Higher mileage Chimaera?

[jamesclarkson]

I am very interested in a Chim that is advertised on Pistonheads and the owner has approached me with a P/X offer which would be ideal for me. The car is a red 95 400 HC with 87000 miles on the clock. I havent viewed the car yet but and have been told that its all about condition condition condition but should I be put off by a higher mileage car? What are the main concerns i should have? The car can be found at http://www.chris-p.co.uk/ if anyone would help me out with this.

Thanks in advance

James

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Pays yer money, takes yer chance. I guess it all depends on what's been done to it in the interim.

[dogbucket]

cam wear would be your biggest concern at that mileage if it has not been done already I would think.
'
edit - ok, looks like it might have been done. 'engine rebuild in 2005'

Edited by dogbucket on Thursday 6th March 15:03

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Looks like plenty has been done. Chassis condition will be the critical issue.

[900T-R]

Note the advert lists a fairly recent engine rebuild and waxoyled chassis among other things - at this age these things seem more relevant than the actual mileage (although conversely I'd be wary of a car that age that has done much less than that).

[ph1l5]

I looked at this advert before I bought mine from the classified its pratically the same in every respect.

[dogbucket]

cam not mentioned in the parts list for the rebuild, but I assume it would have been inspected

[900T-R]

dogbucket said:

cam not mentioned in the parts list for the rebuild, but I assume it would have been inspected

Would be wierd if the most notorious wear part weren't included in an RV8 engine rebuild, no?

[poorpeet]

Mine has done 87K as well. I'd go on the overall condition. Make sure the diffs quiet (ish) & the chassis is ok. The mileage wouldn't worry me if the rest of the cars good.
Keep in mind that the cam can go at low mileages to!

[chim666]

dogbucket said:

cam wear would be your biggest concern at that mileage if it has not been done already I would think.

There's many factors here - Oil type used, manner of driving etc. Another is whether care has been taken to ensure the engine's warmed-up properly before 'exploring' the rev range. Though I agree, with mileage approaching 100K, it's got to be something you need to consider.

That could be something to haggle over when agreeing the price?

Edited by chim666 on Thursday 6th March 15:25

[Slacey]

If you look at the pictures on the chris-p website there are images of the invoices. No mention at all of the cam and with the bill just over a grand, it certainly wasn't included in that job. Has one of those famous inspections with it, too

[900T-R]

hmmm... 'engine rebuild' indeed sounds a somewhat big word for what's basically a bearing shell replacement...

[Gaffer]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/M-Reg-TVR-Chimaera-4-0-HC-No...


Is this the same car..?
Claire

Edited by Gaffer on Thursday 6th March 15:34

[ph1l5]

looks like it.

[peter miller]

Both my Chimaeras have been higher mileage, a 1999 on 70k and my current 450 on 82k. Not had any real issues with either and if it has been looked after and has history with receipts, most of the servicable car may have been replaced by now, at least once. I think as long as the chassis is sound and there are no current issues,eg noises, gearbox or diff, and the engine runs well with reasonable pressure when hot, the a bit of mileage on one of these cars would be preferred, it has only averaged less than 7k a year anyway, I would prefer that than one that only comes out on sunny weekends.

There is a current topic going on at the moment about inspections, which will make interesting reading for you regarding your purchase.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Looks like Stanford Hall in the background.

I hope this helps.

[T16s]

ph1l5 said:

I looked at this advert before I bought mine from the classified its pratically the same in every respect.

Didn't know you'd officially bought her, Phil. Does that mean I can't go out later and make some noise in the tunnels one last time?

[ph1l5]

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[a1butch]

I bought my 78k 96 4.0HC from Henley a few weeks back and wasn't at all fussed about the higher mileage. Condition was good, drove fine, spec great with comprehensive service bills and above all the price was right.
No problems to date and i'm not expecting any in the future!

[mak]

my car is now at 77k and runs and drives how it should, there's only one job that needs sorting but many upgrades i would and will be doing in future, from reading many threads on this forum there are 2 types of car and mileage has nothing to do with it, number 1 car looked after and drives how it should number 2 car a nail, but be warned with high miles it will be a bugger to sell later on because regardless of the facts people STILL have a doubt about it.