blimey anyone seen the Tamora forum?

[danielson]

crikey just perusing the Tamora forum for first time and wished i hadnt, as it seems a few owners are just a tad peeved with reliability problems..now im not doing this thread to start another TVR/reliability thang, but as im interested in a Chimaera and not a Tamora is it fair to say that because the Chims have been around for longer, and use the Rover V8 engines, there is a better chance of one working...i had it in my head that the newer the Chim i could get the better, as over the years niggles would be ironed out by TVR but if even now TVR are having build issues with their newer cars, does it really matter what year i look at providing the usual service history has been applied...is there a "dont touch XX year chims" type story out there?

[M@H]

danielson said:

crikey just perusing the Tamora forum for first time and wished i hadnt, as it seems a few owners are just a tad peeved with reliability problems..now im not doing this thread to start another TVR/reliability thang

good

danielson said:

but as im interested in a Chimaera and not a Tamora is it fair to say that because the Chims have been around for longer, and use the Rover V8 engines, there is a better chance of one working...

I would have to agree.. yes

danielson said:

i had it in my head that the newer the Chim i could get the better, as over the years niggles would be ironed out by TVR but if even now TVR are having build issues with their newer cars, does it really matter what year i look at providing the usual service history has been applied...is there a "dont touch XX year chims" type story out there?

No there isn't.. its all down to what engine/gearbox you want, whether you want "pre" or "post" facelift, and how much you want to spend. That just about covers it.

I'd go for condition, colour, service history and caring owners as my top things to look for, then see what cars you have on the list.

Cheers,
Matt.

>> Edited by M@H on Monday 28th July 12:45

[pbrettle]

Without running the risk of repeating what has already been said, the Chimaera can be a reliable car. You are more likely to find one that is sorted out and running well for the simple reason there are more Chimaeras on the road than any other TVR. The knowledge is higher and as a result reliability is higher.

Look carefully and check the history out of any car you look out. If it looks good, take a really good look - condition is everything and a well cared for car will be head and shoulders above one that hasnt....

[Incorrigible]

IMHO go for a later one with a serpentine engine (search the forums for why)

And to reassure you, I've had no problems (apart from very small electrical niggles (but I maintain the car myself))

I've done 6k miles in mine so far

[apeebles]

Chimaera's are excellent cars. At least mine was....

[M@H]

Incorrigible said:

IMHO go for a later one with a serpentine engine (search the forums for why)

.and IMHO there's nothing actually wrong with a Pre-serpentine either..

I've done about 5,000 in mine so far.

Cheers
Matt.

[bjwoods]

I really would not worry over much if you buy a good example of a griff or chim...

These cars have generally had a very reliable drivetrain/mechanicals (engine,gearbox,etc) over the years, with any unreliabilty issues around simple stuff like cooling or minor eletricals.

imho most cars that have had lots of niggly problems have suffered from lack of use... or lack of regular use (sticking any car in the garage for a few months - ie winter will cause problems)

the tamora/tuscan forum current issue seems to revolve around mainly the tvr S6 engine, not the rover based V8 in all variants of the griff/chim. This v8 has seem long service in various states of tune,etc for over 25 years in various british sports cars.

B

[Don]

We've done over 30K miles in ours.

And fundamentally its reliable - let us down once when the water pump went - but I had a Cavalier that did that....

You DO get an almost endless list of niggles that will piss you off...if you can maintain it yourself they won't bother you so much as you can fix 'em.

I reckon 2-3K costs in maintenance if you're not doing the work yourself. This year will cost a great deal more as we are having it made over (3-4K on top) complete with a respray to make it look *lovely*.

A clutch should last at least 40K miles - ours has...

Get one - they're great!

[Bob the planner]

This year looks like big money for me with the Chim. New disks & pads, gearbox linkage broke and clutch on its way after 55k mls, however not much different to any other performance car, so I'm not complaining. The next thing to go will probably be the cam. Oh and then CV joints and new wishbones and probably dampers as well. I think with all TVRs you have to go in with your eyes open and expect things to last fewer miles than a euro or Jap box.

All IMHO of course.

Bob

[rude girl]

My Chimaera had 40k miles on the clock and my Griff has 34 (and increasing with alarming rapidity!). Neither have missed a beat so far, except for bits and pieces which have come to probably less than £200 between the two of them.

Don't worry too much. Get problems sorted out as soon as you spot them - don't wait for them to get worse.

Enjoy. Love your fellow man. Drink more Merlot

[jigs]

Rude Girl - hope you don't do all that loving and drinking while you're driving your TVR.

It's okay in an Avensis though!

[T1 PCS]

I bought mine new just over 4 years ago (it's a 99 T) and it's been totally reliable (touvhing wood...) over about 45,000 miles. I have no hesitation about taking it for a 300 mile drive through sussex, central london (heat and all) into essex and back in a day.

The better ones seem to get regularly used, serviced on time, oil checked every week or so, and treated carefully (eg not hammered when cold etc).

I'd recommend one any day.

Paul.

[rude girl]

jigs said:

Rude Girl - hope you don't do all that loving and drinking while you're driving your TVR. It's okay in an Avensis though!

LOL jigs.

Not ok even in the Avensis though. On the subject of reliability, I've had 4 Avensisisisisis as company cars now, and two of them have had the brakes fail - this one was on the M1! (no I didn't cook them before you ask ) And Toyota are super-reliable, so it just goes to show (though I don't really know what it goes to show).

Maybe less Merlot, rather than more.....

[ribol]

Just spent 10 days driving around the Lake District - blinding trip. Did about 1000 miles, used virtually no engine oil (1 mm on dipstick), a cup of coolant and averaged 26mpg overall (Chim 400). Did not overheat when sunny, did not leak a drop when it bucketed down for the best part of two days and nothing fell off or packed up. It dealt with 25% gradients as if they were not there, all in all cannot think of any other car I have owned that would have done any better.

Ivan

[alt]

As a direct comparision I've had a used Chimaera 4.0l for 3 years and a new Tamora for the last 18 months. Both cars have been used daily.

Chimaera - gasket cover (?) went so it overheated damaging the radiator. Fans didn't come on so it overheated again.

Tamora - fuel pump realy went so it wouldn't start.

So so far it's 2 problems to the Chimaera and 1 to the Tamora.

Whilst I loved the Chimaera when I had it I forgot about it the moment I collected the Tamora. The Tamora is leagues ahead in performance, handling and interior ergoniomics. But the Chimaera makes the better noise, just!

Cheers..... Andrew

[pbrettle]

One important factor is that repairing a RV8 engined car is significantly less than a SP6 or AJPV8 engined car. You can get most of the parts from just about everywhere and there is a lot of experience out there. Even things like diffs and gearboxes need not be too costly either - just be careful to not take a dealers point of view, because there will be a bloke near(ish) that knows a lot more than they do and charges half as much.....

So even if something goes wrong it wont break the bank to fix. You can do most of the simple stuff yourself, though I suggest that you dont tackle things like suspension and drivetrain unless you know what your are doing. But simple stuff with maintaining the spark plugs, changing the oil and flushing the water system are all nice and easy.... just get your hands genetically modified so that they can fit into some of the gaps you need to get round....