2002 Tamora build quality

[yellowgriff]

Was the build quality as bad as people say on early Tamora's.. Add's are full of 02 plates.. should i look 03 & newer,,,,

[L33]

My ex 51 plate Tamora was fine - obviously TVR but I wouldn't say "bad" build quality.

[S6 ROR]

I had a new Tamora in March 02, and it did have to go back for quite a few issues to be fixed under warranty, mainly bodywork and paint issues. Having said that, once the issues were sorted, it was fine. There was a lot of engines going bang at that time, mine included, although that was after i traded it in, but again if a re-build has been undertaken, although not guaranteed, should be a reasonable bet.
I have just brought another Tamora on an 05 plate, and to be honest, it is of much better quality, but then that is true of all TVR`s. So, i would buy as new as you can afford.
I personally would look from 03 onwards, but buy on history and condition as always, and the more invoices/receipts there are to support the history the better judgement you can make.
HTH.

[DonkeyApple]

If that is the case then use it to your advantage, screw down the best possible price and put the savings to one side and if the engine goes pop then get something rather impressive from RG or Power etc.

I really don't think people should be put off by the earlier ones, most of the main foibles will have been sorted and if the engine hasn't been done by one of the current builders then price your offer accordingly.

[shep1001]

Mine is a 52 and its fine, solid engine (no rebuild as far as I know) and everything else. Don't believe the hype, some of the newer cars can be equally bad.

Its been said many times.... buy on condition & history and you stand a good chance of getting a good un. If I were selling mine I would not 'discount' just on its age but others might.

Shep

Edited by shep1001 on Tuesday 7th September 21:30

[TVRWazzock]

yellowgriff said:

Was the build quality as bad as people say on early Tamora's.. Add's are full of 02 plates.. should i look 03 & newer,,,,

Yep, build quality is crap.

- the interior leather needs redoing in my 2002 Tamora as some of the leather is
badly worn in places and there are holes in the leather on one of my seats.
- the rubber trim around the windows is coming unstuck.
- had the engine completely rebuilt and upgraded to 4.0L Red Rose Spec in 2007,
- changed the shocks to Nitrons (with Eibach springs),
- changed the air box to an ACT Air Box,
- changed the radiator to an alloy one because the original was leaking,
- the power steering rack has had to be reconditioned twice (MOT failure),
- door ECU has had to be reconditioned,
- interior fan stopped working. I reconditioned the power amplifier myself and it
now works fine,
- intermittant wiper stopped working,
- had to fit a new ECU display because the original had missing lines,
- upgraded the oil pressure sender unit as the original one kept leaking,
- Clutch and slave cylinder had to be replaced,
- engine mounts disintergrated and had to be replaced with better parts,
- changed the exhaust to a JP Sports Exhaust,
- upgraded front brakes to Tuscan S brakes.

My thanks goes to the guy's at Dulfords for sorting this all out .

So the answer to your question -

[T350 Al]

TVRWazzock said:

yellowgriff said:

Was the build quality as bad as people say on early Tamora's.. Add's are full of 02 plates.. should i look 03 & newer,,,,

Yep, build quality is crap.

- the interior leather needs redoing in my 2002 Tamora as some of the leather is
badly worn in places and there are holes in the leather on one of my seats.
- the rubber trim around the windows is coming unstuck.
- had the engine completely rebuilt and upgraded to 4.0L Red Rose Spec in 2007,
- changed the shocks to Nitrons (with Eibach springs),
- changed the air box to an ACT Air Box,
- changed the radiator to an alloy one because the original was leaking,
- the power steering rack has had to be reconditioned twice (MOT failure),
- door ECU has had to be reconditioned,
- interior fan stopped working. I reconditioned the power amplifier myself and it
now works fine,
- intermittant wiper stopped working,
- had to fit a new ECU display because the original had missing lines,
- upgraded the oil pressure sender unit as the original one kept leaking,
- Clutch and slave cylinder had to be replaced,
- engine mounts disintergrated and had to be replaced with better parts,
- changed the exhaust to a JP Sports Exhaust,
- upgraded front brakes to Tuscan S brakes.

