E46 M3 or TVR Chimaera
Discussion
Hi Guys,
I will be adding one of these two the fold in due course. Planning on spending max 12k. What are people opinions on these two cars against each other? How do you thnk they will meet my needs as a ownership preposition.
MPG not massively a concern for me.
I plan to drive the car frequently but not as a daily driver.
I'd like to know what peoples opinions on these cars residuals are.
Any other info of people experiences would also be massively welcomed.
Test drove an E46 M3 today and I have to say that I loved the SMG gearbox and how nimble the car felt, although the sound with the windows up, i felt at the time was a bit tame. Have a test drive planned for the TVR on Saturday.
Rich
I will be adding one of these two the fold in due course. Planning on spending max 12k. What are people opinions on these two cars against each other? How do you thnk they will meet my needs as a ownership preposition.
MPG not massively a concern for me.
I plan to drive the car frequently but not as a daily driver.
I'd like to know what peoples opinions on these cars residuals are.
Any other info of people experiences would also be massively welcomed.
Test drove an E46 M3 today and I have to say that I loved the SMG gearbox and how nimble the car felt, although the sound with the windows up, i felt at the time was a bit tame. Have a test drive planned for the TVR on Saturday.
Rich
valverguy said:
To me it's quite simple,
Do you prefer a 2 seater sports car that is raw and bare or a saloon that is smooth and refined?
Both excellent cars, depends on what you can live with or most likely without...
ATB
A good Chim really needed be that "raw and bare", obviously relatively it is in a different world to the BMW but my 1994 Chim doesn't rattle AT ALL, doesn't break my back on rough roads and is perfectly comfortable on long drives; happily sits on the motorway at 80 and purrs away.Do you prefer a 2 seater sports car that is raw and bare or a saloon that is smooth and refined?
Both excellent cars, depends on what you can live with or most likely without...
ATB
The Chim after all was the soft GT car of the TVR range, it's (ugly :P ) sister was the hard sports car
theironduke said:
Hows that going?
I'm selling mine too and am just getting timewaster after timewaster
There is someone coming to see it this week - he beem wanting to come for a while but the car been off getting serviced and MOTdI'm selling mine too and am just getting timewaster after timewaster
did have an offer from Holland but not enough and have someone in Germany interested
if residual is the first thing you care about then maybe another choice entirely should be where you put your money!
In all honesty they are completely different propositions. The M3 is fast, but comfy, clinical, germanic, almost family-car like by comparison; whereas the TVR is more like trying to tame a wild animal. Not faster as such, but certainly more of a handful to drive and own. If you get freaked out about your car making a weird noise or doing something odd then go for the BMW. You could probably drive the M3 faster over UK roads, but for the one time you get a dry day, a clear run, nice surface the TVR will quite simply blow you away (if not the M3 in terms of speed).
it isn't a rule that you have to keep the chimaera under cover, but i think if you are looking at one in the £12k bracket (not absolutely top money, but certainly in the upper echelons) then I'd be looking at a cover unless you have a garage. The TVR will turn more heads by far, and will probably be marginally cheaper to find parts for etc. If you can do your own work then this is probably the best way to own a TVR and most owners are handy.
Availability of specialists is a concern as with the BMW you can prob just take it to most places, but TVR definitely not. There are lots of specialists but it is worth making the journey for a good one. There are a handful, maybe up to ten really good places in UK. The rest are made up of some OK ones, and some absolute shockers.
If it was me, I'd have another TVR hands down and probably would never consider an M3.
In all honesty they are completely different propositions. The M3 is fast, but comfy, clinical, germanic, almost family-car like by comparison; whereas the TVR is more like trying to tame a wild animal. Not faster as such, but certainly more of a handful to drive and own. If you get freaked out about your car making a weird noise or doing something odd then go for the BMW. You could probably drive the M3 faster over UK roads, but for the one time you get a dry day, a clear run, nice surface the TVR will quite simply blow you away (if not the M3 in terms of speed).
it isn't a rule that you have to keep the chimaera under cover, but i think if you are looking at one in the £12k bracket (not absolutely top money, but certainly in the upper echelons) then I'd be looking at a cover unless you have a garage. The TVR will turn more heads by far, and will probably be marginally cheaper to find parts for etc. If you can do your own work then this is probably the best way to own a TVR and most owners are handy.
Availability of specialists is a concern as with the BMW you can prob just take it to most places, but TVR definitely not. There are lots of specialists but it is worth making the journey for a good one. There are a handful, maybe up to ten really good places in UK. The rest are made up of some OK ones, and some absolute shockers.
If it was me, I'd have another TVR hands down and probably would never consider an M3.
I can't comment from the TVR point of view, but I'm thinking of selling my RX-7 and buying an E46 M3. I've had two E36 M3 Evos in the past and what I liked about them was how much I could use them on a regular basis. With a two year old and another baby due today, I'm just never using my RX-7 and fancy something that I can load the family into now and again, when the prospect of driving my wife's car is just too much. I found my E36s were great for pretty much everything other than load lugging and even then the rear seat went down. I probably wouldn't even consider an E46 M3 for a "fun only" car, but given I simply don't ever seem to go anywhere by myself these days, it seems a reasonable solution.
