sub 10k grif 500

[mractive]

im looking to get a grif 500, i am 24 so insurance is around a grand so i have only bout 9k to play with interems of getting a car. do you think it is possible to get a 500 for this price in reasonable working order? i have seen some ads with 9500 and by email have achieved 9000 for the seller but i was wondering what u think the condition would be like il put up some links

[mractive]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/965247.htm

[mractive]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/928586.htm

interesting bonnet?

[Bluebottle]

In all honesty, I don't think their is such a beast as a £9k Griff.
If you look real close at one priced in this region you will find several thousand quids worth of work needing to be done to make it road worthy...I could be wrong and you strike it lucky, but...



You a far more likely to get a reasonable Chimeara for this sort of money.

[mractive]

http://www.tvr-car-club.co.uk/classifieds/classifi...

[mractive]

yer there are alot more available for sub 10k however it seems like there mainly 4litre types which as i wanna track the car will be eventually less fun.

[Bluebottle]

mractive said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/965247.htm

Christ! That a serp WITH pas

[mractive]

so do u think its not worth looking at these examples, there are more too in this range. i dont wanna buy a lemon

[scorcher]

Should of thought the Silver one was worth a good gander.I got rid of mine at about the same mileage but it was as good then as when i bought it 33000 miles earlier.

[mractive]

what did you sell yours for? just wana see a comparison of sorts in what someone sold theres for knowing its in good condition

[Bluebottle]

mractive said:

so do u think its not worth looking at these examples, there are more too in this range. i dont wanna buy a lemon

they're always worth a look at, just make sure you do it with your eyes wide open.
Do a forum search for a buyers guide for pointers, but chassis condition is key with tivs.

[mractive]

the only thing is the mot, is an rac inspection suitable or does it need to be a tvr specialist to view prior purchase

Edited by mractive on Sunday 29th March 22:11

[fastandcurious]

Sure enough you can get a Griff 500 for ths money, but you may well be buying into money pit territory. It would pay you to leave a couple of grand to do the things that most 15 year old TVRs need,such as suspension, brakes and servicing. A TVR is a commitment, but worth it.

[mractive]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

track wise how do u think this would hold up in terms of preformance in principle clearly without testing it yourself. basically what i want to know is the 4litre more of a cruiser, i know this isnt a grif

[Edmundo2]

I've just done it. Had a Chim in the past and was considering another one because my budget would potentially buy me more car than going the Griff route. However it's a Griff I've always wanted so just kept waiting/watching the classifieds. I thought I'd have to go pre cat route due to them being that bit cheaper and I really like the look and noise of them but to be honest I wanted something that felt a bit newer so ended up with a higher mileage 500. The chassis seems good, the engine's had a full rebuild at cost of £5k, it has full TVR service history, and the body and interior are in great shape. I came to buy it via placing a wanted ad on this site and the car which wasn't advertised turned up about a mile away from me! I'm now spending a few quid here and there on upgrades and I'm sure it will need a few other bits but thats a part of ownership I like, ( biggest problem is resisting temptation to get every job/upgrade done asap! ). To sum up I would say yes it's possible but as others have said be very carefull and don't buy something your not absolutely convinced by. As mentioned my car had a full engine rebuild about 2k miles ago which cost the previous owner £5k! I hope it doesn't need another one for a while. The silver car looks very good and has had lots done. Well worth a look in my opinion just bear be sure chassis and engine are in good order. Best of luck!

PS. Buy a Steve Heath bible if your planning to view a car as it will give you some good pointers re what to check. Also consider getting it inspected by someone like Rob Ingleby at Find a Sports. He looked over my first TVR which gave peace of mind as I had no prior experience then and wouldn't have known what to look for.

[mractive]

well done mate i hope you got yourself a nice one, i think il def need to invest in getting that book as i have no experience of tvr's. if my inspection comes up ok i think il almost certainly get someone who knows what there looking at to come and see it.

you got any pics of your purchase? would be nice to see its condition

[V8 GRF]

mractive said:

the only thing is the mot, is an rac inspection suitable or does it need to be a tvr specialist to view prior purchase

RAC inspection would be a waste of time as they haven't got a clue what they're looking at.
A friend of mine ended up sueing the RAC after one of their inspectors missed the obvious fact that a car had been rebuilt after an (unregistered) write-off...

[mractive]

thanks, i better pay for a specialist then keeps me from worrying

[HRG]

I bet I've spent more than £10K in two years of ownership. None of that was necessary as such, I just like improving things

[pwd95]

You can have mine for £9k.
It's previously a 'cat c' damaged car but it's solid & reliable, had loads spent etc. Could do with a re-spray to get the paint perfect but it's just gone through the MOT with flying colours.
Trouble is, what on earth could I replace it with.