Cost of buying and owning a Wedge.
Discussion
Cost of buying and owning a Wedge.
Having owned a 350i for 13 years and seen various changes here are a few of my thoughts and observations for those thinking of buying one.
Price:
SEAC £8 – 12K Griff/Chimp 500 £12K
400SE £5.5 – 7.5K Chimp 400 £<9K
390SE £4.5-£6.5K
350i £3 – 5K
200i/280i £2 – 4K M Series ££2 – 4K
Apart from other TVRs the biggest rival seems to be MGBs. There are more cars than buyers. Most appear to be deterred by the shape of Wedges, then electrical reputation of TVRs and comments from people such as Jeremy Clarkson. IMHO it has to be an exceptional car to beat these values – such as Neil & Mrs H’s or S/S’s cars. (Historically the 390SEs used to be near to 350i prices – more performance and exclusivity but increased liability.)
Potential Buyers:
Poorly informed about TVRs in General and Wedges in particular.
Tend to be 40 – 55 years old.
Interested in pretty cars – paint, hood, wheels, and dashboard.
No willingness to do any work on the car.
Very little interest mechanically. Service record, suspension, tyres, exhaust, brakes, all largely ignored.
Chassis inspection virtually non-existent.
Usually want PAS.
Cost to run the car:
Approximately £100/month for servicing and repairs. 25% discount if you do your own servicing.
I found the car to be generally very reliable.
Selling:
Sad but – make sure that the paint is good, fresh dye for the hood, refurbish the wheels and fit a new dash if cracked.
Long term:
A very enjoyable car. Depreciation and running cost was just over £1500pa which I thought to be very good for any car.
I hope that this helps. Having used my chassis number as my login I just need a new moniker now.
Jonathan
Having owned a 350i for 13 years and seen various changes here are a few of my thoughts and observations for those thinking of buying one.
Price:
SEAC £8 – 12K Griff/Chimp 500 £12K
400SE £5.5 – 7.5K Chimp 400 £<9K
390SE £4.5-£6.5K
350i £3 – 5K
200i/280i £2 – 4K M Series ££2 – 4K
Apart from other TVRs the biggest rival seems to be MGBs. There are more cars than buyers. Most appear to be deterred by the shape of Wedges, then electrical reputation of TVRs and comments from people such as Jeremy Clarkson. IMHO it has to be an exceptional car to beat these values – such as Neil & Mrs H’s or S/S’s cars. (Historically the 390SEs used to be near to 350i prices – more performance and exclusivity but increased liability.)
Potential Buyers:
Poorly informed about TVRs in General and Wedges in particular.
Tend to be 40 – 55 years old.
Interested in pretty cars – paint, hood, wheels, and dashboard.
No willingness to do any work on the car.
Very little interest mechanically. Service record, suspension, tyres, exhaust, brakes, all largely ignored.
Chassis inspection virtually non-existent.
Usually want PAS.
Cost to run the car:
Approximately £100/month for servicing and repairs. 25% discount if you do your own servicing.
I found the car to be generally very reliable.
Selling:
Sad but – make sure that the paint is good, fresh dye for the hood, refurbish the wheels and fit a new dash if cracked.
Long term:
A very enjoyable car. Depreciation and running cost was just over £1500pa which I thought to be very good for any car.
I hope that this helps. Having used my chassis number as my login I just need a new moniker now.
Jonathan
But more importantly each car seems to come with its own charcter as each car is that bit different! Plus some are gettin rare i have a fhc 350i thought of as an ugly duck (but i love it). but they are cars for the inthusist, a hobbie somthing to annoy the mrs!!
mines probably woth about 5k but i paid that for it and have easly spent that on it! but i get pleasure from it and thats the point.
mines probably woth about 5k but i paid that for it and have easly spent that on it! but i get pleasure from it and thats the point.
is everyone leaving the Wedge fold 
Hmmm... I reckon that the wedges are actually quite cost-effective if you keep them long-term.
