Chimaera Prices
Discussion
Tyre Smoke said:
Yep, it's still a Porsche though. To impress your mates with the key fob.
A forty something bloke on the next table at my favourite curry house was obviously on his first date with his latest PoF/Tinder/Whatever lady and had his Porsche key fob on the table right through the meal. We were joking that it was probably only the fob and he had a Mondeo, but no. Mr (not) Impressive had a base model Macan. There are people out there who think the badge impresses.
Hah. Maybe he didn’t like the feeling of keys in his pocket when sitting down damaging his high cost trousers - or maybe he was cocksocket A forty something bloke on the next table at my favourite curry house was obviously on his first date with his latest PoF/Tinder/Whatever lady and had his Porsche key fob on the table right through the meal. We were joking that it was probably only the fob and he had a Mondeo, but no. Mr (not) Impressive had a base model Macan. There are people out there who think the badge impresses.
Tyre Smoke said:
Yes, yes I know there will always be issues with Porsches...
My point was, what Porsche buyer will accept from new, globs and smears of glue on the A pillar trim? Control boxes held in place with Velcro, and a powder coated chassis that already has the powder coat lifting?
They can all suffer from mechanical problems. There will always be Friday night Porsches and faultless TVRs. But they are miles apart in quality. The ONLY thing holding TVR prices up is they are an ever diminishing supply. They're not being built any more any they are a curio. Albeit a simple to fix curio, like an old Land Rover. There isn't and never will be the same kudos owning a TVR as there is a Porsche. They're not in the same 'class'
I just want to say that in my opinion this is a load of old nonsense and quite dismissive, especially- "The ONLY thing holding TVR prices up is they are an ever diminishing supply".My point was, what Porsche buyer will accept from new, globs and smears of glue on the A pillar trim? Control boxes held in place with Velcro, and a powder coated chassis that already has the powder coat lifting?
They can all suffer from mechanical problems. There will always be Friday night Porsches and faultless TVRs. But they are miles apart in quality. The ONLY thing holding TVR prices up is they are an ever diminishing supply. They're not being built any more any they are a curio. Albeit a simple to fix curio, like an old Land Rover. There isn't and never will be the same kudos owning a TVR as there is a Porsche. They're not in the same 'class'
I'm 32 and a couple of months back fulfilled an ambition I've had since I received a classic car book aged 7 or 8 and set eyes on the TVR Griffith for the first time.
Now over the years I've seen thousands of Porsches and have had the chance to drive several, but not one of them has had the same combination of stunning looks, wonderful sound and performance that the TVR offers. They just don't share the same sense of occasion.
Although I could've had my pick of Boxsters, 996 or 997 911s, it didn't cross my mind to buy one because for me you're spot on, the TVR isn't in the same league as these very competent but relatively mundane machines, it's instead in a very special group up there with the big Healeys, E-types and classic Astons and in 20 years I'm sure prices will reflect that they offer all the pared back thrills, style and excitement of these classics but with far superior performance and a less demanding maintenance schedule.
When I see a Griffith, Tuscan, Chimaera or many of the other TVRs drive by- or hear one coming for that matter, I can't help but stand and stare. When I see a Porsche pass by, I (like most other people I'd dare say) barely bat an eyelid.
Xcore said:
I’m based in Hampshire but will travel, I generally find the best cars are at least 2 hours away! Thanks I’ve seen Amore on eBay, I’m generallly quite dubious about any car dealers, but I may give them a ring or drop by and take a look at the stock
Why not come and have a look at mine, basically within your budget and West Sussex isn’t far from Hampshire. (It’s the green 96 400 on ph with the ribbon in the photo)I have new outriggers and everything else suspension related last year and probably spent £4-5k over the last 18 months, getting the car right. I have a garage and a proper trolley jack so you can have a real look around.
I would second seeing as many as possible, there are some cars that are clearly projects and others that aren’t but buy the best you can afford, but with your budget you’d be far better off with a sorted car with higher miles than a low mileage car that needs all the usual TVR issues sorting
ChimpOnGas said:
Different cars entirely, my mate has a similar age Boxster, we did a weekend in Wales (Evo Triangle ect) late last year and we spent most of the time driving each other's cars.
