Dilemma - Stick or Sell?

[finestjammy]

Hi All

I'm in a bit of a dilemma on wether to keep spending on my Chim or sell and look at something else. I'll try to be brief about the history:

Purchased a 93 L 4.0 for £2k in Dec 09...yes I know, very cheap.

Spent £5-£5.5k at a specialist getting new out riggers, some chassis work, all wishbones, shocks, new alarm and a raft of other things done, work completed in July 10. I was happy with this, £7-£7.5k for a mechanically decent, good chassis car. Cosemetically not brilliant but I was fine with that.

April 11 spent approx £2k at a pecialist, which included, amongst other things, getting the diff reconditioned (John Reid), some electrical work, powerflex bushes, 12k service and some minor bodywork repairs.

Now at the specialist again and the bill is £1.5k (so far)...new fuseborad, partial loom, relays etc etc

I don't mind spending the money as such, and I know you don't get back what you spend. At the same time though is it best to keep on ploughing into this car or look for another? Or are these bills not out of the ordinary and part of normal ownership, just grit your teeth and get on with it? I keep saying 'I'll move on to the cosmetic stuff' and then a bill rears it head.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

[Ironman]

My Friend

It will continue!!!!

[finestjammy]

Ironman said:

My Friend

It will continue!!!!

I'll get the lube ready then.

It makes me feel a bit better if other suffer too

[LordGrover]

Take a squint at fellow owners garages. It can be quite enlightening.

Only you can decide, but if you're asking the question I think you probably already knw what to do.

[macdeb]

Sorry mate, but you bought for £2k

[SILICONEKID340HP]

You should of only bought the car at 2k if you did the work your self ..

What you did is ridiculous !

Those TVR specialist charge a fortune !

[finestjammy]

macdeb said:

Sorry mate, but you bought for £2k

I did get it inspected and assessd by a specialist though, I also knew the history. It was also a case of a quick sale from someone who had been convicted of drink driving and the son wanted it out of the way of his dad.

No crash damage, solid chassis (apart from outriggers) strong engine (240bhp on the dyno). Thought it was worth a punt.

[finestjammy]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

You should of only bought the car at 2k if you did the work your self ..

What you did is ridiculous !

Those TVR specialist charge a fortune !

It probably would have been £5-£7k on the open market at the time I was looking around. It didn't get advertised. The only work that HAD to be done was the outriggers. I chose to get more done whilst the body was off though. Just trying to gauge if the bills thus far are vaguely normal, taking into account the specialist premium.

Maybe it was crazy buying so cheap, it wasn't quite as simple as an unknown advertised car though. The person I bought it off had paid £6k two years earlier.

[Bassfiend]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

You should of only bought the car at 2k if you did the work your self ..

What you did is ridiculous !

Those TVR specialist charge a fortune !

Hey Daz - Can I suggest not pressing "Submit" quite so quickly ... you do come out with some comments that can cause a bit of offence.

Phil

[brett84]

Is there much else needs doing now or is it nearly fixed? What was wrong with the wiring?
I've not had mine long and it's been on the road even less but it seems people have a normal price for something then multiply that as soon as you say it's for a TVR

[finestjammy]

brett84 said:

Is there much else needs doing now or is it nearly fixed? What was wrong with the wiring?
I've not had mine long and it's been on the road even less but it seems people have a normal price for something then multiply that as soon as you say it's for a TVR

Fingers crossed there shouldn't be much else to do, as mentioned before the engine appears to be strong as well as the clutch and gearbox. I'd like to do the roof, seats, carpets and paint at some point. That will be no change out of £4k. I suppose that's the question I have ask myself. Sell up and buy a £8-£10k Chim (not sure what condition I'd get for that) or plough more money into this one.

The battery must have vented at some point and has corroded some of the wiring/relays/fusebox. It all works, but I'd rather get it replaced to be on the safe side. I know you rarely get your cake and eat it and I've always budgeted £3k a year to run it. I also understand that no (well very very few) cars are an investment.

Thanks for the reply, its good to mull these things over on a rainy Monday evening

[SILICONEKID340HP]

Bassfiend said:

SILICONEKID340HP said:

You should of only bought the car at 2k if you did the work your self ..

What you did is ridiculous !

Those TVR specialist charge a fortune !

