Thinking of buying 98 TVR Chimaera

[garfy]

Never owned a TVR before and have seen one for sale in BRG 4.5, 36,000 miles with full TVR sh for £7000. Does this sound suspiciously cheap. Looks very clean car from photos, but has just had an MOT and service and had to have new CAMS - is that usual????? Would appreciate advice and guidance as I am a nurse and not loaded as you can imagine but would love to own one.

Cheers

Garfy

[grum101]

ive had my chim about 1 month now and saw a few starting at around 7k then looked around and saw the differance between 7k-13k u may b buying a bargain but get it independantly checked wot year was it

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Looks cheap for a 98. As suggested, get it checked independently.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Cam shaft can be iffy, but 36k is very low mileage, especially on a 450.

[Big Al.]

grum101 said:

may b buying a bargain but get it independantly checked wot year was it

Sound advice, OH

Remember you get what you pay for! if you don't know TVR's you may get LESS than you pay for!

[e2djh]

Paid a lot more for mine, but i'm happy enough with the end result. Souds cheap, but agree with advice above and have one of the experts check it out.

You might just have an absolute bargain there - good luck, let us know how you get on

[Wicker Man]

This is either a dog or a bargain. Get it cheaked out asap, if it's any good it will sell in a flash!

The replacement cam is OK. The original one probably went rusty through lack of use.

Er, where have you seen it by the way?

[Podie]

garfy said:

Does this sound suspiciously cheap.

Sounds like a telescopic barge-poll job to me...

[raceboy]

If thats the kind of budget your looking at This One is worth a look, I know it's older but always buy on condition not age, all boils down to wether you know what your looking at really, and don't forget even a good car will not be cheap to run, but a 'project' can be a money pit.

[IM]

That is VERY significantly under market value - Be VERY cautious.

[Knut Handsome]

That's a cheap car.

I just paid 11k for mine same spec (98S 4.5, not green, under 40K), and I thought it was an ok deal, but there are no guarantees when buying privately.

Assuming the one you are looking at is reasonably sound, 7K is a bargain, and will give you loads of leeway to get things sorted if there are a couple of minor issues.

It may be dodgy, or it may be a realistic seller who wants to get shot of it quickly.

Get it inspected (including history), and quickly. If it's not a dog, it will be gone soon.

[loadblower]

Yep, thats low!

I own the same year 450 Chim, found for me by Rob Ingleby. I love it! If you get a good a good one you'll be happy. (you may be even happier if you get this for £7k, but it doesn't stack up)

Maybe he or one of the other bods could check out for you.

Good luck!

[over_the_hill]

If £7k is your limit it may be unwise as you will have little/nothing in reserve for repairs/fixes. There are lots of horror stories about large bills. Admittedly it is only the bad ones that get reported (mostly) and there are many more happy owners who have had no trouble. However, bear in mind that these are large engine cars and are not cheap to run (not sure what you are used to) compared to a hatchback. Servicing is more pricey, parts cost may be double what you are used to (as you sometimes need 2 lots of things as V8 not straight-4) or generally more as parts have to be bigger and more robust e.g. starter motor.
If you really want a TVR have you considered an "S". For £7k you should be able to find a good quality motor and it will be cheaper to run.
I know this might sound negative but I wouldn't want someone to buy a car and then find they can't afford to run it.

[M@H]

It could just be an OK car but CAT D registered..

[Podie]

M@H said:

It could just be an OK car but CAT D registered..

Good point...

[Al 450]

I paid comfortably double that for mine so that is suspiciously cheap. CAM change is normal and would be expected if car wasn't warmed up properly or only used on short runs. Check the chassis properly for the love of god!

[tvrchim]

garfy said:

Never owned a TVR before and have seen one for sale in BRG 4.5, 36,000 miles with full TVR sh for £7000. Does this sound suspiciously cheap. Looks very clean car from photos, but has just had an MOT and service and had to have new CAMS - is that usual????? Would appreciate advice and guidance as I am a nurse and not loaded as you can imagine but would love to own one.

Cheers

Garfy

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl

Is this the car i was watching it on eBay but its now over 7k

[jasandjules]

TBH I think I would NEVER buy a TVR from Ebay (looked last night though, was amazed at some of the prices!!).. Actually, I take that back, IF I could get it inspected whilst bidding then that is a different matter.. But then you pay the money for the inspection and run the risk of losing the auction...

[tvrchim]

jasandjules said:

TBH I think I would NEVER buy a TVR from Ebay (looked last night though, was amazed at some of the prices!!).. Actually, I take that back, IF I could get it inspected whilst bidding then that is a different matter.. But then you pay the money for the inspection and run the risk of losing the auction...

Got mine off ebay 95M 2 owners full history 70.000 miles very pleased 7.5k

[aaandy]

Just TOO cheap. Do not part with any cash until it has been thouroughly checked by a TVR expert. And then still wonder why it is so cheap. I would expect it to be double that and a bit more on top of that too!

May end up costing you lots more to put everything right again.

The advice about looking at an 'S' series car is sound. Should be able to find a well loved example and still have lots of fun. Still sound good are quite quick too.