4.5 for use everyday - running costs??
Discussion
Hi there,
I'll be in the market for a new sportscar for everyday use at the end of May and the Chimaere is one of the possible candidates. My budget is around 12.5 - 13K which will get me a 1998 car with sensible miles. I can afford to buy the car but I'm really not ure sure about the running costs. The alternatives I have been looking at (Honda S2000, BMW Z3 3.0) look a lot cheaper to run on paper.
Can someone give me approx. costs for the following based on an annual mileage of 12K.
1. Servicing.
2. Tyres.
My brother in law had a 2000 mdl and he spent a small fortune getting it serviced at an offical TVR dealer. I would be looking to use an independent to keep the costs down.
Thanks and all the best.
Martin.
PS. Insurance shouldn't be too bad (31 yrs old with full protected no claims).
>> Edited by MGYoung on Thursday 6th April 13:40
I'll be in the market for a new sportscar for everyday use at the end of May and the Chimaere is one of the possible candidates. My budget is around 12.5 - 13K which will get me a 1998 car with sensible miles. I can afford to buy the car but I'm really not ure sure about the running costs. The alternatives I have been looking at (Honda S2000, BMW Z3 3.0) look a lot cheaper to run on paper.
Can someone give me approx. costs for the following based on an annual mileage of 12K.
1. Servicing.
2. Tyres.
My brother in law had a 2000 mdl and he spent a small fortune getting it serviced at an offical TVR dealer. I would be looking to use an independent to keep the costs down.
Thanks and all the best.
Martin.
PS. Insurance shouldn't be too bad (31 yrs old with full protected no claims).
>> Edited by MGYoung on Thursday 6th April 13:40
Servicing should be every 6000 miles so for your projected useage, I'd say budget £1000. This is only for the servicing itself though. Any other bits and pieces will need to be added to this.
I would guess that tyre costs depend entirely on how you drive the car. If you 'push-on' a fair bit, you may well get through the black circles a lot quicker.
I would guess that tyre costs depend entirely on how you drive the car. If you 'push-on' a fair bit, you may well get through the black circles a lot quicker.
I've used a 450 as a daily driver for the last year and a half or so, and have been pleasantly surprised by how well it's gone!
Initial major service after I bought the car (private sale) was a hefty one as was at main dealer, and ended up having diff bushes changed and some other bits and bobs, but since then has been reliable. Actually, having said that, I've just remembered that I had to change the valley gasket after that went about 8 months later, but it seems remarkably easy to forgive it these things every time I drive it... Only once have I thought "should have bought a Boxtur*", and that soon passed the next time I went past one on the road...
Incidentally, I also drove an S2000 before plumping for the Chim - the engines couldn't be more different, with the S2000 being plenty fast but requiring you to rev its nuts off to get there, and the Chim in comparison seeming to have endless low down urge. Suited my driving more, and I love the soundtrack. As they say, there's no replacement for displacement...
Initial major service after I bought the car (private sale) was a hefty one as was at main dealer, and ended up having diff bushes changed and some other bits and bobs, but since then has been reliable. Actually, having said that, I've just remembered that I had to change the valley gasket after that went about 8 months later, but it seems remarkably easy to forgive it these things every time I drive it... Only once have I thought "should have bought a Boxtur*", and that soon passed the next time I went past one on the road...
Incidentally, I also drove an S2000 before plumping for the Chim - the engines couldn't be more different, with the S2000 being plenty fast but requiring you to rev its nuts off to get there, and the Chim in comparison seeming to have endless low down urge. Suited my driving more, and I love the soundtrack. As they say, there's no replacement for displacement...
I have a 450, which I purchased new and now 4 + years old.
One of the main costs will be depreciation if you put lots of miles on the car - I would guess each 10,000 miles will take an extra £1,000 off the value (above normal depreciation). Of course it depends how well you buy in the first place.
Get advice from an expert if you don’t know this mark of car well – this will be money well spent!
Always buy the best car you can afford, from the best source with the best service history. Low mileage 'track day only cars' should be avoided as every 100 miles on the track takes the same out of the car as 1000+ road miles.
Things on TVR's do break - parts are freely available and not too bad cost wise, considering what you are buying.
Most cheaper TVR insurance policies are mileage limited - don't make a mistake with insurance - estimate your annual mileage and declare it. This will add a little extra cost to your annual bills.
If you do decide to run a 450 as an every day car - taking into account that you are buying a borderline super car- a TVR will give you no more problems than any other car in its class - above all enjoy!
One of the main costs will be depreciation if you put lots of miles on the car - I would guess each 10,000 miles will take an extra £1,000 off the value (above normal depreciation). Of course it depends how well you buy in the first place.
Get advice from an expert if you don’t know this mark of car well – this will be money well spent!