Hey Daz - Can I suggest not pressing "Submit" quite so quickly ... you do come out with some comments that can cause a bit of offence.

Phil

Im not being offensive,sorry if it came out that way ,its the mild asbergers and im not joking !

All i was trying to say it would of been a good project car for someone good on the spanners.

If i could go back in time i would of bought the latest low mileage 4.5 with full history ,with imaculate interior and exterior ..

These things a bloody expensive to tidy up.,best being spot on to start with..

[Bassfiend]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

Im not being offensive,sory if it came out that way ,its the mild asbergers and im not joking !

No worries - just suggesting being a bit less swift on the "Submit" button. :P

SILICONEKID340HP said:

These things a bloody expensive to tidy up.,best being spot on to start with..

Tell me about it!!!

Phil

[LordGrover]

Bassfiend said:

Hey Daz - Can I suggest not pressing "Submit" quite so quickly ... you do come out with some comments that can cause a bit of offence.

Phil

Daz is Daz... Pretty sure most of us know how to take his posts.
He knows stuff I don't, like most people so value his posts like most others here - yours too.

[SILICONEKID340HP]

Should of bought that black 4l 5 years ago ,only done 6K was black then some rich bird sprayed it pink then it went back to black,everything was like brand new for 11K ..looked show room !Sat in a heated garage.

[finestjammy]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

Im not being offensive,sory if it came out that way ,its the mild asbergers and im not joking !

All i was trying to say it would of been a good project car for someone good on the spanners.

If i could go back in time i would of bought the latest low mileage 4.5 with full history ,with imaculate interior and exterior ..

These things a bloody expensive to tidy up.,best being spot on to start with..

No problem I didn't explain the whole £2k story initially, my fault. You probably had a vision of a tangled fire wrecked car The point I was trying to make is that in reality it probably woukd have been at least £5k on the open market and still had to do the work. I knew I was taking a risk and I've certainly not ended up with a bargain, but I don't think it's been a compete disaster...yet

[brett84]

well if it helps, here's some costs and i've tried to get everything as cheap as possible so spent loads of time looking. Don't sell, fix it and you'll have a one off that will mean more to you!

i've just bought a new roof and material for targa top, the roof has a smaller rear window so it won't crease. It was after seeing other users posts and positive feedback, cost just over £300
http://www.mazdahoodshop.co.uk/

I'm taking the car to the trim technician in blackpool when it's ready and i need to ask him to fit the rood, said he could previously and fit the carpets. Fitting carpets was loads cheaper than I had quotes from elsewhere and he's a really sound guy, loads of TVR experience. Plus i get a nice little break in blackpool while he's working on her.
http://www.thetrimtechnician.com/contact.htm
I got the carpets from Coverdale and was going to fit myself but decided against it, I would just get someone to make them for you. A set is about 300 then another 150 to get them fitted and it's only the same cost as getting a set made up for you custom.

seats - you could get the originals retrimmed, don't know where you are based but i know a cheap old lady trimmer just off J25 M1. Or get some different ones like MX5, you can get retrimmed ones on eBay as new for about 300 a pair.

[S2Mike]

What you have to add up is. . . Have you now spent the greater amount to get the TVR as you want it with the weak points sorted or . . Have you more repairs that you know about, but are trying to be brave and not think about them.
Buying another TVR as with any car you may be buying someone else's abandoned project.
At least you know what has been completed to what standard on the car you have now.
Not trying to put you off the Chim but I know of stories of cars people have bought and then spent a fortune on, thinking they were avoiding more work on the current car.
Is the Chim so much different/better than the TVR you have?
Just trying to be helpful, I have written lists and given points to help make a decision. Deep down you probably already have your choice made, you just need the nudge.

[finestjammy]

Update, collected the car today and it is running really well...so bu*ger it, I'm going to keep her and spend some cash on the interior/exterior now.

Spoke with the guys at the garage and the engine and chassis are really solid, it's just the electrics that have gone into meltdown, literally. New fuseboard and partial re-loom should have hopefully sorted most of it.

Thanks for ALL opinions, it would be a dull forum if we all agreed all of the time...don't think there's much chance of that happening soon

[pearly]

Good for you keeping it , you just have to weigh up the enjoyment factor, and as long as you've got the readies why not spend it on some fun. Plus it will be as good as new time you finish .