The Boxster has a hairdresser image but I found it far from that, excellent in fact.
My mate who's been ridding fast Italian motorcycles for the last 30 years absolutely fell in love with my TVR.
Two very different sports cars, but two greats in my opinion
I was amazed when I first drove the Boxster and agree with the summary of excellent. It doesn’t help that it blocks the TVR in the garage making it a bit of a faff to get it out but in the way that my first Chimaera slowly replaced the Stag, the same is in danger of happening again. The Boxster has a hairdresser image but I found it far from that, excellent in fact.
My mate who's been ridding fast Italian motorcycles for the last 30 years absolutely fell in love with my TVR.
Two very different sports cars, but two greats in my opinion
motul1974 said:
Tyre Smoke said:
- There isn't and never will be the same kudos owning a TVR as there is a Porsche. They're not in the same 'class'
Hit the nail on the head about Kudos....a lot of people by Porsche's for the Kudos, were as you buy TVR'S for the car and the car alone.....not to impress! 
The other point about TVRs is the owners. All brilliant people, who are great company and fun to chat and spend time with!
TV8 said:
motul1974 said:
Tyre Smoke said:
- There isn't and never will be the same kudos owning a TVR as there is a Porsche. They're not in the same 'class'
Hit the nail on the head about Kudos....a lot of people by Porsche's for the Kudos, were as you buy TVR'S for the car and the car alone.....not to impress! The other point about TVRs is the owners. All brilliant people, who are great company and fun to chat and spend time with!
As a poster posted, a TVR does not and never will have the same class or kudos as a big Healey or E-Type. If you think they do, you are just kidding yourself and massaging your own ego. Look at the values of big Healeys and compare them with a TVR Tuscan or Griffith of the same era. Miles apart of price, why? Because they don't have the same appeal.
Don't get me wrong, I like TVRs and would quite happily have another Chimaera, but I'm a realist, they were built terribly, finish was dreadful and they need a lot of love either from someone who is mechanically capable or someone who has deep pockets, or both!
Tyre Smoke said:
Not my experience at all. I've found most (not all, granted) to think they are better than everyone else. They have a misplaced sense of superiority.
As a poster posted, a TVR does not and never will have the same class or kudos as a big Healey or E-Type. If you think they do, you are just kidding yourself and massaging your own ego. Look at the values of big Healeys and compare them with a TVR Tuscan or Griffith of the same era. Miles apart of price, why? Because they don't have the same appeal.
Don't get me wrong, I like TVRs and would quite happily have another Chimaera, but I'm a realist, they were built terribly, finish was dreadful and they need a lot of love either from someone who is mechanically capable or someone who has deep pockets, or both!
I’ve been mulling this over recently; if you had say 15k to spend one something that is as “interesting” as a TVR, what would you get? I still believe there is a sense of occasion driving a TVR and if I don’t get another one, I’d want something else that still gives me that feeling. I can’t think at this price point what could do that? Thoughts?As a poster posted, a TVR does not and never will have the same class or kudos as a big Healey or E-Type. If you think they do, you are just kidding yourself and massaging your own ego. Look at the values of big Healeys and compare them with a TVR Tuscan or Griffith of the same era. Miles apart of price, why? Because they don't have the same appeal.
Don't get me wrong, I like TVRs and would quite happily have another Chimaera, but I'm a realist, they were built terribly, finish was dreadful and they need a lot of love either from someone who is mechanically capable or someone who has deep pockets, or both!
Technoholic said:
I’ve been mulling this over recently; if you had say 15k to spend one something that is as “interesting” as a TVR, what would you get? I still believe there is a sense of occasion driving a TVR and if I don’t get another one, I’d want something else that still gives me that feeling. I can’t think at this price point what could do that? Thoughts?
