Is Noble the way to go?
Discussion
I am seiously thinking of changing my TVR for a Noble. I have had my Tuscan for only 6 months and it has had 3 major faults and been off the road for 10 weeks.
I love it but I know that when the warranty expires I will struggle to run it and pay for repairs. When I bought it I was considering a Noble but went for the Tuscan instead.
I have a few questions :
1. Are they reliable?
2. Can the pedals/seat be moved for my (short)wife?
3. Any tips on good dealers?
Any info much appreciated.
Thanks
Barry.
I love it but I know that when the warranty expires I will struggle to run it and pay for repairs. When I bought it I was considering a Noble but went for the Tuscan instead.
I have a few questions :
1. Are they reliable?
2. Can the pedals/seat be moved for my (short)wife?
3. Any tips on good dealers?
Any info much appreciated.
Thanks
Barry.
Y6 BAL said:BMW 3 series reliable? Probably not, but certainly if you spend the time wandering around here you will find that lately the M12 has been in the "pretty dam good" bracket reliability wise. Given the number of M12's now around, all of the normal issues have been found, solved and the "old" cars upgraded.
1. Are they reliable?
Engines and transmissions are "almost" bulletproof (although it seems driving them hard will take a certain toll on their longevity), and the only real weakspot is suspension ball joints if you track the car, but then they are dead cheap and very easy to replace.
Y6 BAL said:Yes - I had the seat moved about 2" forward for my partner who's a shortarse as well. Factory or dealer can do this.
2. Can the pedals/seat be moved for my (short)wife?
Y6 BAL said:All the approved Noble ones (list on www.noblecars.com/new-noble-site/contact/index.html)
3. Any tips on good dealers?
Check out www.gto3.com and www.lotus-elise.org.uk/noble for some more information on two examples.
J
Barry,
I did the same comparison as you (M12 vs Tuscan) in December last year but went the other way. Looking at it now I'm very pleased with my decision. At the time I had wanted the Tuscan to 'blow me away' but it didn't. I don't know why. Two years earlier the Elise had also got the decision over the Tuscan. Perceived reliability was the main factor. With Noble it was a bit of a gamble because I bought without discussing it on PH first. So reliability was unknown, whereas with TVR, friends warned me against it. Which is sad. TVR will, IMO, need to work for years to improve their reliability.
That's not to say my 3R has been faultless. I've had a faulty alarm replaced, an exhaust mounting prove troublesome and some minor electrical probs. But I'm very happy with it and may look at buying my third Noble this year, very soon.
Regards.
Chris.
I did the same comparison as you (M12 vs Tuscan) in December last year but went the other way. Looking at it now I'm very pleased with my decision. At the time I had wanted the Tuscan to 'blow me away' but it didn't. I don't know why. Two years earlier the Elise had also got the decision over the Tuscan. Perceived reliability was the main factor. With Noble it was a bit of a gamble because I bought without discussing it on PH first. So reliability was unknown, whereas with TVR, friends warned me against it. Which is sad. TVR will, IMO, need to work for years to improve their reliability.
That's not to say my 3R has been faultless. I've had a faulty alarm replaced, an exhaust mounting prove troublesome and some minor electrical probs. But I'm very happy with it and may look at buying my third Noble this year, very soon.
Regards.
Chris.
I've currently waiting to see what TVR are able to do now they have some much needed guidance and cash.
Recently sold my 3R after 9 months of ownership.......3 months of that spent off the road having various things sorted........most will say Noble are ahead of TVR.....I beg to differ.......I had almost no issues with my TVR Tamora.....but many with my 3R......any issue I had with the Tamora was always rectified very quickly.
Recently sold my 3R after 9 months of ownership.......3 months of that spent off the road having various things sorted........most will say Noble are ahead of TVR.....I beg to differ.......I had almost no issues with my TVR Tamora.....but many with my 3R......any issue I had with the Tamora was always rectified very quickly.
well I've owned 2 Tuscans and 1 Cerbera. None of which were ever reliable. Extremely poor build quality in my opinion. Bits falling off all the time, electrics going wrong all the time and engines that needed so much attention you couldn't ever enjoy them.
I bought a 3R 3 months ago and nothing has ever went wrong with it. Oh well apart from realinging the windscreen wipers, 5 minute job.
The car is totally reliable, starts first time everytime and has given me no troubles.
I will never, NEVER, touch another TVR until they get themselves sorted out and do something with the Speed Six engine.
Walk away and buy a Noble.
I bought a 3R 3 months ago and nothing has ever went wrong with it. Oh well apart from realinging the windscreen wipers, 5 minute job.
The car is totally reliable, starts first time everytime and has given me no troubles.
I will never, NEVER, touch another TVR until they get themselves sorted out and do something with the Speed Six engine.
Walk away and buy a Noble.
The above posts just go to show that people have very different experiences with cars.....and that there simply isn't an answer to which one is better.
TVR's have a reputation for being unreliable.......I never found this with my own Tamora nor did my friend with his Tuscan.....My Noble was trouble from day one and has left with me with a very sour taste for the brand.....so much so that I'll never buy into the marque again.......the fact that the Noble (at the time was an extra 16K over my Tamora was a double blow.
Others have different views and have had cars that have proved ultra reliable....what ever you choose I hope your happy.......a Noble on full song is a glorious thing!
