Alright then chaps - shoot me down!
Discussion
I'm sure it's all been asked before but the search function is really rather poop and to be honest, I feel like I need the personal counseling.
I want a Chimaera.
Desperately.
So here's the story...
I currently drive a Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo as my daily driver. I've owned the old girl for three-and-a-bit years and used it as my daily for the last 18 months. I'm bored. I need another car to lust over. The Chim gives me that wibble factor that I simply cannot do without any longer.
Now the problem. I will only be able to spend ~5k on one and in all honesty that'll be my maximum.
I ran the Coupe through uni, graduated and got a job that I'm almost two years into. Saving has taken a while to get off the ground but now I'm underway I should be ready to buy in December.
You've probably already guessed my questions but here they are anyway. Please humor me;
It feels very much like when I went after my Fiat. A-far-from-wealthy uni student with an average budget that needed that car enthusiast hit. I think it paid off really, and it's been a great three years with the car despite getting the same warnings that I do about the Chim now.
I've roughly averaged £75.00 per month on up-keep and pre-emptive maintainence with the Coupe. Will a Chimaera absorb that and more? My wallet is shuddering at the thought.
I've had a few looks at theironduke's Chim advert at £5000 and it appeals.
Oh yeah, I don't really spanner as I live in a rented apartment and don't have the space to do so. The car will live outside all year round too.
What d'you reckon?
I want a Chimaera.
Desperately.
So here's the story...
I currently drive a Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo as my daily driver. I've owned the old girl for three-and-a-bit years and used it as my daily for the last 18 months. I'm bored. I need another car to lust over. The Chim gives me that wibble factor that I simply cannot do without any longer.
Now the problem. I will only be able to spend ~5k on one and in all honesty that'll be my maximum.
I ran the Coupe through uni, graduated and got a job that I'm almost two years into. Saving has taken a while to get off the ground but now I'm underway I should be ready to buy in December.
You've probably already guessed my questions but here they are anyway. Please humor me;
- Can you buy a decent Chim with my meager budget?
- Will a 5k Chim handle a daily round commute of ~45 miles over reasonably bumpy worcestershire A-Road without fuss?
- Should I be resigned to the fact that yes, I am infact a nutter of the highest order for contemplating spending so little on one and should wait for another year to get a great Chim?
It feels very much like when I went after my Fiat. A-far-from-wealthy uni student with an average budget that needed that car enthusiast hit. I think it paid off really, and it's been a great three years with the car despite getting the same warnings that I do about the Chim now.
I've roughly averaged £75.00 per month on up-keep and pre-emptive maintainence with the Coupe. Will a Chimaera absorb that and more? My wallet is shuddering at the thought.
I've had a few looks at theironduke's Chim advert at £5000 and it appeals.
Oh yeah, I don't really spanner as I live in a rented apartment and don't have the space to do so. The car will live outside all year round too.
What d'you reckon?
V8 GRF said:
A £5K won't do a daily drive.
Be patient and save up for a better car
Steady on...........mine never let me down in 2 years and 12k miles, no point buying a minter to use every day IMHO. Be sensible, chassis,oily bits and cosmetics last. One just sold on here with new outriggers etc etc with 100k on it for 5k, perfect daily driver.Be patient and save up for a better car
bubblehead said:
Steady on...........mine never let me down in 2 years and 12k miles, no point buying a minter to use every day IMHO. Be sensible, chassis,oily bits and cosmetics last. One just sold on here with new outriggers etc etc with 100k on it for 5k, perfect daily driver.
I am inclined to agree with V8 griff, they are 5K for a reason, either have poor service history or something more sinister, better to spend abit more money on one that is mechanically sound. And as you say the cosmetics like a paint job, and interior can follow. I saw a cheap cerbera today, and it needs a good 5-10 grand spending on it.
You may be able to buy one but running costs will be at least double your current plus the fuel costs will increase, never mind insurance at your age.
I was lucky enough to own a Taimar at 23 but struggled to keep it on the road as daily driver. You'll want to do things to it but TBH you'll struggle without a £2k sluch fund for emergencies.
FFG
I was lucky enough to own a Taimar at 23 but struggled to keep it on the road as daily driver. You'll want to do things to it but TBH you'll struggle without a £2k sluch fund for emergencies.
FFG
I don't have a problem with a £5k Chimaera - it'll be £5k for a reason and probably quite tatty but mine is visually quite tired and I don't care - I bought it to drive and not for other people to look at.
I'm afraid to say though that the more I think about it the more I think you might be pushing it (if you'll forgive the pun) at £75 a month running costs ...
Being realistic even mine (which I do maintain / repair properly but also run on a shoestring) costs more than £75 a month when broken down over the year. I reckon that as a minimum (including MOT costs and whatever's needed to get it through) you really need to budgetting about £100 - £150 a month (remember, servicing costs - if you don't do it yourself - can be £600 a throw).
By the time I've finished this year I'm going to have spent a good £3k+ on mine (£2,000 on ECU swap - OK, this wasn't completely necessary as such but it was to fix a long standing fault, £700 on outrigger replacement, £200 on a radiator, £120 on an alternator, £150 getting the dash recovered, £90 on a battery) and that's not the end of it - by the time I'd found replacement dash warning lights that I liked, bought new connectors and wiring for them, new crimp tools, odds and sodds of mending strips and epoxy adhesives to repair broken bits of fibreglass etc. I reckon you can easily add in another £200. To do the alternator I had to buy a bigger socket set, 3/8 inch hex drive set and a puller (just to swap over the alternator pulley) so that's another £100 on top of the alternator cost ... it all mounts up quite scarily.