Totally agree with you, there is nothing else on the market that feels like a newish car but still provides the thrills and noise of a different era. I sold mine last year and spent last year looking for something to replace it, having not found anything I bought another one.Tyre Smoke said:
TV8 said:
motul1974 said:
Tyre Smoke said:
- There isn't and never will be the same kudos owning a TVR as there is a Porsche. They're not in the same 'class'
Hit the nail on the head about Kudos....a lot of people by Porsche's for the Kudos, were as you buy TVR'S for the car and the car alone.....not to impress! The other point about TVRs is the owners. All brilliant people, who are great company and fun to chat and spend time with!
As a poster posted, a TVR does not and never will have the same class or kudos as a big Healey or E-Type. If you think they do, you are just kidding yourself and massaging your own ego. Look at the values of big Healeys and compare them with a TVR Tuscan or Griffith of the same era. Miles apart of price, why? Because they don't have the same appeal.
Don't get me wrong, I like TVRs and would quite happily have another Chimaera, but I'm a realist, they were built terribly, finish was dreadful and they need a lot of love either from someone who is mechanically capable or someone who has deep pockets, or both!
Finally, try buying one of the original Griffiths. The 60s ones. You will need Healey money to buy one.
Finally, try buying one of the original Griffiths. The 60s ones. You will need Healey money to buy one.
^^^ Have to agree with that! The 60's Griffith (later became the Tuscan under Martin Lilley) are fetching north of £50K now (at least).
Any of them with any provenance, and you can probably add another £20~30K. You see several at the classic races around Europe where they acquit themselves very well against E-types/Cobras/ Healy3000s considering they were a vehicle built in a shed nearly 60 years ago. The epic race at Goodwood last year(?) with the Jordans driving the Reuben prepared Griffith was edge of the seat stuff....Held off Cob Daytonas...think some Italian exotica as well, to claim first on the podium.
Nick
Can you buy a 60s E-type which isn't about to be a pile of rust for £50k?
And a TVR is always going to look better because it's body doesn't rust.
£15k gets you a very lovely S2000 and change, for example. Depends if you want to drive something that has no driver aids and makes a lot of noise or something that has driver aids and makes a lot of noise. I think the appeal for a lot of 90s TVR owners is they can gurgle into the car park in their 2 seater, turning heads. When in reality they are in a car with not a huge amount of power that's little more than a kit car. That's the thing about the owners I don't like. Just park up and stop making sure everyone is looking at you.
And a TVR is always going to look better because it's body doesn't rust.
£15k gets you a very lovely S2000 and change, for example. Depends if you want to drive something that has no driver aids and makes a lot of noise or something that has driver aids and makes a lot of noise. I think the appeal for a lot of 90s TVR owners is they can gurgle into the car park in their 2 seater, turning heads. When in reality they are in a car with not a huge amount of power that's little more than a kit car. That's the thing about the owners I don't like. Just park up and stop making sure everyone is looking at you.
I realise I might be coming across as a bit of a troll. Not my intention at all.
I think a TVR will always be a niche market, because of the kit car history, reliability reputation (largely unfounded in me experience) and build quality. Consequently it will never have the kudos of Porsche or even Lotus (Which largely reinvented itself with the Elise)
Anyway back on topic, any bargains about?
I think a TVR will always be a niche market, because of the kit car history, reliability reputation (largely unfounded in me experience) and build quality. Consequently it will never have the kudos of Porsche or even Lotus (Which largely reinvented itself with the Elise)
Anyway back on topic, any bargains about?
This doesn't seem to be fetching many bids. Stuck at £7200 for over 3 days now.
It may be the fact it's had a facelift front grafted onto a '93 body, although it is HPI clear. Or the fact it has no Mot history whatsoever!!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MK1-1993-TVR-Chimaera-C...
It may be the fact it's had a facelift front grafted onto a '93 body, although it is HPI clear. Or the fact it has no Mot history whatsoever!!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MK1-1993-TVR-Chimaera-C...
Hello Ian,
I was going to ask if anybody was watching this add and confused like me about a few things so instead of starting a new thread I'll tag my message on here.
Just to add to your post the seller says it's currently taxed and insured, I've checked and yes this is correct.