OP,
I went from a Cayman S to a TVR Chimaera 450 and within minutes I knew I should have bought a TVR years ago. The Porsche (like the M3) is a German machine that does a great job of going fast, going slowly, looking good etc, etc. However, driving the TVR is an event every time
Just seeing it when I take the cover off makes me smile, the noise is addictive and if you get a good one that has been set up properly they are great cars to drive
With your budget a very strong Chimaera can be purchased, possibly even from a decent dealer who will ensure all the usual foibles have been sorted (outriggers, power steering rack etc) so you can just enjoy driving the car for a while before the wallet needs to come out, which it will for "upgrades" fairly sharply
There is a PH meet planned for next Thursday at The Lodge near South Woodham Ferrers (see Essex & Kent section for details) if you can get over. There will be a few TVR's there including me, weather permitting, and we will gladly do a demo run or two if you need further persuasion.
I went from a Cayman S to a TVR Chimaera 450 and within minutes I knew I should have bought a TVR years ago. The Porsche (like the M3) is a German machine that does a great job of going fast, going slowly, looking good etc, etc. However, driving the TVR is an event every time
Just seeing it when I take the cover off makes me smile, the noise is addictive and if you get a good one that has been set up properly they are great cars to drive
With your budget a very strong Chimaera can be purchased, possibly even from a decent dealer who will ensure all the usual foibles have been sorted (outriggers, power steering rack etc) so you can just enjoy driving the car for a while before the wallet needs to come out, which it will for "upgrades" fairly sharply
There is a PH meet planned for next Thursday at The Lodge near South Woodham Ferrers (see Essex & Kent section for details) if you can get over. There will be a few TVR's there including me, weather permitting, and we will gladly do a demo run or two if you need further persuasion.
I’ve had my 4.0 Chim for over 10yrs now and earlier this year I also owned an E46 M3 with SMG for a few months. I’d previously looked at E46 M3s over the years since launch and as they are ridiculously good value at the moment, I thought I’d give one a try. As has been said earlier on here, both vehicles are different beasts and both have their charms and foibles.
The E46 is a fantastically competent sports saloon that can be driven fast by the average driver over most road surfaces. I was surprised how quickly I was taking my usual twisty B-road commute and the car was able to show its heels to pretty much any other car – even on wet and slippery roads. With every single factory extra on the car, it was a comfortable place to be sat, and that engine really is a peach. There aren’t many downsides to these M3s (apart from the self destructing rear sub-frame/boot floors and some head gasket issues), however for me, I just found it all just too ‘normal’ and, at times, a bit mundane. Hence I sold it for something a bit more raw/brutal.
The Chimaera on the other hand has real ‘presence’ and seems to be universally liked by most other road users. OK, it can’t be driven as quickly in all weathers like the BMW can, and you’re always fettling or tinkering with something on the car, but it’s always ‘an occasion’ when you drive it. Get the TVR on the right road on a dry sunny day and you’ll not stop smiling at the sound and performance. The cars are fairly simple mechanically and the RV8 is a great engine - mine has never once let me down in all those years. As the majority of TVR owners will tell you, they are fun and addictive….. so just bear that in mind when you buy your first!
The E46 is a fantastically competent sports saloon that can be driven fast by the average driver over most road surfaces. I was surprised how quickly I was taking my usual twisty B-road commute and the car was able to show its heels to pretty much any other car – even on wet and slippery roads. With every single factory extra on the car, it was a comfortable place to be sat, and that engine really is a peach. There aren’t many downsides to these M3s (apart from the self destructing rear sub-frame/boot floors and some head gasket issues), however for me, I just found it all just too ‘normal’ and, at times, a bit mundane. Hence I sold it for something a bit more raw/brutal.
The Chimaera on the other hand has real ‘presence’ and seems to be universally liked by most other road users. OK, it can’t be driven as quickly in all weathers like the BMW can, and you’re always fettling or tinkering with something on the car, but it’s always ‘an occasion’ when you drive it. Get the TVR on the right road on a dry sunny day and you’ll not stop smiling at the sound and performance. The cars are fairly simple mechanically and the RV8 is a great engine - mine has never once let me down in all those years. As the majority of TVR owners will tell you, they are fun and addictive….. so just bear that in mind when you buy your first!
i guess another thing is noise. BMW straight six (?) is one thing, and on-song I bet it sounds great particularly with a sports exhaust, but it doesn't sound like the old-school V8 particularly with some externally-invisible pipe-mods. Performance cat (I don't think you are realistically or practically allowed to decat them properly anymore, unless you retain both a decatted and a catted Y-section and swap them over for every MOT), straight-throughs, pre-cats out is the only way to fly!
