My first year of ownership
Discussion
I have had the griff for a year now and i have covered 6000 brilliant miles.
Thats more than the last 3 owners put together.:)
Its not been plain sailing all the way and some jobs have been attended to.
A new cam within the first 2000 miles (easy job and not that expensive for such a performance car)
I smashed a mirror off whilst moving things around in the garage (converted it to the LE style mirror mounts and VW mirrors)
Poly bushed the front and rear in red 95a hardness bushes (i bigger difference for the money you are unlikely to get)
Some small electrical gremlins (coolant fans)
So in summary its cost me :-
£350 for the cam
£240 for the bushes
£110 for the mirrors
£20 for relays and fuses
£70 for mobil 1 and filter (x2, i service every 3k)
£70 for shiney alloy Leven bits to smarten up the horrible standard handbrake and cavalier components.
I dont think this is too bad considering some of the horror stories that i have read.
Anyone had a better year?? or worse first year experience?
I think that the second year will be a little more expensive due to the springs and shocks (hopefully supplied by Track Car Services (ex Joospeed)
Thats more than the last 3 owners put together.:)
Its not been plain sailing all the way and some jobs have been attended to.
A new cam within the first 2000 miles (easy job and not that expensive for such a performance car)
I smashed a mirror off whilst moving things around in the garage (converted it to the LE style mirror mounts and VW mirrors)
Poly bushed the front and rear in red 95a hardness bushes (i bigger difference for the money you are unlikely to get)
Some small electrical gremlins (coolant fans)
So in summary its cost me :-
£350 for the cam
£240 for the bushes
£110 for the mirrors
£20 for relays and fuses
£70 for mobil 1 and filter (x2, i service every 3k)
£70 for shiney alloy Leven bits to smarten up the horrible standard handbrake and cavalier components.
I dont think this is too bad considering some of the horror stories that i have read.
Anyone had a better year?? or worse first year experience?
I think that the second year will be a little more expensive due to the springs and shocks (hopefully supplied by Track Car Services (ex Joospeed)
Everything was going fine for the first 9 months - just the normal service costs - poly bushes on the front, new brake discs & pads, 6k mile service. (All-in-all about £350.)
There were a couple of little gremlins - usually fixed with WD40 or a soldering iron within minutes.
Then the radiator leaked. £400 for the new shiny alloy one...
Not too bad for a Griff with 93k miles on it!
There were a couple of little gremlins - usually fixed with WD40 or a soldering iron within minutes.
Then the radiator leaked. £400 for the new shiny alloy one...
Not too bad for a Griff with 93k miles on it!
Hi old64er...
Where do I start...got the car in May04 have had to do the following (some obviously by choice)
Recon diff
New propshaft UJs
New driveshaft CV joints
New front wishbones
New CAT1 alarm
Magnacor leads, new dizzy cap, rotor arm, Coil, Ignition module, throttle pot
New front disks and pads
Oil
Nitrons :-)
Recon injectors
New battery
Quite a list and I am not going to add it up! but even though it is still my P&J!!! wouldn't change it for the world (well maybe for a new Exige, but will have to drive my mates new one first to see if it feels 'weedy' or not
)
Lig....
>> Edited by lig on Wednesday 15th June 18:32
Where do I start...got the car in May04 have had to do the following (some obviously by choice)
Recon diff
New propshaft UJs
New driveshaft CV joints
New front wishbones
New CAT1 alarm
Magnacor leads, new dizzy cap, rotor arm, Coil, Ignition module, throttle pot
New front disks and pads
Oil
Nitrons :-)
Recon injectors
New battery
Quite a list and I am not going to add it up! but even though it is still my P&J!!! wouldn't change it for the world (well maybe for a new Exige, but will have to drive my mates new one first to see if it feels 'weedy' or not
) Lig....
>> Edited by lig on Wednesday 15th June 18:32
My first Griff which I managed to keep paint side up had for 11 months 
and travelled 8k miles required;
suspension geometry setup
Alternator
Throttle cable
Which i was pretty impressed with. My current Griff which i have had since Feb has required;
Magnecor K85 leads & heat shrouds - the car clearly had a missfire problem before but they only replaced 2 leads.
Leven dashboard buttons - The plastic ones must have been put back in before selling it, as they jambed in the new walnut dash.
Leven handrake - Again, I think the old rubber tube had been stuck back on, as it would spin around the handbrake shaft, not very safe.
New Discs and pads front and rear - only the rear was shot but i figured best to do the lot
New Radiator - was the main cause of the cars overheating problems
Front balljoint and a bush (fitting Polybushes in the next week or so when i can find the time, as I want to strip the suspension and paint it with POR15 whilst i'm at it).
New Starter Motor - heat soak killed it.
12k Service - boy did it need it despite coming to me having had one allegedly
It Also needs a Diff overhaul as the LSD is shot.
Although the list is long and it should have been covered under the dealer warranty (waste of paper that was
) i am still happy with my overall TVR ownership experience and considering both cars were 9/10 years old thats pretty good going, plus, it wont need doing again for some years hopefully.
I bought one of them privately and the other from a dealer......guess which one was from a dealer...lol
Edited to say that this was not a well known TVR dealership and is not meant as an attack on reputable dealerships, of which so far i have nothing but praise for.
>> Edited by bluebottle on Wednesday 15th June 18:34
and travelled 8k miles required; suspension geometry setup
Alternator
Throttle cable
Which i was pretty impressed with. My current Griff which i have had since Feb has required;
Magnecor K85 leads & heat shrouds - the car clearly had a missfire problem before but they only replaced 2 leads.
Leven dashboard buttons - The plastic ones must have been put back in before selling it, as they jambed in the new walnut dash.
Leven handrake - Again, I think the old rubber tube had been stuck back on, as it would spin around the handbrake shaft, not very safe.
New Discs and pads front and rear - only the rear was shot but i figured best to do the lot
New Radiator - was the main cause of the cars overheating problems
Front balljoint and a bush (fitting Polybushes in the next week or so when i can find the time, as I want to strip the suspension and paint it with POR15 whilst i'm at it).
New Starter Motor - heat soak killed it.
12k Service - boy did it need it despite coming to me having had one allegedly
It Also needs a Diff overhaul as the LSD is shot.
Although the list is long and it should have been covered under the dealer warranty (waste of paper that was
) i am still happy with my overall TVR ownership experience and considering both cars were 9/10 years old thats pretty good going, plus, it wont need doing again for some years hopefully. I bought one of them privately and the other from a dealer......guess which one was from a dealer...lol
Edited to say that this was not a well known TVR dealership and is not meant as an attack on reputable dealerships, of which so far i have nothing but praise for.
>> Edited by bluebottle on Wednesday 15th June 18:34
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