Also "it hasn't had an MOT since 2004 he says". and it was bought two years ago from a collection and the seller has done a couple of thousand miles, shopping on nice days, since then so he says.
The add has been edited and in reply to questions interestingly states "You don't need an MOT to Tax a vehicle". As far as I know unless the a vehicle is less than three years old this is true in the UK, so where has the Chim' been used?
I was first following this because it was near and I could do with a nice body but not so interested now, not that I'm fused but I didn't clock the MKII front, Doh.
Lance
I was going to ask if anybody was watching this add and confused like me about a few things so instead of starting a new thread I'll tag my message on here.
Just to add to your post the seller says it's currently taxed and insured, I've checked and yes this is correct.
Also "it hasn't had an MOT since 2004 he says". and it was bought two years ago from a collection and the seller has done a couple of thousand miles, shopping on nice days, since then so he says.
The add has been edited and in reply to questions interestingly states "You don't need an MOT to Tax a vehicle". As far as I know unless the a vehicle is less than three years old this is true in the UK, so where has the Chim' been used?
I was first following this because it was near and I could do with a nice body but not so interested now, not that I'm fused but I didn't clock the MKII front, Doh.
Lance
I emailed him about it and he wasn't aware about the front end being wrong. It's possible somebody preferred it? 
They also aren't what I'd call faired in lights. True, the Lupo conversion has had the original pod seams removed.
You don't even have to be insured to tax a vehicle online as a new keeper. Because continuous taxation or SORN is now required, if you have insured a vehicle this morning, it won't appear on the insurance database for a day or two so any check wouldn't allow you to tax it. In practice, DVLA won't know for several days if the seller does it by post, or until the change of keeper is done online, so taxing a car 'immediately' isn't really the worry people think it is.
If the car remains uninsured for any period though (like a month), you're likely to get a 'reminder' from DVLA.
If a vehicle is taxed it has to be insured.
Edit: Driving around with no MoT is the lesser of the 3 'errors.' An unroadworthy car (eg. bald tyres) will attract a higher penalty, but why someone would risk it I don't understand. It would still be a declarable conviction. Driving to and back from an MoT test station is the only time it's allowed. I don't know about track days though?? It's not a public road but I expect organisers would expect a road car to be road legal.
They also aren't what I'd call faired in lights. True, the Lupo conversion has had the original pod seams removed.You don't even have to be insured to tax a vehicle online as a new keeper. Because continuous taxation or SORN is now required, if you have insured a vehicle this morning, it won't appear on the insurance database for a day or two so any check wouldn't allow you to tax it. In practice, DVLA won't know for several days if the seller does it by post, or until the change of keeper is done online, so taxing a car 'immediately' isn't really the worry people think it is.
If the car remains uninsured for any period though (like a month), you're likely to get a 'reminder' from DVLA.
If a vehicle is taxed it has to be insured.Edit: Driving around with no MoT is the lesser of the 3 'errors.' An unroadworthy car (eg. bald tyres) will attract a higher penalty, but why someone would risk it I don't understand. It would still be a declarable conviction. Driving to and back from an MoT test station is the only time it's allowed. I don't know about track days though?? It's not a public road but I expect organisers would expect a road car to be road legal.
Edited by ianwayne on Wednesday 20th February 19:22
Edited by ianwayne on Wednesday 20th February 19:25
Tyre Smoke said:
Not my experience at all. I've found most (not all, granted) to think they are better than everyone else. They have a misplaced sense of superiority.
As a poster posted, a TVR does not and never will have the same class or kudos as a big Healey or E-Type. If you think they do, you are just kidding yourself and massaging your own ego. Look at the values of big Healeys and compare them with a TVR Tuscan or Griffith of the same era. Miles apart of price, why? Because they don't have the same appeal.
Don't get me wrong, I like TVRs and would quite happily have another Chimaera, but I'm a realist, they were built terribly, finish was dreadful and they need a lot of love either from someone who is mechanically capable or someone who has deep pockets, or both!
