so what is your response?
Discussion
hi everyone,
just wondering if anyone else gets annoyed with comments about thier car, when i said to someone i know that i got a TVR Griffith his response was " oh God why did you get one of them, join the RAC and AA, find a good mechanic, they drive badly and fall to bits and are a nightmare to work on" now i have to say ive found my Griff to drive very far from badly, sure the suspension is hard and you feel almost everything but no worse than any other sports car ive been in, plus its quick,very quick in fact, i might look into tuning when ive gotten used to it more, a genuine 300 bhp would be my goal after i start. in regards to the reliability from what ive read they are quite a basic engine to work on and arnt packed with fancy stuff to go wrong and surely looking after one from an independant isnt that expensive?, and doing the oil change every 3000 miles is hardly a huge chore,so when you get comments like the ones ive had what do you usually respond with?
>> Edited by YamR1,V64motion on Thursday 19th January 01:55
Pretty much comments like you describe indicate another talking ar5ehole. Most comments I get are "nice car, mate" and such. Our Griff is more reliable (touch wood) than one of my directors Mercedes.
Just relax in the knowledge that your car can blow theirs into the weeds, and won't depreciate anything like theirs. And theirs won't have the
factor, either.
Just relax in the knowledge that your car can blow theirs into the weeds, and won't depreciate anything like theirs. And theirs won't have the
factor, either. YamR1V64motion said:
so when you get comments like the ones ive had what do you usually respond with?
>> Edited by YamR1,V64motion on Thursday 19th January 01:55
"How much did you pay for your Mondeo/Golf/Vectra?"
<brief pause>
"Gosh. What's it worth now?"
You'll find most of the 'TVR's are unreliable' brigade have never owned one. I firmly believe reliability is dependent on maintenance. Those that do have problems may be the kind of people that don't give the car a quick once over now and again as a preventative measure.
EDITED to say, would you get rid of that damn comma in your login name, beacause 'quote' doesn't work with it!! Or better, change to 'TVRGriffith' !!
>> Edited by griffter on Thursday 19th January 07:32
Chatting to an operator, and his Team leader, at work last week, both into old beetles and 'dubs.
The teamleader asks how my Tiv is, fine I reply.
The operator says , what engine is it ? A v6?
No I say and fill him in on the engine.
"they handle shit " dont they?? he says?
His "mate" bought a "brand new" one and swapped it for a porsche.
Which one?
"a boxter".
I walk off trying not to laugh.
The teamleader asks how my Tiv is, fine I reply.
The operator says , what engine is it ? A v6?
No I say and fill him in on the engine.
"they handle shit " dont they?? he says?
His "mate" bought a "brand new" one and swapped it for a porsche.
Which one?
"a boxter".
I walk off trying not to laugh.
I've endured comments like this about most of my cars ever since I've been driving.
I've always been into the more unusual cars, and I just put remarks like this down to the ignorance of the person(s) concerned.
If they don't drive a TVR (or whatever) then its their loss. The day I come to them asking for help to repair my cars is the day that they can say "I told you so." Until then I just let them live in their dream world of Vectras, Mondeos and the odd Merc or BMW.
Mainly you'll find it's because they are jealous, and always wanted something special, but never had the gumption, or bottle, to get one for themselves. They make themselves feel better by believing that our sort of cars are nothing but trouble and convincing themselves that it wouldn't be a good idea to have one, whilst secretly envying those who do.
Just treat them with the contempt that they deserve, walk away from them laughing, you'll never outwardly convince them that you're right, because, deep down, they know that anyway and have to keep up the pretence to reassure themselves that they made the right decision buying the "sensible" option rather than the fun one
I've always been into the more unusual cars,
and I just put remarks like this down to the ignorance of the person(s) concerned. If they don't drive a TVR (or whatever) then its their loss. The day I come to them asking for help to repair my cars is the day that they can say "I told you so." Until then I just let them live in their dream world of Vectras, Mondeos and the odd Merc or BMW.
Mainly you'll find it's because they are jealous, and always wanted something special, but never had the gumption, or bottle, to get one for themselves. They make themselves feel better by believing that our sort of cars are nothing but trouble and convincing themselves that it wouldn't be a good idea to have one, whilst secretly envying those who do.
Just treat them with the contempt that they deserve, walk away from them laughing, you'll never outwardly convince them that you're right, because, deep down, they know that anyway and have to keep up the pretence to reassure themselves that they made the right decision buying the "sensible" option rather than the fun one
I might be inclined to ask how they 'know that' to get a feel for how much of an idiot they are...
Maybe they did know someone with a bad experience?
Ultimately ask them how much thier cars have depreciated, in £k and % terms, and compare with depreciation on say a griff....
So basically you can say to them ok my griff is 7 years old - it is SO crap it is only worth 60% of its new price.... where as your car is SO GOOD it's 3-4 years old and it worth 50% of new price, and when its 8 years old it's goingto be worth zero.
Obviously TVR's are so crap that people are willing to pay more for them
B
Maybe they did know someone with a bad experience?
Ultimately ask them how much thier cars have depreciated, in £k and % terms, and compare with depreciation on say a griff....
So basically you can say to them ok my griff is 7 years old - it is SO crap it is only worth 60% of its new price.... where as your car is SO GOOD it's 3-4 years old and it worth 50% of new price, and when its 8 years old it's goingto be worth zero.
