Griff or Chim as a main car............

[simonb9]

I was thinking of buying a Chim or Griff but keeping my Omega as my main car. Thing is I walk to work every day so my cars just sit around all week waiting to be driven at the weekends. Now, if I sold my Omega and kept the TVR as my 'main' car could I live with it during the winter months ?? I know only I can answer that but what are your opinions ?? Could you/do you live with your TVR as a main car all year round ?? The Omega's great for buying doors and fence panels and throwing them in the back but would have a little trouble with them in the TVR. (mind you, it would at least stop me from going to the DIY stores at the weekend, which in turn would save a fortune, therefore justifying buying a TVR, SOLD).........

[GJR]

Hi Simon,

I have a firm belief that as long as you find a well looked after example AND once you have the car, service it regularly and look after it, then there is no reason why you can't use a Griff or a Chim daily. In fact I've read posts on PH's that suggest these cars suffer if they are not driven regularly.

My car's been in storage now for a few years and I'm concerned about the problems I might encounter when I get the Griff back on the road. But, for 4 years prior it was driven daily as my only car and covered 36K miles. In that time apart from regular servicing, tyre and fuel costs I had to have a radiator re-core, new starter motor and rocker cover gaskets. It only ever left me on the roadside once and that turned out to be moisture in the distributor cap an a very foggy, misty day. In fact the mechanic that came out to me said I was the fourth that morning.

So.. yeah.. in my experience they can be driven as an only car as long as they're looked after.. and what a daily drive !!!

G

[steve-v8s]

I would say keep the Griff for special occasions, keep it for when the sun is shining and you are in the mood for it. Others will disagree but compared to the every day diesel estate the Griff is noisy, tedious in traffic, especially tedious over speed humps, and steams up when there is the slightest possibility of rain. On the odd occasion when I decide to drive to work in the Griff I usually wish I hadn’t. However when the sun is shining and the mood is right it is unbeatable. Not driving it every day just makes it better when I do.

[mongoose]

A fair bit will also depend on the Griff you buy.Will it be a low mileage well cared for minter,or one thats on the fringe of a rolling resto?Will it have PAS and A/C or not?
Also,the kind of daily drive you face will have a great bearing.
Either way,you've just got to have one

[laz11]

I use my Griff as my only car and have done for the 4 years I have had it. I do about 10000m pa and like you dont drive to work but it gets used at least once a week and that's probably the most important thing; use it regularly. Once I ironed out a few niggling things and got a new battery it has started almost every time, with the exception of a problem with the alarm and when leaving lights on a couple of times. They need looking after and by that I mean in addition to servicing regularly and checking fluid levels, get used to the way it drives and the noises it makes and if and when you sense something is not right get it looked at asap. The more they sit around the more trouble they seem to be. But you need to expect little problems to come up to deal with and if you are unlucky an occasional big problem depending on the age/mileage of the car and how its been looked after. They need to be warmed up thoroughly, so short drives in winter will not do the car any good and also ideally need to be garaged or covered to keep off the frost and snow. Also make sure it is waxoyled, probably annually if its used every winter to keep off the rust. Depending on your budget buy the newest you can if going for a 500, although condition and history are typically more important than age or mileage and get it fully checked out at a reputable independent TVR garage or specialist before you buy.

As far as winter driving is concerned it can be awesome on a dry cold sunny clear day like the ones we have been having recently with the roof off, V8 noise and hot air blasting. But equally when you need to go out and you dont have another car and it's dark freezing, wet and horrible you need to excercise restraint when driving and I'd be lying if I said I wouldnt want a nice modern car for those times! But driving the car in that weather will not do it any harm!

An easy solution is to buy a cheap car for such times, maybe an estate, if you need the space?

[bigdods]

Interesting this. I have a chim 450 and also an Omega as a daily driver plus a VW golf for nipping to the shops. The reasoning is.... I have used the chim to drive to work a few times (100 mile round trip) and found it can get a tad uncomfortable in the rush hour traffic. Crawling along for 1-2 hours with a stiff clutch and hot interior made my mind up about not driving it in too often ... just the sunny days ;-) The omega is brain dead mush but its good for rush hour. Golf is handy for trips into town where parking is tight.

The longest I ever leave the chim is 2 weeks between drives, they need to be regularly used and usually she gets a blast at least once a week. Never had any real problems 2 years and 16k miles later :-)

If you are going to have it as a weekender (like me) then griff or chim its down to personal choice and how big your chest wig is ;-)

[TOM500]

I agree. Had the Chimera 500 as our only car and now the Tuscan S. Neither of us drive to work but we regularly do 200-300+ miles at the weekend along with popping (and spluttering) to the shops mid week. Regular servicing and regular use is the best preservation you can give these cars (both are parked on the street too). As far as winter use goes i really like it when you've got the heaters blasting and the additional heat soak. Gets really cosy on long trips but then you can have the windows open and hear the roar better. With the Chimera I did have to plug up a few drafts up so whoever the new keeper is has also got some of my scarves, but aside from going a little more carefully on winter roads they have both been great year round motors.

[eddie123]

I have had my 95 Griff 500 for over two years (third winter approaching) and use it every day for 10 mile trips each way to work with a mix of town and motorway driving. It hasn't got PAS or Aircon. Yes it does steam up on occasion but a semi open window with demist copes OK. I still look forward to the drive and it gives me a reason to get out of bed. Perhaps I'm a masochist and not normal but stop analysing, just do it, I love it.

[gingerprince]

I used my Griff as my only car for 2 1/2 years. Could be a little tedious in traffic but I learned to cope with it. I even drove home a couple of times in the snow, passing cars that had been ditched because they couldn't cope

I sold the car last month, but only because I have a baby on the way and wouldn't be happy taking a baby in a car with little impact protection. Otherwise I'd still be using the car daily.