Always buy the best car you can afford, from the best source with the best service history. Low mileage 'track day only cars' should be avoided as every 100 miles on the track takes the same out of the car as 1000+ road miles.
Things on TVR's do break - parts are freely available and not too bad cost wise, considering what you are buying.
Most cheaper TVR insurance policies are mileage limited - don't make a mistake with insurance - estimate your annual mileage and declare it. This will add a little extra cost to your annual bills.
If you do decide to run a 450 as an every day car - taking into account that you are buying a borderline super car- a TVR will give you no more problems than any other car in its class - above all enjoy!
bluechim said:
If you do decide to run a 450 as an every day car - taking into account that you are buying a borderline super car- a TVR will give you no more problems than any other car in its class - above all enjoy!
Certainly no more trouble than any other 5year old (or older) car designed nearly 15 years ago...
Don't forget to consider fuel. I get 250 miles out of mine for every £45 (at current prices).
Always have a contingency budget of £1000 as well - you never know, but it's worth preparing just in case.
Is it worth it?
I've done 40000 miles in mine over the last 4 years, use for the daily commute and general hoonage (Including 2000 miles round France, 1000 miles round highlands of Scotland).
Running costs for me work out at about £1500 per year on average for servicing and wear and tear (and the odd "why the hell not put Gaz shocks on all round" moment
)
Tyres usually £400ish for all 4
Insurance - just renewed with Direct Line - £345 (10,000 mile limit, 37 years old, full NCB - protected, Cambs).
Running costs for me work out at about £1500 per year on average for servicing and wear and tear (and the odd "why the hell not put Gaz shocks on all round" moment
) Tyres usually £400ish for all 4
Insurance - just renewed with Direct Line - £345 (10,000 mile limit, 37 years old, full NCB - protected, Cambs).
As said really, servicing can be had at good garages for around 400 for a 6K service, tyres are about £100 a corner. You do need some cash to spare in case things do go wrong but then the same can be said for any car, particularly one with the chims performance.
Also ther is the, hmmm straight through exhaust sounds like a good idea moments that need to be considered....
Also ther is the, hmmm straight through exhaust sounds like a good idea moments that need to be considered....
I'd call to see what the insurance is like. Usually high in the first year as you have little/no experience of high powered rear wheel drive cars. Prices seeem to vary wildly depending on a number of factors.
You will get through a set of rear tyres every 8-12k (depending on how you drive) - budget £250 for the 2. Fronts tend to last a bit longer - say double.
There are a number of well respected indies who will likely be cheaper than dealer BMW servicing. Although servicing is quoted at a price you often get a bill for a couple of hundred more. Preventative maintenance is the key to everyday usage. If you're only using it a weekends in the summer it is less of an issue when it don't work.
May not be as reliable as the BMW/Honda but you'll get far more enjoyment and costs don't seem as important.
Podie must drive like a girl as we can only get 175 miles a tank out of the Griff (must be the weight of the medallion
FFG
You will get through a set of rear tyres every 8-12k (depending on how you drive) - budget £250 for the 2. Fronts tend to last a bit longer - say double.
There are a number of well respected indies who will likely be cheaper than dealer BMW servicing. Although servicing is quoted at a price you often get a bill for a couple of hundred more. Preventative maintenance is the key to everyday usage. If you're only using it a weekends in the summer it is less of an issue when it don't work.
May not be as reliable as the BMW/Honda but you'll get far more enjoyment and costs don't seem as important.
Podie must drive like a girl as we can only get 175 miles a tank out of the Griff (must be the weight of the medallion
FFG
FlipFlopGriff said:
Podie must drive like a girl as we can only get 175 miles a tank out of the Griff (must be the weight of the medallion
FFG
Daily driver and does regular A-road / motorway stuff - so 60mph is traffic does wonders for the economy!
I'm going up north at the weekend (passport ready) so I'll brim the tank and see what I get!
Podie said:
Podie must drive like a girl as we can only get 175 miles a tank out of the Griff (must be the weight of the medallion
FFG
Daily driver and does regular A-road / motorway stuff - so 60mph is traffic does wonders for the economy!
I'm going up north at the weekend (passport ready) so I'll brim the tank and see what I get!
Ours gets more in and out of town driving. Try and avoid m/ways if possible.
FFG
Podie said:
I'm going up north at the weekend (passport ready) so I'll brim the tank and see what I get!
Right, pulled into Tesco and stuck in £46.00 worth (94.9p) of their 99RON stuff.
Tank indicated "over full" when I left. After 75 miles it was showing 3/4 full and after 145miles it's a fraction over half full.
EDIT - 210 miles showing on the odometer with 1/4 of a tank...
So that's with a real mixture of motorway blat, a-road crawl/sat in traffic (big
to the blue X-reg Chim on the A14) and a serving or three of b-road "johnny large potatoes" 
>> Edited by Podie on Monday 10th April 09:43
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