Obviously TVR's are so crap that people are willing to pay more for them
B
I've only had a few comments like these which i smiled, maybe a slight laugh and shake of the head as if to say 'you stupid imbecile'. Follow this with something like "You've obviously never driven one" or "You do know what a TVR is?" depending on if i know/expect them to know much about cars. The idea is to make them feel and look like they've made a stupid comment. Then if they come back with something like "oh only i've heard bad things etc" i do the smile and slight laugh thing again and say "rubbish". Then you might want to ask what they drive, if its something boring and ordinary respond with something like "Right" as if they've just lost all credability and you're already bored after just hearing the name. If its a VW or Audi i like to say "Silver is it?" which most of the time the answer is yes and reinforces that they have lost all credability. If they drive something nice/interesting then i'll get into a conversation about it, but its usually these people who will respect you decision to buy a TVR.
If they're someone who knows a lot about cars or at takes a keen interest they usually like and admire TVR's even if they wouldn't buy one themselves. In which case there is no need to justify your decision and they wouldn't have made any negative comment in the first place.
If they're someone who knows a lot about cars or at takes a keen interest they usually like and admire TVR's even if they wouldn't buy one themselves. In which case there is no need to justify your decision and they wouldn't have made any negative comment in the first place.
Just smuggly smile to yourself inside... and walk away....... keep it a secret from them how wonderful your car is.
Those that pass good comments and are genuinly interested give them a treat... a blip of the throttle normally puts a smile on their faces, and when you take them for spin they will be grinning just as much as you.
Those that pass good comments and are genuinly interested give them a treat... a blip of the throttle normally puts a smile on their faces, and when you take them for spin they will be grinning just as much as you.
griffter said:
so when you get comments like the ones ive had what do you usually respond with?
>> Edited by YamR1,V64motion on Thursday 19th January 01:55
"How much did you pay for your Mondeo/Golf/Vectra?"
<brief pause>
"Gosh. What's it worth now?"
You'll find most of the 'TVR's are unreliable' brigade have never owned one. I firmly believe reliability is dependent on maintenance. Those that do have problems may be the kind of people that don't give the car a quick once over now and again as a preventative measure.
EDITED to say, would you get rid of that damn comma in your login name, beacause 'quote' doesn't work with it!! Or better, change to 'TVRGriffith' !!
>> Edited by griffter on Thursday 19th January 07:32
i would get rid of the comma or change my name if i knew how to.
im glad to see im not the only one whos had these comments, all i know is i wouldnt have bought the car if they were as bad as most people make out but i did research into them and asked most of you what went wrong with them, spoke to a few TVR mechanics and made an informed decision and bought one knowing that i can expect the odd niggle but keep it serviced,change the oil and keep the the chassis in good condition and for the most part thier ok, it just annoys me when people say things like i mentioned without knowing anything of the car or having spoken to anyone whos owned or worked one one extensivly.
geoffvalenti said:
I've endured comments like this about most of my cars ever since I've been driving.
I've always been into the more unusual cars,
..........
Mainly you'll find it's because they are jealous, and always wanted something special, but never had the gumption, or bottle, to get one for themselves. They make themselves feel better by believing that our sort of cars are nothing but trouble and convincing themselves that it wouldn't be a good idea to have one, whilst secretly envying those who do.
Absolutely spot on. The Griff is extemely rare in these parts and normally people actually come up to ask what it is and generally chat. I've had one follow me into a shop to ask if he could take photos of the car and another in a carpark just as I was leaving came running over to ask to take a photo with his phone. He said "this is my favourite car of all time and I've never seen one before." Normally people who try to put you down are trying to justify their choices or situation.
Depending on who you talk to all cars have problems, after all they are complex mechanical machines. And anyone who says they've never had any trouble is either lying or is so bored by what they drive that they didn't notice. So be as generous as you think the situation demands and speak from your own experience. Don't try to one-up as you'll never win that one. Fact fabrication usually follows. Few people who start on this acusatory line will be persuaded by anything you say.
The smile factor is THE driving force, after all.
I just normally laugh it off saying I have had TVRs for the last 7 years with less problems than the other halfs 3 mass produced cars, and also laugh at the deprciation that I am not suffering and I actual enjoy the drive and have to drive rather than just sit there.
Mind you its hard to fight against some that new me and my mate went to pic some flowers up for a wedding and it had the hot start problem. Me and my mate left there outside the flowershop with 5 Bunches of Flowers in the front,It least we could hide our faces behind them, couldnt leave teh car as it was on a double yellow.
BB
Mind you its hard to fight against some that new me and my mate went to pic some flowers up for a wedding and it had the hot start problem. Me and my mate left there outside the flowershop with 5 Bunches of Flowers in the front,It least we could hide our faces behind them, couldnt leave teh car as it was on a double yellow.
BB
mrmaggit said:Absolutely, mostly I get "nice car..." and when you get the predictable "oh they're Russian now..." comment just say "Yes, in the same way as Chelsea are a Russian football club"
Most comments I get are "nice car, mate" and such. Our Griff is more reliable (touch wood) than one of my directors Mercedes.
Just relax in the knowledge that your car can blow theirs into the weeds, and won't depreciate anything like theirs. And theirs won't have the
or for the more knowledgeable "the same as Lotus are Malaysian and Marcos are Canadian" which is of course bollix! Rich... 
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