How long till the £20k Evora?
Discussion
Gravel said:
Would you buy a £20K car that 'needs a new engine soon, but it'll only cost £3k' or would you rather spend £23K on one that doesn't need a new one soon?
Well I've had an RX-8 so I guess that puts me in the former category 
The clutch sounds a bit of scare story to be honest. I'd be prepared to take a risk and spread the potential cost over a few years of ownership. Like blueg33 I've run several cars over 100k miles without ever replacing a clutch, including a couple of Imprezas which according to various buyer's guides eat a clutch every 10-20k miles.
I guess the cars which will fall within my reach will be another couple of years older and 70k miles upwards. As a daily driver I'd push that over 100k miles with a couple of years - then at 10 years old and 100k+ miles that's the point it really will depreciate.
I'm really not trying to scare anyone about the Evora's clutch life because a ) I have no experience of it, and b ) I quite fancy one myself 
The point I am trying to make, rather poorly no doubt, is that if it's just another consumable cost, as long as the replacement period is suitably infrequent (which all owner testimony on this thread seems to suggest) then it can just be factored in to the general running costs. But when buying second hand, I would always prefer to buy a well looked after car that's just had an expensive service done, rather than one that's just about to need one - e.g. a cam-belt on other cars.
My solution to regular clutch-changing on my current car was to learn to do it myself, after my local dealer fluffed doing it for me and left the starter half unbolted, despite charging me an arm and a leg. Would I DIY that on a £70K car - no, £40K, still no, £20K, well, yes maybe. Roll on £20K Evoras
The point I am trying to make, rather poorly no doubt, is that if it's just another consumable cost, as long as the replacement period is suitably infrequent (which all owner testimony on this thread seems to suggest) then it can just be factored in to the general running costs. But when buying second hand, I would always prefer to buy a well looked after car that's just had an expensive service done, rather than one that's just about to need one - e.g. a cam-belt on other cars.
My solution to regular clutch-changing on my current car was to learn to do it myself, after my local dealer fluffed doing it for me and left the starter half unbolted, despite charging me an arm and a leg. Would I DIY that on a £70K car - no, £40K, still no, £20K, well, yes maybe. Roll on £20K Evoras
I'd love to buy a £20k Evora which will need a new clutch soon. I'd just change it myself.
As far as I know, every car I've ever owned had the original clutch when I bought it and still had it when I got rid of it and some of them have been closer to 200k miles than 100k. My MGB is forty years old and on over 200k miles and I believe still on the original clutch. I'm obviously fairly light on the clutch.
As far as I know, every car I've ever owned had the original clutch when I bought it and still had it when I got rid of it and some of them have been closer to 200k miles than 100k. My MGB is forty years old and on over 200k miles and I believe still on the original clutch. I'm obviously fairly light on the clutch.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 20th January 08:03
When I bought my Evora it had 38k miles on the clock. It would be fair to say that the clutch was a concern, but the warranty history showed me that it has been replaced at around 30k miles because of the usual factory clutch fitting errors (now sorted) One of the reasons I went for the slightly higer mileage car was because it had a younger clutch than cars that had done 20k miles.
In the 11 months I have had the car I have put 18k miles on it, including a few runs up Prescott Hillclimb. Clutch feels no different than it did on day 1 of my ownership, bit point hasnt changed, take up hasnt changed.
I do wonder, if I keep on doing 20k miles pa whether my car will be the first £20k Evora.......Hopefully not, I will probably sell it before it gets to that stage. To replace it with another.
Its my daily driver, but is loved and pampered, at the moment with all the crap on the roads I am washing and waxing it twice a week. The back of an Evora gets very dirty very quickly!
In the 11 months I have had the car I have put 18k miles on it, including a few runs up Prescott Hillclimb. Clutch feels no different than it did on day 1 of my ownership, bit point hasnt changed, take up hasnt changed.
I do wonder, if I keep on doing 20k miles pa whether my car will be the first £20k Evora.......Hopefully not, I will probably sell it before it gets to that stage. To replace it with another.
