Buying a Griff - No. of previous owners important?

[mctavish]

When considering buying a griffith 4.3 or any earlier example of a TVR, focusing on condition is more important than mileage, so the wisdom goes.

What about number of previous owners?

I'm considering a 1992 griff 4.3 that is in good condition with all MOT's, full service history and maintenace record. It's owned by an active TVRCC member. If I bought the car, according to the DVLA, I would be the 9th owner.

Should I be concerned? or consider it previously enjoyed by a number of owners and buy on condition?

I've in the past considered the 1 and 2 owner examples of other marques only to be dissapointed. Is it fair to say that low number of owners is no guarantee of condition?

All advice gratefully accepted!

[scorcher]

I wouldn't worry about it too much.A lot of high performance cars have a lot of owners some in a relatively short space of time but this does not neccasarily mean the cars have been problematic but then again sometimes it does.Just find out as much as you can about it by speaking to previous owners.

[mctavish]

Thanks for your advice Matt!

Anybody had good experiences of owning any Griffs with more rather than less number of owners?

[Guillotine]

Condition and history (by someone Known) is all that matters.

owners/mileage not important.

high milers will have been reliable. low milers have spent their lives in the garage. (normal = 3-5kpa)

more owners? some people buy "dream cars" for 1 year only and move on.
who knows, the history will tell.

[prince]

I have to agree, bought mine with 5 previous owners. Had it 3 years now and its never let me down. If the cars got a full history then I wouldn't worry. Think of it this way.... its had x previous owners to get the car fully sorted
Go for it, you won't regret it!

[bjwoods]

I would only really worry abou how long the LAST (and maybe last but one ) owner had it.

B

[srebbe64]

Mine's 98 Griff and was worried that it had 5 owners before me. However, it's been utterly reliable since I bought it about a year ago. Same old, same old:

Drive it regularly.
Maintain it well.
Keep it as dry as possible.
Garage it.
etc.. etc..

[mrmaggit]

Wol had 3 owners before us, but we won't be parting with him.

[stringbag]

The previous owner to me only had it for 3 months. Scared him to death. Some people like the idea of a sports car but don't like the reality of one which needs a little skill. (he bought a boxter...)
So, don't worry about it. Go on condition. Best of luck.

[griffter]

My '92 4.3 also has eight previous owners - two of which turn out to be garages. What is evident is that the car has regularly had injections of cash. New owner buys car, gets it serviced, gets it how (s)he wants it, drives it, enjoys it, sells it (repeat). You'd hope a Griff owner would keep the car the way it was meant to be, but there are people who'll buy one and drive it, only doing a minimum of servicing/maintenance. You don't want the 'one previous owner' to be one of those...

The argument for a few owners, well cared for car is a strong one, but given the age and rarity of Griffs, precat in particular, you'd be limiting your choice massively by making it a requirement. And the consequences of a 1 previous careless owner could be expensive...

[mctavish]

Thank guys for your advice, its most appreciated!

It'll help me inform my decision.