Discussion
Hi everyone,
I'm almost ready to buy a GTO-3R but just wanted some advice from the experts on a couple of points as I'm a Noble novice still.
Lots of 3Rs are for sale by private owners and the prices are obviously considerably less than equivalent dealer cars. Does anyone have experience of buying from a private owner? What did you do about the warranty? Can you put a warranty on a privately bought Noble and is it worth it? Is there anyone who can inspect these cars properly to ensure I don't buy a "dud"....I'd obviously be willing to pay.
I'm just not sure about which route to go down...I'd like the security of a dealer-bought car but does much go wrong with Nobles to justify the extra cost?
Thanks,
Alex
I'm almost ready to buy a GTO-3R but just wanted some advice from the experts on a couple of points as I'm a Noble novice still.
Lots of 3Rs are for sale by private owners and the prices are obviously considerably less than equivalent dealer cars. Does anyone have experience of buying from a private owner? What did you do about the warranty? Can you put a warranty on a privately bought Noble and is it worth it? Is there anyone who can inspect these cars properly to ensure I don't buy a "dud"....I'd obviously be willing to pay.
I'm just not sure about which route to go down...I'd like the security of a dealer-bought car but does much go wrong with Nobles to justify the extra cost?
Thanks,
Alex
HI Alex - depending on where you are based I could help you look at one, or supply you with the details of a Noble trained Mechanic who may be able to help
The Noble is not the most reliable car on the planet - but most of the stuff that fails is not megabucks to fix
all the 3r's have a six speed box so that is good news and consider buying one that has had the track day sump fitted
apart from that try and go lower mileage if you can and check the tyres for wear
if you do find a car you like - let us know who the dealer is and the reg - the previous owner will probably be known by us
I bought mine privately and was not bothered by a warranty - but if you are not mechanically minded the warranty may give you peace of mind
hope this helps
The Noble is not the most reliable car on the planet - but most of the stuff that fails is not megabucks to fix
all the 3r's have a six speed box so that is good news and consider buying one that has had the track day sump fitted
apart from that try and go lower mileage if you can and check the tyres for wear
if you do find a car you like - let us know who the dealer is and the reg - the previous owner will probably be known by us
I bought mine privately and was not bothered by a warranty - but if you are not mechanically minded the warranty may give you peace of mind
hope this helps
gadgeroonie said:
HI Alex - depending on where you are based I could help you look at one, or supply you with the details of a Noble trained Mechanic who may be able to help
The Noble is not the most reliable car on the planet - but most of the stuff that fails is not megabucks to fix
all the 3r's have a six speed box so that is good news and consider buying one that has had the track day sump fitted
apart from that try and go lower mileage if you can and check the tyres for wear
if you do find a car you like - let us know who the dealer is and the reg - the previous owner will probably be known by us
I bought mine privately and was not bothered by a warranty - but if you are not mechanically minded the warranty may give you peace of mind
hope this helps
The Noble is not the most reliable car on the planet - but most of the stuff that fails is not megabucks to fix
all the 3r's have a six speed box so that is good news and consider buying one that has had the track day sump fitted
apart from that try and go lower mileage if you can and check the tyres for wear
if you do find a car you like - let us know who the dealer is and the reg - the previous owner will probably be known by us
I bought mine privately and was not bothered by a warranty - but if you are not mechanically minded the warranty may give you peace of mind
hope this helps
Mike some of the 3R's have a 5 speed box..so worth checking that...
Thanks Mike, I may take you up on that offer as I am definitely not mechanically minded. Not too bad on the theory aspects but rubbish hands on. Your car looks great by the way 
I'm based in Harrow and my local dealer is the TVR centre (who have been great and very helpful with a test drive recently). I believe vegantune are not far either...?Borehamwood?
