Very Reliable TVR's

[rev-erend]

These forum's can start too make our car's look
a little un-reliable - so to start the ball
rolling : my 450 SEAC has just done 1500 miles
in a week around France without a single problem.

The only problem was with the French police for speeding... doh !

[rev-erend]

MUNGO - Can't believe you sold up and
bought a SEAT - only kidding .. I could do with
something a bit quieter sometimes ... perhaps
the gendarmies might not have noticed me on the N23 last week if I was in something quieter !

It is really time to shout how reliable these
wedges really are - they are not really as bad
as these forums might make them look.




>> Edited by rev-erend on Monday 7th July 16:47

[arcturus]

I wholeheartedly agree that Wedges can indeed be very reliable.

I use mine as my daily commute and run-around all through the year and it has proven to be more reliable than my 18 month old Peugeot!!

I firmly believe that a lot of the unreliability issues are caused by lack of use.

I have covered 18,000 miles in 19 months in all weathers without what I would call a major incident. It too has been hauled around France with no hiccups.

You can look at the car history under my profile to see exactly what I have done to it over that time. Oh and it lives outside at the moment - no comfy garage for my pride and joy .

Having said all that, I will probably go to start it up tomorrow and discover that the engine has fallen out or something!!

Dave



>> Edited by arcturus on Monday 7th July 17:18

>> Edited by arcturus on Monday 7th July 17:19

[dickymint]

Dave you are spot on. I too run my 350 every day,have done for seven years,do not own a second car,it lives out on the street (IMHO better than a damp garage),had no major problems(well nothing a couple of quid and a hammer couldnt fix)And yes i think your right that most owners problems stem from not driving them regularly. Ban limited mileage insurance i say! And double the car tax for off road storage
PS.Tomorrow should see the millometer get to 80000miles
Happy birthday dear old Trev.

[RAW-SEWedge]

I've done 2500 miles in mine since I bought it last Autumn with no problems at all. (hope this is not tempting fate )

[redwedge5]

Did nearly 4000 miles in my 350se in just over a year. Never failed to start, never broke down and nothing fell off. Just keeping my fingers crossed with the SEAC

[Planman350i]

Sorry to break the chain guys but I've had a fair few probs since buying my wedge in March including overheating, dodgy immoboiliser, engine cut outs and suspension probs . Its just been into RT Racing for some work so fingers crossed I'm over the worst.........I need to get out there and enjoy it if I can still afford to fuel it up!!

[gemini]

had mine 3 years and all thats stopped her was the immobilser sticking on!
reliable to the end

[wedg1e]

On the whole, both my Wedges have been fine - if you discount the various apparent major problems, which, since I tackled them before they dropped me in it, meant they weren't unreliability issues. Thereby hangs the key, I think: use your eyes! Look round the bloody car, fiddle with bits, learn what 'good' looks and feels like so you know when 'bad' happens.

Ian

[york33]

Can rely on my baby, come rain, sun, wind, snow, sleet or thunder she's always there for me. You can always rely on her to be sitting, waiting patiently on my driveway. Sometimes facing up it, sometimes down, sometimes she'll wink, sometimes she'll flash but she's always there, awwwwww

Or is that not the sort of thing you were meaning

[gemini]

I bet when she comes out onto the road
(zzzzzzzzzzzzzz)
shell be a beast!

come on

or we'll send the boys round!

[york33]

tell them to bring a toolkit and they'll be welcomed with a beer and pizza

I need a bigger hammer for percussion adjusting of my wheel bearings!

PS When I first got her, she did manage around 1000miles in a few weeks, with no troubles other than all the already broken bits! She's certainly developed a few problems whilst stood for the last year though

[gemini]

right name your night and we'll send a posse

why dont you pop along to thurs meet (in the euro box of course)

[york33]

Eurobox? The Wedge is now my only car, sold the impractical car and left with her as my daily runabout Assuming I get back from Manchester by then (brother graduating) and haven't had a few beverages to celebrate. I'll come along on the equally practical motorbike..........

We can discuss pizza and preferences.....

[TaSmania]

Great positive topic. Did 5k in three years in my first Wedge (a 90 350i bought in April 91) - never missed a beat. My 400SE bought last year had done 3k in it's prev 6 years or so so I was weary but I did 3k in the 11 months I had it with the only glitch being the immobiliser leaving the fan on and draining the battery - I took it off. I bought a tatty non running 350i this spring and after fitting a new battery it fired and ran no problems - a friend is now running it. I've bought a 420 SEAC which has a few leaks but other than the leaky (punctured tyre) one would expect the other problems as it was cheap beacause it had stood for about 9 years. Runs and drives a treat so I'm hoping it's as reliable as the others.
Cheers,
GB

[rev-erend]

Mungo - 90 mph in a 60.. and 750 Euros and only about 4 miles from the race trace.. my girlfriend was driving my car and was seriously upset about it

Sounds like the verdict is that wedges are reliable
when used regularly - personally I only use mine
at weekends as my daily commute is around the M25
and just too frustrating in the Wedge.

[rev-erend]

Mungo - go on, you know a TVR as a second car makes
sence.

My limited milage insurance for my seac is about £250
(5K).. and the golden rule for buying an older TVR's is always to keep a little money in reserve.

The Wedge models only real weakness is the rear driveshaft bearings (needs replacement every 3~5 years)
other than that they suffer from the same problems as
all other TVR's - radiators every few years, trim gets
tatty due to being a convertable, bits and pieces start to fall off (hence long service hours).

With 400SE's for sale <8K they are now a serious bargin
supercar and very underrated.

[montegogt]

Well, I got my wedge last August and although it gave initial problems, these were due to the previous owner not getting them fixed! There was the duff Otter switch, with no manual over ride. Worn out pressure cap and the engine needing the computer tweaking. Since then, the only problem was caused by me. See thread Throttled last week.
Like all cars, you need to open the bonnet occasionally and prod around and look underneath once in a while too.

Lee

[richa]

rev-erend said:

With 400SE's for sale <8K they are now a serious bargin supercar and very underrated.

I think you have to face the fact that unless you are very, very lucky, a 400SE for 8K is going to need a fair amount of work. Remember that the newest wedge is over 10 years old, with a chassis that generally seems to last for 12-14 years (lots of 400SE's having body off restorations now). Having just had a chassis restoration on my 390SE, I personally would be avoiding the 8K ones, and going for the 10K ones which have had this level of work done on them.

Richa.

[dickymint]

Notice how this thread is slowly becoming negative?