should i buy a tuscan?

should i buy a tuscan?

Author
Discussion

nicktvr

Original Poster:

3 posts

258 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
is it possible to drive one everyday?
if it was going to be your only car would you buy one?
when buying a used tuscan what should u look out for?
reliability (truth please)?
it seems to get alot of negative press for reliability is there anyway of avoiding certain reliability problems?
i know it will vary from person to person but how much has it cost you to run a tuscan for a year (repairs etc)?
does the paintwork really fade as quickly as some people claim?
if it was going to be your only car and u were going to have to drive it everyday would you buy one?

apeebles

267 posts

285 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
It is a good car.... I drove 6000 miles in mine last year (Before I sold it!) and to be honest it was mechanically sound and totally reliable. The paintwork (Chameleon Orange) seemed to be very good and the front only had about 3 stone chips and was wearing very well. Much better than the Chimaera (Also an excellent car!).

However would I have it as the only car. Probably not. When the car is in for service expect the garage to keep it for a couple of days and if anything major went wrong then you could be delayed for a month. However Easyrentacar is a good alternative if you want to take the risk and is probably cheaper than buying a second car.

griff2be

5,089 posts

268 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
Nick

These are oft asked and oft answered questions on here. To save antagonising the locals, have a search through the archives. Having done that, if you have any residual questions people will be very happy to answer them.

Use the search facility near the top of the page.

Andy

William W.

18 posts

259 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
I think it depends what you are used to driving. I sold a Porsche 993 to buy my Tuscan. I have to admit that the performance is great, but after 3 months of driving the Tusacn every day and 6 trips back to the dealer for stupid minor faults, I am not convinced it was the wisest decision of my life.

p7ulg

1,052 posts

284 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
On a couple of occassions whilst visiting Hexham Horseless Carriage I have spoken to a lad called James. I believe he is called Fish on here.Anyway he runs a tuscan as everday transport and has driven it up to the Artic circle !So I would think if anyone could give you advice he could.

alt

1,879 posts

283 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
Nick, I've not owned a Tuscan but do drive a Tamora everyday (Chimaera before that).
I see no problem with you driving a Tuscan everyday.
What would you be going for? A new 3.6l or a used 4.0l?
In the 4 years I've been driving TVRs daily only one service has lasted two days (Chimaera 36000 miles) and that was communicated clearly beforehand and I was given a courtesy car.
I guess it depends on your dealer but all dealers use courtesy cars in my experience.
Good luck...... Andrew


andyvdg

1,536 posts

284 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
is it possible to drive one everyday?

Yes, I do. You may want to keep the annual mileage down for resale reasons / running expenses.

if it was going to be your only car would you buy one?

I did - it's my only car.

when buying a used tuscan what should u look out for?

Mmm. This could be a long topic. If you join the Tuscan egroup you could trawl through the 12000+ posts which will cover all the aspects from the first Tuscans to date.

My short answer is buy with aircon, get the suspension alignment checked / updated.

reliability (truth please)?

My car has never broken down. Some engines have gone pop needing rebuild work. The most annoying thing is the 1->6 or more weeks you'll lose the car. It's a risk. If you talk to some whose engine has gone you'll get a different answer to someone whose engine has been OK.
In a self select poll in the egroup (74 people), 65% of engines have never been rebuilt. I propose the actually percentage is higher as people that have had a rebuild are more likely to reply to the poll than not.

it seems to get alot of negative press for reliability is there anyway of avoiding certain reliability problems?

Don't think so. Just make sure you warm the engine up well before giving it revs.

i know it will vary from person to person but how much has it cost you to run a tuscan for a year (repairs etc)?

Off the top of my head, in 10.5k miles, I've paid for the 1000, 6000 service ~ £800, and had a tappet adjustment (£180). About 12 litres of oil used.

does the paintwork really fade as quickly as some people claim?

Mine doesn't. I think I've heard of one car where it was bad. It was resprayed under warranty.

if it was going to be your only car and u were going to have to drive it everyday would you buy one?