I'm based in Harrow and my local dealer is the TVR centre (who have been great and very helpful with a test drive recently). I believe vegantune are not far either...?Borehamwood?
alex s said:
gadgeroonie said:
HI Alex - depending on where you are based I could help you look at one, or supply you with the details of a Noble trained Mechanic who may be able to help
The Noble is not the most reliable car on the planet - but most of the stuff that fails is not megabucks to fix
all the 3r's have a six speed box so that is good news and consider buying one that has had the track day sump fitted
apart from that try and go lower mileage if you can and check the tyres for wear
if you do find a car you like - let us know who the dealer is and the reg - the previous owner will probably be known by us
I bought mine privately and was not bothered by a warranty - but if you are not mechanically minded the warranty may give you peace of mind
hope this helps
The Noble is not the most reliable car on the planet - but most of the stuff that fails is not megabucks to fix
all the 3r's have a six speed box so that is good news and consider buying one that has had the track day sump fitted
apart from that try and go lower mileage if you can and check the tyres for wear
if you do find a car you like - let us know who the dealer is and the reg - the previous owner will probably be known by us
I bought mine privately and was not bothered by a warranty - but if you are not mechanically minded the warranty may give you peace of mind
hope this helps
Mike some of the 3R's have a 5 speed box..so worth checking that...
Thanks Alex. I definitely did not know this. Other than checking the car itself...are the build numbers/chassis numbers, beyond which 6-speed boxes and LSDs were fitted, known?
Hi Alex - yes i'm pretty close by if you fancy a meet up
mine is actually a gto-3 but had the 5 speed box replaced under warranty
so there are a few 6 speed gto3's as well
and a few of the GTO's had 3.0 engines fitted too !!!! just to complicate things
i suggest you get a test drive and actually drive one - you will be very impressed
I like the rounded look of the 3r but you have to ask yourself if its worth the extra money and they do seem to be a trap for moisture which can lead to fogged out lighting
if you can really afford it think about a M400 - they will never need modifying for more power (unless you are mad like me !) but they will always hold thier money in my opinion
so what colour is your favorite ?
mine is actually a gto-3 but had the 5 speed box replaced under warranty
so there are a few 6 speed gto3's as well
and a few of the GTO's had 3.0 engines fitted too !!!! just to complicate things
i suggest you get a test drive and actually drive one - you will be very impressed
I like the rounded look of the 3r but you have to ask yourself if its worth the extra money and they do seem to be a trap for moisture which can lead to fogged out lighting
if you can really afford it think about a M400 - they will never need modifying for more power (unless you are mad like me !) but they will always hold thier money in my opinion
so what colour is your favorite ?
Thanks guys, very friendly forum!
Mike, that sounds good. I did test drive a 3R a couple of weeks ago at the TVR-centre and I was thoroughly impressed. The only thing that was "odd" about it was the gearstick/changes were very very stiff. Would be interested to see a GTO-3 that has had a 6-speed box/LSD fitted (like yours) to really see if there is much of a difference between a 3 and 3R. As far as the colour I'm pretty easy...like azure blue, silver, titanium silver. I'll give you a shout when I've found a car to look at to see what you think.
Rob, great looking 3R you have there. Am I seeing it right or is there no spoiler on the back of yours? You wouldn't be considering selling any time soon would you?
Mike, that sounds good. I did test drive a 3R a couple of weeks ago at the TVR-centre and I was thoroughly impressed. The only thing that was "odd" about it was the gearstick/changes were very very stiff. Would be interested to see a GTO-3 that has had a 6-speed box/LSD fitted (like yours) to really see if there is much of a difference between a 3 and 3R. As far as the colour I'm pretty easy...like azure blue, silver, titanium silver. I'll give you a shout when I've found a car to look at to see what you think.
Rob, great looking 3R you have there. Am I seeing it right or is there no spoiler on the back of yours? You wouldn't be considering selling any time soon would you?
alex_123_fra said:
Thanks guys, very friendly forum!
Mike, that sounds good. I did test drive a 3R a couple of weeks ago at the TVR-centre and I was thoroughly impressed. The only thing that was "odd" about it was the gearstick/changes were very very stiff. Would be interested to see a GTO-3 that has had a 6-speed box/LSD fitted (like yours) to really see if there is much of a difference between a 3 and 3R. As far as the colour I'm pretty easy...like azure blue, silver, titanium silver. I'll give you a shout when I've found a car to look at to see what you think.
Rob, great looking 3R you have there. Am I seeing it right or is there no spoiler on the back of yours? You wouldn't be considering selling any time soon would you?
Mike, that sounds good. I did test drive a 3R a couple of weeks ago at the TVR-centre and I was thoroughly impressed. The only thing that was "odd" about it was the gearstick/changes were very very stiff. Would be interested to see a GTO-3 that has had a 6-speed box/LSD fitted (like yours) to really see if there is much of a difference between a 3 and 3R. As far as the colour I'm pretty easy...like azure blue, silver, titanium silver. I'll give you a shout when I've found a car to look at to see what you think.
