New member in a dilemma

[chuckster]

Hi all,

I've been lurking around these forums for a while now and a recent opportunity has arisen that has got me in a bit of a conflict. Currently I own a '96 2.0 Alfa Romeo GTV, owned it for about 8-9 months now and it has been a good car for me. However, recently I went to have a look at a 1990 S2 and basically fell in love with it. The car is owned by genuinely nice people who have a genuine reason for selling it. My problem is should I go for this TVR? I can’t store it in a garage and it would be my main car. The conflict in me is my heart says get the TVR, my head says stick with the GTV.

Pluses for the TVR (IMO)
Cheaper to service
Faster
Cheaper to insure (amazingly)
Grin factor

Against the TVR (IMO)
Reliability?
Slightly higher running costs (higher MPG)
Comfort?
Lack of ABS, airbags etc.
Age.

Any help anyone can offer is much appreciated; peoples opinions on any of my points against would be much appreciated too.

Thanks in advance

Chuckster

[funbobby]

s2 is a superb car!! not sure i would want to use it as main car though ,depends how far you gotta go every day

[Paceracing]

Johno used to use his car daily. The V6 'S' series are pretty reliable. Mine has never ever let me down to the stage where the RAC or AA had to recover me. (6 years of ownership).

Jas.

[chin up]

I used to run a banger alongside my S3C until the banger died. I thought I'd use the tvr everyday to see how it would cope and I haven't looked back.

I only cover about 5,000 miles a year, but the car is surprisingly practical. 23 mpg isn't too bad, the boot holds quite a few bags, the heater's good, and I use those little moisture catcher things that you can get from hardware stores so as to avoid misted up rear window hassles.

I agree with all your pros and cons you mentioned, but would add that if you look after your 's', then you can almost forget about depreciation. The values of these cars seemed to be crushed about 3 to 4 years ago, when lots of old chimeras started appearing. Now though, the values seem to be fairly level. Something which probably can't be said of most italian sports cars perhaps?

I had to have an 's' once I realised what a bargain they were and really enjoy it. I figured that if things didn't work out and it was constantly leaking and breaking down then I'd flogg it and chalk it up to experience. Touchwood though, that has not been the case. Hooray!!

Take your time when buying, though....there are a lot of rubbish examples around. If you think the owner has thrashed it, (as opposed to driving it hard but only when warmed up and with regular oil changes etc etc) or has run the car on the cheap then walk away quickly.

Good luck with your decision. Cheers, chin up

[shnozz]

I would echo Chin up's comments. I run my S as an everyday car and probably do about 8k a year. In all my driving years I have not owned a car this old and funnily enough my final decision was between an Alfa Spider and an S3. My heart ruled when the decision was made and I have not looked back. Even on the reliability front I would say the only thing that is in teh Alfa's favour is the fact it is a younger car.

There are bad S's out there I have no doubt. But at the end of teh day - its a Ford 2.9 lump where only so much can go wrong. Even if it does, how much would a new engine set you back? Not as much as an Alfa one most definately.

My main complaint about the TVR over anything more mundane I have owned is that I have to travel about an hours drive to have any work done by a TVR specialist. They cannot offer me a courtesy car and so, with the Tiv being my only car, whenever any work needs doing it takes a bit of organisation and me finding alternative transport until the car is done. Its not as straight forward as a eurobox.

If it was me, I would not hesitate.

[RichardR]

I've had my S3 since the beginning of August and use it as my everyday car without any problems so far (touch wood ).

I had a company car previously and now have a car allowance which goes towards the S. This means that I also use it for business miles, and I've done a few long (1.5 - 2 hours each way) motorway trips without any discomfort (I'm 6'6" BTW).

Every journey becomes an occasion, and when the sun comes out it gets even better. Go for it!

[S2 Giles]

One side of me says Go For It, as you'll love the car.

But I do see in your post that ABS & Airbags are an issue ? thats just your decision.

Running costs and living with it wont be a problem but do make sure it doesnt leak as that will get you down if you dont have time to trace and fix it.

You will start looking forward to going to work, just to drive it.

>> Edited by S2 Giles on Wednesday 30th October 16:41

[cutmonster]

I had a 1996 Spider before my 1999 Chim and, as against bugger all going wrong with the Chim in 18,000 miles to date, I spent £2K in 9 months and 6,000 miles on the Spider. Both cars were heavily checked out by RAC prior to purchase I should add. Spider and GTV great cars. But not in the same ball park as TVR dynamically. Get a good S and it'll be as reliable as an Alfa, I reckon. And probably cost less to fix!