My thanks goes to the guy's at Dulfords for sorting this all out .

So the answer to your question -

A labour of love though, surely?!

[TVRWazzock]

T350 Al said:

TVRWazzock said:

yellowgriff said:

Was the build quality as bad as people say on early Tamora's.. Add's are full of 02 plates.. should i look 03 & newer,,,,

Yep, build quality is crap.

- the interior leather needs redoing in my 2002 Tamora as some of the leather is
badly worn in places and there are holes in the leather on one of my seats.
- the rubber trim around the windows is coming unstuck.
- had the engine completely rebuilt and upgraded to 4.0L Red Rose Spec in 2007,
- changed the shocks to Nitrons (with Eibach springs),
- changed the air box to an ACT Air Box,
- changed the radiator to an alloy one because the original was leaking,
- the power steering rack has had to be reconditioned twice (MOT failure),
- door ECU has had to be reconditioned,
- interior fan stopped working. I reconditioned the power amplifier myself and it
now works fine,
- intermittant wiper stopped working,
- had to fit a new ECU display because the original had missing lines,
- upgraded the oil pressure sender unit as the original one kept leaking,
- Clutch and slave cylinder had to be replaced,
- engine mounts disintergrated and had to be replaced with better parts,
- changed the exhaust to a JP Sports Exhaust,
- upgraded front brakes to Tuscan S brakes.

My thanks goes to the guy's at Dulfords for sorting this all out .

So the answer to your question -

A labour of love though, surely?!

Absolutely Al. There is more chance of getting blood out of a stone than me selling my Tamora

[brogenville]

TVRWazzock said:

yellowgriff said:

Was the build quality as bad as people say on early Tamora's.. Add's are full of 02 plates.. should i look 03 & newer,,,,

Yep, build quality is crap.

- the interior leather needs redoing in my 2002 Tamora as some of the leather is
badly worn in places and there are holes in the leather on one of my seats.
- the rubber trim around the windows is coming unstuck.
- had the engine completely rebuilt and upgraded to 4.0L Red Rose Spec in 2007,
- changed the shocks to Nitrons (with Eibach springs),
- changed the air box to an ACT Air Box,
- changed the radiator to an alloy one because the original was leaking,
- the power steering rack has had to be reconditioned twice (MOT failure),
- door ECU has had to be reconditioned,
- interior fan stopped working. I reconditioned the power amplifier myself and it
now works fine,
- intermittant wiper stopped working,
- had to fit a new ECU display because the original had missing lines,
- upgraded the oil pressure sender unit as the original one kept leaking,
- Clutch and slave cylinder had to be replaced,
- engine mounts disintergrated and had to be replaced with better parts,
- changed the exhaust to a JP Sports Exhaust,
- upgraded front brakes to Tuscan S brakes.

My thanks goes to the guy's at Dulfords for sorting this all out .

So the answer to your question -

Don't be silly though- most of those things are going to be exactly the same on any of the later cars. I can accept that engine quality improved with later cars, but stuff like your LCD display is a known issue with t cars of all ages.

[madbadger]

Things like the worn 'leather' will be the same on the later cars too, once they are 8 years old.

My 2002 car has some of the same issues as above, but by no means all and has now done over 70k miles. Not sure I would put many of those issues down to being poorly built either. Maybe they could have engineered the rubber seals better but again they don't really seems any different on any of the cars.

[Targarama]

Like all TVRs, the newer the better in terms of build quality (although the Speed Six seemed to reach its optimal under TVR ownership in 2005.

Tamoras are much better finished than the Griff/Chimaera era cars. Many early Tamoras do not have leather and the buffalo imitation trim does wear.

As with all TVRs, find a cherished one and all the wearing bits will have been replaced, IMO the only thing you should see on a good car is stone chips, the odd micro parking mark and a worn driver's seat bolster (look at any BMW M3 of the same era, they are just as bad).

[Spoonman]

Much of the replies are spot on, in my opinion.

Sometimes I wonder if I've been short-changed in the TVR experience. It's a 2002 car and doesn't seem to go round with strange rattles or bits dropping off. Maybe I just got a good one.