Daily Driver ?

[Ross_328i_sport]

Hi,

How many of you use your griffith everyday as a daily driver ?

I am ineterested in this particular model but it would be my daily driver

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Ross

[V8 GRF]

2000 Griffith 500.
More or less a daily drive.
12k miles in the year, kept outside.

No issues apart from a starting problem eminating from plug leads and sparkplugs.

That includes two trips to France this year, both over 1200 mile round trips and it ran faultlessly on both trips.

Service costs of course higher than one that sits in a garage and does 3k but fantastic and driven in all weathers.
Mind you I've not seen snow in it..

Edited by V8 GRF on Wednesday 26th September 13:44

[350Matt]

entirely possible but not recommended

Matt

[V8 GRF]

350Matt said:

entirely possible but not recommended

Matt

You can't come on to a thread like this and make a comment like that without qualifying it. My experience makes me totally disagree with you.

[97octane]

2 years of ownership, 7k miles per year - has been mechanically very reliable, uses 1l of oil every 1500 miles. There are 2 gripes with using it as an everyday car, firstly it took a few months to sort out all the leaks and make it watertight, secondly the wear & stonechips on the paintwork if you do a lot of motorway miles. Worth upgrading headlights if winter/night driving. No fun in the wet, aquaplanes like a hovercraft.

ETA but remember it is a TVR not a BMW. If you are expecting german levels of build quality & reliability, think again.

Edited by 97octane on Wednesday 26th September 14:00

[Gooner]

I've used mine most days for the past 4 years and I park it in the street. 97 Griff 500. I do about 7k miles a year, everything from town driving to motorway business trips. Between me and my wife we have 3 decent cars to chose from (people carrier, her RX8) but I always choose the Griff unless it is snowing or I have to cart the kids somewhere (they all prefer the Griff by the way).

Pros (apart from the obvious grin factor):
Running it regularly stops all those niggly problems you get from car like this standing around - things perishing, eletrical connections getting damp etc.
Engine seems to like being used (!)
You learn a lot more about driving it which means you can enjoy it more, especially if you have any mods like adjustable dampers, you can get it just right, and you spot any problems quicker
Everyone gets to know you drive a cool car

Cons
Consumables get used up quicker obviously (tyres, oil etc.) and these aren't so cheap in a Griff
Paint is going to get more scratched. I don't mean major problems, just the every day wear and tear which dulls it down. Doesn't bother me but not good if you like that showroom look. TVR paint is softer than most cars because its sprayed on fibreglass and can't be baked in the same way.
A few fittings seem to wear quicker than mass production cars e.g. door handles, rubber trim (because of the engine heat), any rubber pipes etc. in the engine bay. You just need to deal with these as they happen whereas in a Eurobox you probably don't even think about it. Basically you have to work harder if the car isn't going to look a bit frayed at the edges.
You need to get used to the roof up/down procedure. I do it without thinking now but if it bugs you it might be a pain.

On balance I'd say its better to drive it everyday than leave it standing, unless you have a climate controlled garage and a mechanic checking it every now and then so its on the button when you need it.

The times I've wished I had something different to drive in the last 4 years I can count on one hand.

Hope this helps

gooner

[dnb]

I use (and abuse ) the Griff daily, apart from the "few" months when it was having it's 10th birthday rebuild.

No major problems have occured from use. But plenty have occured from the simple fact that it's now an old car, and things are simply wearing out.

[Corky]

Had mine for 5 years, do 8k per year, servicing costs are higher than a lot of other cars but the grin factor makes it worthwhile, used in all conditions although heavy rain can be a bit difficult IMHO!

[scorcher]

97octane said:

ETA but remember it is a TVR not a BMW. If you are expecting german levels of build quality & reliability, think again.

Why do people always think BMWs are well built and reliable? My low mileage 96 M3 Evo was shite on both counts and I got rid of it after 8 months.Had the Griff for 2.5 years now and haven't had to spend half so much on it.
Buy a good Griff,use it and enjoy it!!

[Ross_328i_sport]

Thanks for all the comments ands one thing is that you havn't put me off .


I agree with Scorcher in that german build quality isnt always as good as its reputation although you do notice it when i drive other cars how solid the bmw is. Although when i drive the kit car i dont notice the difference in build quality.

What i hope for in the grifith and i wonder if you can confirm will it be as fun to drive as the westfield i have or not ?

Thanks

Ross

[Ash-man]

hi, use mine every day for pleasure not work,done 18000miles this year ,dont use it for work,main expense for me is petrol,i drop oil out every 4000miles,if it has any probs i sort it straight away,it saves money long term.treat chassis every 2 years ,it as new.engine seems strong for 80000+miles,never had any reliabilty isues it always starts 1st time etc,servicing cost are very reasonable at independents,not many cars with the sort of performance a griff has available at prices involved in griff ownership,i would strongly recomend as a pure british built sports car for every day use.and in my eyes an absolute bargain if you by a good one.

[FlipFlopGriff]

Mrs FFG has used a '97 500 for the last 4 and a half years. No PAS. She loves it. Not that much more expensive than a normal car to run really if looked after and much more grin factor - fuel is the biggest difference (average 15-16mpg as opposed to my diesel around 50mpg).
FFG