I'm not too sure why you post on this section of the site- you don't seem to have much regard for the cars or the owners! As a poster posted, a TVR does not and never will have the same class or kudos as a big Healey or E-Type. If you think they do, you are just kidding yourself and massaging your own ego. Look at the values of big Healeys and compare them with a TVR Tuscan or Griffith of the same era. Miles apart of price, why? Because they don't have the same appeal.
Don't get me wrong, I like TVRs and would quite happily have another Chimaera, but I'm a realist, they were built terribly, finish was dreadful and they need a lot of love either from someone who is mechanically capable or someone who has deep pockets, or both!
If you look at the only 1960s Griffith and the 1960s Tuscan for sale on carandclassic.co.uk you'll see that they're both advertised for upwards of £90,000. That's approximately 50% above most sorted Healey 3000s on the site- so much for them lacking appeal.
If you look back 15 years or so you'd see that you could pick up a lot of Healey or E-type for £25000 and there was a time when an E-type was little more than an old car. These are cars from a different era to the Chimaera and Griffith but they share a lot of characteristics and I don't see many cars out there with the basic pace, aural or visual appeal of the Wheeler era TVRs. I'd guess that on paper something like a V8 Vantage would be a similar recipe, but even they are very sanitised in comparison.
As for your views regarding class and kudos, you're welcome to your opinion but I don't think you're qualified to judge either of these for the rest of us; the people taking pictures of TVRs when parked up or asking questions at petrol stations certainly suggest people are interested or hold some affection for them and I doubt you get a lot of that in your average 911.
Tyre Smoke said:
TV8 said:
motul1974 said:
Tyre Smoke said:
- There isn't and never will be the same kudos owning a TVR as there is a Porsche. They're not in the same 'class'
Hit the nail on the head about Kudos....a lot of people by Porsche's for the Kudos, were as you buy TVR'S for the car and the car alone.....not to impress! The other point about TVRs is the owners. All brilliant people, who are great company and fun to chat and spend time with!
MG-FIDO said:
I'm not too sure why you post on this section of the site- you don't seem to have much regard for the cars or the owners!
If you look at the only 1960s Griffith and the 1960s Tuscan for sale on carandclassic.co.uk you'll see that they're both advertised for upwards of £90,000. That's approximately 50% above most sorted Healey 3000s on the site- so much for them lacking appeal.
If you look back 15 years or so you'd see that you could pick up a lot of Healey or E-type for £25000 and there was a time when an E-type was little more than an old car. These are cars from a different era to the Chimaera and Griffith but they share a lot of characteristics and I don't see many cars out there with the basic pace, aural or visual appeal of the Wheeler era TVRs. I'd guess that on paper something like a V8 Vantage would be a similar recipe, but even they are very sanitised in comparison.
As for your views regarding class and kudos, you're welcome to your opinion but I don't think you're qualified to judge either of these for the rest of us; the people taking pictures of TVRs when parked up or asking questions at petrol stations certainly suggest people are interested or hold some affection for them and I doubt you get a lot of that in your average 911.
You will have missed my post about liking TVRs then. And I'm as qualified as any owner here to judge, or are you lending credence to what I was saying?If you look at the only 1960s Griffith and the 1960s Tuscan for sale on carandclassic.co.uk you'll see that they're both advertised for upwards of £90,000. That's approximately 50% above most sorted Healey 3000s on the site- so much for them lacking appeal.
If you look back 15 years or so you'd see that you could pick up a lot of Healey or E-type for £25000 and there was a time when an E-type was little more than an old car. These are cars from a different era to the Chimaera and Griffith but they share a lot of characteristics and I don't see many cars out there with the basic pace, aural or visual appeal of the Wheeler era TVRs. I'd guess that on paper something like a V8 Vantage would be a similar recipe, but even they are very sanitised in comparison.
As for your views regarding class and kudos, you're welcome to your opinion but I don't think you're qualified to judge either of these for the rest of us; the people taking pictures of TVRs when parked up or asking questions at petrol stations certainly suggest people are interested or hold some affection for them and I doubt you get a lot of that in your average 911.
The reason people ask about the cars is simply because they've not seen one. They're not exactly as common as a Porsche or Aston are they? I wonder why that is?
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