Some buying advice please
Discussion
OK, I went and viewed/drove one of the Tuscan S cars currently for sale today. Nice 
Overall, everything seems and felt very good. The engine pre-oiler was a real bonus, as was a nice, light Raceproved clutch. He had obviously lavished love and cash on the car and the stack of paperwork was an inch thick or more.
Imperfections and questions:
1) The dash had a single corrupted line. Is this likely to rapidly get worse or might it stay this way for ages? It's perfectly live-withable as it is. (I know they are £300ish to fix).
2) Driver's side mirror electrics make noises but don't work. I don't know how common this is or how tricky to fix.
3) A few little marks where the roof has been removed and stored/replaced. I guess most cars gradually accumulate this damage as it probably only takes a momentary loss of concentration to catch the bodywork. Not bad.
4) This is my main question: The car was last serviced 12 months ago (6000 mile service) but has covered just 1000 miles since. Is it really necessary to have it done again? If I do, surely another 6k is enough, not the 12k which is theoretically due?? Car idles perfectly from cold and is very smooth and responsive from low revs so those throttle bodies must be in fine order it seems to me.
Thanks for any advice gents.
Overall, everything seems and felt very good. The engine pre-oiler was a real bonus, as was a nice, light Raceproved clutch. He had obviously lavished love and cash on the car and the stack of paperwork was an inch thick or more.
Imperfections and questions:
1) The dash had a single corrupted line. Is this likely to rapidly get worse or might it stay this way for ages? It's perfectly live-withable as it is. (I know they are £300ish to fix).
2) Driver's side mirror electrics make noises but don't work. I don't know how common this is or how tricky to fix.
3) A few little marks where the roof has been removed and stored/replaced. I guess most cars gradually accumulate this damage as it probably only takes a momentary loss of concentration to catch the bodywork. Not bad.
4) This is my main question: The car was last serviced 12 months ago (6000 mile service) but has covered just 1000 miles since. Is it really necessary to have it done again? If I do, surely another 6k is enough, not the 12k which is theoretically due?? Car idles perfectly from cold and is very smooth and responsive from low revs so those throttle bodies must be in fine order it seems to me.
Thanks for any advice gents.
I wouldn't worry about the next service for now but do the following:
1. Check every hose and jubilee clip. Do you see any rust or ageing on the hoses. If they are original you will
2. Is the pipe which routes round the cam cover rusty.
3. Is there signs of scale on the oil cooler where the body mates with the conical ends ?
4. Remove the air box are the belts frayed. Any sign of reinforcing means no
5. Are the brake disks rusty and scored.
6. Are shocks original, leaking or rusted
7. Is there any weeping from any of the oil pipes?
8. Cab you get it into reverse easily.
8. Does the radiator look new or original?
I'll probably think of more. But those are your primary indicators.
1. Check every hose and jubilee clip. Do you see any rust or ageing on the hoses. If they are original you will
2. Is the pipe which routes round the cam cover rusty.
3. Is there signs of scale on the oil cooler where the body mates with the conical ends ?
4. Remove the air box are the belts frayed. Any sign of reinforcing means no
5. Are the brake disks rusty and scored.
6. Are shocks original, leaking or rusted
7. Is there any weeping from any of the oil pipes?
8. Cab you get it into reverse easily.
8. Does the radiator look new or original?
I'll probably think of more. But those are your primary indicators.
Mirror electrical gremlins are common.
It's an old car, there will be a few marks on the paintwork.
It hasn't been serviced for a year, give it a full service and check over for peace of mind.
Inspect or have the chassis inspected.
No synchromesh on reverse. Go 5th to reverse.
It's an old car, there will be a few marks on the paintwork.
It hasn't been serviced for a year, give it a full service and check over for peace of mind.
Inspect or have the chassis inspected.
No synchromesh on reverse. Go 5th to reverse.
Edited by B17NNS on Saturday 27th April 23:16
Thanks again folks.
There is no rust at the back of the car near the exhausts. There is some surface rust along the edge of the chassis on the driver's side - hard to tell exactly with the car on the ground. Is it a case of any rust = walk away or is surface rust inevitable. I know my 3 year-old Focus has some rust underneath.
There is no rust at the back of the car near the exhausts. There is some surface rust along the edge of the chassis on the driver's side - hard to tell exactly with the car on the ground. Is it a case of any rust = walk away or is surface rust inevitable. I know my 3 year-old Focus has some rust underneath.
macky17 said:
Imperfections and questions:
1) The dash had a single corrupted line.
2) Driver's side mirror electrics make noises but don't work.
3) A few little marks where the roof has been removed and stored/replaced.
