Do I really want a Chimaera? Part 1
Discussion
get the f
chimaera. would you be on here asking if you didn't already know????
One month into ownership, its started raining and of course its started leaking, but what the hell? I tend to wear shoes while i'm driving so a damp carpet is the least on my mind. These cars are the biz - I would have died for an elise, but Mrs wanted the chim and I can't say she was wrong. buy from a dealer and whine like hell if its got a milky screen or summat. he will change it for you. Live a little! Ours lives outside and its bearable (what kind of gaff has electric gates & no garridge???)
go on... as Peter Kay would say, " 'Ave it!!"
chimaera. would you be on here asking if you didn't already know???? One month into ownership, its started raining and of course its started leaking, but what the hell? I tend to wear shoes while i'm driving so a damp carpet is the least on my mind. These cars are the biz - I would have died for an elise, but Mrs wanted the chim and I can't say she was wrong. buy from a dealer and whine like hell if its got a milky screen or summat. he will change it for you. Live a little! Ours lives outside and its bearable (what kind of gaff has electric gates & no garridge???)
go on... as Peter Kay would say, " 'Ave it!!"
You have no choice. There is no other car. Just like "there is no spoon". Buy the Chimaera. Drive it. Love it or Hate it. You have to buy one to really know, or you won't be able to sleep at night for thinking "What if?". You can always buy a normal car that offers you the reliability and stuff that you want. A TVR is an experience, and can never be described as 'normal'. The others are just for every day. What are you waiting for??
Just cross your fingers and hope you get a good one !!
.....by the way, mine leaks like a sieve, rattles like it is going to fall to bits over 100mph and you don't even want to ask how much money I have thrown at it the last couple of years........
Wouldn't swap it for anything else though... well maybe that new Tamora !!
.....by the way, mine leaks like a sieve, rattles like it is going to fall to bits over 100mph and you don't even want to ask how much money I have thrown at it the last couple of years........
Wouldn't swap it for anything else though... well maybe that new Tamora !!
why bother at all ,the TVR range is for a different type of person,if you want it very well put together with no hassle at all from the very limited dealer network and very reliable then i would go for the HONDA .but if you want a car that looks very good and has 100% poser value ,goes like the wind and handles very well without any computor aided devices at all ,but has a few rough edges and not quite 100% reliable ,and the styling is very aggressive .then i would go the TVR way .easy choice aint it but i would drive them both and decide from then on .
Until I sat in my friends Halcyon Blue 4.0 in the heat of Kuala Lumpur, I never considered buying a TVR. That ride last year changed my whole perception of TVR's and when I came back from Malaysia, I was looking through all the car mags and have been PH virtually everyday.Also decided to buy "the bible" and join the TVRCC just to see the classifieds in SPRINT...
I know this is a room mainly for fellow owners to air their problems in order for others to help but coming from a series of European/Japanese cars, it appears to me that the problems the average Chim owner experiences would seriously diminish the potential ownership prospects. This is because:
1- Private money is going into this purchase and it will be a T reg or later (I have a private plate) so it will be around £20K at least, even though winter is coming.
2 - Potential servicing intervals (6000 miles is very short!)
3- It will have to live outside (albeit behind electronic gates as I don`t have underground parking) and I am reading about leaks/milky glass water in footwells due to water ingress etc
4- The ease of reselling these cars, I am sure everyone appreciates TVRs but by and large the motoring public are a conservative lot and wouldn't seriously consider a TVR due to their perception of being unreliable and expensive to fix.
So the dilemma I am now facing is whether my hard earned cash should go into:
a) Honda 2000 - I love the styling and the engine of this car, personally the bad press is not warranted.
b) Lotus Elise series 2 (there are top finance packages out there so I for £10K I could opt for a 111S with air-con!)
c) BMW M3 E36 (unadvenurous but the "sensible" option).
It appears that even buying a Chim can be hit and miss ... My mind changes almost daily, heart says Chim and head says S2000/Elise/sensible rag top.
Help, I am having second thoughts! It is a lot of money and I don`t want to spend £20k on trouble. I guess I only live once, but I don`t want to live and regret it!!
I can't be the only one in this dilemma!?!
Any words of inspiration!??!!
>>> Edited by tamago on Friday 25th October 00:50
simple answer--buy 'em all!
RiverGirl got it. The chim is just something else - and as somebody else said - you wouldn't be asking on here if you didn't already know.
I was kind of dubious ( more vervous, i guess ) before i bought mine, but it was my nephew's birthday today, and i took him out for a spin. I suspect i know what the main topic of discussion will be when he gets into school tomorrow.
this isn't why i bought it, though, and for about 2 months after i bought it i shivered as i walked down to the garage, without fail
finished off it's so2s, now running s03s, and getting used to it again now that they're scrubbed in a bit. drive to work every day ( >25miles ) and it hasn't missed a beat in 6months ( touching every available piece of wood! )
service + boots all-round at about a grand.
full screen and hood cover supplied with car, which is useful, because you start your journey relatively clear, rather than having it sat getting damp, cold and misted up.
just ordered a cd/mp3 player for it 'cos the standard-fit was boggin' in 95
buy it and live!
