Breakdowns per year?
Discussion
I am about to buy one of those 4.0 Chimaera things within 2 weeks.
Only thing which is holding me back is reliability issue.
On a personal level how many times has your Chim been stuck at the roadside waiting for a happy chappy in overalls with a truck sponsoring an A.A or R.A.C logo per year?
Only thing which is holding me back is reliability issue.
On a personal level how many times has your Chim been stuck at the roadside waiting for a happy chappy in overalls with a truck sponsoring an A.A or R.A.C logo per year?
Twice in 5years. Once was my fault for not changing the battery when I knew it was on its way out and once yesterday due to a knacked fuel pump relay. Which for a 10 yr old car is ok.
However as you only asked about being 'stuck at the roadside' I'll not tell you about all the other problems
However as you only asked about being 'stuck at the roadside' I'll not tell you about all the other problems
oggs said:
Agree entirely!
This perceived reliability issue with TVR - especially in relation to the V8s such as the Chim & Griff pisses me off no end. My mates Audi TT went back to the dealers 8 times in 12 months, another friend got rid of his DB9 because it kept failing but nobody sees them as unreliable cars.
For the record mine has let me down twice in 2 years - once due to a duff battery which strangely enough can happen to any car and the most recent due to a broken clutch fork which again could happen to any (manual) car!
Buy a good one and you should have few problems - the engine is a proven Rover V8 which has been about for donkeys years, drivetrain is a mix of Landrover, Ford etc and barring minor issues you should have little trouble. Yes there are horror stories but these are nowhere near as common as you might think and as I mentioned many perceived 'reliable and upmarket' major brands have far more problems than TVRs.
zippee said:
oggs said:
Agree entirely!
This perceived reliability issue with TVR - especially in relation to the V8s such as the Chim & Griff pisses me off no end. My mates Audi TT went back to the dealers 8 times in 12 months, another friend got rid of his DB9 because it kept failing but nobody sees them as unreliable cars.
For the record mine has let me down twice in 2 years - once due to a duff battery which strangely enough can happen to any car and the most recent due to a broken clutch fork which again could happen to any (manual) car!
Buy a good one and you should have few problems - the engine is a proven Rover V8 which has been about for donkeys years, drivetrain is a mix of Landrover, Ford etc and barring minor issues you should have little trouble. Yes there are horror stories but these are nowhere near as common as you might think and as I mentioned many perceived 'reliable and upmarket' major brands have far more problems than TVRs.
Apart from this, anything that was going to fail because of build quality issues in a 10 year (or so) old car usually has done so at this point and rectified by repair/replacement - when the car was new(ish) and included in the JD Power survey a big proportion of complaints, for instance, was about water leaking into the interior and unless you are buying one of these garaged, pampered, sunny Sunday morning use only 10,000 miles examples, they will have been sorted by now or the symptoms would be rather hard to miss by anyone looking at the car! If used regularly, these cars IMO do, if anything, improve with age.
Couple of things have needed fixing/replacing but haven't broken down once in 14 months. I try preventative maintainance - replaced alternator, fan belt, battery, ignition leads, coil, 100A fuse soon after purchase and plan to do regular rolling replacements, hopefully before components break. Also carry a few spares of things that can be replced at the roadside all of the time. IMO they don't deserve a poor reputation if they're looked after.
Don't look for a pampered one - 10k in 10 years for eg. They get sorted by owners if they are regularly used so on my 12 year old Chim, everyhing worked when I bought it and still works now. Look for a min 4k per annum and the reliability should be OK.
Perhaps I'll change my mind if I do get stranded but am planning a trip to Bordeaux this summer and if all goes well might go to Italy in 2008.
Don't look for a pampered one - 10k in 10 years for eg. They get sorted by owners if they are regularly used so on my 12 year old Chim, everyhing worked when I bought it and still works now. Look for a min 4k per annum and the reliability should be OK.
Perhaps I'll change my mind if I do get stranded but am planning a trip to Bordeaux this summer and if all goes well might go to Italy in 2008.
Edited by SpudMurphy on Tuesday 13th February 12:37
Only had mine 20 months and about 5,000 miles but has never once failed to start, never over-heated and never failed to get me home again.
I've had to spend a bit at service time on wear & tear, eg ball joints, bushes etc and I've just spent over £200 on a new rev counter (ouch!) but I've never had a break-down as such. In fact I'd like to know how many other 13 year old cars are as reliable?
I do try to use it a minimum of once a week, all year round. I'm convinced that must help.
I've had to spend a bit at service time on wear & tear, eg ball joints, bushes etc and I've just spent over £200 on a new rev counter (ouch!) but I've never had a break-down as such. In fact I'd like to know how many other 13 year old cars are as reliable?
I do try to use it a minimum of once a week, all year round. I'm convinced that must help.
Edited by mccrackenj on Tuesday 13th February 13:40
Once - flat battery...my fault, waiting to pick up my daughter whilst sat listening to the radio with the engine off, and the lights on!(new battery fitted, and ok ever since).
BTW - it sounds like you've already got some cars lined-up for viewing, but if you're travelling along the M4 towards Bristol, and haven't found your ideal car - you might like to take a look at mine (shameless plug! It'll be on the market in the next month!)
BTW - it sounds like you've already got some cars lined-up for viewing, but if you're travelling along the M4 towards Bristol, and haven't found your ideal car - you might like to take a look at mine (shameless plug
! It'll be on the market in the next month!)zippee said:
oggs said:
Agree entirely!
This perceived reliability issue with TVR - especially in relation to the V8s such as the Chim & Griff pisses me off no end. My mates Audi TT went back to the dealers 8 times in 12 months, another friend got rid of his DB9 because it kept failing but nobody sees them as unreliable cars.
