your thoughts on running chimaera full time
Discussion
i have recently bought a chimaera 4 ltr and i have a standard tin top the cost of running 2 cars ie tax ins and two mots is about £250 more than just using chim full time this does not include money i get back from tintop sale and obviuosly two lots of servicing and any break downs. the problem is i feel that when using tintop for work i miss out on great driving plus chim will end up in garage untill weekends. decisions decisions
Depends how many miles you are going to do and what the mpg difference is between your Chim and tin top.
I used to drive mine every day, but was doing 12k a year. Worked out that just the petrol savings alone in 1 year paid for a £1k runabout to use daily.
Plus, i feel that if you drive the Chimaera daily you get very used to the speed and it doesn't feel that fast anymore.
I used to drive mine every day, but was doing 12k a year. Worked out that just the petrol savings alone in 1 year paid for a £1k runabout to use daily.
Plus, i feel that if you drive the Chimaera daily you get very used to the speed and it doesn't feel that fast anymore.
I've run my Griff as my only car for five years now. I did keep my Peugeot 406 for about 18months but sold it as I wasn't using it enough.... (I had to use the Griff to give it a jump start once!)
I think the car benefits from regular use and normal serving/maintenance is no more than it was/is for any other car of the same age (2000 reg) The only thing of course is the petrol cost but I think that's offset by not having the tax/MOT/insurance/fuel/maintenance of the 'ordinary' car. I do about 10k a year.
Insurance with Class 1 business use fully comp £20k value is £473.53 (just renewed)
I don't agree with the theory of the car is any less of an event because with more frequent use I think you become more familiar with the car and it's idiosyncrasies so it's less of a continual re-learning process so you can enjoy the car rather than being scared of it and what it's going to do. Obviously you need to avoid the 'familarity breeds contempt' syndrome but the need to watch what's appropriate for the weather and road conditions has actually made my observation and road conditions assessment improve during my ownership of the Griff.
Indeed my recent need to do a 'driving awareness course' was due to inattention in my partners 1.3 not the Griff!!
I still grin and enjoy the drive every time I start the car.
I think the car benefits from regular use and normal serving/maintenance is no more than it was/is for any other car of the same age (2000 reg) The only thing of course is the petrol cost but I think that's offset by not having the tax/MOT/insurance/fuel/maintenance of the 'ordinary' car. I do about 10k a year.
Insurance with Class 1 business use fully comp £20k value is £473.53 (just renewed)
I don't agree with the theory of the car is any less of an event because with more frequent use I think you become more familiar with the car and it's idiosyncrasies so it's less of a continual re-learning process so you can enjoy the car rather than being scared of it and what it's going to do. Obviously you need to avoid the 'familarity breeds contempt' syndrome but the need to watch what's appropriate for the weather and road conditions has actually made my observation and road conditions assessment improve during my ownership of the Griff.
Indeed my recent need to do a 'driving awareness course' was due to inattention in my partners 1.3 not the Griff!!
I still grin and enjoy the drive every time I start the car.
as a single man with no ties, i have been driving my chim for 2 years, its visited the garage quite a few times since i owned it, a lot of those were upgrades admittedly and was always given a car to run around in every time, so from that point of view that has been useful, however i met a woman 6 months ago who got a baby and she doesn't drive and as its going well between us i had the dilema of what to do car wise, she was encouraging me to sell the car for a family car, but i didnt want to sell it, so decided on buying a second car to use, now i was chucking 50 quid plus of petrol in the tvr a week and i only use 25 quid a week in the banger, so what i save on petrol pays for tax and insurance and as i got multi car with direct line, i now get a discount on the tvr insurance, also it preserves the milage too on whats becoming a collectable classic, so although its been great running the tvr daily its nice to have another cheap option to preserve the tvr and its a relief to have a car with a clutch i can press down too 
adrian flux quoted me £850 via aviva for using chim as daily driver which was making me think about keeping both vehicles as if i used chim as second car i could get it for £450 then the tintop for another £275 but just had a quote from direct line as daily driver for £373 and no charge even to pay monthly. so i am probably going full time.
I've driven mine every day, with an handful of exceptions a year (eg snow), for the last 10 years or so. Yes it's not always clean and polished, yes the seats are getting worn out more quickly than if it were a weekend car but when I'm 80 I'll have lots of memories of driving a fantastic car at every opportunity I had. I wouldn't have got that satisfaction from thinking, yes I kept my car clean, shiny and polished and in such really great condition that when I sold it, the next guy was really pleased and I got £3k more than if I'd used it (which by then will be worth next to nothing) ! Plus my daughters will remember being in it and getting driven around in it. I just took my daughter to swimming lessons this evening and she ate her sandwiches in it on the way home - I'll hoover it on the weekend, no problem.
Drive it and enjoy ! Do your best to look after it, clean it when you can but just drive it....it's a car !
Drive it and enjoy ! Do your best to look after it, clean it when you can but just drive it....it's a car !
When I was searching for my Chimaera, my intention was to get rid of my other car (SEAT Ibiza FR TDI) and use the TVR as my only car. But a colleague at work persuaded me to "do the math", and of course he was right - even if I still do 50% of my mileage in the TVR, the savings from doing 50% in the SEAT more than pays for the extra tax, insurance and other costs.
I am very, very glad I kept a sensible car. I still do plenty of mileage in the TVR (about 6,000 miles this year) so it's always running very nicely and I'm always fully "in touch" when I'm driving it. But because I don't drive it every day, getting back into it after 4 or 5 days feels special in a way that it simply wouldn't if it were a daily driver.