TVR's have a reputation for being unreliable.......I never found this with my own Tamora nor did my friend with his Tuscan.....My Noble was trouble from day one and has left with me with a very sour taste for the brand.....so much so that I'll never buy into the marque again.......the fact that the Noble (at the time was an extra 16K over my Tamora was a double blow.
Others have different views and have had cars that have proved ultra reliable....what ever you choose I hope your happy.......a Noble on full song is a glorious thing!
Have visited a couple of dealers today and had a test drive.
( the wife couldn't cos she was too short) But we found out that the seat runners can be moved forward to enable her to drive it.
I am well impressed.
Thanks to everyone that has answered so far - it's really interesting to hear from owners of both.
After driving one today it's looking like I will get one when I finally get the Tuscan back.
It's scary how much money I have lost in 6 months though!!!
Barry.
( the wife couldn't cos she was too short) But we found out that the seat runners can be moved forward to enable her to drive it. I am well impressed.
Thanks to everyone that has answered so far - it's really interesting to hear from owners of both.
After driving one today it's looking like I will get one when I finally get the Tuscan back.
It's scary how much money I have lost in 6 months though!!!
Barry.
topboss said:
The above posts just go to show that people have very different experiences with cars.....and that there simply isn't an answer to which one is better.
TVR's have a reputation for being unreliable.......I never found this with my own Tamora nor did my friend with his Tuscan.....My Noble was trouble from day one and has left with me with a very sour taste for the brand.....so much so that I'll never buy into the marque again.......the fact that the Noble (at the time was an extra 16K over my Tamora was a double blow.
Others have different views and have had cars that have proved ultra reliable....what ever you choose I hope your happy.......a Noble on full song is a glorious thing!
Have a look at the survey results in the tuscan forum - 40% of all speed six engines have had a rebuild! The numbers say more than I ever could.
m12_nathan said:Just found that. Even given that people with problems might be more likely to post / find PH from google etc. that's still an amazing statistic!
Have a look at the survey results in the tuscan forum - 40% of all speed six engines have had a rebuild! The numbers say more than I ever could.
J
joust said:
Have a look at the survey results in the tuscan forum - 40% of all speed six engines have had a rebuild! The numbers say more than I ever could.
Just found that. Even given that people with problems might be more likely to post / find PH from google etc. that's still an amazing statistic!
J
Trust me, don't touch them with a barge poll. Those that are happy - have either got a lot of patience when the engines goes bang - or are not happy to talk about it.
m12_nathan said:
Have a look at the survey results in the tuscan forum - 40% of all speed six engines have had a rebuild! The numbers say more than I ever could.
Very true, but as I pointed out earlier, it will be interesting to see how things pan out now TVR are under new ownership and have cash to invest etc
We each have our own opinions......it's what makes the world a more interesting place.......all I can go on is the experiences I have had with both brands.........based on that I am firmly in the TVR camp from here on.....Noble......no thanks.
.......would still take my CSL over both brands! lol
had Tuscan for 9 months...only problem was a head gasket that needed replacing !?!
Had the noble 2 weeks (2 year old original, or classic, 2.5GTO)...only thing gone wrong so far is the window winder which won't take it all the way down..simple problem to fix apparently, but doesn't detract from the tremendous ownership experience to date.
use my M12 as a commuter vehicle (how many supercars can you do that in?!)
never looked back!
Had the noble 2 weeks (2 year old original, or classic, 2.5GTO)...only thing gone wrong so far is the window winder which won't take it all the way down..simple problem to fix apparently, but doesn't detract from the tremendous ownership experience to date.
use my M12 as a commuter vehicle (how many supercars can you do that in?!)
never looked back!
kentviking said:
use my M12 as a commuter vehicle (how many supercars can you do that in?!)
911.
lee noble drives a 911 as his daily commute i understand. i s'pose he drives it to see how proper super cars drive.
joking aside, a guy at work just brought in an m12 gto3. he's going to use his as a daily commute too. be interesting to see how he gets on.
these cars look the nuts. am tempted myself, but will hold out for an m14 if i do switch brands.
only criticism with the m12 is a bit of a floppy gear stick i thought. would have gone out fora a spin at lunch but it's been raining.
>> Edited by 911nutter on Monday 20th September 13:13
kentviking said:Not followed my step by step guide then yet
Had the noble 2 weeks (2 year old original, or classic, 2.5GTO)...only thing gone wrong so far is the window winder which won't take it all the way down..simple problem to fix apparently, but doesn't detract from the tremendous ownership experience to date.
kentviking said:Not followed my step by step guide then yet
Had the noble 2 weeks (2 year old original, or classic, 2.5GTO)...only thing gone wrong so far is the window winder which won't take it all the way down..simple problem to fix apparently, but doesn't detract from the tremendous ownership experience to date.
Although you do know that the windows only go 1/2 way down by design don't you....
J
m12_nathan said:
"only thing gone wrong so far is the window winder which won't take it all the way down"
The window only goes down 1/2 way anyway.
it did that initially...it's now more like 1/4
edited to say
not yet justin...amazing how much time keeping a house, a wife and kids in order takes up out of the evenings and weekends!...but I will get round to it eventually.
>> Edited by kentviking on Monday 20th September 14:58
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