Thinking of Buying a Tamora - Pro's and Cons

[Chugger]

Hi all, new to the site, and am lookning for some advice on buying a Tamora. Basically pro's and cons, can you help?

many thanks

[jo5eph]

cons - you will have around 1 or 2 fault a month and possibility of a blown engine. In 5 months ive had 2 x faulty oil senders, water getting in seals and affecting lcd screen. 2 side light failures and 1 rear light failure. Screen wash in op. oh yeah and stone chips.

pros - sensational sound, drive, handling and style, serious torque. pros far outweigh cons. cheap car too.

[AlexRWD]

Cons: unfortunately you will get some people like jo5eph making very broad generalisations about all Tam's being as unreliable as their own car.

Pros: thankfully they're not all that bad. Come along to Gaydon this Sunday for the meet, chat to lots of owners, and then you can evaluate a wider cross-section of the cars and the experiences of the owners.

[madbadger]

More pros in a five minute drive to all the cons throughout ownership.

[jo5eph]

i agree it was a broad generalisation but based on these forums, my tam and that of another tam owner i knew. JimmyT, his engine blew 3 weeks ago. Still its one of the best sports cars around. So much so i want another one, well a t350 anyway.

Edited by jo5eph on Sunday 11th June 23:13

[Spoonman]

How much would you want to use it? I wouldn't dream of using my Tamora as an everyday car (although I am using it everyday at the moment, purely for pleasure) – it feels too special for that.

There's also the nagging doubt that something might break, but that's only through what you read on here. Behind the wheel, the Tamora doesn't feel remotely fragile.

[chris watton]

.....And even when there is a prob, you can still have plenty o' fun in it,, had a great afternoon in ours yesterday, despite the imminent demise of the clutch. The pro's, without a shadow of a doubt outweigh the cons many times over for most owners - - ours is almost part of our family, it has so much soul, although it makes me spend as much money as I ex did!

[stevend]

Pros: as stated above.
Cons: people stare at you grinning a lot.

I use mine as an everyday and so far no major problems (hope that is not tempting fate). A few minor ones, once cleared up, have not returned. Even if the major ones do come along I am glad I had not gone through life without owning a TVR.

fwiw: my insurance is now down to £547 incl Protected no claims, and the Porsche Boxters near me have both had to go back for repairs so don't believe all read about them being perfectly reliable.

regards


Steven

P.S why not come to the get together on Sunday (see sparate sticky?)

Edited by stevend on Monday 12th June 10:30

[ncc]

Pros - You will (if you only read the negative stuff on these forums) spend some time worrying about what's going to go wrong everytime you take the car out of the garage. But then again, your car might be very reliable.

Cons - Driving the car! Seriously, had to spend most of Sunday in the Mondeo, visiting relatives with the dog and numerous other things that won't quite fit in the Tam. Got back with about an hours daylight left and just had to go for a proper drive. Possibly the best hours drive I've ever had. Actually got 'almost' home three times, only to drive straight past the house for just one more blast round the moors.

Just go for it but follow the usual advice and keep a few grand back in case anything does go wrong. Drive plenty to find out what a good 'un is really like. You won't regret it, they really are amazing cars that anyone with a drop of petrol in their veins should experience at some point in their lifetime.

[gary_de_tam]

PROS - unbelievable fun, kills boxsters / m3's off the line....hood off weather now
CONS - Had my '04 for about 2 months, no problems and I just luv it...real sports car

[chugger]

Thanks for the advice all, i will be using it as a daily car, but only do about 10 miles to and from work, so it won't get hammered. Have heard all the scary stories about the problems you can have, but i'm trying to take the view that it could happen with any car (i'm currently an optimistic Alfa GTV owner!). I have seen some mention of "The Bible" elsewhere on the site, is this something is should be looking to get hold of, assuming its some sort of TVR guide and not the actual bible... ;o)

Am also hoping that buying an older model will mean that all the problems will have been ironed out, hope it hold true!

Thanks again

[MTY4000]

Pros: Its like having your very own alton towers. No queues, just mile after mile of smiles. Fully convertable. Even London traffic parts to let you in, and you get a favourable response from other road users.

Cons: Can be pricey to run. Ground clearance is low. Boot space is small with the lid stowed (you can still go touring in the car with the roof off, but you have to pack creatively).

Summary: Buy - but make sure you hold back some funds for the running costs.

[lasertam]

I've had one from new since last Sept, other than one small issue, all is good. Agree with most comments above...

The 'bible' by the way is a book written for the Griff and Chim models. Sadly dont think there is one for the Tamora, but then heard only 400 exist!

You wont regret it, and that comes from someone who owned a Chim for 8 years before getting the Tam.

[chugger]

Thanks LT, getting slightly over exited about it now. My other half's father drives a Cerbera and he's had nothing but good things to say about TVR's (he's on his 5th), has to be said, i'm hooked. Now i just need to find one!!

[jo5eph]

chug - i drive mine daily and dont do many miles. I feel this car will not breakdown, it feels solid but quite a few niggles. mines had 5k of engine mods done as its an 02 this i hear is important.

[madbadger]

MTY4000 said:

Cons: Boot space is small with the lid stowed (you can still go touring in the car with the roof off, but you have to pack creatively).

Pro:

Roof off, two tents, two peoples camping gear for two weeks and this much wine on the way home.



Get creative!

[maddog-uk]

Come along on Sunday, have a chat with us! I have no regrets, 2 years on and lots of smiles and miles. As for the boot, yes creative packing means you can fit a lot in. Being short, gives you more room behind the seats!

[MTY4000]

Very impressive packing! My technique has been to use large numbers of small(ish) soft bags. Maybee I should start to store all my kit in empty wine bottles & crates of beer when touring.

I bow to your superior spatial reasoning. Hell, I think Boot space has just become a 'Pro' rather than a 'Con' - think I was spoilt with the cavernous boot on my Tuscan.

[GOM]

Excellent reading chaps, keep it up

[madbadger]

MTY4000 said:

Very impressive packing! My technique has been to use large numbers of small(ish) soft bags. Maybee I should start to store all my kit in empty wine bottles & crates of beer when touring.

I bow to your superior spatial reasoning. Hell, I think Boot space has just become a 'Pro' rather than a 'Con' - think I was spoilt with the cavernous boot on my Tuscan.

Ta.

Definately a pro. Not as big as a Tuscan, granted, but better than most 2 seaters. One of my reasons for upgrading from the MX5 was the more practical boot. The 5 could only take 30odd bottles.