Living with a Sagaris

[K Lo]

Guys

I am thinking about getting one but am a little hesitant because of reliability issues. Is it really a problem? I had a ferrari 456gt for the last 18 months and apart from the massive consumption of electricity on start up (thereby flattening my battery if left on for a week!), there were no issues.

I find it's better to ask real owners than some idiot on this site who's just read about the issues.

Other car I am considering is a noble M12 GTO 3R.

Cheers guys

K Lo

[Jappo]

Based on your apparrent history I'd say you'll have minimal issues living with a Saggie - go for it.

[macca666]

Noble just looks dull to me.

Go for the Saggy.

I have a Tamora now and all thet has gone wrong is a heater flap servo motor.

I have done 20K miles in it.

[Tangoed]

K Lo said:

Hesitant because of reliability issues

I wasnt aware there are any! I've had my sag for 15mths and no real issues. A broken throttle cable normal ware and tare.

The Nobles are great track cars, and far better at cornering compared to a sag. On the straight its not hard to pull away from a Noble M12. Nobles just dont have the interior finish, and are just plane. But everyone to their own.

[mr sagoo]

Another vote for the sag, haven't had a single reliability issue with mine, so far its been faultless, most of the unreliability *ullshit comes from those who have never even been in one let alone owned one, buy one and let the fun begin.

[greenback]

no reliability issues with mine perfectly behaved another vote 4 the sag go 4it

[Pharoah]

No probs with my Sag - now on 16.5k and just getting better . I looked at a Noble before getting my Sag as weLL as I wanted one or the other.

The Noble is restricted from the point it has no boot so if you want to take it away the luggage goes on the passenger floor or in a small recess behind the seats. Rear vison is pretty limited, Interior isn't as nice as a TVR, it doesn't sound as nice (IMHO) but not sure what would be quicker in a straight line or round a track - I always thought the Noble was but I stand to be corrected. Lastly the styling on both cars is quite unique - I prefer the Sag but others don't.

[TGJR]

I think it would be stretching the truth a little to say that a Sagaris is as reliable as say an Audi or Porsche but for the type of car they are the history has been pretty good. It is generally just little things (such as throttle cable as mentioned above) which can be annoying but relatively simple to rectify.

Nobles are not exempt from problems either as I have seen turbos blow on some models. Never-the-less, they are a fantastic sports car, especially for tracks.

The Sagaris certainly comes recommended from me and beats a Noble on looks, noise and practicality if not on out and out cornering ability.

Edited by TGJR on Thursday 31st January 18:45

[eburacum]

My Dad has been a car enthusiast since he was about 12,he is now 72. He has collected many car magazines since then, he has read up on every car you can think of, been to most car type shows too. He has owned numerous cars, he currently owns a Bristol 403.

Never once have I heard him slate/criticise TVR cars, i have only ever heard him slate foreign cars for their value for money, expensive to run,even their build quality.

He states that if he was younger he would buy a TVR Sagaris !!

[bignips]

Owned my Sag 1 year now-it's outside and driven every week-engine not a problem at all-small coolant leak and some water ingress onto my drivers side floor, that's it.
Interestingly, my brother has just purchased a black M12 and i'm going to see him this weekend. As well as drinking a few (alot of) beers, we're petrolheads so the Sag and Noble will be compared and driven.!

[DJC]

In terms of day to day living, the Sagaris has the Noble beat hands down.

I think Dafty, Janwell and I have clocked up something like 80,000 miles between us in day-to-day living with the car use. I dont think any of us would hesitate in recommending a Sag.

Depends what you want from the car though. If you want primarily a track day machine and nothing more than a Sunday blast, you will probably be better off with the Noble. If you want a car that can do that AND take you and the wife down to the South of France for 2 weeks and take all your luggage...then the Sagaris is your tool of choice.

[hoopdiddy07]

K Lo said:

Guys

I am thinking about getting one but am a little hesitant because of reliability issues. Is it really a problem? I had a ferrari 456gt for the last 18 months and apart from the massive consumption of electricity on start up (thereby flattening my battery if left on for a week!), there were no issues.

I find it's better to ask real owners than some idiot on this site who's just read about the issues.

Other car I am considering is a noble M12 GTO 3R.

Cheers guys

K Lo

I'm looking at a 456 at the moment. Would you recommend one. I have two daughters under 6 and want something a bit tasty that can do the school run and excite me when I'm on my own. Just out of interst, why are you moving from a 456 to a TVR or Noble?

[K Lo]

Thanks guys. Sounds an impressive car. Saw it on debut and always liked the styling. Have I always wanted a TVR; probably not but it's definitely always been in the back of my mind.

So, here's a question, why not save £15k and get oneself a T350 - are the performance figures (OK, 4.4s vs 3.7s, 175mph vs 185mph) and handling that different? Or is it purely on looks? I was thinking of getting a 2007 Fireblade too so maybe wise to save some cash or is it just not worth saving

[K Lo]

hoopdiddy07 said:

K Lo said:

Guys

I am thinking about getting one but am a little hesitant because of reliability issues. Is it really a problem? I had a ferrari 456gt for the last 18 months and apart from the massive consumption of electricity on start up (thereby flattening my battery if left on for a week!), there were no issues.

