My first Chimaera
Discussion
Hi everyone,
I am looking at purchasing my first TVR in the next few days and was after a little assistance on what to look for etc etc. You probably get 100s of these emails but i really am struggling.
You ALWAYS hear bad reports about TVRs and seeing as i want to use it 3 - 4 days a week i wanna know if its gonna be worth it or is it gonna sit in my garage for most of its life.
All help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks]
I am looking at purchasing my first TVR in the next few days and was after a little assistance on what to look for etc etc. You probably get 100s of these emails but i really am struggling.
You ALWAYS hear bad reports about TVRs and seeing as i want to use it 3 - 4 days a week i wanna know if its gonna be worth it or is it gonna sit in my garage for most of its life.
All help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks]
If you use a service to check a car, find out exactly what you are getting for your money.
If the car is being expected, it should go on a ramp. Personally I would use an independent specialist for this. Alternatively, I would recommend James Agger.
Do your homework properly, you'll LOVE a good one, and you'll HATE a bad one - as will your wallet.
If the car is being expected, it should go on a ramp. Personally I would use an independent specialist for this. Alternatively, I would recommend James Agger.
Do your homework properly, you'll LOVE a good one, and you'll HATE a bad one - as will your wallet.
There's a buyer's guide on Chimaerapages.com.
Rob Ingleby and James Agger can be found on the Links page.
>> Edited by theaxe on Thursday 1st June 12:07
Rob Ingleby and James Agger can be found on the Links page.
>> Edited by theaxe on Thursday 1st June 12:07
Pete Stuart said:
No i havent. Is he any good? Where can i get his service from? I saw a lovely starmist blue one for sale on an M reg for 9k with 44,000 as he was going abroad and wanted a quick sale. Are the earlier ones aggro or seem to be ok?
I'd say that ones from 1995 and on an M plate are probably the best of all......
Seriously, everyone will tell you that the most important point to consider when buying a TVR is CONDITION.....this takes precedence over everything else - age, mileage, equipment....
Remember also that a 95 is not that early....quite a few 93's about.....
Oh and you're right to think of a blue one......although maybe not starmist...
Did I mention that I'm selling mine.......???
WWESTY said:
I'd say that ones from 1995 and on an M plate are probably the best of all......
Mine's a 1994 M plate and he's perfect, inside and out. Austec said it's a very fine example of an early Tiv. No significant problems just a few niggles which significantly improved after a new ECU and HT leads were fitted.cossie. said:
I'd say that ones from 1995 and on an M plate are probably the best of all......
Pete Stuart said:
Hi everyone,
I am looking at purchasing my first TVR in the next few days and was after a little assistance on what to look for etc etc.
Pete Stuart said:
Believe me i have been looking for a while now for a decent one.
Hi there
Ok i'm confused.. you've been looking for a while now, and are now going to buy one in the next few days, and now you're asking what to look out for
..so, have you found one that you want to buy already, or are you just looking at the market? Whatever you do don't rush into buying one that looks the shinyest.. now is the traditonally the most expensive time of year to buy too, so don't be too disappointed when you see "just like my car" for sale in the Autumn/Winter for a grand or more less than what you paid for yours if you buy in June.
As said, buy the Bible, buy on condition (and I tend to start looking underneath before even getting into the car) and search the threads on here using the search function to find a healthy list of all do's and don'ts on buying a Chim.
Good luck,
Matt.
Pete Stuart said:
Hi WWesty
So yours is a good one then? Whats the mileage and what sort of money you after?
Thanks
Like a lamb to the slaughter...
Do you want to buy my 97 P plater..? 48,000 on the clock, just been serviced.. yours for £13k.
(seriously WWesty's car is OK
) >> Edited by M@H on Thursday 1st June 22:21
M@H said:
Hi WWesty
So yours is a good one then? Whats the mileage and what sort of money you after?
Thanks
Like a lamb to the slaughter...
Do you want to buy my 97 P plater..? 48,000 on the clock, just been serviced.. yours for £13k.
M@H said:
overpriced cars.....blah blah.....
OK I've binned the post.. before WWesty's dummy is found in General Gassing.
His car is very nice, and indeed before he owned it I was enquiring about buying it.
Just to round it off.. my car isn't for sale.
Back to the subject in hand I wrote this back in december:
Cheers
Matt
>> Edited by M@H on Thursday 1st June 22:38
His car is very nice, and indeed before he owned it I was enquiring about buying it.
Just to round it off.. my car isn't for sale.
Back to the subject in hand I wrote this back in december:
M@H said:
Now then, when you start to look at them take this from me though, DO NOT look at the topside first !! They can be as shiney as you like but thats irrelevant at this point. Look first as the Wishbones, outriggers and general state of the chassis, if there is a look of neglect and any significant rust on the chassis or outriggers DO NOT drive the car as there's no point wasting the sellers time, thank him/her politely for their time and walk away, THIS IS IMPORTANT! Read this thread for an idea: www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topi
Only if they are good underneath, start on the topside, and only if they are ok here drive the car (Also shiney bits from Leven etc. are all very well, but they are the icing ON the cake, make sure you like THE cake first). If you drive the Chim first then the heart will rule the head and you'll suffer later on as you'll gloss over any bad points just to get back behind the wheel .."cos it was SOOOO lovely to drive ..and the noise ..OH boy"
Do your research and your sums, see how it looks and if its a go-er then brilliant ..if things are looking a bit tight then there's always the option of an S Series to consider. A lot of Chim owners have started with an S (or is it a lot of S owners end up with a Chim ) £5-6k will buy you a very nice one, servicing is cheaper, parts are cheaper, insurance is cheaper and you've still got 160bhp with options to tune it ..plus they really are cracking fun to drive
Oh and one more thing ..there's no rush (the weathers cr*p anyway) ..it can take months to find the "right" car and there are new ones coming onto the market very regularly.
Cheers,
Matt
Oh and don't forget to check the register once you've found one you like, some bargain cars may be Cat D or Cat C listed. Some cars are on the register and the current owners don't even know!
Cheers
Matt
>> Edited by M@H on Thursday 1st June 22:38
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