Servicing: DIY?
Discussion
Hello all,
Looking for my first TVR. Had a number of false starts (how hard can it be to buy one with cash waiting....?)
A question about servicing: I have read a number of comments about using the car a lot and servicing coming around quickly. A Google gives me prices of £350-400 or so for a 6,000 mile service.
I'm the sort to change the oil/plugs/filter religiously but then to do the other bits as required and not to a certain mileage. My sister-in-law works at a motor factor so I get parts trade, failing that I could use this sort of thing: http://www.powersperformance.co.uk/store/slug/chim...
Do you really need to pay someone else hundreds of pounds to check your car over and do bits and pieces? I can check my own wiper blades and washer bottle (and even top it up if required!
)
Thanks.
Looking for my first TVR. Had a number of false starts (how hard can it be to buy one with cash waiting....?)
A question about servicing: I have read a number of comments about using the car a lot and servicing coming around quickly. A Google gives me prices of £350-400 or so for a 6,000 mile service.
I'm the sort to change the oil/plugs/filter religiously but then to do the other bits as required and not to a certain mileage. My sister-in-law works at a motor factor so I get parts trade, failing that I could use this sort of thing: http://www.powersperformance.co.uk/store/slug/chim...
Do you really need to pay someone else hundreds of pounds to check your car over and do bits and pieces? I can check my own wiper blades and washer bottle (and even top it up if required!
)Thanks.
Edited by JumboBeef on Wednesday 7th May 08:25
There's usually a little bit more involved with a TVR service than just checking the washer bottle and a quick oil change. Depending on where you go, they will replace diff and gearbox oil, geometry setup etc. It's worth checking what you're getting for your money. Most of the cost will be Labour.
ButtonIt said:
There's usually a little bit more involved with a TVR service than just checking the washer bottle and a quick oil change. Depending on where you go, they will replace diff and gearbox oil, geometry setup etc. It's worth checking what you're getting for your money. Most of the cost will be Labour.
But I can check/change gearbox oil too, and any (decent) garage can check geometry. Still struggling to see what you get for nearly £400....ButtonIt said:
There's usually a little bit more involved with a TVR service than just checking the washer bottle and a quick oil change.
Exactly right.The 6000 and 12000 services are something between 6-9 hours labour if done correctly and completely.
That's not to say that you can't do your own and save money, or that all garages are equal in their list of service items/checks.
The difference between what passes for a service on an 'average' car and a TVR can be the difference between a car you would think nothing of jumping into and making a 1500 mile round trip, and a car that gives you headaches on every other journey to the shops.
I'm not coming down either way but on top of the servicing kit you will need Oil which could be another £60-£100, then a trip to the tip to get rid of the old stuff (time). There will likely be other bits and pieces and even if it's replacing a jubilee clip you still have to buy it at some point and again it's time to do that. Even if you have a few in stock you never have the right size.
A lot of TVRs are now owned by people who do low mileages and the specialists know this.
Many of them will do a 'low mileage' service at a lower price. If nothing else, it will get the car in to be checked over because, as said above, there are other things to check above a normal run-of-the-mill car.
Many of them will do a 'low mileage' service at a lower price. If nothing else, it will get the car in to be checked over because, as said above, there are other things to check above a normal run-of-the-mill car.
Here's a link to the service schedule for the Chimaera/Griffith/Cerbera.
http://www.parkersteve.dsl.pipex.com/serviceschedu...
Done right, it's time consuming but if you're capable then no reason not to do it (or most of it) yourself - plenty of owners do.
http://www.parkersteve.dsl.pipex.com/serviceschedu...
Done right, it's time consuming but if you're capable then no reason not to do it (or most of it) yourself - plenty of owners do.
My Chim only does a few thousand miles a year. I do a lot of the repairs and servicing myself. I also use a local independent garage for jobs I don't want to do e.g. for servicing I supplied the Diff Oil, Gearbox and Engine oil for them to change.
I also got the garage to fit a new speedo transducer. These are old cars not space shuttles. I do feel that sometimes that specialist try to shroud the cars in mystery and complexity, to justify their high hourly rates.
I keep all receipts and invoicing of work carried out.
A Chim is a good car to work on, I have learnt so much from this forum. There are some very knowledgeable people and most if not all issues and fixes are known.
I also got the garage to fit a new speedo transducer. These are old cars not space shuttles. I do feel that sometimes that specialist try to shroud the cars in mystery and complexity, to justify their high hourly rates.
I keep all receipts and invoicing of work carried out.
A Chim is a good car to work on, I have learnt so much from this forum. There are some very knowledgeable people and most if not all issues and fixes are known.
sgrimshaw said:
Here's a link to the service schedule for the Chimaera/Griffith/Cerbera.
http://www.parkersteve.dsl.pipex.com/serviceschedu...
Done right, it's time consuming but if you're capable then no reason not to do it (or most of it) yourself - plenty of owners do.
Well done for supplying that. I haven't seen it in years, but it does prove the point both ways really.http://www.parkersteve.dsl.pipex.com/serviceschedu...
Done right, it's time consuming but if you're capable then no reason not to do it (or most of it) yourself - plenty of owners do.
Yes you can do it yourself, and yes there is a reason the specialist garages charge as much as they do.
Filed for future use
Welcome to the fold.
My thoughts are that you need to go into TVR ownership with your eyes open. These are not mass produced items. The most reliable TVRs seem to be those that have very pedantic servicing. TVR produced a very long list of items to be checked as part of servicing. A lot of which is irrelevant to a normal car.
There is nothing stopping any owner from doing their own servicing. Many do. Many choose not to.
As advised above. Look at the service list, carryout the bits you want / can do and get the rest done by someone familiar with the marque (ie someone who knows stuff like that copperslipping the rear track adjusters is important so they don't seize and can be bothered to do it).
I now have the pleasure of backing one of the cars up on the ramps each week to spray the track adjuster with plusgas in a hope that they can be saved because they haven't been copperslipped. If not, £200 for a new set plus fitting / set up.
I agree that pedantically following the service items will result in a car you'll happily jump in confident it'll take you to the pub for a Sunday or tothe South of France.
My thoughts are that you need to go into TVR ownership with your eyes open. These are not mass produced items. The most reliable TVRs seem to be those that have very pedantic servicing. TVR produced a very long list of items to be checked as part of servicing. A lot of which is irrelevant to a normal car.
There is nothing stopping any owner from doing their own servicing. Many do. Many choose not to.
As advised above. Look at the service list, carryout the bits you want / can do and get the rest done by someone familiar with the marque (ie someone who knows stuff like that copperslipping the rear track adjusters is important so they don't seize and can be bothered to do it).
I now have the pleasure of backing one of the cars up on the ramps each week to spray the track adjuster with plusgas in a hope that they can be saved because they haven't been copperslipped. If not, £200 for a new set plus fitting / set up.
I agree that pedantically following the service items will result in a car you'll happily jump in confident it'll take you to the pub for a Sunday or tothe South of France.
I asked this question early last year, I think a lot depends on how well you document your service work and you need to keep receipts. Also you need to follow a proper Chimaera service schedule making comment on all major items and comment if you decide not to carry out an action, that demonstrates honesty. For me, after 12 years of ownership and lots of posts on here that prove my level of competence, the concensus was that my self service would rate as an acceptable service.
see my thread here
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
see my thread here
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I asked this question early last year, I think a lot depends on how well you document your service work and you need to keep receipts. Also you need to follow a proper Chimaera service schedule making comment on all major items and comment if you decide not to carry out an action, that demonstrates honesty. For me, after 12 years of ownership and lots of posts on here that prove my level of competence, the concensus was that my self service would rate as an acceptable service.
see my thread here
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
see my thread here
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
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