Virgin would be owner
Discussion
To anyone who would like to help.
After many years (10 in total!) debating the whys and where fors of buying a TVR I have finally decided that now is the right time. I wont bore you with reason of why I have not took the plunge before.
After doing a fair bit of research into it all I stumbled across your excellent site. I am looking at buying a Griffith, specfically at one with 55k on the clock.
Could any of you point me in the right direction as to what to look out for when buying a car like this? should higher than average mileage (on a 10 year old car) be avoided, what to look out for, the do's and dont's etc.
Thanking you all in advance.
After many years (10 in total!) debating the whys and where fors of buying a TVR I have finally decided that now is the right time. I wont bore you with reason of why I have not took the plunge before.
After doing a fair bit of research into it all I stumbled across your excellent site. I am looking at buying a Griffith, specfically at one with 55k on the clock.
Could any of you point me in the right direction as to what to look out for when buying a car like this? should higher than average mileage (on a 10 year old car) be avoided, what to look out for, the do's and dont's etc.
Thanking you all in advance.
Ive recently been through this,in fact picked mine up on saturday..... there is an endless amount of information on this site regarding the cars,and lots of helpfull people willing to advise,search function will arm you with all the main points to cover,main thing drummed into me was buy on three things,condition,condition,condition...... these cars vary greatly depending on how they have been cared for,raft full of history will show that someone has been bothered about owning one,higher miles cars are reckoned to be a better bet than limied use low miler ones,as any faults,bug's should have hopefully been ironed out and sorted with the extra miles covered..... i would say that now might be the best time to buy,as with everyone tightening their belts,owning a summer toy might not be high on the agenda for some,so cars may be on the market that might not otherwise be
55K on a 10 year old car is not excessive by any imagination. All cars benefit from being used and serviced regularily.
The main thing to check out is the condition of the outriggers and main chassis rails. Then a service history and the colour combination and condition of exterior and interior.
I think you know 'The One' when you see it
The main thing to check out is the condition of the outriggers and main chassis rails. Then a service history and the colour combination and condition of exterior and interior.
I think you know 'The One' when you see it
Hi Simon and welcome
As has been said it's the condition and history of the car that's important, not so much the mileage. If you see a car you like give it a good inspection and if you're not sure what too look for it might be worth asking a knowledgeable friend or mechanic to take a look. If you find a perfect example that's great but you might have to weigh up the +'s & -'s of a particular car and compromise a bit !?!? i.e. if a car is mechanically and structurally sound but just needs a little TLC to the interior or paint, that might be a better bet than a shiny car with uncertain mechanicals.
Either way there is tons of information on this site and on TheGriffithPages, plus there's a buyer's guide on TGP's too.
Good luck
G
As has been said it's the condition and history of the car that's important, not so much the mileage. If you see a car you like give it a good inspection and if you're not sure what too look for it might be worth asking a knowledgeable friend or mechanic to take a look. If you find a perfect example that's great but you might have to weigh up the +'s & -'s of a particular car and compromise a bit !?!? i.e. if a car is mechanically and structurally sound but just needs a little TLC to the interior or paint, that might be a better bet than a shiny car with uncertain mechanicals.
Either way there is tons of information on this site and on TheGriffithPages, plus there's a buyer's guide on TGP's too.
Good luck
G
Hi Simon,
I was in a similar position to you just a month ago. There's loads of info here and on the giffithpages as mentioned above however I was still not confident enough to make the decision by myself and so had Rob Ingleby help me source a car. In the end he found me a gem at a good price.
Good luck and welcome
I was in a similar position to you just a month ago. There's loads of info here and on the giffithpages as mentioned above however I was still not confident enough to make the decision by myself and so had Rob Ingleby help me source a car. In the end he found me a gem at a good price.
Good luck and welcome
Welcome.
As you are here it is worth mentioning that the rules here prevents us from sharing our negative experiences.
This can lead to people getting a false sense of security about some garages, car inspection services, ect.
The best advice can be obtained by visiting your local TVRCC meeting. People there are free to tell of their bad experiences too and this is more balanced.
They will know the history of local cars for sale. Also, the garages to trust, or avoid and much more.
If you use an inspection service, make sure you talk to someone who has sold a TVR and the buyer used an inspector.
Ask how thoroughly he checked their car. You may be surprised.
The Owners you meet will usually be happy to show off their cars. You may even get a demonstration and this will help you focus upon which model and specification you want.
As you are here it is worth mentioning that the rules here prevents us from sharing our negative experiences.