Blown2CV said:
i guess another thing is noise. BMW straight six (?) is one thing, and on-song I bet it sounds great particularly with a sports exhaust, but it doesn't sound like the old-school V8 particularly with some externally-invisible pipe-mods. Performance cat (I don't think you are realistically or practically allowed to decat them properly anymore, unless you retain both a decatted and a catted Y-section and swap them over for every MOT), straight-throughs, pre-cats out is the only way to fly!
Even a standard "quiet" TVR sounds epic and better than most things this side of Italian exotica.theironduke said:
Blown2CV said:
i guess another thing is noise. BMW straight six (?) is one thing, and on-song I bet it sounds great particularly with a sports exhaust, but it doesn't sound like the old-school V8 particularly with some externally-invisible pipe-mods. Performance cat (I don't think you are realistically or practically allowed to decat them properly anymore, unless you retain both a decatted and a catted Y-section and swap them over for every MOT), straight-throughs, pre-cats out is the only way to fly!
Even a standard "quiet" TVR sounds epic and better than most things this side of Italian exotica.Blown2CV said:
theironduke said:
Blown2CV said:
i guess another thing is noise. BMW straight six (?) is one thing, and on-song I bet it sounds great particularly with a sports exhaust, but it doesn't sound like the old-school V8 particularly with some externally-invisible pipe-mods. Performance cat (I don't think you are realistically or practically allowed to decat them properly anymore, unless you retain both a decatted and a catted Y-section and swap them over for every MOT), straight-throughs, pre-cats out is the only way to fly!
Even a standard "quiet" TVR sounds epic and better than most things this side of Italian exotica.Got to ask why the Chinera and not the Cerbera? The Cerbera is more of an equivalent to the M3 while the Chomera is more of a Z4.
Surely the TVR is less usable year round over the BMW? I mean middle of winter minus 5 frozen screen. BMW will clear it in no time plus heated seats and with climate you'll be at a lovely 25 degrees in no time. Chimera ... Is demisting good... ? It will be cold. How about the Cerbera? Does that must up? Does it have air con
If its a weekend car above points are irrelevant.
Note I want a TVR...and would also like the E46 M3( though a recent play against one I was surprised at the fact it wasnt as quick as I thought it would be. )never played with a Cerbera.. Can imagine the 4.5 or 5lttr Cerbera would smash all opposition.
Surely the TVR is less usable year round over the BMW? I mean middle of winter minus 5 frozen screen. BMW will clear it in no time plus heated seats and with climate you'll be at a lovely 25 degrees in no time. Chimera ... Is demisting good... ? It will be cold. How about the Cerbera? Does that must up? Does it have air con
If its a weekend car above points are irrelevant.
Note I want a TVR...and would also like the E46 M3( though a recent play against one I was surprised at the fact it wasnt as quick as I thought it would be. )never played with a Cerbera.. Can imagine the 4.5 or 5lttr Cerbera would smash all opposition.
Welshbeef said:
Got to ask why the Chinera and not the Cerbera? The Cerbera is more of an equivalent to the M3 while the Chomera is more of a Z4.
Surely the TVR is less usable year round over the BMW? I mean middle of winter minus 5 frozen screen. BMW will clear it in no time plus heated seats and with climate you'll be at a lovely 25 degrees in no time. Chimera ... Is demisting good... ? It will be cold. How about the Cerbera? Does that must up? Does it have air con
If its a weekend car above points are irrelevant.
Note I want a TVR...and would also like the E46 M3( though a recent play against one I was surprised at the fact it wasnt as quick as I thought it would be. )never played with a Cerbera.. Can imagine the 4.5 or 5lttr Cerbera would smash all opposition.
Demisting and heating in my Chim is as good as in any car i've owned. They are far more civilised cars than most people think.Surely the TVR is less usable year round over the BMW? I mean middle of winter minus 5 frozen screen. BMW will clear it in no time plus heated seats and with climate you'll be at a lovely 25 degrees in no time. Chimera ... Is demisting good... ? It will be cold. How about the Cerbera? Does that must up? Does it have air con
If its a weekend car above points are irrelevant.
Note I want a TVR...and would also like the E46 M3( though a recent play against one I was surprised at the fact it wasnt as quick as I thought it would be. )never played with a Cerbera.. Can imagine the 4.5 or 5lttr Cerbera would smash all opposition.
theironduke said:
Demisting and heating in my Chim is as good as in any car i've owned. They are far more civilised cars than most people think.
The Rovers I have had we're shocking likewise the Volvo. The Leon good the BMW very good the Quick clear screen Mondeo superb. Now I'd guess naturally a soft top will not be 100% air tight as such it will be damp so misty. Got to ask why Chimera and not Cerbera? Was it you wanted open top or budget or just you preferred it?
Welshbeef said:
theironduke said:
Demisting and heating in my Chim is as good as in any car i've owned. They are far more civilised cars than most people think.
The Rovers I have had we're shocking likewise the Volvo. The Leon good the BMW very good the Quick clear screen Mondeo superb. Now I'd guess naturally a soft top will not be 100% air tight as such it will be damp so misty. Got to ask why Chimera and not Cerbera? Was it you wanted open top or budget or just you preferred it?
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