Griffith or Chimera
Discussion
Hello All.
Just sold my WRX and deciding to go for some british engineering for my weekend toy.
I understand ill obviously need some driver training and have to very careful initially but need to decide which model to go for.
A few questions.
1) What are the service intervals?
2) What should I look for when buying, any obvious gotachas?
3) Should I just for for model which i like the look of most? either way it will be 4.0
4) Are running costs, petrol aside, as bad as i think :-(
Thanks
Just sold my WRX and deciding to go for some british engineering for my weekend toy.
I understand ill obviously need some driver training and have to very careful initially but need to decide which model to go for.
A few questions.
1) What are the service intervals?
2) What should I look for when buying, any obvious gotachas?
3) Should I just for for model which i like the look of most? either way it will be 4.0
4) Are running costs, petrol aside, as bad as i think :-(
Thanks
Most of it's on here but from what I've been led to believe there are two areas I'd be on the look out for problems:
Get the front wishbones checked, just to be on the safe side. You hear some horror stories about them failing.
Similarly get the chassis checked out as much as thoroughly as possible. Rumours are that there are a lot of cars out there are rotting away without any immediately obvious signs of wear.
Get the front wishbones checked, just to be on the safe side. You hear some horror stories about them failing.
Similarly get the chassis checked out as much as thoroughly as possible. Rumours are that there are a lot of cars out there are rotting away without any immediately obvious signs of wear.
Hi Jeff,
Whats your budget? The 4.0 Griff is fairly rare, Griffs also hold their value very well and as such you'll pay 3-4k more than the equivalent year Chim.
Main things to look for are FSH and a decent, rust free chassis. Do a search on these forums and you'll find a list as long as your arm.
Never driven a Griff myself but they are said to have a slightly harder more raw drive than the softer Chim, though the Chim is by no means a slow car.
Really will depend on what it is your looking for, bear in mind that you'll need to add in the cost of the medallion should you go for the Griff..
Best advice would be to test drive both and see what you think....
Have a look in the classifieds on here to see what your money will buy you with both models. Running costs and service intervals will be pretty much the same for both.
>> Edited by Zippee on Wednesday 16th February 15:57
Whats your budget? The 4.0 Griff is fairly rare, Griffs also hold their value very well and as such you'll pay 3-4k more than the equivalent year Chim.
Main things to look for are FSH and a decent, rust free chassis. Do a search on these forums and you'll find a list as long as your arm.
Never driven a Griff myself but they are said to have a slightly harder more raw drive than the softer Chim, though the Chim is by no means a slow car.
Really will depend on what it is your looking for, bear in mind that you'll need to add in the cost of the medallion should you go for the Griff..
Best advice would be to test drive both and see what you think....
Have a look in the classifieds on here to see what your money will buy you with both models. Running costs and service intervals will be pretty much the same for both.
>> Edited by Zippee on Wednesday 16th February 15:57
Having looked into this myself, I would say go for the car that you like to look of most if you can find one of each. There are a lot more 4.0ltr Chims around than the 4.0ltr Griffs, hence the Griffs being more expensive. Also you will generally be looking at a 11-12 year old Griff, where as on the Chim you can get a newer car. If you want a newer Griff you'll be looking for a 500, and obviously a higher price.
The Chims have a bigger boot, but the rest of the interior is similar. It really is down to the looks, price and availability. Go on the quality of the car. You may drive a Griff and hate it and then a Chim and love it. It is entirely car dependent.
A Chim will give you more choice and a lower price. A Griff will give you a bit more exclusivity but an older caar with a higher price.
The Chims have a bigger boot, but the rest of the interior is similar. It really is down to the looks, price and availability. Go on the quality of the car. You may drive a Griff and hate it and then a Chim and love it. It is entirely car dependent.
A Chim will give you more choice and a lower price. A Griff will give you a bit more exclusivity but an older caar with a higher price.
Just a quick note on reliability, older cars can be more reliable than newer ones (pre 1996 cars) and vice versa. It all depends on how the car has been looked after, Griff's and Chims in general are pretty reliable so far as mechanicals are concerned but watch for any electrical gremlins, as with all glassfibre cars.
Whereabouts are you in the UK? perhaps get to a local TVR meeting and see loads of people to talk with about the cars. Good luck.
Whereabouts are you in the UK? perhaps get to a local TVR meeting and see loads of people to talk with about the cars. Good luck.
Have a look in the Chimera forum. I've just put the deposit down on a Chim that I'm getting next week. You can see a couple of threads following my progress.
Some very kind people from the Manchester area gave me the chance of a ride (not a drive) in their cars (in fact they practically twisted my arm). There are some friendly folk around these parts.
Some very kind people from the Manchester area gave me the chance of a ride (not a drive) in their cars (in fact they practically twisted my arm). There are some friendly folk around these parts.
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