Newbie seeks advice...

[The Stiglet]

Hi all, I've been reading the forum for a while now and think it is fantastic! You all seem like a quality bunch of people and that is why I want to buy a TVR and not some other make. Well, one of the reasons! I'm really thinking about buying a Griffith in the next few weeks/by the end of January but I will need to rely on your advice as all the things I have learnt about TVRs have been through forums and reading. I LOVE the car and the sound...of course, not that I've actually even been in one yet but I have been watching youtube a lot! I think now is about the best time to buy one of these cars with it being winter/the recession/lower interest rates etc and I'm thinking of the 500...good choice?!

I have about £12-13.5k to spend for the right car as have been doing some autotrader and classified searches this seems to be about right - would you lot agree?

I'd really like one that has been taken care of and will not require huge expenditure (like everyone else I am sure) and I wonder if I can get this on my budget?

Also, is 55,000-60,000 miles a lot on these engines or should I be looking for less? I still haven't worked out if the 500 is a highly stressed engine or not as it can romp about on torque.. but then I know we all buy these cars to be driven, um, properly...

I'd obviously need someone to check the car over if I found a good one as I've read all about outriggers and leaks and knocks and stuff but couldn't bear to make the wrong decision myself and get done over. So if anyone might recommend anyone - I live near Twickenham but am obviously willing to travel FAR for the right one and get away from London pricing.

Lastly, how the hell does the roof work?! Is the hard bit a targa top that you put in the boot? Is there any room for a squash racquet then?!

Thank you all very much for any advice you can give me. I'm excited and petrified at the same time!!!

[FlipFlopGriff]

Welcome, and you won't regret your decision.
Now is a good time to buy, particularly in the state the economy is, but is normally better to buy a TVR in the early winter months.
Condition is key and everyone will tell you that. Ideally find someone local who knows about Griffs to give you some advice - great bunch in general on here and I'm sure a few beers tokens should do the trick. There are a couple of sourcers who do the hard work in finding good ones but I have heard both good and bad so just be careful.
I know of a good un at David Geralds which has a brake upgrade, well looked after and well known car, and is having the outriggers done as part of the sale price, but is yellow which isn't to everyones taste. Can't help much other than that.
Mileage isn't an issue as long as its been looked after and serviced regularly by dealer/independant (check the stamps in the handbook). Regularly used cars tend to fare better as consumable get replaced quickly but again condition is key.
Roof is easy (ish) and fits on an angle in the boot so leaving plenty of usable space. A few have gone down the DIY 2 piece roof and there are a few in development but how close these are is anyones guess, price will also be the key. With the 2 piece the boot is then fully usable which is the only slight drwaback with the standard Griff.
Anyone help near Twickenham?
FFG

Edited by FlipFlopGriff on Thursday 11th December 14:26

[Ballistic Banana]

The Stiglet said:

Hi all, I've been reading the forum for a while now and think it is fantastic! You all seem like a quality bunch of people and that is why I want to buy a TVR and not some other make. Well, one of the reasons! I'm really thinking about buying a Griffith in the next few weeks/by the end of January but I will need to rely on your advice as all the things I have learnt about TVRs have been through forums and reading. I LOVE the car and the sound...of course, not that I've actually even been in one yet but I have been watching youtube a lot! I think now is about the best time to buy one of these cars with it being winter/the recession/lower interest rates etc and I'm thinking of the 500...good choice?!

I have about £12-13.5k to spend for the right car as have been doing some autotrader and classified searches this seems to be about right - would you lot agree?

I'd really like one that has been taken care of and will not require huge expenditure (like everyone else I am sure) and I wonder if I can get this on my budget?

Also, is 55,000-60,000 miles a lot on these engines or should I be looking for less? I still haven't worked out if the 500 is a highly stressed engine or not as it can romp about on torque.. but then I know we all buy these cars to be driven, um, properly...

I'd obviously need someone to check the car over if I found a good one as I've read all about outriggers and leaks and knocks and stuff but couldn't bear to make the wrong decision myself and get done over. So if anyone might recommend anyone - I live near Twickenham but am obviously willing to travel FAR for the right one and get away from London pricing.

Lastly, how the hell does the roof work?! Is the hard bit a targa top that you put in the boot? Is there any room for a squash racquet then?!

Thank you all very much for any advice you can give me. I'm excited and petrified at the same time!!!

Hi Stiglet I thought you were going for the S series?

Anyhow glad you have made the Choice to go for Griffith.

Its a strange market atm and I would think you could find a sorted 500 or 4.x for that..Really isnt that much difference between the 2 main things are that the 4.x are Catless and the 500's being new are a little better made but to be completely honest you'll see 4.x in better condition than some 500's and that brings me to condition...thats the real Deal cruncher....Condition Condition Condition...

