Buying Advice - Chimaera
Discussion
Hi Guys
I want to purchase a Chimaera but have heard some horror stories on these cars about putting your foot down, hearing a big clunk and then being slapped with a £2k bill to get your pride and joy going again! Whislt I know any cars can have problems, are these engines really known for their unreliability and are some engines better than others etc?
I have about £8-8.5k to spend, so what would be the best engine to give me some peace of mind fun?? Also anything else I should look for would be much appreciated.
Thanks for any help...
I want to purchase a Chimaera but have heard some horror stories on these cars about putting your foot down, hearing a big clunk and then being slapped with a £2k bill to get your pride and joy going again! Whislt I know any cars can have problems, are these engines really known for their unreliability and are some engines better than others etc?
I have about £8-8.5k to spend, so what would be the best engine to give me some peace of mind fun?? Also anything else I should look for would be much appreciated.
Thanks for any help...
There are cars out there for that kind of money but you must be prepared to do a lot of looking and be prepared to be disappointed (I was,many times!).I eventually found my car,97 4.0 with less than 40k on the clock, within your budget and when you do find the right one all the disappointment is forgotten and will be replaced with the TVR grin 
.
(it's also worth investing 30 quid in a copy of the bible)
.(it's also worth investing 30 quid in a copy of the bible)
Might go and have a look at this one - http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/189601.htm
Here's what the owner says about it....
I'm the 3rd owner I've had the car since August 2000 and have done
about
40,000 miles and have loved virtually every minute of it. It's let me
down a
couple of times, once when the battery died and once when the actuating
arm
of the clutch went - which is something that happens at some stage to
most
Chimaeras and Griffs.
I've had it serviced once a year by Tower View Race services (except
the
last time when it was done by Top Cats Racing).
The radiator sprung a leak in 2002 and I got it re-cored and
strengthened to
stop it splitting again (they tend to flex a bit due to being mounted
in a
fibreglass car).
I've always run the car on super unleaded - Optimax nowadays.
The car started on Bridgestone SO2s and is now on SO3s. Fronts and
backs are
in good condition.
I've just had the front bottom wishbones replaced as they were starting
to
rust (they were still the originals).
The chassis is in good condition - a major thing to look out for with a
car
of this age. The chassis has not been waxoiled so it can be inspected
easily.
Top Cats fitted the nitron adjustables in June 2004. One of the
original
shocks sprung a leak so I thought I might as well treat the car to the
best
available replacements.
One of the lambda sensors went in 2002 which caused it to fail the MOT.
Both
were replaced.
The power steering rack was reconditioned a couple of years back and
that
finally cured the small fluid leak that had eluded all previous
attempts to
fix it.
The body work is pretty good but by no means a concours winner there
are
some stone chips on the front of the bonnet.
The interior is all neat and tidy but again won't win any prizes. There
are
no tears in the seats although the drivers side is a bit grubby. There
are a
few scratches in the seats. The dash is not cracked at all.
It has remote central locking which also sets the alarm but it tends to
go
off occasionally so I rarely use it. It has a passive immobiliser
fitted
which does work and arms itself when you take the key out of the
ignition.
As I said at the beginning I have really enjoyed having the car - it
has had
a few jobs to be done over the years but you really have to expect that
with
a car like this
Here's what the owner says about it....
I'm the 3rd owner I've had the car since August 2000 and have done
about
40,000 miles and have loved virtually every minute of it. It's let me
down a
couple of times, once when the battery died and once when the actuating
arm
of the clutch went - which is something that happens at some stage to
most
Chimaeras and Griffs.
I've had it serviced once a year by Tower View Race services (except
the
last time when it was done by Top Cats Racing).
The radiator sprung a leak in 2002 and I got it re-cored and
strengthened to
stop it splitting again (they tend to flex a bit due to being mounted
in a
fibreglass car).
I've always run the car on super unleaded - Optimax nowadays.
The car started on Bridgestone SO2s and is now on SO3s. Fronts and
backs are
in good condition.
I've just had the front bottom wishbones replaced as they were starting
to
rust (they were still the originals).
The chassis is in good condition - a major thing to look out for with a
car
of this age. The chassis has not been waxoiled so it can be inspected
easily.
