Discussion
Just waved Off my 'S' which means I can now buy my dream car 'Griff 500':yes: which was underlined when CLN1 let me sit in his outside Ians in middlewhich (cheers mate :thumbup:) Ive got the bible, and have been lurking around the forums for a while, alot of previous threads state you should drive as many as you can, this sounds great but understandably owners want proof of comp ins and ins companies dont do blanket ins cover fully comp, catch 22? or am i being daft here? Cheers Andy
Andy
That was me with my lad Daniel.I thought that you'd take the plunge, your face was a picture as you sat in the driving seat. If I hadn't of been in a bit of a rush I'd have taken for a run.
I'm taking mine off the road on Monday untill April to paint the chassis and do a few upgrades but if I can help get in touch.
In about a month or so I'll have all the suspension off and the roll-bar should be in so if you want to come and have a look you're welcome.
Good luck with the search.
Colin.
That was me with my lad Daniel.I thought that you'd take the plunge, your face was a picture as you sat in the driving seat. If I hadn't of been in a bit of a rush I'd have taken for a run.
I'm taking mine off the road on Monday untill April to paint the chassis and do a few upgrades but if I can help get in touch.
In about a month or so I'll have all the suspension off and the roll-bar should be in so if you want to come and have a look you're welcome.
Good luck with the search.
Colin.
It's up to the sellers, but if the prospective buyer can't drive the car to see how it feels then I don't see how he's expected to buy it.
I do allow buyers to drive my cars: it's legal due to the 'any other car with owner's consent and if over 25' clause, or similar. But I do make a judgement when they arrive: previous TVR experience, intelligence, keeness to buy etc.
I do allow buyers to drive my cars: it's legal due to the 'any other car with owner's consent and if over 25' clause, or similar. But I do make a judgement when they arrive: previous TVR experience, intelligence, keeness to buy etc.
simpo two said:
I do allow buyers to drive my cars: it's legal due to the 'any other car with owner's consent and if over 25' clause, or similar.
Legal (unless for 'emergency situations only' as my cover once was) but it won't cover your car - just third parties.
Prabably best to agree a deal subject to test drive. even better, offer the drive only upon production of payment, making it clear that crashing = buying.
Anyway I bought without driving (the particular car I bought) because:
1) I reckon I can concentrate on the car more if I'm not driving.
2) I'm less likely to be smitten by the noise/acceleration/wind in hair and overlook the basics.
Anyway back to topic, it's one of those disadvantages of buying privately, cos dealers should always let you drive.
I can only reiterate what everyone else has said.
Do your research before you start looking so you know what problems to look for on prospective purchases, rather than when you've got it home and realise that the chassis is rotten, or the cam's knackered, or suspension bushes, shock absorbers, gearbox, clutch, radiator etc need replacing.
Look at lots of cars (obviously within reason) then you'll know a good one when you see it.
Assess the owner, does he speak fondly of the car? Is he a true enthusiast? Is he selling the car because he has bought something "better"? (subjective in the case of a Griff
) or
a) is there something major about to go wrong ( or already gone wrong)
b) did he not realise the running costs and can't afford to keep it (may have skimped on maintenance)
Has the owner kept records of all the work done. I never mind if the owner seems a competant mechanic and has done some of the work himself, as long as he has kept all the bills for the parts.
A service once a year from a main dealer, or independant specialist, goes a long way to showing that the owner has at least tried to keep the car maintained.
I always test drive a car last when looking to buy. A careful inspection can tell you so much more about a car, than an adrenalin fueled blast up the road.
Only when I'm satisfied that the car "could" be worth buying will I suggest to the seller a test drive. Usually I find that if a car passes the initial inspection there's a good chance that it will drive OK.
If its a dog, with parts obviously needing replacement and an uncaring owner who can't be bothered to prepare the vehicle properly for sale, its probably not going to be worth driving it anyway.
Try to view the car when its cold (no not in the winter
) so you can hear what it sound like when it first starts, and how it performs before it has warmed up.
I looked at a few before I bought mine, but the one I eventually got was head and shoulders above most of the others. Some were private, others in dealers, after a while you get a feel for whether the car is going to be any good or not.
It sometimes a good idea to look at a few "unprepared" ones in dealers, then you can see
a) the common problem areas
b) just how bad some of these cars are before they get prepared (read tarted up
) for sale.
As far as I was concerned, if the previous owner had let the car get into such a poor condition, it hadn't been cherished enough to warrant becoming mine.
Finally, it's a good time of year to buy a Griff, prices are lower, buyers are fewer, and sellers can be pushed to take less for the car if they realy want to get rid of it (wife/husband nagging etc. )
Good luck, post some pics when you get it.
Do your research before you start looking so you know what problems to look for on prospective purchases, rather than when you've got it home and realise that the chassis is rotten, or the cam's knackered, or suspension bushes, shock absorbers, gearbox, clutch, radiator etc need replacing.
Look at lots of cars (obviously within reason) then you'll know a good one when you see it.
Assess the owner, does he speak fondly of the car? Is he a true enthusiast? Is he selling the car because he has bought something "better"? (subjective in the case of a Griff
) or a) is there something major about to go wrong ( or already gone wrong)
b) did he not realise the running costs and can't afford to keep it (may have skimped on maintenance)
Has the owner kept records of all the work done. I never mind if the owner seems a competant mechanic and has done some of the work himself, as long as he has kept all the bills for the parts.
A service once a year from a main dealer, or independant specialist, goes a long way to showing that the owner has at least tried to keep the car maintained.
I always test drive a car last when looking to buy. A careful inspection can tell you so much more about a car, than an adrenalin fueled blast up the road.
Only when I'm satisfied that the car "could" be worth buying will I suggest to the seller a test drive. Usually I find that if a car passes the initial inspection there's a good chance that it will drive OK.
If its a dog, with parts obviously needing replacement and an uncaring owner who can't be bothered to prepare the vehicle properly for sale, its probably not going to be worth driving it anyway.
Try to view the car when its cold (no not in the winter
) so you can hear what it sound like when it first starts, and how it performs before it has warmed up. I looked at a few before I bought mine, but the one I eventually got was head and shoulders above most of the others. Some were private, others in dealers, after a while you get a feel for whether the car is going to be any good or not.
It sometimes a good idea to look at a few "unprepared" ones in dealers, then you can see
a) the common problem areas
b) just how bad some of these cars are before they get prepared (read tarted up
) for sale. As far as I was concerned, if the previous owner had let the car get into such a poor condition, it hadn't been cherished enough to warrant becoming mine.
Finally, it's a good time of year to buy a Griff, prices are lower, buyers are fewer, and sellers can be pushed to take less for the car if they realy want to get rid of it (wife/husband nagging etc.
) Good luck, post some pics when you get it.
). Service history. Driven regularly. Same old, same old. 
jimi said:
how long do you think the engine would last??
Unfortunately, if we could forecast that with any accuracy, we'd also know this weeks winning lottery numbers
It all depends on how it's been driven and maintained, with a large amount of luck thrown in.
I've heard of Griffs needing a rebuild before 20k and others going strong with 100k plus
I don't know the car you are talking about, but if it's a '98 in good condition, with just high mileage, then for £10k there's still enough leeway to rebuild the engine if you find that you need to later on.
Make sure that you check EVERYTHING out. £10k is remarkably cheap for a '98, even with relatively high mileage. As I said before, I don't know the car and all may well be fine, but it wouldn't be the first time a car was offered so cheap, to encourage the buyers to not bother checking it out properly, only to find out, to their cost, later why it was really being sold at that price.
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