Would you buy a good V8s or Chim or cheap Griff instead?
Discussion
In the s series forum we have been discussing a lovely V8s thats for sale at the moment and wondering why it has not sold yet.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
We all love or s' but are not sure if everyone else does so much! Would you spend £11000 on one or be looking for a chim, cheap griff or cerb?
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
We all love or s' but are not sure if everyone else does so much! Would you spend £11000 on one or be looking for a chim, cheap griff or cerb?
I think that you've got to really want a V8S to pay £11k for one. When I was first looking for a TVR I wanted a Chimaera but opted to spend less money on a V8S. I kept it just over a year and sold it to buy a Griffith. My reasons were that the Griffith felt more modern whereas the V8S was more like a classic British sports car of the 60's or 70's. Also I got the feeling at car meetings that people ignored the 'old fashioned' V8S in favour of the Griffs, Chimaeras, Tuscans etc and yet it wasn't quite old enough to fit in with the M series and pre-M series cars, nor was it as instantly recognisable as a TVR like the wedges are. I still have a soft spot for the V8S though.
Putting aside other models or cars that you could buy, we used to have this type of problem with the old Fords. We would build absolutely immaculate series 1 rs turbos, cosworths or go crazy with the running gear and it would be very rare that a whole car would sell, mates still have the same problems with the old Mk 1+2's
The type of punters who are interested in these type of cars are normally competent with a spanner, and that is where they get a large portion of the enjoyment from. I can only guess because I know little of the mark, but feel it would be possible to build that car with your own hands for the same money and have it done exactly the way you would want it and know that every inch was done to your standard.
The only times I ever saw whole cars sell for good money were when they were magazine featured or had so much fabrication that it would take months to just replicate the shell and get the bits together, everything else was broken for parts and the shell sold on or put back to a lower standard and cheaper price.
That s is worth every penny, but unfortunately the market for it is minuscule. It needs someone who wants one, but doesn't know enough to be able to build one.
The type of punters who are interested in these type of cars are normally competent with a spanner, and that is where they get a large portion of the enjoyment from. I can only guess because I know little of the mark, but feel it would be possible to build that car with your own hands for the same money and have it done exactly the way you would want it and know that every inch was done to your standard.
The only times I ever saw whole cars sell for good money were when they were magazine featured or had so much fabrication that it would take months to just replicate the shell and get the bits together, everything else was broken for parts and the shell sold on or put back to a lower standard and cheaper price.
That s is worth every penny, but unfortunately the market for it is minuscule. It needs someone who wants one, but doesn't know enough to be able to build one.
It depends what you want from a car too. I ran a S (allbeit a V6 one) alongside the Chim for 6 months whilst deciding which one I prefered. In the end I worked out that I was 3 X as likely to take the Chim out for a blast than I was the S (I even had it on a spreadsheet LOL).
The S is a fantastic "point-to-point" car, and the Chim is a better "GT" car. The V8S is a fantastic car, on paper I'd have thought it would be the best of both worlds but in reality it's just a better "point to point" car than my V6.
IIRC the V8S is even rarer than a Chim 500 so for "exclusivity" you'd do rather well with a V8S.
I loved my S it was a fantastic car, but the Chimaera is just a better "rounded" car for my needs/wants/desires.
If you're planning on doing much in the way of "distance" then I would recommend a Chim over the V8S, but if you're just looking for a weekend toy for blasting (or pootling) along country lanes then TBH the V8S may just have the edge..
ANY TVR is a great car - you just need to decide what you are going to do in it...
The S is a fantastic "point-to-point" car, and the Chim is a better "GT" car. The V8S is a fantastic car, on paper I'd have thought it would be the best of both worlds but in reality it's just a better "point to point" car than my V6.
IIRC the V8S is even rarer than a Chim 500 so for "exclusivity" you'd do rather well with a V8S.
I loved my S it was a fantastic car, but the Chimaera is just a better "rounded" car for my needs/wants/desires.
If you're planning on doing much in the way of "distance" then I would recommend a Chim over the V8S, but if you're just looking for a weekend toy for blasting (or pootling) along country lanes then TBH the V8S may just have the edge..
ANY TVR is a great car - you just need to decide what you are going to do in it...
I owned a V8s 92 J plate for 2 years and was totally reliable and used as a daily car. Having a S2 2.9 before this i loved the jump of power and sound coming from the V8 but i always thought if i spotted a Chimaera or Griffith that i was in the wrong car.
I purchased a Chimaera 400 two months ago and have covered about 1650 miles,all these miles have been utter joy.
They say every Chimaera drives slightly different than the next one,and my recent purchase feels the best i have come across.
I think the biggest difference I've noticed from driving the Chimaera opposed to the V8s is you can actually drive it in a relaxed manner. It just feels set up better for long drives,quieter all round in the cockpit but still the beautiful roar from behind.