Phil
I'm afraid to say though that the more I think about it the more I think you might be pushing it (if you'll forgive the pun) at £75 a month running costs ...
Being realistic even mine (which I do maintain / repair properly but also run on a shoestring) costs more than £75 a month when broken down over the year. I reckon that as a minimum (including MOT costs and whatever's needed to get it through) you really need to budgetting about £100 - £150 a month (remember, servicing costs - if you don't do it yourself - can be £600 a throw).
By the time I've finished this year I'm going to have spent a good £3k+ on mine (£2,000 on ECU swap - OK, this wasn't completely necessary as such but it was to fix a long standing fault, £700 on outrigger replacement, £200 on a radiator, £120 on an alternator, £150 getting the dash recovered, £90 on a battery) and that's not the end of it - by the time I'd found replacement dash warning lights that I liked, bought new connectors and wiring for them, new crimp tools, odds and sodds of mending strips and epoxy adhesives to repair broken bits of fibreglass etc. I reckon you can easily add in another £200. To do the alternator I had to buy a bigger socket set, 3/8 inch hex drive set and a puller (just to swap over the alternator pulley) so that's another £100 on top of the alternator cost ... it all mounts up quite scarily.
Phil
OP in your shoes I would keep saving hard for another year, with the intention of having that slush fund (£1500?) at the ready. spend maybe £6-7k on the Chim purchase, having found one that's been doted on previously (and many have been through true enthusiasts hands, but aren't expensive).
Alternatively, jump in an S with your lower budget and you'll have a machine to give you great satisfaction on all counts I would say. What ever you choose to do, good luck and keep the faith.
Alternatively, jump in an S with your lower budget and you'll have a machine to give you great satisfaction on all counts I would say. What ever you choose to do, good luck and keep the faith.
Ignore the crap about a >£5000 Chim not being up to the job
I paid £3500 for mine a couple of years ago and it's been perfectly reliable. Granted it is not my daily but I'd have no worries for using it as so. My car has been sat in the garage unused for over three weeks without any type of battery charger fitted, it could probably sit for longer - I could jump in it now and will start - on the button and I could drive anywhere I wanted without any hesitation. How many £5000+ TVRs could you say that about?
Of course there is some junk out there in all price brackets, just be careful of what you are buying. Things like worn hoods etc are a good reason for a cheap car and fairly inexpensive to have replaced- it doesn't mean the rest of the car is a toilet. Chassis and engine need to be good if you are on a budget, everything else is fairly irrelevant - as you can have as much fun in a £4000 Chim as you can in a £10000 Chim.
I paid £3500 for mine a couple of years ago and it's been perfectly reliable. Granted it is not my daily but I'd have no worries for using it as so. My car has been sat in the garage unused for over three weeks without any type of battery charger fitted, it could probably sit for longer - I could jump in it now and will start - on the button and I could drive anywhere I wanted without any hesitation. How many £5000+ TVRs could you say that about?
Of course there is some junk out there in all price brackets, just be careful of what you are buying. Things like worn hoods etc are a good reason for a cheap car and fairly inexpensive to have replaced- it doesn't mean the rest of the car is a toilet. Chassis and engine need to be good if you are on a budget, everything else is fairly irrelevant - as you can have as much fun in a £4000 Chim as you can in a £10000 Chim.
ImDesigner said:
..............Chim advert at £5000 and it appeals.
Oh yeah, I don't really spanner as I live in a rented apartment and don't have the space to do so. The car will live outside all year round too.
What d'you reckon?
I reckon if you don't spanner you will have to be incredibly lucky with your purchase to end up with a reliable daily driver for a max of £5k.Oh yeah, I don't really spanner as I live in a rented apartment and don't have the space to do so. The car will live outside all year round too.
What d'you reckon?
Good luck with it if you decide to give it a go though
peaktorque said:
Ignore the crap about a >£5000 Chim not being up to the job
I disagree it's crap, I'm not suggesting the car isn't up to being a daily driver, just a cheap one isn't likely to be unless he's lucky.A couple of years ago Chimaeras were even cheaper than they are now and a car that you'd now be paying £8K for would have been around £5k or even less. If a Chimaera at £3.5k was for sale now it is more than likely going to be a car that needs work.
I'd suggest you may be lucky and find a car that might be up to it but you'd be surprised at how much extra stress using a car daily puts on components of cars that are getting on for almost 20 years old. If he's spent all his money on the purchase of the car then he's running the risk of having to skimp on bits and bobs that just wear out and they all accumulate to breakdowns and MOT failures, better to wait and buy a better car imo.
I know as my Griffith is my daily driver.
As I said cheap doesn't mean crap. It is wrong to assume so.
Buy wisely and bargains are to be had (it is a buyers market) You can spend £8000 on a garage queen and still end up with loads of problems - with no money left in the pot to fix it.
Just my opinion and the reason I bought cheap (admittedly knowing what I was buying)
The one on eBay at the mo, would tempt me ~£4500 providing the chassis is o.k. - and would still retain a contingency for any issues.
I like a gamble anyway
Buy wisely and bargains are to be had (it is a buyers market) You can spend £8000 on a garage queen and still end up with loads of problems - with no money left in the pot to fix it.
Just my opinion and the reason I bought cheap (admittedly knowing what I was buying)
The one on eBay at the mo, would tempt me ~£4500 providing the chassis is o.k. - and would still retain a contingency for any issues.
I like a gamble anyway
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