I had my Tasmin for 5 years, I paid £2100, I sold it for £2050. I spent £1500 or so on it in that time (£800 for respray alone, £150 or so for replacement engine and bits, wheels refurbed free of charge on the Rolls-Royce wheels production line! etc etc.)
So in effect, ignoring road tax (which you have to have on any post-72 car anyway) and fuel (inescapable again, though you could drive a 40 mog shopping trolley I suppose) and insurance (which was cheaper than my Renault 25 anyway), the Tas cost me £300 a year.
Bargain.
The 390SE could well go a similar way: although I have no plans to sell, if I did so now I reckon I could claw back £4000-4500 of the £6200 I paid.
Ongoing expenditure currently runs at £1750-ish if you ignore the three fuel injection systems I've just bought
So that would be... er.... £800 a year, give or take; less if I could sell it for more, of course.
As a comparison, my R25 cost me £2200 plus about £400, I had it three years and sold it for £650, so that was £700 or so a year...
I had my Tasmin for 5 years, I paid £2100, I sold it for £2050. I spent £1500 or so on it in that time (£800 for respray alone, £150 or so for replacement engine and bits, wheels refurbed free of charge on the Rolls-Royce wheels production line! etc etc.)
So in effect, ignoring road tax (which you have to have on any post-72 car anyway) and fuel (inescapable again, though you could drive a 40 mog shopping trolley I suppose) and insurance (which was cheaper than my Renault 25 anyway), the Tas cost me £300 a year.
Bargain.
The 390SE could well go a similar way: although I have no plans to sell, if I did so now I reckon I could claw back £4000-4500 of the £6200 I paid.
Ongoing expenditure currently runs at £1750-ish if you ignore the three fuel injection systems I've just bought
So that would be... er.... £800 a year, give or take; less if I could sell it for more, of course.
As a comparison, my R25 cost me £2200 plus about £400, I had it three years and sold it for £650, so that was £700 or so a year...
I wouldn't consider the MGB (even when new - slow, underpowered grandad car) a rival to ANY older TVR.
An Austin Cambridge with the top sliced off is not going to bother a Tiv.
To me the natural rivals were/are Lotus, Jenson Healey, Scimitar,Triumph GT6, Triumph TR6, TR7 (spit), Gilbern,
Datsun 240Z, possibly AC, MGB V8 and Capri V6.
Maybe the present buyers of MGs have never driven a TVR ?
Oh, and Ginetta of course.
The money (lots) that I put into my car is only what I would normally spend on enjoying myself.....hmmmm
>> Edited by grahamw48 on Monday 9th May 23:46
An Austin Cambridge with the top sliced off is not going to bother a Tiv.
To me the natural rivals were/are Lotus, Jenson Healey, Scimitar,Triumph GT6, Triumph TR6, TR7 (spit), Gilbern,
Datsun 240Z, possibly AC, MGB V8 and Capri V6.
Maybe the present buyers of MGs have never driven a TVR ?
Oh, and Ginetta of course.
The money (lots) that I put into my car is only what I would normally spend on enjoying myself.....hmmmm
>> Edited by grahamw48 on Monday 9th May 23:46
My last classic was a MGB V8, I unfortunately haven't done enough miles in the Wedge in it's current sorted (almost) condition to fully compare both.
One obvious difference is that it's designed with normal sized people. Driving the B there was one ridge in the road I always had to hold my head down when crossing. It probably looked odd to anyone I was passing at the time.
It's certainly not as antiquated an experience as driving the B. The v8 rumble isn't there, but I could have gone for a v8 wedge, although the v6 performance is similar to the BV8.
Nice not to have to worry about the wheelarchs bubbling with rust.
Some colouring on the wiring would have been nice though.
One obvious difference is that it's designed with normal sized people. Driving the B there was one ridge in the road I always had to hold my head down when crossing. It probably looked odd to anyone I was passing at the time.
It's certainly not as antiquated an experience as driving the B. The v8 rumble isn't there, but I could have gone for a v8 wedge, although the v6 performance is similar to the BV8.
Nice not to have to worry about the wheelarchs bubbling with rust.
Some colouring on the wiring would have been nice though.
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