Top Cats fitted the nitron adjustables in June 2004. One of the
original
shocks sprung a leak so I thought I might as well treat the car to the
best
available replacements.
One of the lambda sensors went in 2002 which caused it to fail the MOT.
Both
were replaced.
The power steering rack was reconditioned a couple of years back and
that
finally cured the small fluid leak that had eluded all previous
attempts to
fix it.
The body work is pretty good but by no means a concours winner there
are
some stone chips on the front of the bonnet.
The interior is all neat and tidy but again won't win any prizes. There
are
no tears in the seats although the drivers side is a bit grubby. There
are a
few scratches in the seats. The dash is not cracked at all.
It has remote central locking which also sets the alarm but it tends to
go
off occasionally so I rarely use it. It has a passive immobiliser
fitted
which does work and arms itself when you take the key out of the
ignition.
As I said at the beginning I have really enjoyed having the car - it
has had
a few jobs to be done over the years but you really have to expect that
with
a car like this
benadams said:
The chassis has not been waxoiled so it can be inspected
easily.
It reads like an honest car, except I am not impressed by the above comment.easily.
I might well be wrong in this case, but it's like saying; "I've not taken the trouble to protect it so you can see how well the steel has stood up to corrosion."
I was told by one prospective buyer when I had my car up for sale, that a dealer had told him that he never waxoiled/POR15'd the chassis because it hides the rust!
chim666 said:
Nano2nd said:
to be fair he has a point, its very easy to hind a mulitude of sins with some paint and wasoil 
One man's honesty is another man's neglect! 
Edited by chim666 on Friday 22 June 09:40
FunkyGibbon said:
And also to be fair the car has a service history from respected Indies, so any chassis problems would have been noted.
OK. I accept and respect your points.If I bought a 13-year old car without chassis protection, I would certainly protect it once I had verified all was sound.
I'd probably also take plenty of pictures to confirm that was so for the benefit of future buyers.
chim666 said:
If I bought a 13-year old car without chassis protection, I would certainly protect it once I had verified all was sound.
I'd probably also take plenty of pictures to confirm that was so for the benefit of future buyers.
Yep, sound advice and I did just that even though mine was only 3 when I got it. It is a daily driver so cleaned, checked and wax oiled every year.I'd probably also take plenty of pictures to confirm that was so for the benefit of future buyers.
MJW1977 said:
David Gerald TVR have a 93 K Plate with 53k which has had the outriggers replaced at £9k.
Think someone somewhere has stuck their finger in the air for that figure!!!If not i shall start taking orders for outrigger replacements as soon as i have finished spraying mine!!!
I would not be too worried about service history on a 12 year old car...condition of chassis then condition of body, anything else is easy to replace.
This is of course a very often asked question and with full credit and acknowledgement to 'redeye' the following is one of the most entertaining (and somewhet true!) responses I've seen:
If you were to have a world class super model on your arm you know:
1. its going to cost you money
2. its going to take your time up
3. its going to ride like the devil
4. its going to make you smile
5. its going to cry in the rain
6. its going to spank your ass every possible chance it gets
7. some scrot will want to touch it
8. you will never be happy with the girl next door ever again
9. if you had ever piloted a tiv you would know all these things
10. GET ONE U KNOW ITS A MUST DO THING IN YOUR LIFE, IF YOU DONT U WILL ALLWAYS WISH YOU HAD .
Threre was a good recent thread answering the question in more specific but less entertaining terms than redeye!http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Nick.
If you were to have a world class super model on your arm you know:
1. its going to cost you money
2. its going to take your time up
3. its going to ride like the devil
4. its going to make you smile
5. its going to cry in the rain
6. its going to spank your ass every possible chance it gets
7. some scrot will want to touch it
8. you will never be happy with the girl next door ever again
9. if you had ever piloted a tiv you would know all these things
10. GET ONE U KNOW ITS A MUST DO THING IN YOUR LIFE, IF YOU DONT U WILL ALLWAYS WISH YOU HAD .
Threre was a good recent thread answering the question in more specific but less entertaining terms than redeye!
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...Nick.
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