I would advise getting to a TVRCC meet or PH meet and get to meat some owners and chat with them...once you get past the hairy chest and medallion we are really quite nice approachable lot and many will be able to guide you in what to look for pros and cons...

I would point you in the Direction of James Agger/Sportmotive/TVRFix/David Geralds to name but a few that come highly recommended..In fact David Geralds has a stonking Yellow Griffith for sale atm that was owned until recently by a PHer...I do believe it had a lot of work done on it.

All for now fire away withany Q's and I am sure we will happily answer them

BB

[Ballistic Banana]

they you go David Geralds and Robs old Yellow one ..Both said it and I had even finished writing my post when FFG posted his........I can hear it calling you

BB

[BlueBeast]

The Surrey TVR club are meeting at The Woolpack in Elstead just off the A3 Guildford next Thursday 18th December come along and we can answer all your questions and take you for a drive out so you can experience the cars.

[FlipFlopGriff]

BB,
You're biased on the yellow ones but it is a good buy for a solid car.
FFG

[Battlecat]

The Stiglet said:

Also, is 55,000-60,000 miles a lot on these engines or should I be looking for less? I still haven't worked out if the 500 is a highly stressed engine or not as it can romp about on torque.. but then I know we all buy these cars to be driven, um, properly...

I'd obviously need someone to check the car over if I found a good one as I've read all about outriggers and leaks and knocks and stuff but couldn't bear to make the wrong decision myself and get done over. So if anyone might recommend anyone - I live near Twickenham but am obviously willing to travel FAR for the right one and get away from London pricing.

I'm in Richmond and used to have a Griff 500, happy to meet up for a chat about them if you want. But as I've no longer got it you might find it more useful to get along to a TVRCC meet to chat to owners so that they can show you around the cars. The Middlesex region meet at the Ace Cafe which isn't far but don't think it's well attended so Griffs might be thin on the ground.

You shouldn't necessarily be put off by higher mileage ones, sometimes buying one with 50,000 miles will be better than one with 20,000. A few years ago my mate sold his T reg Chim 500 with 50 odd thousand miles on the clock for a very low price because people were put off by the mileage, but i've not seem many that were in better condition. Buy on condition not solely mileage. But having said you don't want to have a car with massive mileage when you come to sell it.

These cars like to be used and one of the key bits of advice i got from this website when searching for mine was try to get one with regular mileage, not one that's done 10,000 miles one year then 100 miles the next.

Ollie

[The Stiglet]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Ballistic Banana, yes it is true I was looking for an S earlier in the year, Hello! And might I say, well done on the memory front, I only posted 5 times or something! Amazingly the credit crunch/crisis/recession has done me a favour and I found a better paid job so I think I'm about ready to go for a Griffith - was always the one I wanted.

I've just had a look at the very yellow one on David Gerald's website and as much as that looks sorted I'm just a little afraid it would stick out in London like a sore thumb. Whilst I think that this is what a TVR should do I'm worried about getting it keyed or noticed too much by the wrong sorts and PC Plod! Disappointing because it does look like a good one as both of you say. I'm really a BLUE fan.

I would be really up for the meet in Guildford (I can't see the past posts so have forgotten your name...Blue...Beast?!) And if one of you would take me out that would be fantastic!

James Agger doesn't have any at the moment but he is one of my bookmarks as is Offord-Motor. I'm thinking it is much harder trying to pick a bank to give me a loan - too many all doing the same rate!

As a matter of interest do you think Griffith's will go up in price? Have they hit rock bottom or are they always a stable proposition provided you keep up with maintenance?

[The Stiglet]

Thanks for that advice Ollie, noted! May I ask why you sold yours? I think I might try this meet in Guildford so I can at least see a car for more than 5 seconds in front of me and maybe even get a ride! I'll also have to go and take a test drive somewhere before the serious search can begin...I can ask more questions! Thanks.

[V8 Animal]

Lastly, how the hell does the roof work?! Is the hard bit a targa top that you put in the boot? Is there any room for a squash racquet then?!

You can get a couple of sets of golf clubs in mine.
Apparently

[Battlecat]

The Stiglet said:

Thanks for that advice Ollie, noted! May I ask why you sold yours? I think I might try this meet in Guildford so I can at least see a car for more than 5 seconds in front of me and maybe even get a ride! I'll also have to go and take a test drive somewhere before the serious search can begin...I can ask more questions! Thanks.

No problem. I sold it after 2 and a half years ownership (that was 2 years ago) because i fell in love with the T350. The looks, the handling, the electric door locks, the cool interior, the flip paint job and just being more modern. My Griff didn't have power steering which i think in this day and age makes a difference, and i'm sure upgrading the suspension would make a big difference.

Good luck with the search and enjoy it.