This can lead to people getting a false sense of security about some garages, car inspection services, ect.
The best advice can be obtained by visiting your local TVRCC meeting. People there are free to tell of their bad experiences too and this is more balanced.
They will know the history of local cars for sale. Also, the garages to trust, or avoid and much more.
If you use an inspection service, make sure you talk to someone who has sold a TVR and the buyer used an inspector.
Ask how thoroughly he checked their car. You may be surprised.
The Owners you meet will usually be happy to show off their cars. You may even get a demonstration and this will help you focus upon which model and specification you want.
Just drive a few. Most griffiths have horrible handling. If you drive a few you will notice. It is all about spending a lot of money on suspension parts and so on. Then they can handle ok. Still not the best but good. So expect to spend noney on new shocks i use intrax and bushes and springs, good set up. Rollbar rubbers and so on. Use shocks with rose joints because the silent blocks will wear out fast and rose joints give much better handling. Griff is fast car lots of torque. For the rest they a simple to repair cars and cheap to drive. Full service history says nothing in my opinion because it depend on who did service. My griff came with full service history of TVR dealers and i will tell you the work they did was horrible. Servicing is not much work and you can do it yourself easily. Take the checklist from the internet and check all the points and put new oil in it. Very easy. My brother is ferrari dealer and we both agreed that the FSH did not say anything. Just waste of money. So drive one spend money on handling issues. For me did cost about 3 thousand euro or so. Did all the work myself. Put some ferodo raciong brake pads in it and the car will brake well too. Stiffening the triangles will help too. Basic frame is good and racy but parts TVR used were kinda cheap and bad. And by the way it is much easier to work on a TVR then on a toyota. There is absolutely no reason to pay lots of money for servicing or so. Engine is old design and 55000 miles will absolutely not be a problem. Put thicker oil in it in stead of mobil 1. I use synthetic oil the same my brother pus in his ferrari's. And make some heatshields to prevent the shocks to warm because of the heat of the manifolds. Easy job you can do it yourself i guess. For the rest the griff is the cheapest car i have ever had and never let me down. Except of a fuse under the car. Absolutely no high tech car.There is not much that can go wrong.
Littlebit more. I said something that is not really right. There is nothing that can go really wrong. But do not forget that TVR attached all the lines(brake and fuel) to the chassic with tie raps!!!!! So for every sevice buy a bag of tie raps!!! Incredible bad build quality but i guess this is the fun of TVR. And when you really push the throttle the ECU can come out because they just put it on top of the battery!!!! With a rubber piece under it to prevent it to touch the battery!!! Really!!!! And all kind of weird stuff. But this is TVR. Thing will fall of too like mirrors and so on. Changing a lamp also takes a while and changing fuses is also bit TVR like. But ok i have one and i like it.
2nd post time..............
Thanks for your input, went and had a look but still not sure.
Tell me,Do griffiths have to have cambelt changed around this point cause if they do this had not had anything done apart from according to the owner "Only sign of a belt on the history is something which says "drive belt -
serpentine 500" for £10.92??? am I being thick here. Please be gentle with me. I need to know tonight as I have to make my mind up on this car. Thanks
Thanks for your input, went and had a look but still not sure.
Tell me,Do griffiths have to have cambelt changed around this point cause if they do this had not had anything done apart from according to the owner "Only sign of a belt on the history is something which says "drive belt -
serpentine 500" for £10.92??? am I being thick here. Please be gentle with me. I need to know tonight as I have to make my mind up on this car. Thanks
Despite there being many things to worry about (as per replies above), thankfully a cambelt is not one of them! It's not an OHC (OverHead Cam) engine and doesn't have one, it relies on pushrods instead - very old school. So lack of a bill for that is not an issue. Condition is almost everything...
Cheers Tony
on this one I am looking at thewould effect trim around the electric window buttons and heater knobs is cracked and split badly in a couple of places. Can I get new one? easy to replace?
As someone mentioned further up the thread good mechanical back ground and fsh is more important then a bit of tarting up. This is the case with this one, trim needs fixing a fair few stone chips (mirors but I know they are prone to that) leather needs glueing and a good clean in cabin etc.
on this one I am looking at thewould effect trim around the electric window buttons and heater knobs is cracked and split badly in a couple of places. Can I get new one? easy to replace?
As someone mentioned further up the thread good mechanical back ground and fsh is more important then a bit of tarting up. This is the case with this one, trim needs fixing a fair few stone chips (mirors but I know they are prone to that) leather needs glueing and a good clean in cabin etc.
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