I did. It's great!

TVR5

595 posts

259 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all

Don't see why the paint work should be any worse than any other car as TVR use other manufacturers paint anyway. ie they'll get you any colour you want. They also have some of their own colours (I think Rosso pearl is one).
I have had 5 TVRs now and not had a paintwork problem with any of them, including 2 Rosso pearl ones. They have all always looked great.

fish

3,976 posts

283 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
Yes

Drive mine everyday in all conditions, the car is reliable bar minor trim type niggles.

I have done north of the Artic circle 1750 miles in 4days and I have done total of 18,000 to date.

Boot is huge and immesly practical. If you are serious give me an e-mail with your number and I'll answer any questions you may have.

TSS

1,130 posts

269 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
I bought Tuscan 2 weeks ago to replace my Impreza. It’s my only car and gets used every day quite happily for commuting, trips to B&Q/Sainsburys (raises a few eyebrows!) and thrashing about at the weekend. Sure, there are a few minor niggles you wouldn’t get with a BMW, but overall it’s fantastic.

I estimate I’ll do about 10-12K miles per yr, so running costs are a bit frightening and I shall have to make a few sacrifices to pay for it. But my advice is Buy One. When you get up in the morning and see it sitting outside, you’ll know it was the right choice. I contemplated a Porsche or an M3 (for about 3 seconds!), but nothing gives you a grin like a TVR.

By the way, prior to buying I did go through the 12000+ messages on the Tuscan Owners group (yes I know I need to get out more!) and compiled a list of pretty much everything you might need to look for when buying second hand. I didn’t need it in the end as I bought an ex-demo in almost new condition, but it would certainly be useful to anybody buying a used one. Email me if you would like a copy.

nicktvr

Original Poster:

3 posts

258 months

Wednesday 27th November 2002
quotequote all
fao. tss
thanks for the reply. i am having problems with e-mail (bloody i-mac computer, looks good but is unreliable! where have i heard that before) but would love a copy of your tips for buying used tuscan. would it be possible to e-mail it to me please

luca brazzi

3,975 posts

266 months

Thursday 28th November 2002
quotequote all

TSS said: When you get up in the morning and see it sitting outside, you’ll know it was the right choice.

Oh yes....totally agree. yum yum
LB

charltm

2,102 posts

265 months

Thursday 28th November 2002
quotequote all
I cannot recommend buying a Tuscan more highly. Everyone will love it and if you buy a Y or later you've a very good change of it never letting you down.

blackmonday

554 posts

279 months

Thursday 28th November 2002
quotequote all
Tuscans are brilliant. However, be careful where you park your car if it will be out of view in any public space as they can attract mischeviuous little ba*%£rds with eggs and keys....

salty-nlv

438 posts

260 months

Thursday 28th November 2002
quotequote all
TSS - I would like a copy of your top tips if possible...

TSS

1,130 posts

269 months

Friday 29th November 2002
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NickTVR - is your email still not working? I emailed you through your PH profile to get your proper email address as I can't send attachments through via PH. If you can email me your email address I'll send the Checklist to you.

MrC

27 posts

281 months

Saturday 30th November 2002
quotequote all
TSS - I'm also looking to make the move from V8S to Tuscan in the New Year, so if you could email me your tips also that would be great.

TSS

1,130 posts

269 months

Saturday 30th November 2002
quotequote all

MrC said: TSS - I'm also looking to make the move from V8S to Tuscan in the New Year, so if you could email me your tips also that would be great.


MrC, your profile doesn't seem to let me send an email to you. Email me through my profile and I'll send you the checklist.

Tom

Raks

1,868 posts

258 months

Tuesday 10th December 2002
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Hey there Mr TSS

Could you please mail me your top tips too

Thanks
Raks

cutmonster

255 posts

271 months

Tuesday 10th December 2002
quotequote all
Me 2 please TSS!! Thanks mate