>> Edited by chimburt on Sunday 27th October 14:40
I was kind of dubious ( more vervous, i guess ) before i bought mine, but it was my nephew's birthday today, and i took him out for a spin. I suspect i know what the main topic of discussion will be when he gets into school tomorrow.
this isn't why i bought it, though, and for about 2 months after i bought it i shivered as i walked down to the garage, without fail
finished off it's so2s, now running s03s, and getting used to it again now that they're scrubbed in a bit. drive to work every day ( >25miles ) and it hasn't missed a beat in 6months ( touching every available piece of wood! )
service + boots all-round at about a grand.
full screen and hood cover supplied with car, which is useful, because you start your journey relatively clear, rather than having it sat getting damp, cold and misted up.
just ordered a cd/mp3 player for it 'cos the standard-fit was boggin' in 95
buy it and live!
>> Edited by chimburt on Sunday 27th October 14:40
Thanks again to you all. It is true that I probably didn't expect to receive impartial answers on this board but I wanted to get responses re the issues which concerned me from current Chim owners.
Just came down from the NEC this weekend, TVR stand crowded beyond belief but saw a very nice modified S2000 by Tachbrook Honda.
I haven't forgotten that, like many of you, I am very fortunate to be in a position to choose between a Chim/S2000 and hopefully will have something to report shortly. If it is a Chim, it will be bought with a TVR cover, a spare battery and tubes of sealant for its outdoor life!
Just came down from the NEC this weekend, TVR stand crowded beyond belief but saw a very nice modified S2000 by Tachbrook Honda.
I haven't forgotten that, like many of you, I am very fortunate to be in a position to choose between a Chim/S2000 and hopefully will have something to report shortly. If it is a Chim, it will be bought with a TVR cover, a spare battery and tubes of sealant for its outdoor life!
Tamoago Wrote -No-one would know how to "fix" a TVR on the continent... and....I am sure you all read the recent article in Autocar where the Tuscan's throttle cable snapped while the tester was in Paris....
The Chimaera and Griffith are by far the easiest cars to work on and are on `Simple Simon technology' which means things should be fine, everything on them is basic technology...even a Frenchman could fix it.
I have been to France in them several times and wouldn't think twice about travelling in one. The Rover v8 engine has been around in one form or another since the 1940's and most of the electrics are basic stuff.
With regards to the Tuscan breaking down - I had the same thing happen to me in one right outside Silverstone in 2000 - ouch my pride hurt, but the car had only been out three months and was a totally different model. The fault was a blob of metal had fallen off the cable, as I can only assume happened to the one in France - all Tuscan had a recall on these that were already outthere and it has been changed.
The later you get a handbuilt car in it's production run the better it will be.
I hope you go for a TVR
The Chimaera and Griffith are by far the easiest cars to work on and are on `Simple Simon technology' which means things should be fine, everything on them is basic technology...even a Frenchman could fix it.
I have been to France in them several times and wouldn't think twice about travelling in one. The Rover v8 engine has been around in one form or another since the 1940's and most of the electrics are basic stuff.
With regards to the Tuscan breaking down - I had the same thing happen to me in one right outside Silverstone in 2000 - ouch my pride hurt, but the car had only been out three months and was a totally different model. The fault was a blob of metal had fallen off the cable, as I can only assume happened to the one in France - all Tuscan had a recall on these that were already outthere and it has been changed.
The later you get a handbuilt car in it's production run the better it will be.
I hope you go for a TVR
I remember someone telling me that Buick - where it was discovered in America by Rover in around '65 had chosen not to use it as it was too small at the time for the American market.
However it was mentioned that plans for this engine had come out of a certain country in Europe after the War. I am sure someone here can shed some light on this? It was made out of Iron not Aluminium then.
paperbag:
>> Edited by jamer on Monday 28th October 14:33
However it was mentioned that plans for this engine had come out of a certain country in Europe after the War. I am sure someone here can shed some light on this? It was made out of Iron not Aluminium then.
paperbag:
>> Edited by jamer on Monday 28th October 14:33
Tamago, I think we all know what your going to buy! Recommendations:
Modify the battery connection leads so that you can jump the car without taking the battery out (which is a complete pain in the @rse)
Use it. Every other day at least.
Find a good dealer/specialist for servicing and try to keep a good relationship with them.
Ignore what people say about the unreliability. If its got a few miles on the clock (20-30k) most issues's will be sorted.
The heating/ventilation is sh!t (Heating is the better of the 2 though!) so dress accordingly.
Try if possible to keep the roof section in its bag when not in use.
Buy one.
Modify the battery connection leads so that you can jump the car without taking the battery out (which is a complete pain in the @rse)
Use it. Every other day at least.
Find a good dealer/specialist for servicing and try to keep a good relationship with them.
Ignore what people say about the unreliability. If its got a few miles on the clock (20-30k) most issues's will be sorted.
The heating/ventilation is sh!t (Heating is the better of the 2 though!) so dress accordingly.
Try if possible to keep the roof section in its bag when not in use.
Buy one.
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