4) The car was last serviced 12 months ago (6000 mile service) but has covered just 1000 miles since. Is it really necessary to have it done again?
I really wouldn't worry too much about 1-3 at all. They're all just wee things that don't really take away from driving enjoyment (now that I think of it, my electric mirrors don't work either - I'll add that to the todo list for next service)1) The dash had a single corrupted line.
2) Driver's side mirror electrics make noises but don't work.
3) A few little marks where the roof has been removed and stored/replaced.
4) The car was last serviced 12 months ago (6000 mile service) but has covered just 1000 miles since. Is it really necessary to have it done again?
It's your call re the service, however here's how I'd consider playing it:
When I've bought TVRs, the first thing I did was put them in for a 12,000 mile service. Then I know that I've nothing to worry about.
My last 12 month service incl valve checks was £800 (@Hexham). FYI: that doesn't include any of the extra work/upgrades that I asked for such as new radiator / hoses etc.
So...
Why not agree upon a price with the seller that seems fair to both of you, assuming the car's in good working order.
Then have the current owner put the car in for a 12,000 mile service at one of PH's preferred specialists (Hexham, Racing Green, Power to name but a few) and if the estimate for work comes to less than (say) £1000, you buy the car and pay for the service. Deal done. And you have some reassurance that you've not missed anything scary.
If there's a chunk of additional work needing done, the seller either picks up the bill for it before you buy the car at the previously agreed price, or you walk away and the seller pays the garage for time taken to generate the estimate. Whether the seller will entertain this also acts as a litmus test for how genuine the seller is in their claims that the car's in good order!
Alternatively, you could put the difference in cost between a 6,000 and 12,000 mile service towards an inspection by Rob Ingleby (or another specialist) - they might identify work needing done that you haven't spotted which you can factor into the purchase price. Rob's been great this way for me in the past.
Good luck either way.
And, for what its worth, if I didn't already have my car I would definitely be looking at T66 TUS.
Neil
How much is the car? Mileage? hpi clear? no bodywork done ever? Have you a link to the add? Lots are around and over 10 years old plus now so expecting them to be like a brand new car is crazy, but condition should be based on the price imo! Has it had an engine rebuild at all? That more important! 1-3 on your list are all minor things lots will have, and you'll pick up more scratches chips, electrical gremlins along the way of tvr ownership, its just the way the cars are. But once you own one that's running right you'll not look back and love every minute of it. If you can use a spanner then you'll save yourself a packet from having your pants pulled down by some of the dealers out there! As for the servicing issue, It's something when buying a new car you may like to have done by a specialist simply because you don't know the car and can't check eveything when looking at it. But put simply, there really is no need to worry about having it serviced if it hasn't done the miles. It's not done the miles so not had a chance to wear. Oils do have a shelf life of course, and they won't like it if they've been started to move them then switched off ie short trips. The oil won't have got up to temp and condensation can form contaminating the oil. But if it hasn't done 12k since the last 12k, I wouldn't waste your money on having it done, just get the oils/filters done. That's my opinion though.
Some surface rust is to be expected really on these cars as they aren't new anymore, but there is a limit! I saw some quite bad examples when I was looking. suspension bushes do go. hope it's not got standard shocks. The main thing is the engine as that'll cost the most to fix, so if its on the factory built engine then I wouldn't buy it unless you can budget for a possible one in the future if it does need one, and if not realise you'll get less when you come to sell due to this. Hope that helps?
Some surface rust is to be expected really on these cars as they aren't new anymore, but there is a limit! I saw some quite bad examples when I was looking. suspension bushes do go. hope it's not got standard shocks. The main thing is the engine as that'll cost the most to fix, so if its on the factory built engine then I wouldn't buy it unless you can budget for a possible one in the future if it does need one, and if not realise you'll get less when you come to sell due to this. Hope that helps?
Looks nice exactly same model as me 
Personally i have my car serviced yearly regardless of mileage IF i ever was to sell it i feel that it shows that the car has been properly maintaned and professionally checked. Mine has fairly bad marks esp in the back of the roof on the roll over pillar and in the boot seal rubbers, the roof is super tight on a S
Personally i have my car serviced yearly regardless of mileage IF i ever was to sell it i feel that it shows that the car has been properly maintaned and professionally checked. Mine has fairly bad marks esp in the back of the roof on the roll over pillar and in the boot seal rubbers, the roof is super tight on a SAlso, no mention of a top end rebuild, my engine got to 55k and the previous owner decided that the fear of failure was too high to not get it redone! Being so rare "S's" are a double edged sword, much more likely to maintain a high value but also parts can be rarer, bigger and more expensive ie brakes etc
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