Pre buy advice....

[grale22]

Hi,

I'm currently looking at T350Ts and have a few questions hopefully some of you will be able to help me with....

1.) What is the advised warm up time for a 350?
2.) Roughly how long do brake pads and disks last with average road use?
3.) What's an average cost for a 6000 and 12000 mile service?
4.) Can 350s get over speed bumps without scrapping the front? (stupid question, but I unfortunately live near some)
5.) What's the wind noise like from the targa panels?
6.) Can anyone suggest some good insurers?

I think that's it for now. Any help would be much appreciated.

[sp6forever]

ok i may not be the best informed having only had mine a cpl of mths but here goes....
i let mine tick over for 10 mins in the garage before i move it 5 mins later its over 40 degrees 10 mins its at 70
not had it long enuff for pad disk question
12000 mile service i was quoted at £700 give or take
i have a street full of speed bumps near me taken slowly theres no problems
wind noise is a nothing by the time it gets too loud you are hitting 100 so its the last thing your thinking about
insurers same as always shop around.

and to end my post it will be worth all the hassles its one hell of a car

[sideways mostly]

Hello grale22

Glad you are considering a T350-its a great car

You will find a sticky at the top of the forum that will answer a lot more questions than you asked but to help out

grale22 said:

Hi, I'm currently looking at T350Ts and have a few questions hopefully some of you will be able to help me with.... 1.) What is the advised warm up time for a 350?:

The manual will tell you how many revs you can give the car at what temperature-you may be aware that you need to reach 70 C on the Oil readout before reaching for the upper limits. I usually keep revs below 3k untill I reach 50 then wait untill it reaches 70 c before exploring further. It will take between ten and fifteen minutes depending on ambient temperatur but be carefull-in winter if its really cold these times can a lot longer.

grale22 said:

2.) Roughly how long do brake pads and disks last with average road use?

Only on 12k myself at the moment so no idea.Someone will be along in a minute no doubt.

grale22 said:

3.) What's an average cost for a 6000 and 12000 mile service?

Depends a bit on where you go but between £400 - £500 for a 6k and about £ 500-£700 for a 12 k with tappets

grale22 said:

4.) Can 350s get over speed bumps without scrapping the front? (stupid question, but I unfortunately live near some)

Most are not a problem-I live and work in West London so you can't avoid them.

grale22 said:

5.) What's the wind noise like from the targa panels? 6.) Can anyone suggest some good insurers?

I have the C.
Try Direct Line-I have found them to be reasonable but there are a few others who won't rip you off.
I think that's it for now. Any help would be much appreciated. [/quote]

Important point-Do It. You only live once.

Good Luck

[grale22]

Many thanks for the responses so far, I'm going to test drive one next week and it's getting harder and harder to resist.

I've got another question to add now though....

So do you need to leave the car warming up before you drive it anywhere or can you just keep the revs low when you set out until the oil temp gets up?

[sideways mostly]

Drive of as normal but keep revs low until temperature rises.I keep below 2k for the first 5 minutes as a principle then follow the heat/rev guide.Make sure its the oil temp you are referencing

On starting I just turn it over-no throttle at all.It catches every time.

[grumbledoak]

Hi grale22

Can't speak for brake pads, as I've not got there yet.
Or the targa panels - early Ts were reportedly quite noisy so I went for a C. They were apparently improved, but I am sure someone will be along...


The Sp6 engine has quite low oil pressure at idle, so current advice is to drive them off immediately rather than leave them idling to warm up. Then you need to keep the revs low (less than 2500) until the oil is warm. Temperature matters more than time. Your dealer/manual will give exact figures but it doesn't take long, and the car has "adequate" power even at low revs.

I am currently budgeting about £400 and £800 respectively for the services. I'll probably spend more on the sports exhausts...

Speed bumps seem not to be a problem if you are gentle, though I think the later cars have more clearance than the early ones.

I am with ClassicLine at the moment, but Direct Line and Norwich Union were both reasonable with the Chim - it seems to depend greatly on expected mileage.

Give some thought to power steering and air-con (good for resale). The inflatable seats are fun (once) but I wanted more toys. And if speccing from new, remember that the screen is angled to reflect the top of the dash, so get a darker colour there.

In summary, they are fantastic cars, the recent ones seem to be the best cars TVR have ever made and the T350 is just about the best looking car you can buy at any price.

p.s. Don't take your check-book on the test drive !

[grale22]

I have to admit I'm really looking forward to the test drive. I've loved the 350 from the very first set of pics TVR released and I've practically got butterflys about it! (how sad??!!)

I am slightly concerned that the drive might not live up to my expectations though. I've had a Mitsubishi Evo for nearly 4 years (and an Integrale before that), that's got slightly more power than the 350 and 4 wheel drive so I can put all down most of the time. It's definately rapid and I love it, bit doesn't feel particularly "special" when you drive it and I think that's what I'm hoping the TVR will have.

[sideways mostly]

TVR's aren't like most other cars.The feel is very direct and undiluted-many find it all a bit too much and call it raw ( I think the autocar qoute in the back pages is something like "small brutal coupe".
Some things to look forward to on your test drive

The accelerator pedal has a monster travel so you can control the beastie.If you are not used to this you can be a little disapointed ,until you realise you are only using a third to a half of the available donkey's. On the right road and conditions and when warmed up you might want to experiment-the dealer will demonstrate the cars abilities here if you ask-they rarely need an excuse.

The steering is lovely,light but with tons of feel. The chassis is stiff and the damping is very firm so over a rough piece of road you will get tons of feedback through hands and bum.Again if you are used to other cars this may come as a bit of a suprise.Then you realise the car is actually very composed-just keep a light touch on the wheel and the car will sort it out for you.

Sound from the cabin is excellent-but you might want to walk around the car when its stationary and the engine is idling- one of the meatiest throbs in the business.
You don't quite get the same affect in the cabin but its nice to know one of the many reasons pedestrians enjoy TVR's as well.

Have fun!


>> Edited by sideways mostly on Friday 28th April 16:17

[TurboTomato]

grumbledoak said:

The Sp6 engine has quite low oil pressure at idle, so current advice is to drive them off immediately rather than leave them idling to warm up

I was told this by my dealer as well - apparently warming them up by idling stationary doesn't do them any good at all

Re Insurance, give A Plan a call (sticky thread in this forum) they were by far the cheapest when I was looking (about 2 weeks ago) coming in at £770 for me (28, 8 yrs NCB, 3 points). I was well chuffed with that!

[johnFairfield]

A few months ago I was looking for a two seater, read lots of reviews, then tried BMWs Porches and Mercs. I liked the Caymen but couldn't afford a new one. I was looking in a second hand dealer at one when he suggested I try a t350. Wasn't sure but gave it a try and bought it the next day. It's just in another league. I just love it - when I can get it - because my wife, who "doesn't like cars" won't leave it alone and takes it to work whenever she can!
If you have a test drive I guarentee you'll buy one.

[kmpowell]

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