Its my daily driver, but is loved and pampered, at the moment with all the crap on the roads I am washing and waxing it twice a week. The back of an Evora gets very dirty very quickly!
kambites said:
blueg33 said:
I believe it was incorrect tightening procedure in the factory leading to a poorly mated throw out bearing.
Ah, so the clutch actually jams disengaged in the end? Or does the bearing disintegrate and break other things? blueg33 said:
Not entirely sure tbh. There are a few reports of the clutch jamming in the disengaged position. I think though that the issue mainly causes premature wear.
I suppose that'd make sense. If the bearing is stiff the force engaging the clutch is going to be less so it's more likely to slip. The problem with the clutches has been that they drag. I haven't tried it on my current car but on my old 2011 S (and indeed several other Evoras I know of), if you sit with the car in 1st gear with the handbrake off and rev it up to about 5k then it will start pulling forwards (I wouldn't recommend doing this by the way, it's not much good for it).
I've heard a couple of explanations for the fault, one being something to do with the clutch diaphragm spring and another being the whirl of the flywheel at high revs causing it to rattle and pick up the clutch plate. The drag can cause further problems with both wear and the actuation mechanism, as well as causing the gearshift to baulk at high revs. That said I got 45k out of my last clutch and it had done a fair amount of track use as a Marketing car before I bought it. The dealer who sold it made no mention of needing to change it and said they had only performed a few clutch replacements on Evoras, more or less all Launch Edition cars.
Also worth pointing out that it's not a Camry clutch as the engine wasn't applied to a manual gearbox as far as I'm aware, the one in the Evora is designed specifically for the application.
I've heard a couple of explanations for the fault, one being something to do with the clutch diaphragm spring and another being the whirl of the flywheel at high revs causing it to rattle and pick up the clutch plate. The drag can cause further problems with both wear and the actuation mechanism, as well as causing the gearshift to baulk at high revs. That said I got 45k out of my last clutch and it had done a fair amount of track use as a Marketing car before I bought it. The dealer who sold it made no mention of needing to change it and said they had only performed a few clutch replacements on Evoras, more or less all Launch Edition cars.
Also worth pointing out that it's not a Camry clutch as the engine wasn't applied to a manual gearbox as far as I'm aware, the one in the Evora is designed specifically for the application.
From what I have read it looks like the 2012 models are worth waiting for in terms of being able to afford one or stretching for one.
I'd be very I retested in a 2012 s model in 2 years IF I can buy one for just under 30k. All depends on depreciation over the next few years for me.
Was originally looking at 997.2 but they are very common! Never seen an Evora and with the 2012 revisions it is now a very appealing option. Can take my one daughter, looks incredible, practical enough for me. I can forgive clumsy entry and exit and niggles like poor visibility of nav and dash etc.
Stu
I'd be very I retested in a 2012 s model in 2 years IF I can buy one for just under 30k. All depends on depreciation over the next few years for me.
Was originally looking at 997.2 but they are very common! Never seen an Evora and with the 2012 revisions it is now a very appealing option. Can take my one daughter, looks incredible, practical enough for me. I can forgive clumsy entry and exit and niggles like poor visibility of nav and dash etc.
Stu
stuno1 said:
From what I have read it looks like the 2012 models are worth waiting for in terms of being able to afford one or stretching for one.
I'd be very I retested in a 2012 s model in 2 years IF I can buy one for just under 30k. All depends on depreciation over the next few years for me.
Was originally looking at 997.2 but they are very common! Never seen an Evora and with the 2012 revisions it is now a very appealing option. Can take my one daughter, looks incredible, practical enough for me. I can forgive clumsy entry and exit and niggles like poor visibility of nav and dash etc.
Stu
The n/a 2012 onwards cars are very very rare, only about 5 registered between 2012 and 2014I'd be very I retested in a 2012 s model in 2 years IF I can buy one for just under 30k. All depends on depreciation over the next few years for me.
Was originally looking at 997.2 but they are very common! Never seen an Evora and with the 2012 revisions it is now a very appealing option. Can take my one daughter, looks incredible, practical enough for me. I can forgive clumsy entry and exit and niggles like poor visibility of nav and dash etc.
Stu
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