and is somewhat concerned, but I've been assured that this is normal behavior! I'm having real trouble getting this grin off my face too, but I'm sure its just a passing thing
I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to ask in due course, but for now I'm just content to look at it
Just before I finish can I make a quick shout out to Mark, who spent time with me back in August with a view to me having his stunning Mk1 (which funily enough is on the classifieds now, cascade with 4.3 rebuild, absolute minter!) My apologies again for having to turn your offer down, there was no way on earth that the domestic banker would have allowed me to stretch the budget that far. I'm sure some lucky beggar will end up with it soon enough though!
Finally Thanks to Hayden for his time and being so "anal" when it came to looking after his Tuscan, its fantastic.
Oh and before I forget, lesson one learnt:
If youre garage has an interconnecting door to the main house, ensure its closed before parking the TVR in it! Kids and cats enjoyed an evening of ambient monoxide for the next couple of hours!
He was an absolute gent and star, spent a good two hours going over the car whilst it was on a lift and on the ground. Explained common pitfalls and problems and then gave me a full lesson in bonnet and Targa removal, we then went out for a drive before he waved me off on my way.
The drive from Derby back to Yeovil was superb, although I did find myself shouting at the poor girl at the services, appears that I may have got a tad deaf from the couple of hours driving! I then stopped off to refuel just before I got home and had the attendant run out and start looking at the car as he'd never seen one in the flesh, he claimed it was the "Harley Davidson of sportscars" which I assume was a compliment
Achieved an average mpg of 25.9 mpg for the 200 mile journey, so can't whinge about that!So the car is now sat in my garage, my wife has already caught me sitting in it at night and is somewhat concerned, but I've been assured that this is normal behavior! I'm having real trouble getting this grin off my face too, but I'm sure its just a passing thing
I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to ask in due course, but for now I'm just content to look at it
Just before I finish can I make a quick shout out to Mark, who spent time with me back in August with a view to me having his stunning Mk1 (which funily enough is on the classifieds now, cascade with 4.3 rebuild, absolute minter!) My apologies again for having to turn your offer down, there was no way on earth that the domestic banker would have allowed me to stretch the budget that far. I'm sure some lucky beggar will end up with it soon enough though!
Finally Thanks to Hayden for his time and being so "anal" when it came to looking after his Tuscan, its fantastic.
Oh and before I forget, lesson one learnt:
If youre garage has an interconnecting door to the main house, ensure its closed before parking the TVR in it! Kids and cats enjoyed an evening of ambient monoxide for the next couple of hours!
Edited by zx10ben on Tuesday 8th November 12:05
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