I now have 6k :-) should this get me a decent Chimaera?
Discussion
I started a post a week or two ago seeing if 5k would get me a Chimaera and now I have 6k spare for the right car! All the cars for sale at the moment are miles away from where I live! Surely 6k should get me a good enough example without a tired cam and rotten outriggers or am I asking a little too much for the money?
Depends on what you call decent 
You might find a really tatty one that looks a cosmetic nightmare but has a completely sound chassis and outriggers, has been electrically and mechanically sorted, and won't need any money spending on it for a year or two (apart from servicing and small stuff). If you can live with 'tatty' then such a car would be the one to go for (Bassfiend is an advocate of this principle ). Beware of good looking cars at this price, It's highly highly unlikely you'll get a sound car (as per the tatty one described above) that also has great paintwork, hood, interior etc.
There's currently 87 Chimaera's in the PH classifieds, only one of which is £6K, and the next four are between 6750 and 7K. That's a pretty good indication of what's out there, and also suggests that your choice of car (colour/interior/work done/condition) is, er, well limited, to one.... Clearly not an ideal position for a buyer to be in...
Take Cossers advice, it's spot on...
Good luck,
Chilli
You might find a really tatty one that looks a cosmetic nightmare but has a completely sound chassis and outriggers, has been electrically and mechanically sorted, and won't need any money spending on it for a year or two (apart from servicing and small stuff). If you can live with 'tatty' then such a car would be the one to go for (Bassfiend is an advocate of this principle
). Beware of good looking cars at this price, It's highly highly unlikely you'll get a sound car (as per the tatty one described above) that also has great paintwork, hood, interior etc.There's currently 87 Chimaera's in the PH classifieds, only one of which is £6K, and the next four are between 6750 and 7K. That's a pretty good indication of what's out there, and also suggests that your choice of car (colour/interior/work done/condition) is, er, well limited, to one.... Clearly not an ideal position for a buyer to be in...
Take Cossers advice, it's spot on...
Good luck,
Chilli
I had the funds last year for a chimaera, went to look at one for £6300 400HC lowish mileage , looked good externally.... However ran very rough, chassis looked average, seats had collapsed and all the dash cracked, missing buttons and so on..... Felt very depressed as it put me off a bit.
saved up a bit more and bought a 97 450 30k miles , induction kit, trumpets, tornado chip, Tuscan seats, properly cared for .... For £8k. No way in the world would i have got the 400hc upto the standard of my 450 for the same outlay.
if u buy a rubbish one and it may put u off one forever,,, buy a good one and it will be better than u had imagined.
sat in my golf gti, wishing i had fetched the chimaera to work!!
saved up a bit more and bought a 97 450 30k miles , induction kit, trumpets, tornado chip, Tuscan seats, properly cared for .... For £8k. No way in the world would i have got the 400hc upto the standard of my 450 for the same outlay.
if u buy a rubbish one and it may put u off one forever,,, buy a good one and it will be better than u had imagined.
sat in my golf gti, wishing i had fetched the chimaera to work!!
You could get lucky (I think I did), mine was ~£6k and had 19,000 miles from new and was immaculate. BUT mine's a Cat D so resale value will be lower (unless I get it removed from the register)...but then again, I don't mind that as I've no plans to sell...
Don't dismiss a Cat D car, you'd never know mine was unless I mentioned it, the repair work was to a verh high standard and I've had a knock in in since that had to have a similar amount spent to repair it.
It's achievable, but it takes some really good luck... I looked at some right horrors before lucking out. I also learnt quite a bit about WHERE to look (on the car)which is quite useful for bargaining :-)
Don't dismiss a Cat D car, you'd never know mine was unless I mentioned it, the repair work was to a verh high standard and I've had a knock in in since that had to have a similar amount spent to repair it.
It's achievable, but it takes some really good luck... I looked at some right horrors before lucking out. I also learnt quite a bit about WHERE to look (on the car)which is quite useful for bargaining :-)
Graham said:
I think there are 2 price bands for chimaeras, those over 10k and those under 10k that need 10k spending on them..
at that price, take a good hard look /poke at the chassis as thats what will be a killer
I disagree, there are plenty of sub-£10k Chimaeras that are solid, reliable prospects - many of which have already had a lot spent on them. at that price, take a good hard look /poke at the chassis as thats what will be a killer
All Chimaera's come with the potential for big bills, even the ones the optimists have advertised for £13k +
Personally, I think around £8k is the sweet spot.
I bought a chim couple years back. engine /chassis/ body/interior/roof were all fine. not the best, but perfectly usable, fell into the tidy category.
if i were supercritical, carpets were a bit faded. i paid 6500.
i did look for a while, and right now after a few weeks sun is not a good time to buy, but it can be done
if i were supercritical, carpets were a bit faded. i paid 6500.
i did look for a while, and right now after a few weeks sun is not a good time to buy, but it can be done
I was looking at things around 6-7k at the start of this year when I bought mine, everything seemed to fit into two categories.
- Pretty but hanging
- Mechanically sound but tatty
s p a c e m a n said:
I was looking at things around 6-7k at the start of this year when I bought mine, everything seemed to fit into two categories.
Ditto. I decided to spend more money on getting a better example and learn a lot in the process.- Pretty but hanging
- Mechanically sound but tatty
This is what I paid £6500 for 9 months ago. Originally supplied by Fernhursts and having 17 services mostly from Fernhurst and other leading TVR specialists. The important chasis work had been done and the car restored in 2009. This car has never let me down in any way and runs superb everytime I take it out. 
wilfandrowlf said:
Well that looks tidy. If the chassis is ok must be something to considrwilfandrowlf said:
Looks very nice and familiar ... where do you get it serviced?
KEVTVR said:
This is what I paid £6500 for 9 months ago. Originally supplied by Fernhursts and having 17 services mostly from Fernhurst and other leading TVR specialists. The important chasis work had been done and the car restored in 2009. This car has never let me down in any way and runs superb everytime I take it out.
Trouble is they all look like that in a photo and a bright day, its not like the wheel aches and outer sills corrode is it? Personally buying at 6.5k you better know your way round a car or take someone that does because you have the potential to get stung big time IMO. EDITED to say I am not having a pop at the red Chim owner I am sure it's a lovely car Edited by Sardonicus on Tuesday 16th July 10:40
If you are struggling to gather anything more than £6k I really think a Chimaera is the wrong car for you. These cars require regular maintenance, which can be costly, and big bills can be round the corner with no warning.
I paid close to £9k for mine, the main reason being the previous owner had spanked over £5k sorting out all the known problems. That didn't stop the alarm breaking a week after I got it, costing me £700. I have also spent a further £1.5k this year on a service, new tyres and a few other bits and bobs.
For this reason it has run faultlessly for 5,000 miles until Le Mans when the coil went. I can't see this being the case with a £6k car, especially if you run it on a shoestring as well.
I paid close to £9k for mine, the main reason being the previous owner had spanked over £5k sorting out all the known problems. That didn't stop the alarm breaking a week after I got it, costing me £700. I have also spent a further £1.5k this year on a service, new tyres and a few other bits and bobs.
For this reason it has run faultlessly for 5,000 miles until Le Mans when the coil went. I can't see this being the case with a £6k car, especially if you run it on a shoestring as well.
Sardonicus said:
rouble is they all look like that in a photo and a bright day, its not like the wheel aches and outer sills corrode is it? Personally buying at 6.5k you better know your way round a car or take someone that does because you have the potential to get stung big time IMO. EDITED to say I am not having a pop at the red Chim owner I am sure it's a lovely car
+1Edited by Sardonicus on Tuesday 16th July 10:40
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