I never regret a single moment of V8s ownership but the Chimaera for me is just a nicer set up. Good luck on your choosing
I purchased a Chimaera 400 two months ago and have covered about 1650 miles,all these miles have been utter joy.
They say every Chimaera drives slightly different than the next one,and my recent purchase feels the best i have come across.
I think the biggest difference I've noticed from driving the Chimaera opposed to the V8s is you can actually drive it in a relaxed manner. It just feels set up better for long drives,quieter all round in the cockpit but still the beautiful roar from behind.
I never regret a single moment of V8s ownership but the Chimaera for me is just a nicer set up. Good luck on your choosing
JAS probably sums it up.
I started TVR ownership with a V8S, then had a Chim 450 and am now on a Tuscan Mk.1.
The V8S was a fun car, but probably needed the most fettling on a week to week basis.
The Chimaera was a great car. Several European jaunts and many long distance UK trips. Never missed a beat, just had routine servicing - maybe a new brake master cylinder just before Le Mans one year!
The Tuscan is a step forward again...more bespoke electronics, which is a pain if they fail in Belgium (window encoder) and it's raining. But never let me down in coming up to 4 yrs of ownership.
The V8S must be a rare car now.
Nick
I started TVR ownership with a V8S, then had a Chim 450 and am now on a Tuscan Mk.1.
The V8S was a fun car, but probably needed the most fettling on a week to week basis.
The Chimaera was a great car. Several European jaunts and many long distance UK trips. Never missed a beat, just had routine servicing - maybe a new brake master cylinder just before Le Mans one year!
The Tuscan is a step forward again...more bespoke electronics, which is a pain if they fail in Belgium (window encoder) and it's raining. But never let me down in coming up to 4 yrs of ownership.
The V8S must be a rare car now.
Nick
I have heard so many say that the V6S and especially V8S is a more raw, seat of the pants driving experience than either the Griff or the Chim, but of course were you wanting to travel for long distances, carry more than a spare pair of underpants AND have that wonderful V8 burble then the Chim would be the way to go.
Horses for courses as they say.
Horses for courses as they say.
Oldred_V8S said:
I have heard so many say that the V6S and especially V8S is a more raw, seat of the pants driving experience than either the Griff or the Chim, but of course were you wanting to travel for long distances, carry more than a spare pair of underpants AND have that wonderful V8 burble then the Chim would be the way to go.
Horses for courses as they say.
...i always found the seat in the S to be one of the most comfortable of any car and don't mind driving 3 hours to an event and then another 3 back again in a day...the only problem is wind/sun-burn, but I suppose its OK to have the roof up in the other cars, in an S its just not done Horses for courses as they say.
The Big G said:
In the s series forum we have been discussing a lovely V8s thats for sale at the moment and wondering why it has not sold yet.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
We all love or s' but are not sure if everyone else does so much! Would you spend £11000 on one or be looking for a chim, cheap griff or cerb?
I think you have to break it down by budget/ability with the spanners/and personal preference to help explain.http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
We all love or s' but are not sure if everyone else does so much! Would you spend £11000 on one or be looking for a chim, cheap griff or cerb?
4k to 6k and you can buy a very nice V6 S. [I use to own one and they are an excellent car] or a chim needing work, if not straight away, then very soon.
6k to 8k a reasonable chim/poor V8S at the low end, to a decent chim or V8S at the top end.
8k to 10k a very nice chim or V8S or a poor precat griff.
Its just my personal opinion but above 10k for a V8 S would have to be a low mileage original, and you are now in Chim 450/500, and nice precat griff territory.
Also seems to be a few Tuscans that need a lot of work dropping to this level.
In summary everyone has a favourite, but as the price increaes, so does the model choice.
£11k for a restored V8S is not overpriced in any way, but it will have a very limited, model specific market or possibly someone with no mechanical ability, who wants to buy a "sorted" one.
Im lucky in that im not too bad with the spanners, so an 11k budget for me, would open all kinds of possibilities.
11k for a restored V8S, for me no.
I would rather spend 6k on a V8S and restore it myself over a time period, [and this is the best bit] i would probably spend a lot more than that on it again.
AutoAndy said:
Oldred_V8S said:
I have heard so many say that the V6S and especially V8S is a more raw, seat of the pants driving experience than either the Griff or the Chim, but of course were you wanting to travel for long distances, carry more than a spare pair of underpants AND have that wonderful V8 burble then the Chim would be the way to go.
Horses for courses as they say.
...i always found the seat in the S to be one of the most comfortable of any car and don't mind driving 3 hours to an event and then another 3 back again in a day...the only problem is wind/sun-burn, but I suppose its OK to have the roof up in the other cars, in an S its just not done Horses for courses as they say.
I have said the same on threads about changing the seats in an S. out of all of the modern cars I have driven, the S has the most comfortable seats.
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