I find it's better to ask real owners than some idiot on this site who's just read about the issues.

Other car I am considering is a noble M12 GTO 3R.

Cheers guys

K Lo

I'm looking at a 456 at the moment. Would you recommend one. I have two daughters under 6 and want something a bit tasty that can do the school run and excite me when I'm on my own. Just out of interst, why are you moving from a 456 to a TVR or Noble?

I would highly recommend a 456GT (do NOT whatever you do get an automatic). It's fantastically quick despite it's weight and it's one beautiful looking car; I loved it to pieces and trust me, I wouldn't be switching unless something had happend to it. It was involved in an unfortunate accident whilst at the repair shop - that's about all I can say. Not so sure 6 yr olds can fit in the back though - they are really small seats.

Just some figures:
Car - approx £40k
Warranty - £2k (I'd recommend this to offset any niggles that might be of an issue when changing owner)
Service - £2k
Tubi Exhaust - £1.5k (a must in my opinion - it's the same sound as the low grumble of a ducati when you put it on)
Battery - £280 (as mentioned earlier, I killed mine twice! There's a button to switch off the electricity though)

Takes a good 2 or 3 mins to warm up. If parking outside, make sure you buy some anti-misting gel or something similar to put on the inside windows; it steams up like no man's business.

Let me know what else you need to know

[GR1FF1F]

K Lo said:

So, here's a question, why not save £15k and get oneself a T350 - are the performance figures (OK, 4.4s vs 3.7s, 175mph vs 185mph) and handling that different? Or is it purely on looks?

As far as looks are concerned they are both great cars, but the Sag is more aggressive - some like that, others don't, but I can say that the Sag tends to turn more heads.

Performance wise, both are quick and in normal road conditions the quickest is likely to be determined by the driver rather than the car itself. However, as others have said before I find the Sag more driveable in daily conditions; torque at lower rev's means you don't have to give it 2k to pull away, whereas in the T350 whilst you'll get away with it most of the time you will eventually and inevitably stall at 1200.

The other difference is the ride. Superior damping on the Sag means that riding the potholes is less stressful. In a car designed to handle in the first instance in track conditions you are never going to wow at the way it absorbs lumps and bumps, but with the T350 it just felt too hard for my liking. The Sag on the other hand is a better compromise and you don't feel like you just damaged it when you ride over a manhole.

Before you ask, I did look at alternative shocks, springs etc. for the T350 to emulate the ride of the Sag but was told it would never be as good. It's the whole set-up which improves the sensation.

Others will doubtless have their own opinion, but that's my two penneth. Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Edited by GR1FF1F on Friday 1st February 13:06

[TGJR]

K Lo said:

Thanks guys. Sounds an impressive car. Saw it on debut and always liked the styling. Have I always wanted a TVR; probably not but it's definitely always been in the back of my mind.

So, here's a question, why not save £15k and get oneself a T350 - are the performance figures (OK, 4.4s vs 3.7s, 175mph vs 185mph) and handling that different? Or is it purely on looks? I was thinking of getting a 2007 Fireblade too so maybe wise to save some cash or is it just not worth saving

A valid question and not easily answered. The Sagaris set-up was sorted by the team from Noble (according to TG) so that should speak volumes about its handling. T350 is a bit of a bargain though!

[yellow peril]

Thing is, if a Sagaris has rocked your boat in the first instance, you'll always wonder what it would be like to have one.....

We've had ours coming up for three years now, 27,000 miles and no regrets...at all.

It's a great car....go for it and see you at Chatsworth

YP

Edited by yellow peril on Friday 1st February 22:45

[JonRB]

GR1FF1F said:

The other difference is the ride. Superior damping on the Sag means that riding the potholes is less stressful. In a car designed to handle in the first instance in track conditions you are never going to wow at the way it absorbs lumps and bumps, but with the T350 it just felt too hard for my liking. The Sag on the other hand is a better compromise and you don't feel like you just damaged it when you ride over a manhole.

Yup. It was that which convinced me of a Sag over a T350, despite the big difference in price and the fact that I prefer the styling of the T350 over the Sag, although I'm sure the latter will grow on me,

Of course, the vastly better grunt and performance of the Sag over the T350 swayed me as well.

[ginner]

I my opinion the Sag is more complete car than any of it's T siblings. I have owned a Tam and a T350 and whilst the 3.6 of the Tam and T350 seam to rev easier, the Sag is more composed and deceptive. The Sag feals slow due to its suspension set up, but the low down grunt of the 4.0 ltr makes it easier to drive around town and at low speed. The handling of the Sag is on another planet and i had Nitrons on my T350, there is no comparison with the Sag. what ever they have done to the pick up points and the geometry, it definately works.

J

[JonRB]

ginner said:

i had Nitrons on my T350, there is no comparison with the Sag.

That's worth knowing.