Buying First TVR - Does this look the part?
Discussion
Hi..
Having had a string of lightweight sports cars in the past, I have always had a soft spot for TVRs and I am looking to get a Chim in the near future. I want to spend around the £7K mark, so I have some spends for repairs etc. I got a copy of Steve Heath's "Bible", which is a great read in its own right and I think I have a rough idea what i'm looking for. I drove a 400 last year, but it was quite rough and I was disappointed by its performance (it felt like it had been laid up too long), but I am going to see this tommorrow. http://pistonheads.com/sales/3607591.htm
Does this look like a good first TVR? I have heard these dealers are pretty good and the price seems keen, but at this level should I regard this car like a private buy? They have offered to get the car on the ramps which seems helpful and honest, but at this level how solid can I expect an 18 year old chassis to be?
I know this is a bit opened ended, but any experience of buying this type of car from dealers would be appreciated.
Having had a string of lightweight sports cars in the past, I have always had a soft spot for TVRs and I am looking to get a Chim in the near future. I want to spend around the £7K mark, so I have some spends for repairs etc. I got a copy of Steve Heath's "Bible", which is a great read in its own right and I think I have a rough idea what i'm looking for. I drove a 400 last year, but it was quite rough and I was disappointed by its performance (it felt like it had been laid up too long), but I am going to see this tommorrow. http://pistonheads.com/sales/3607591.htm
Does this look like a good first TVR? I have heard these dealers are pretty good and the price seems keen, but at this level should I regard this car like a private buy? They have offered to get the car on the ramps which seems helpful and honest, but at this level how solid can I expect an 18 year old chassis to be?
I know this is a bit opened ended, but any experience of buying this type of car from dealers would be appreciated.
http://www.tvr-hhc.co.uk/UsedCars/view/497070
Bit more info on it here. I would take them up on the offer of looking at it on the ramps. Some of the earlier cars had better chassis protection than the later ones in any case. I bought mine from Tony last month and saw this one in the showroom. I didn't have a proper look as I was after a 450.
Bit more info on it here. I would take them up on the offer of looking at it on the ramps. Some of the earlier cars had better chassis protection than the later ones in any case. I bought mine from Tony last month and saw this one in the showroom. I didn't have a proper look as I was after a 450.
It does look promising from the blurb, having the later gearbox etc.
Is waxoyl really enough to protect the chassis longterm i.e if the coating is peeling will it be enough to keep the the rot back for any length of time, or will it all need stripping and repainting in the near future?
Is waxoyl really enough to protect the chassis longterm i.e if the coating is peeling will it be enough to keep the the rot back for any length of time, or will it all need stripping and repainting in the near future?
Having only owned mine a month, I will let someone more knowledgeable answer that question. I have read that waxoyl if poorly used can hide a multitude of sins but if used correctly then it should be fine.
I do think that if the coating is cracked and drying out then it needs to come off and be reapplied for it to offer any protection, otherwise it will trap moisture instead.
I do think that if the coating is cracked and drying out then it needs to come off and be reapplied for it to offer any protection, otherwise it will trap moisture instead.
Edited by SpecB on Friday 2nd March 16:54
SpecB said:
I have read that waxoyl if poorly used can hide a multitude of sins but if used correctly then it should be fine.
I do think that if the coating is cracked and drying out then it needs to come off and be reapplied for it to offer any protection, otherwise it will trap moisture instead.
Waxoyl is just really bad stuff full stop never been a fan of it after spending the best part of 8 weeks of my life under 2 TVR's scrapping and removing the stuff and i have seen no benefit of it whats so ever apart from hiding some real horrific things behind it.I do think that if the coating is cracked and drying out then it needs to come off and be reapplied for it to offer any protection, otherwise it will trap moisture instead.
Edited by SpecB on Friday 2nd March 16:54
Painting is better plus next time you go to work on it with paint you don't end up black from head to toe.
If you need pictures of the horrific thing waxoyl can hide i have plenty of pictures of my Cerbs chassis i am working at just now.
Cheers Scotty
Waxoil and similar type stuff does work but there is a lot of prep that has to be done before the stuff is applied and there is the problem as in a lot of cases the waxoil has just been applied on top of rust , on damp chassis and flaking paint and that will only make the situation worse.
My car had the chassis painted in hammerite and then waxoiled and a good few years ago and it seems to have lasted pretty well but was on the point of going bad.
It has just taken over 40 hours of scraping, sanding and repainting to get it back in good condition (thanks to Barry at TVR Ecosse) if on the otherhand if it was just waxoiled it may have looked ok but would be rotting away under the black gooy stuff
My car had the chassis painted in hammerite and then waxoiled and a good few years ago and it seems to have lasted pretty well but was on the point of going bad.
It has just taken over 40 hours of scraping, sanding and repainting to get it back in good condition (thanks to Barry at TVR Ecosse) if on the otherhand if it was just waxoiled it may have looked ok but would be rotting away under the black gooy stuff
Got to see the car at HHC today. You guys are right Tony is a really nice guy and knows his stuff.
Unfortunately armed with my new buyers knowledge, I had a good poke round and a drive and there were just two many issues for me to consider the car. It was essentially sound and probably a good project car, but i'm looking for a daily driver so maybe I will need to look for a newer model or simply a minter?
Unfortunately armed with my new buyers knowledge, I had a good poke round and a drive and there were just two many issues for me to consider the car. It was essentially sound and probably a good project car, but i'm looking for a daily driver so maybe I will need to look for a newer model or simply a minter?
...Hi Lees2000
Good luck with your search for a great TVR, once you get it I will garantee you wont stop grinning!!
