Advice on buying a Chimaera
Discussion
Hi all, i'm thinking about a Chimaera, budget £8-£10k, a few brief questions, when viewing is their anything to look for mechanically or body wise?, is the servicing each year or mileage related?,Does it need to be main dealer? is there a big service at any point?? cost?? whats the resale like on these cars? any other info you think will benfit me would be much apppriciated
sjw ferrari said:
Hi all, i'm thinking about a Chimaera, budget £8-£10k, a few brief questions, when viewing is their anything to look for mechanically or body wise?, is the servicing each year or mileage related?,Does it need to be main dealer? is there a big service at any point?? cost?? whats the resale like on these cars? any other info you think will benfit me would be much apppriciated
Buy on condition and pay as much as you can afford in order to get the right car, try and get it on a ramp and get the outriggers checked out by somebody who knows what to look for.
Go for a specialist serviced car and go talk to your local TVRCC club members.
The outriggers are the part of the chassis which supports the body under the driver and passenger. They tend to get more punishment as they're more exposed to water & stones kicked up by the wheels. Take a look at the buyer's guide on TVR Chimaera Pages. The gallery has a chassis section too.
Edited by theaxe on Tuesday 13th June 11:01
Hello sjw ferrari
First of all, the 'outriggers' are the outer-most sections of chassis that run between the front and rear wheels on each side. You can see the ends of them if you look in the wheel arches. The outriggers are the parts of the chassis that get the most punishment from crap off the road / wheels. Because of the way the body sits on the chassis, there are some really good little hidey holes where gunk can fester and eat away at your precious metal. You don't want your chassis rotting away because it's /very/ expensive to put right.
As for servicing: you should see services approximately every 6000 miles. I guess it's great if the book's full of TVR dealers but I wouldn't be put off if it's not - as long as the others are sports or TVR indies. Really, the main thing is to make sure the car's been serviced regularly and well looked after: check through the dealer receipts to make sure suggested work has been undertaken. Things like that.
There's a whole load of things that I look for - which I'll add a little later, if I get a moment - but, if you're in any doubt, see if you can get a dealer or an indie to check it out for you. There's at least one person I know of who advertises in the back of the TVRCC magazine, Sprint, who'll do a thorough check and then report back to you. TVRs can be very expensive to look after - especially if you intend having it serviced at a dealer - so it's probably worth spending a couple of hundred quid to get off on the right foot.
Don't worry about depreciation. You buy a TVR for the pleasure it gives you when you're driving it. (As it happens, though, they tend to hold their value reasonably well.) You'll soon understand the "TVR grin"...
>> Edited by codechimp on Sunday 23 April 21:17
First of all, the 'outriggers' are the outer-most sections of chassis that run between the front and rear wheels on each side. You can see the ends of them if you look in the wheel arches. The outriggers are the parts of the chassis that get the most punishment from crap off the road / wheels. Because of the way the body sits on the chassis, there are some really good little hidey holes where gunk can fester and eat away at your precious metal. You don't want your chassis rotting away because it's /very/ expensive to put right.
As for servicing: you should see services approximately every 6000 miles. I guess it's great if the book's full of TVR dealers but I wouldn't be put off if it's not - as long as the others are sports or TVR indies. Really, the main thing is to make sure the car's been serviced regularly and well looked after: check through the dealer receipts to make sure suggested work has been undertaken. Things like that.
There's a whole load of things that I look for - which I'll add a little later, if I get a moment - but, if you're in any doubt, see if you can get a dealer or an indie to check it out for you. There's at least one person I know of who advertises in the back of the TVRCC magazine, Sprint, who'll do a thorough check and then report back to you. TVRs can be very expensive to look after - especially if you intend having it serviced at a dealer - so it's probably worth spending a couple of hundred quid to get off on the right foot.
Don't worry about depreciation. You buy a TVR for the pleasure it gives you when you're driving it. (As it happens, though, they tend to hold their value reasonably well.) You'll soon understand the "TVR grin"...
>> Edited by codechimp on Sunday 23 April 21:17
Buy the Steve heath book for Griffs and Chims , has all the info in it buying guide e.t.c.
on the club site £30 odd .Preference for most buyers is a late 94 onwards with Serpentine engine and T5 gearbox , but as said condition is most important.As said all in the book.
>> Edited by Rum Runner on Monday 24th April 00:24
on the club site £30 odd .Preference for most buyers is a late 94 onwards with Serpentine engine and T5 gearbox , but as said condition is most important.As said all in the book.
>> Edited by Rum Runner on Monday 24th April 00:24
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