Also, I still have a sensible car that I can use for taking stuff to the tip, or fetching bags of manure from the garden centre - or, let's face it, for when I'm simply not quite in the mood for the TVR.
If you ate fillet steak every day, you'd soon be craving a burger.
I am very, very glad I kept a sensible car. I still do plenty of mileage in the TVR (about 6,000 miles this year) so it's always running very nicely and I'm always fully "in touch" when I'm driving it. But because I don't drive it every day, getting back into it after 4 or 5 days feels special in a way that it simply wouldn't if it were a daily driver.
Also, I still have a sensible car that I can use for taking stuff to the tip, or fetching bags of manure from the garden centre - or, let's face it, for when I'm simply not quite in the mood for the TVR.
If you ate fillet steak every day, you'd soon be craving a burger.
I tried it for a few months a couple of winters ago and to be honest the last thing I wanted a do when I'd finished work late was to drive home in the dark with it pouring down with rain having to watch out for other drivers hellbent on killing themselves/me. I simply didn't enjoy driving it in those circumstances!
On the other hand it is doable if you have right kind of journey to and from work and you don't mind the frustration of not being able to floor it when it's icy/wet/damp. It's not for me though.
On the other hand it is doable if you have right kind of journey to and from work and you don't mind the frustration of not being able to floor it when it's icy/wet/damp. It's not for me though.
I've got an W-reg Golf Diesel and a 4l, doing 200 motorway miles a week for work and having a great time at the weekends in the Chim.
As much as I love the Chim, sitting on the motorway for an hour a day would just feel like a waste, and by my calcs, the saving in petrol more than pays for the running costs of the Golf.
Without the worry of not being able to get to work on Monday morning should something break, I'm happier to drive it like I stole it on Sunday!
As much as I love the Chim, sitting on the motorway for an hour a day would just feel like a waste, and by my calcs, the saving in petrol more than pays for the running costs of the Golf.
Without the worry of not being able to get to work on Monday morning should something break, I'm happier to drive it like I stole it on Sunday!
Yeah fair enough, distance and type of drive are factors. I'm lucky that I only do 6 miles to work and next to no traffic for a good proportion of that. I disagree with driving in the rain though: the TVR is still a lot more comfortable than a lot of cars and you can still drive at a good speed and reasonable percentage of full throttle with Toyos as long as you feed it in gradually and keep well away from the limit. The wipers could be a bit better though !
For me - assuming you've done the maths and the finances are manageable - it'd all depend on what your typical drive is like.
The reason I've never bothered taking my Chim to work is that my commute is less than eight miles of jammed up suburban roads followed by street parking in a dodgy area of North London. Even my Focus is wasted on that, so I usually cycle; mostly because it's less boring than driving.
If, however, you live in a rural area with some nice roads between you and work, and a safe place to park it at the other end I think you'd be mad not to.
You should be able to get a sensible deal on commuting insurance if you shop around - I've just picked up a 924 that I intend to use for daily duties and that costs me half as much to insure as my 1.6 Focus! It is on a classic policy, but it's insured for commuting and outside storage with a very generous mileage limit.
The reason I've never bothered taking my Chim to work is that my commute is less than eight miles of jammed up suburban roads followed by street parking in a dodgy area of North London. Even my Focus is wasted on that, so I usually cycle; mostly because it's less boring than driving.
If, however, you live in a rural area with some nice roads between you and work, and a safe place to park it at the other end I think you'd be mad not to.
You should be able to get a sensible deal on commuting insurance if you shop around - I've just picked up a 924 that I intend to use for daily duties and that costs me half as much to insure as my 1.6 Focus! It is on a classic policy, but it's insured for commuting and outside storage with a very generous mileage limit.
I did 30,000 miles per annum in my Chimaera(s) for about seven years. It was hellish expensive (five services a year!) but I loved it.
You just need to face facts that if there's 0.5mm of snow you stay home if there's not an alternate motor.
I should add that I did have an old GTi during that time for really stinky weather, or when extra passengers were necessary!
You just need to face facts that if there's 0.5mm of snow you stay home if there's not an alternate motor.
I should add that I did have an old GTi during that time for really stinky weather, or when extra passengers were necessary!
Had my Chimaera for about 6 years now I think - first 3 or so years it was my only car, so used daily for commute etc. No real problems, was reliable and fun! In the winter was interesting - snow and ice etc also the V8 lump takes a fair while to warm up compared to modern cars!
I then got given an old Renault Clio, which I used as my daily commute, as others have said what I saved in fuel covered the cost of the extra tax and insurance. Bonus was that I appreciated the Chimaera more when driving it going from a slow clio 1.2!
Downside was what other people have mentioned - the chimaera became more unreliable when not used daily! Now upgraded the clio to an MG ZR diesel - again need the fuel economy as I have a 50 mile round trip commute now.
Still use the Chimaera to commute though occasionally the summer (usually once or twice a week - depending on the weather!)
I then got given an old Renault Clio, which I used as my daily commute, as others have said what I saved in fuel covered the cost of the extra tax and insurance. Bonus was that I appreciated the Chimaera more when driving it going from a slow clio 1.2!
Downside was what other people have mentioned - the chimaera became more unreliable when not used daily! Now upgraded the clio to an MG ZR diesel - again need the fuel economy as I have a 50 mile round trip commute now.
Still use the Chimaera to commute though occasionally the summer (usually once or twice a week - depending on the weather!)
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