If its any use, I was at Halo Cars in Ombersley just out side Worcester looking at a Golf GTI for the better half, they had serveral TVR's there and the Starmist Green Chimaera 4.0HC looked fantastic. It may be worth you checking their website?
Just to be clear, I am not connected to Halo Cars, I just thought this may be of use for someone looking for a very tidy TVR.
Good luck with your search for a great TVR, once you get it I will garantee you wont stop grinning!!
If its any use, I was at Halo Cars in Ombersley just out side Worcester looking at a Golf GTI for the better half, they had serveral TVR's there and the Starmist Green Chimaera 4.0HC looked fantastic. It may be worth you checking their website?
Just to be clear, I am not connected to Halo Cars, I just thought this may be of use for someone looking for a very tidy TVR.
Hi Lees2000,
I saw this one on the classified the other day too and was thinking about going to go and have a look at it. You said there were too many issues with it. What things did it have wrong with it?
It's a 420mile round trip for me to see it so I might not if there are problems with it so I'd be interested to hear what they are.
Thanks,
Tim
I saw this one on the classified the other day too and was thinking about going to go and have a look at it. You said there were too many issues with it. What things did it have wrong with it?
It's a 420mile round trip for me to see it so I might not if there are problems with it so I'd be interested to hear what they are.
Thanks,
Tim
There were a couple of real niggles, the diff was quite noisy especially on and off the power in town, the master cylinder was leaking, there was a nasty crazing in the gel coat on the passenger door and the steering was vague around the center (Tony admitted there was a ball-joint worn). As far as mechanical's go it looked good with a new radiator and honest oil free engine. The oil was clean and the inside of the rocker covers were gunge free. The water was a little low but seemed ok. It needed a new clutch master cylinder, but that would have been done.
As a weekend car, it would be a good project as the chassis seemed solid, it needed a good clean and paint, but it certainly wasn't shot.
I'm looking to run mine daily so the diff would have driven me mad and at this stage I wouldn't want to spend a lot on paint until I knew it wasn't going to cost me a lot to get it mechanically reliable.
I am off next week to see the Ebay car in York mentioned earlier, I'm keeping mu fingers crossed
As a weekend car, it would be a good project as the chassis seemed solid, it needed a good clean and paint, but it certainly wasn't shot.
I'm looking to run mine daily so the diff would have driven me mad and at this stage I wouldn't want to spend a lot on paint until I knew it wasn't going to cost me a lot to get it mechanically reliable.
I am off next week to see the Ebay car in York mentioned earlier, I'm keeping mu fingers crossed
Just a follow up saw the car at York and got it inspected at SD Autotec in Boroughbridge for a very reasonable £60 + VAT. It needs new outriggers and a service, but seems essentially sound. Would this be a good buy for say £8250 if the owner splits the cost of the repairs or should I keep looking?
I would have no worries about buying a car from Tony at Hexham Horseless either.
Great people to deal with and really helpful after the sale.
I bought a Tuscan 2 from them and had a couple of minor issues.
Resolved without charge and no hassle at all.
Did you point out your concerns to him?
Great people to deal with and really helpful after the sale.
I bought a Tuscan 2 from them and had a couple of minor issues.
Resolved without charge and no hassle at all.
Did you point out your concerns to him?
Edited by Davel on Wednesday 14th March 21:41
lees2000 said:
Just a follow up saw the car at York and got it inspected at SD Autotec in Boroughbridge for a very reasonable £60 + VAT. It needs new outriggers and a service, but seems essentially sound. Would this be a good buy for say £8250 if the owner splits the cost of the repairs or should I keep looking?
I would keep looking at that pricesounds a lot of money to me i only paid £5500 fo my 97 facelift with low miles and new mot so keep looking i do think buying private is cheaper because dealers have a mark up and have to make a profit but 93/94 cars without pas and in green i would,nt look at there too dated 96 on i thinks best thats just my opinion best of luck with your search
ewan221 said:
lees2000 said:
Just a follow up saw the car at York and got it inspected at SD Autotec in Boroughbridge for a very reasonable 60 + VAT. It needs new outriggers and a service, but seems essentially sound. Would this be a good buy for say 8250 if the owner splits the cost of the repairs or should I keep looking?
I would keep looking at that price
So would i.It can be frustrating and time consuming, but the more you see the better. You will just know when a particular car is right.[subject to the usual thorough chassis inspection etc.]I was looking for 6 months or so and viewed plenty. Some described as excellent that were a load of s
te and the one i bought was described as honest and thats exactly what it was. I purchased it with the intention of lifting the body and sorting everything and although it wasnt full of holes the chassis would have needed attention within a couple of years. Because of the age of these cars now, and the sht job TVR did of powdercoating i would expect most to need chassis work in the future. I would therefore buy with this in mind, and the price to reflect so. Now all you out there with a "perfect" chassis dont shoot me down, its just that i have seen plenty that look really solid but when you lift the body its a different story.And while im having a RANT waxoyl is in my opinion a very BIG NO, NO. iT HIDES A LOT MORE THAN IT PROTECTS.
There
over, now i fel a lot better.Thanks guys for all this info This is confusing tho... I thought that a reasonable older model which had its outriggers done would be worth paying extra for, rather than perhaps a newer model that would end up needing work with a couple of years? Or should you by a shed on the principle that you assume the chassis will be shot at factor the cost in?
This is confusing tho... I thought that a reasonable older model which had its outriggers done would be worth paying extra for, rather than perhaps a newer model that would end up needing work with a couple of years? Or should you by a shed on the principle that you assume the chassis will be shot at factor the cost in? Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff