Discussion
Just been toying with possibility of getting a TVR. Why are the chimaera so cheap? They look fantastic, interior is great, spec is good but why are they so cheap? A mate of mine says his uncle had one and it spent more time in the garage than on the road what are they like with regards to reliability? Thanks
If you are only " Toying with the idea" dont do it..... All you will end up doing is paying as little as you can thinking you will just get the cheapest one possible and see if you like it and get badly bitten !!!! Then all you will do is hammer another rusty nail into tvr`s coffin lid with your own horror stories !!!.......... If however, you are prepared to spend time and effort finding the right car and to put any minor problems right you wont be dissapointed. You will have to understand though that they need regular maintenance otherwise they suffer. This is not just tvr but any car..... I have not regretted buying our chimaera and it has been bnrilliant in the 13 months/8000 miles so far.....Steve.
Mad Mitch said:
All you will end up doing is paying as little as you can thinking you will just get the cheapest one possible and see if you like it and get badly bitten !!!! Then all you will do is hammer another rusty nail into tvr`s coffin lid with your own horror stories
Couldnt aggree more.
I brought mine, cheapish 8.5kk and had nothing but trouble with it to begin with. It was the first one i saw and drove and just wanted it. Came with a new MOT!
In the first few months i had to
Replace both lambda sensors
New Air Flow Meter
Buy a horn switch as there wasnt one on the car!!!
New thermostat as there wasnt one in the engine.
Rewire the fans as they had been wired up incorrectly so they ran backwards
Plugs
Leads
Rotor
Dizzy cap
Sort the front lights out as they didnt work correctly
Replace water pump
Fuel Filter
ECU was broke
Bolt on the front Anti-Roll bar was missing!!!
Handbrake didnt work!!!
And i spent nearly everynight comming home from work and getting the tools out of the garage just to make sure it would work the next day!
I have lost count how many hours i have spent under the bonnet and would not like to tell the enemy how much i have spent on getting it to run right and to be honest i am still not quite there. Although it runs really well now. If you are not mechanically minded then these cars can become a very expensive 'try'. I have been lucky and been able to do all the work myself, i would hate to think how much the list above would have cost had i taken it to a TVR dealer
Look around and get the best you can afford but dont compromise price/cheapness over quality/condition...!!!
You will get what you pay for when buying TVR’s and the proverb buyer beware is very true when spending money on any TVR.
I bought the biggest sack of brown stuff you could ever hope not to own 8 months ago and have spent all that time getting the car back up to first class condition.
With engine rebuild, Power steering, electric, full re-spray and lots of cosmetics and the car is still not finished. Yet in that time have covered around 4000 fantastic miles.
If you want super car performance for budget car running cost go buy a Westfield 20 16V it will wipe the floor with most TVR,s and will be reliable and cheap to run whilst being rocket-ship quick.
HOWEVER there is nothing to compare with the grin you get when you blast down the road in a Chimaera they look stunning and drive well and I would not trade my car for anything.
Good Luck!!!
I bought the biggest sack of brown stuff you could ever hope not to own 8 months ago and have spent all that time getting the car back up to first class condition.
With engine rebuild, Power steering, electric, full re-spray and lots of cosmetics and the car is still not finished. Yet in that time have covered around 4000 fantastic miles.
If you want super car performance for budget car running cost go buy a Westfield 20 16V it will wipe the floor with most TVR,s and will be reliable and cheap to run whilst being rocket-ship quick.
HOWEVER there is nothing to compare with the grin you get when you blast down the road in a Chimaera they look stunning and drive well and I would not trade my car for anything.
Good Luck!!!
And there lies the truth.......... No matter what you may be able to purchase for the same money, nothing and i mean NOTHING gives you the smile per mile a sorted Chimaera can. Even the bad days when things go wrong ae good days. You either love them or hate them.There is no middle ground.
I paid top whack for mine from a reputable TVR specialist and still spent £4000 last year on maintenance. If you are only buying one because they are reatively cheap, don't. You've only scratched the surface of the cost of ownership when you buy it.
Don't get me wrong I wouldn't want rid of mine, but it's not cheap.
Don't get me wrong I wouldn't want rid of mine, but it's not cheap.
Well there you go....The price ya pays isnt always a gaurantee of reliability..Enter into ownership eyes wide open and be prepared to spend money and you will love every minute. If you want to run on a shoestring look some where else and leave the REAL fun for those prepared to look after there cars and keep them in top form whatever the cost.
just to put my tuppence in
i have had over a month now
and
well i am perfectionist sometimes
and my trevor has just been great
bought resonably cheap but chassis is excellent
so done loads of stuff to it and feel like i know the car now
(dam thing has got under my skin)(cheaper than a woman though)
and fell like i know more about it, how it runs, held together (or not sometimes)
and getting a great deal of satisfaction out of the car even though currently,
for the last 2 weeks doing work to make it look excellent
anyway if you get into it, worth it i would say
i have had over a month now
and
well i am perfectionist sometimes
and my trevor has just been great
bought resonably cheap but chassis is excellent
so done loads of stuff to it and feel like i know the car now
(dam thing has got under my skin)(cheaper than a woman though)
and fell like i know more about it, how it runs, held together (or not sometimes)
and getting a great deal of satisfaction out of the car even though currently,
for the last 2 weeks doing work to make it look excellent
anyway if you get into it, worth it i would say
Got to agree with most of this thread, you get what you pay for.
Had mine a couple of years or so, found it through David Batty.
Paid 'the going rate' for it. Not cheap, not overpriced.
Touching a whole shed load of wood, I've not been forced to spend anything on it other than servicing, some dampers and tyres. It hasn't let me down once.
The other money I have spent has been my choice, on 'nice bits' to make it look/perform better.
It's been driven fairly hard at times and the only real tip I would give you is; if you buy a Chim, every time you get out of the car when you get home, before you lock it up, say "thank you car" to it.
It's worked for me.
I may well be the luckiest man alive.
Had mine a couple of years or so, found it through David Batty.
Paid 'the going rate' for it. Not cheap, not overpriced.
Touching a whole shed load of wood, I've not been forced to spend anything on it other than servicing, some dampers and tyres. It hasn't let me down once.
The other money I have spent has been my choice, on 'nice bits' to make it look/perform better.
It's been driven fairly hard at times and the only real tip I would give you is; if you buy a Chim, every time you get out of the car when you get home, before you lock it up, say "thank you car" to it.
It's worked for me.
I may well be the luckiest man alive.
Had mine for six months, bought it for a reasonable sum from a specialist in kent.
First week the trottle cable broke. Our dealer had one in stock, I fiited it back on the road.
Two weeks after the rear shock came into the car to see what I was doing at 65 this was quite interesting. I had the car recoverd to my local dealer for repair and service and check over. Just under 2k later with new rear suspension, radiator, fans a full service and valet, has not gone wrong since.
Except if you count new rear lights when a BMW ran up the back of it in a carpark. He did not se me. (its yellow)
Would I be without it No, it makes me smile every time i drive it, which is everyday my neihbours love me at 5am.
First week the trottle cable broke. Our dealer had one in stock, I fiited it back on the road.
Two weeks after the rear shock came into the car to see what I was doing at 65 this was quite interesting. I had the car recoverd to my local dealer for repair and service and check over. Just under 2k later with new rear suspension, radiator, fans a full service and valet, has not gone wrong since.
Except if you count new rear lights when a BMW ran up the back of it in a carpark. He did not se me. (its yellow)
Would I be without it No, it makes me smile every time i drive it, which is everyday my neihbours love me at 5am.
I agree with the above but think its painting a bit of a bad picture, I have owned my chim for 9 months and all I have done is check the oil/water fluids, tyres etc at least every week.
Admittedly I had a new radiator but that was done under warranty, I dont spend all weekend with a set of spanners (although do tend to wash and wax it!) and it has started every single time.
Thats not to say I have not experienced the odd quirk but thats part of ownership and just improves it if you ask me!
They can be tempremental and if you mistreat/do not respect them they will bite back but find me another car that makes you grin so much even just starting it then I'll eat my steering wheel!
Admittedly I had a new radiator but that was done under warranty, I dont spend all weekend with a set of spanners (although do tend to wash and wax it!) and it has started every single time.
Thats not to say I have not experienced the odd quirk but thats part of ownership and just improves it if you ask me!
They can be tempremental and if you mistreat/do not respect them they will bite back but find me another car that makes you grin so much even just starting it then I'll eat my steering wheel!
Just to add my experience. I have owned mine for nearly 4 years. Apart from servicing, painting / waxoiling chassis some tyres and a few little niggles (i'm a perfectionist
) I have had lots of fun driving, polishing and generally enjoying the car. It has been one of the best cars I have owned and do not plan to ever sell it. Although I would like to get another one to keep the Chim company! 
) I have had lots of fun driving, polishing and generally enjoying the car. It has been one of the best cars I have owned and do not plan to ever sell it. Although I would like to get another one to keep the Chim company! Hi Steve
My tuppence...
I had my Chimaera for over five years, and she only left me at the side of the road once - the old Rover V8 is tried and tested and basically reliable. And the rumble as you turn the key will put a smile on your face that few other cars (at any price) can match.
But the purchase price is only a small part of the cost. By modern car standards services are frequent and expensive, and she won't do 30 to the gallon even if you drive her gently. And you won't. And you will care about her enough to fix the small things that you would simply "let go" on a Eurobox. All of this adds up in cost.
These cars also cost time - they need to be driven once a week even if you have other plans. Otherwise they try to find some mechanical way to "sulk".
A TVR is not an MX-5 and it would be a mistake to assume that a similar purchase price means a similar experience. They are not as unreliable as you will have heard, but more investment is required in both time and money than a standard car. Near-supercar performance is never cheap.
I don't regret mine for an instant.
My tuppence...
I had my Chimaera for over five years, and she only left me at the side of the road once - the old Rover V8 is tried and tested and basically reliable. And the rumble as you turn the key will put a smile on your face that few other cars (at any price) can match.
But the purchase price is only a small part of the cost. By modern car standards services are frequent and expensive, and she won't do 30 to the gallon even if you drive her gently. And you won't. And you will care about her enough to fix the small things that you would simply "let go" on a Eurobox. All of this adds up in cost.
These cars also cost time - they need to be driven once a week even if you have other plans. Otherwise they try to find some mechanical way to "sulk".
A TVR is not an MX-5 and it would be a mistake to assume that a similar purchase price means a similar experience. They are not as unreliable as you will have heard, but more investment is required in both time and money than a standard car. Near-supercar performance is never cheap.
I don't regret mine for an instant.
Consensus is that you need to buy carefully and budget for running costs. Id echo that usage past and present is very imporant. Ive run 2 Chimaeras in the last 3 1/2 years as daily drivers and had very few problems. Both cars were bought privately from an owner who looked after and used his car. Neither were cheap to buy but neither has cost me a fortune to run.
I went into TVR ownership with my eyes wide open and expected problems in compensation for the immense pleasure they bring to drive. This hasnt really been the case and find the Chim a thrilling but perfectly usable car. Nothing cheers you up after a crappy day at work like dropping the roof and burbling off home. It's good for the soul!
Prices have taken a battering so thare are some bargains out there. I was amazed by a 9 grand Chim bought by a mate in the Summer. It felt as tight as my much newer car and has proved to been great. Do your homework, be prepared to walk away, factor in a slush fund and try a few. You'll probably like it.
Thats probably jinxed it and it will blow up tommmorrow.
I went into TVR ownership with my eyes wide open and expected problems in compensation for the immense pleasure they bring to drive. This hasnt really been the case and find the Chim a thrilling but perfectly usable car. Nothing cheers you up after a crappy day at work like dropping the roof and burbling off home. It's good for the soul!
Prices have taken a battering so thare are some bargains out there. I was amazed by a 9 grand Chim bought by a mate in the Summer. It felt as tight as my much newer car and has proved to been great. Do your homework, be prepared to walk away, factor in a slush fund and try a few. You'll probably like it.
Thats probably jinxed it and it will blow up tommmorrow.
I bought mine 2 years ago from Fernies at a fair dealers price. It had one previous owner and about 24k on the clock. Ive done another 8,000 miles and apart from the two services have spent absolutely nothing on the car. As soon as its warmed up it drives like a dream. I must be v lucky
I'm 10 months into my 97 450 now - paid a high (but private so not as high as a dealer!) price for it and have never regretted it. Had it checked out by Rob and everything he's said about it has been spot on. Shes never let me down, always brings a smile. The trick is to use it at least once a week and get it serviced on time every time.
I also check the oil, water and tyre pressures every time I drive her.... but I think once a week would be fine - I just like to hoon around and need to be confident in my own mind that everything is 100% before I let rip :-)
Oh I nearly forgot - after a few months had her checked by Austec and they recommended replacing the HT's and the coil as a precaution. And that did make her run a smidge smoother. Other than that just servicing and a wheel balance to date :-)
Recent rolling road test put her at 259BHP wheeeeeeee heheh
edited to add - ok I lied (memory of a goldfish) she did let me down once when she wouldnt start and seemed to have a flat battery - a quick fiddle with the relays under the dash and a clean of the ecu contacts sorted it out :-)
>> Edited by bigdods on Monday 3rd April 19:47
I also check the oil, water and tyre pressures every time I drive her.... but I think once a week would be fine - I just like to hoon around and need to be confident in my own mind that everything is 100% before I let rip :-)
Oh I nearly forgot - after a few months had her checked by Austec and they recommended replacing the HT's and the coil as a precaution. And that did make her run a smidge smoother. Other than that just servicing and a wheel balance to date :-)
Recent rolling road test put her at 259BHP wheeeeeeee heheh
edited to add - ok I lied (memory of a goldfish) she did let me down once when she wouldnt start and seemed to have a flat battery - a quick fiddle with the relays under the dash and a clean of the ecu contacts sorted it out :-)
>> Edited by bigdods on Monday 3rd April 19:47
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