For the record mine has let me down twice in 2 years - once due to a duff battery which strangely enough can happen to any car and the most recent due to a broken clutch fork which again could happen to any (manual) car!
Buy a good one and you should have few problems - the engine is a proven Rover V8 which has been about for donkeys years, drivetrain is a mix of Landrover, Ford etc and barring minor issues you should have little trouble. Yes there are horror stories but these are nowhere near as common as you might think and as I mentioned many perceived 'reliable and upmarket' major brands have far more problems than TVRs.
Whaaat. This is a PERFECTLY REASONABLE question to ask. Why should it "piss you off"? Sounds like we Tiv owners have "something to hide" that way.
Lets go straight to the truth of this.
Anyone who expects a TVR to be statistically as reliable as a "mass market modern manufactured motor" is in LA LA LAND. They just aren't.
Oh yes - now cue up owners getting all huffyity saying "My one has never let me down etc etc". YES I BELIEVE YOU. This does NOT mean that TVRs in general are just as reliable as, say, Vauxhalls in general.
All one can say is: in my experience TVRs can be perfectly good and not bad in the reliability stakes. Our one - which we have owned for eight years now so I think I know what I'm talking about - has come to a serious halt once and been on a low loader several times.
The serious halt was a water pump going. Mrs stranded on the M4. Not happy - but hey. Other times its been on a low loader were when the brake calipers fell off. Yes. Fell off. Because they hadn't been put back on properly - but that's another story.
Doesn't sound so bad does it? Eight years - two low loaders. As a matter of fact due to nannying precautions and some
wittery my current Porsche has been on a low loader FOUR TIMES to go back to the OPC. All in the first six months of ownership mind and bullet-proof ever since...but statistically in the low loader stakes in my experience the TVR is doing OK. The problem with the TVR isn't the major disasters - its all the minor things. And lots of them do happen. Its an eight year old car. Gaskets have worn out. We've had coolant leaks galore, an interesting oil leak but thankfully so far the petrol has stayed where it ought to. Other niggles have been the door mirrors falling off if brushed against, HT lead number eight continually coming off its spark plug despite being replaced twice, heat shields that don't, the speedometer that stopped at each '9999 and finally had to be replaced and a clutch pedal that broke off under my foot!
I could go on.
During this time the Vectra I own has played up exactly once. Nothing has fallen off in any way. If you run out of fuel just piss in the tank and its good for another fifty miles.
Now. All of the above is not meant to put the original poster off. During the same time as we have looked after our Chimaera and fixed anything and everything that has ever gone wrong lovingly and without regard for expense (and there has been oh such a lot) it has also been UTTERLY BRILLIANT.
It sounds fantastic. It makes me laugh every time I drive it - I think its the same attraction as farting in the shower to listen to the echo - a blokey thing that makes you grin.
But have a runner too. Otherwise you will want to kick it everytime some other
ing thing is wroing with it instead of smiling indulgently and looking forward to the next hoon - to a good independent to get it fixed. BTW: No offence to anyone. But this is how I see it.
Don said:
zippee said:
oggs said:
This perceived reliability issue with TVR - especially in relation to the V8s such as the Chim & Griff pisses me off no end.
Well said Don.
I've been doing about 10k miles a year in mine for the last 5 years. I've been stranded on the hard shoulder by a broken throttle cable and a failed water pump gasket (and running out of fuel, and sucking a puddle up the air intake). The car has failed to start in the morning because of a dead fuel pump relay (twice), a dead battery, a dieing alternator, a sticky starter motor, a knackered immobiliser, a dead fuel pump and a dieing distributor cap. These are all pretty standard problems. Some of them are easy roadside DIY fixes, without access to a garage some of them meant a low loader trip.
If, like me when I bought my Chim, you don't have any experience of car maintenace, reading Steve Heath's book about the Chim and Griff will bring you up to speed, if you like, as an informed owner. It doesn't tell you how to strip the gear box, but you'll be well aware of all the standard problems and you'll be able to tackle lots of useful maintenance and repair jobs if you chose to. It'll also help you spot things going wrong before they strand you on the hard shoulder. It doesn't stop the car being a bit flakey compared to a VW, but it'll mitigate the flakiness to a considerable degree.
I've been doing about 10k miles a year in mine for the last 5 years. I've been stranded on the hard shoulder by a broken throttle cable and a failed water pump gasket (and running out of fuel, and sucking a puddle up the air intake). The car has failed to start in the morning because of a dead fuel pump relay (twice), a dead battery, a dieing alternator, a sticky starter motor, a knackered immobiliser, a dead fuel pump and a dieing distributor cap. These are all pretty standard problems. Some of them are easy roadside DIY fixes, without access to a garage some of them meant a low loader trip.
If, like me when I bought my Chim, you don't have any experience of car maintenace, reading Steve Heath's book about the Chim and Griff will bring you up to speed, if you like, as an informed owner. It doesn't tell you how to strip the gear box, but you'll be well aware of all the standard problems and you'll be able to tackle lots of useful maintenance and repair jobs if you chose to. It'll also help you spot things going wrong before they strand you on the hard shoulder. It doesn't stop the car being a bit flakey compared to a VW, but it'll mitigate the flakiness to a considerable degree.
richb said:
Don said:
zippee said:
oggs said:
This perceived reliability issue with TVR - especially in relation to the V8s such as the Chim & Griff pisses me off no end.
I meant perceived unreliability just to clear that up. There is a great number of people out there who, never having even been near a TVR let alone owned one, confidently state that all TVRs are unreliable and always break down etc.
As for the original poster looking for info - my post has obviously come across the wrong way
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