Ollie

[RIP_puffsorted2]

The Stiglet said:

As a matter of interest do you think Griffith's will go up in price? Have they hit rock bottom or are they always a stable proposition provided you keep up with maintenance?

Prices are on the floor at the moment. If mine doesn't sell before the end of Jan then I will probably keep it until the summer and put it up again but 2k higher. Only reason for me selling at this time of year is I have moved house recently and where I am now is literally in the middle of nowhere so if it snows I really could do with a big 4x4.
To be honest I doubt you will get a better time to buy a decent Griff at a decent price than now.

[HRG]

V8 Animal said:

Lastly, how the hell does the roof work?! Is the hard bit a targa top that you put in the boot? Is there any room for a squash racquet then?!

You can get a couple of sets of golf clubs in mine.
Apparently

But why would a real man want to?

[The Stiglet]

Actually my father said the same thing after going on about reliability issues, water ingress, poor comfort, lack of practicality, seeing it made no impact on me whatsoever he resorted to saying, "But where will you put your golf clubs?"

Somehow I don't think my weekends will be spent playing golf! Besides I think they'll look quite cool poking up above the roof perched on the passenger seat

[BlueBeast]

last month we had 5 Griffs but if the weather is really bad some may come in the daily drive. We meet at the Woolpack in Elstead just off the A3 in Guildford about 7.30 till closing you are more than welcome to come along and ask as many questions as you like. Next Thursday the 18th December. We meet every 4th Thursday of the month but as this would have been Christmas day we are a week early this month.

[The Stiglet]

I'm going to try and make it over next Thursday BlueBeast, thanks. I will confirm that I will be coming closer to the time. Hope the weather is good for everyone concerned! It is important for me to see some and get the low down on a few things as I'm going away for Xmas and New Year. Would want to buy something in early January providing everything works out.

What would most people think of this?

http://www.offord-motor.co.uk/Sale.html

(Actually is it okay for me to place this here and ask advice? If not I'm sorry...?)

Cheers

[STEV8E]

Yeah mate, why not, only that is a link to all their stock, not a specific car.

[mmalbon]

There are quite a lot of cars for sale on the Classifieds on here, have none of them taken your fancy ?

[RichB]

The Stiglet said:

Actually my father said the same thing after going on about reliability issues, water ingress, poor comfort, lack of practicality, seeing it made no impact on me whatsoever he resorted to saying, "But where will you put your golf clubs?"

Somehow I don't think my weekends will be spent playing golf! Besides I think they'll look quite cool poking up above the roof perched on the passenger seat

Regards the boot space it is ample. My wife and I often go down to Le Mans and there is enough room for a couple of soft bags, a garment carrier laid flat on top, the tool kit, shoes waterproofs etc. etc. and still room for some wine coming back. It's a bit frustrating if you pack with the roof down and then need to put it on because everything has to come out to extract the roof but apart from that it's a good design and certainly quieter driving at speed with the top up than in a typical rag-top which tends to flap and bang at high speeds.

Now let's not let the rose tinted specs get in the way... being honest you Dad does raise some obvious failings with TVRs, they do tend to let water in, so you really need to keep them garaged, also they are notorious for flattening batteries, usually in about 10 days, so again they need to be kept on something like an Accumate, no one knows why but it's a fact. Also look at the outriggers and front wishbones they are the first places to rust and the outriggers are especially difficult to replace i.e. a body off job. The reason for this is that they are tucked up under the sills and collect mud, grit and dirt and unless the previous owner has looked after them they may be rusty.

As for comfort, on the contrary, I find the Griff a really comfy place to be and can drive all day quite happily, well you would wouldn't you!

Wonderful cars and guarenteed to put a smile on your face every time you go out but personally I wouldn't want to have one if it was my only car and sat on the streets.

[lockhart flawse]

RIP_puffsorted2 said:

The Stiglet said:

. Only reason for me selling at this time of year is I have moved house recently and where I am now is literally in the middle of nowhere so if it snows I really could do with a big 4x4.

OT but we really live in the middle of nowhere and during the recent snow hardly used our Land Rover. Best vehicle on snow was our little Citroen C1
which managed the school run over the North York Moors with very little trouble. Narrow tyres and light weight works really well in snow which is why you see so many small Fiats in the Alps. There have been very few days ever when we would have been better off with a 4 x 4 rather than a regular car and it seems a big sacrifice to lose a TVR for a lorry whose main charcteristic, 4 wheel drive (for traction on loose surfaces), you will rarely need.

My Griffith hasn't moved for a month for weather and travelling reasons and the battery was dead when I went to use it last week-end a situation now being rectified with my new Accumate. I hope.....

L.F.

er didn't get the quoting bit quite right did I...

Edited by lockhart flawse on Friday 19th December 13:10