Rob, great looking 3R you have there. Am I seeing it right or is there no spoiler on the back of yours? You wouldn't be considering selling any time soon would you?
Alex....gear shift is a common gripe...you can upgrade to a M400 linkage, which does make a big difference.
alex_123_fra said:
Rob, great looking 3R you have there. Am I seeing it right or is there no spoiler on the back of yours? You wouldn't be considering selling any time soon would you?
Thanks Alex and no, no spoiler fitted as all it does is spoil the view! :-)
Funny you should mention a sale - I'll bear you in mind?! Would you be expecting the plate too?!
alex_123_fra said:
Hi everyone,
I'm almost ready to buy a GTO-3R but just wanted some advice from the experts on a couple of points as I'm a Noble novice still.
Lots of 3Rs are for sale by private owners and the prices are obviously considerably less than equivalent dealer cars. Does anyone have experience of buying from a private owner? What did you do about the warranty? Can you put a warranty on a privately bought Noble and is it worth it? Is there anyone who can inspect these cars properly to ensure I don't buy a "dud"....I'd obviously be willing to pay.
I'm just not sure about which route to go down...I'd like the security of a dealer-bought car but does much go wrong with Nobles to justify the extra cost?
Thanks,
Alex
I'm almost ready to buy a GTO-3R but just wanted some advice from the experts on a couple of points as I'm a Noble novice still.
Lots of 3Rs are for sale by private owners and the prices are obviously considerably less than equivalent dealer cars. Does anyone have experience of buying from a private owner? What did you do about the warranty? Can you put a warranty on a privately bought Noble and is it worth it? Is there anyone who can inspect these cars properly to ensure I don't buy a "dud"....I'd obviously be willing to pay.
I'm just not sure about which route to go down...I'd like the security of a dealer-bought car but does much go wrong with Nobles to justify the extra cost?
Thanks,
Alex
Hi Alex,
A few months ago, I was also looking for a 3R privately:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=251122
I was advised that Matt Faulks (Faulks Perfonamce) and Vegantune would probably both be willing to inspect a private car and give an honest opinion. Also it's worth checking with the place that the car has been serviced as they could probably give you some info on the history of the car. I was also advised that a private warranty through "Warranty Works" or similar could be a good idea.
In the end, I totally blew the budget and bought a used M400 from the TVR Centre - who were great when selling the car, and who have also been very helpful with a couple of little issues since. I don't regret going the dealer route.
Like Rob, I'd also be happy to meet up and show you the car if you wanted - I'm based pretty close to you!
Good luck, whichever route you end up going - you won't regret it, I'm sure.
Conrad.
Thanks guys!
Alex - Is the gear linkage change a big job? I guess it would be nice to have smoother changes.
Rob - Interesting, I've only ever seen a US Noble without a spoiler. Does it affect the handling in any (detrimental) way? Nice plate - how much would you be looking for it (+the car) if you decided to sell? You can pm/email me if you want.
Conrad - That is great advice. Where are Faulks Performance? Your M400 looks great! I am very tempted
...just couldn't justify the 40k+ price they seem to be going for at the moment. Totally agree on TVR-centre, they are very helpful and I would buy from them if the right car came along. Thanks for the offer of meeting up...I'll let you know.
Andy - Great plate..what a coincidence. I was actually looking for the very same on the dvla site...obviously you had it all along! Would you really let it go
Alex - Is the gear linkage change a big job? I guess it would be nice to have smoother changes.
Rob - Interesting, I've only ever seen a US Noble without a spoiler. Does it affect the handling in any (detrimental) way? Nice plate - how much would you be looking for it (+the car) if you decided to sell? You can pm/email me if you want.
Conrad - That is great advice. Where are Faulks Performance? Your M400 looks great! I am very tempted
...just couldn't justify the 40k+ price they seem to be going for at the moment. Totally agree on TVR-centre, they are very helpful and I would buy from them if the right car came along. Thanks for the offer of meeting up...I'll let you know. Andy - Great plate..what a coincidence. I was actually looking for the very same on the dvla site...obviously you had it all along! Would you really let it go
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