Debut Griff

[parson0j]

Looking for 1st Griff. Sold Chim last year, and could spend up to about 13/4k. I appreciate there will be a trade-off between age or mileage, and wondered what might be the best compromise. Reliability important to me so I presume the later ones were built better? Thx

[stringbag]

I have had a 96 and a 98 griff and looked at loads before I bought. In my opinion, the way the car has been looked after is the important thing. I have seen better pre cats than 99-00 cars, purely because the owners have not looked after them. If you want reliablilty (relatively speaking!) you really do want a well loved car. I personaly would go for a newer car with higher mileage than an older car with lower mileage for the same price. They like to be driven, and get really grumpy (and expensive) when ignored for long periods of time in damp garages....
Oh, and I'll recommend Rob ingleby whilst I'm here.
Good luck.
Karl

[parson0j]

Thanks Karl - any idea what I could realistically get for my money? Prices seem quite high on this site

[stringbag]

Well, a very nice pre cat for certain. If you are lucky a 4.3 may cone up, athough they are rare and the price reflects that.
If you want a 500, I don't know enough about the pre serp 500 (pre '95 I think) to comment (different engine and gearbox if you weren't aware).
So, for 14k? In good condition? How good are you at haggling? '96 is about the latest I think you'll get, and that would be a very good buy.
Just looked at the classifieds. As I said there are '96 cars from 15k to 19k. The one I would go and look at is the 4.3 in Sussex.
Hope this helps.
Karl

[stringbag]

Oh, forgot to say. Prices here and in the TVRCC classifieds tend to be higher than the autotrader etc for a reason. If you can be bothered to take enough interest in your car that you become a member of a club and site like this, there is a fair chance that you will look after it. Not that the mags have bad cars in them at all, but certainly take expert advice with you to look.
Hope that doesn't offend anyone!

[Hoover33]

i looked at about 4 cars in the 13 - 15k bracket... all described as good condition... some were real rubbish.... my 15 year old S puts them to shame...
in the end I went for a 92 4.3 .... at £15k you might think it a high price... but it has been loved and IMHO i would rather pay for a well looked after older car.. rather then a lesser cared for newer car.

Can't wait till Tuesday when I pick it up.

[apache]

I think used TVRs are a lot easier to buy than 'normal' cars. These things are like an ongoing restoration, you haveto keep on top of them and a quick look at the state of the hood, driving lights and chassis will tell you if the owner has been good to the car. Make sure the bodywork is original and you should be ok (and history obviously)