Advice wanted
Advice wanted
Author
Discussion

sclemow

Original Poster:

63 posts

302 months

Monday 9th June 2003
quotequote all
I'm looking at getting a V plate 4.5 Chimera and am looking for advice.

It's done a fair few miles (52K) but has been owned from new by a friend, so I know where it's been and that it's been looked after.

What sort of problems do higher mileage ones give?

Presumably I won't be a million miles away from needing a clutch and starting to think about gearbox/engine problems. How scary can these be?

Also what sort of value does it have?

It's tidy, FTVRSH, dark metallic blue etc.

S

tvrbob

11,194 posts

278 months

Monday 9th June 2003
quotequote all
High miles not normally a problem, in fact they are more reliable for being used. At around 40k miles Chimaera's start needing clutch replacement (later if mostly motorway driving), some have problems with worn cams, dampers and other suspension bits.

I'd look to see that it has a real TVR service history and that some mechanical bits have been renewed, otherwise they'll all start to need replacing as soon as you hand over the money. In the end these cars are built to very high tolerances so they do need to be kept in good order and you have to be prepared to spend to keep them on the road.

sclemow

Original Poster:

63 posts

302 months

Tuesday 10th June 2003
quotequote all
Cheers Bob,

Presumably a clutch isn't a massive job, how about the cams?

What sort of drop in value do the high mileage ones suffer from?

50+K is quite a lot higher than you generally see them with.

It has a full s/h, but as far as I know the only mechanical bits that have been replaced are an LSD that went.

S

Mark.S

473 posts

300 months

Tuesday 10th June 2003
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I seem to remember seeing prices for clutch replacement at £700-900 for parts+labour - worth keeping in mind come bargaining time!

mojorider

235 posts

282 months

Tuesday 10th June 2003
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I have one with 43k on the clock. Just had tones of work done, clutch (600), camm (800), nitrons (1000), AP brakes (1200), starter, batt and other bits.

The ones that are looming are clutch, camm and suspension. Now that these have been done on mine it feels fantastic, better than new with the after market brakes and suspension.

I like a good high mileage since you can affort to put a bit of cash into upgrades and get a bit nicer that standard car.