£7500 Chim - Bargain or money pit?

[MGYoung]

hi there,

I've noticed that early Chims are now down to £7500 - £8000. On the basis that the car will be used as a second vehicle and annual mileage will be around 4500 miles will a car of this value more than likely be a money pit or a bargain?

All the best.

Martin.

[Mackempete]

Its really going to depend on the condition of the car in question. Take someone who knows about them to look it over and check the chassis. I'd prefer one that was tatty on top but sound underneath.

I bought a cheap one a few years ago and it pretty much put me off the car and the marque, it was only when i got the car completely sorted at a huge cost that i've been able to enjoy it.

[_deejay_]

MGYoung said:

hi there,

I've noticed that early Chims are now down to £7500 - £8000. On the basis that the car will be used as a second vehicle and annual mileage will be around 4500 miles will a car of this value more than likely be a money pit or a bargain?

All the best.

Martin.

I bought a bargain basement Chim (for less than the figure you mentioned). I've done 500 miles in it so far (over a couple of weeks) and it's running well.
It's in for a service soon, but so far it's looking good. As has been said buy on condition. The chassis on mine is much better than most I've seen (regardless of cost) - though it does need a coat of waxoil.

D

[That Daddy]

yep you can pick up chims for that kinda figure but be very very careful,you could end up wuth a right plum,be warned and good luck hunting.

[the gazman]

You should find a specialist to look over the car before you buy.
Even low mileage examples with good histories can be expensive to get up to standard.
PM me for an expert in your area who could save you a heap of money.
Things to watch out for.
1) Chassis
2) Chassis
3) Chassis
Get my drift, get it on a ramp with an expert eye beside you.
I've just had a R plate Cerb that cost 16k in for shocks but found out that was the least of his problems. It needed a body off restoration because of lack of maintenance on the underside.
Conversely my Chim on an N plate has been kept dry and looked after, other than a bit of surface rust is fine.

[MGYoung]

Thanks Gazman,

Don't know too much Chims although I know that they used a spaceframe chassis. Is it a case of the chassis suffering from structural rust? If so which areas tend to be the worst affected?

Thanks.

Martin.

[Andy JB]

Just bear in mind that a car advertised at a lower price doesn't mean there are problems necessarily, in fact why advertise them, may be just soemone who wants a quick sale or doesn't understand teh market. I have paid similar money 6 months ago and was equally suspicious, however, I have since had several professional inspections and there are no horror stories in fact just the reverse regarding condition and chassis plus mileage was low.

Just be careful & go in with your head, cheap doesn't necessarily mean cheerful

[Nuggs]

Andy JB said:

...cheap doesn't necessarily mean cheerful...

...and expensive doesn't always mean mint.

As has been said, it's all on condition, condition, condition.

[the gazman]

MGYoung said:

Thanks Gazman,

Don't know too much Chims although I know that they used a spaceframe chassis. Is it a case of the chassis suffering from structural rust? If so which areas tend to be the worst affected?
Thanks.
Martin.

The front end of the outriggers where there is a fishplate is favorite because of lack of access and gets all the muck thrown at it and it sits there rotting the steel but if you get the car on a ramp any of the various experts will be able to point out potential problems.
Another problem that you can get is worn camshaft lobes particularly on cars that have been sitting about, Steve Howard at Euphoria put a heat gun on different areas of the manifolds on my low mileage example and showed me which lobes had worn, sure enough when we took it out you could see the problem areas.

My point to all this is that for a few quid on an inspection by an expert you can save thousands and I mean thousands.

[Roobarb]

Price of purchase is not price of ownership with any TVR no matter its original condition. Sure if you buy a lemon then its arms and legs o'clock, so yes of course, you need to do as much damage limitation as you can.
Given that you are even looking at a £7K car and asking such questions makes me wander if you know how much one of these cars costs to own.
So heres some ball parks, not wanting to put you off, just so that you are entering into this with eyes wide open.
I have had my 1995 5L Chimaera for some years now. A good year costs £450 service, £600 insurance, £150 TAX and say, £1000 petrol. Overall its in excellent condition, but on top of that it still costs me about £1500 extra every other year for run of the mill maintanence. Also if you drive it a lot and with meaning (as you should), you'll get through a set of boots every two years (or 3.5 Hrs on Ride Drive) at about £120 a corner.
So a cheap year = £2200, an expensive year may start at say, £3700. A few years ago my diff went. = £1000 later. Another year I took it to France for 2 weeks, that cost me £1000 in petrol alone.
All of this is just general stuff, (OK I was unlucky with the diff) just bear it in mind.
So as Nuggs says chassis in vital, just because its low milage doesn't mean its any good. RV8s suffer from camouts. This happens most in vehicles that do a lot of standing around between drives ie low milage for its year type cars.

[MGYoung]

Thanks for all the advice – much appreciated.

I’m not in a position to buy just yet. I’m doing my homework first!

As the car will be a second vehicle I don’t need to rush with the purchase. I have a boring (but extremely reliable, comfy, practical) Ford Mondeo TDCI 130 in which I do around 16-18K miles a year. The Chimaera is one option for a second toy.

I’ve previously owned both a Caterham and a Westfield and had great fun in both. I’m considering the following vehicles.

1. TVR Chimaera - £7500
2. Lotus Elise - £8000
3. Caterham Seven - £7500 - £8500

The budget does vary depending on the vehicle as a basic Caterham will be much cheaper to run than a TVR. The one thing that will influence my decision is that the car will have to be left outside for the summer months. I have secure parking for the car (private property, round the back of my flat, not visible from the road) but it isn’t covered.

All the best.

Martin.

[grumbledoak]

Martin

All three of those will cope equally well with the lack of cover (i.e. poorly). The Chim probably the best of them, but you'll still want a cover.

Those three, to me, sound like: track, fun, or weekends away.

P

[mccrackenj]

Don't be put off by the fact that you've no garage. My car sits outside all year round with no cover, as do plenty of other Chimaeras & Griffiths. With a modicum of effort (eg regular waterproofing of roof) they can be made watertight. Use the search facility and search for such phrases as "leaking", "wet carpets", "water in boot", "Thompson's Waterseal" etc etc

[That Daddy]

ill second that McCrackeni i used that thompson weathershield after recommendation on here(fault you lot were taking the piss)but i must say my car is leak free now,there should be no reason why a chim cant live outside allyear.And thanks chim posters again.