Thinking of an S - or a Chim... Help!

[JUD]

Right - I have been lurking here for quite a time, pondering on what to do.

Let me set the context.

My daily driver is a diesel - yawn, but it does the job.

I have an MK Indy BEC for fast road/track use.

I am looking for a car that my wife would find civilised enough to go in - the Indy is a bit extreme. The idea of the car is for weekends away, trips out and then general fun for yours truly.

Always had a hankering for a TVR - for years... test drove and S2 when they first came out.

The question is should I get an S or a Chim? Neither will be as quick as the BEC, so speed and handling is not the main driver. I have read a lot on here that the S is a more "sporty" car, which appeals as although it needs to be SWMBO friendly it need not be soft.

Fortunately my procrastination on what to do has driven my wife to state "oh for god sake just get a TVR!" Green Light

Only problem is which one!

Obviously I should test drive both, but any advise would be welcome.

Cheers

Martin

[Barkychoc]

If Mrs JUD needs power steering then the Chim is your only option.
Otherwise if you're asking on the S forum you know what the answer is!

S is more seat of the pants (fun), Chim is a softer cruiser personality.
I wouldn't say one is better than the other, they are quite different cars.

You really need to drive both, and make sure you drive more than one of each, or get along to your local TVR meeting and get someone to take you out, though there may not be many S's there.

Edited by Barkychoc on Wednesday 1st July 19:18

[MnS]

Buy an S, faced with the same thoughts last year and pleased i made the right choice, its a great handling car, straight forward(ish) to work on, great forum, plenty help if needed. Or you could go with the crowd. You are obviously being swayed here for a reason.
My missus drives the S (sometimes) and finds it ok and not too heavy.
The choice is yours though.

[Andy Nelson]

I was in the same situation (diesel commuter) but no race car, three months

I also had the same line - ' just bloody buy one'

I went for an S for a number of reasons

Better condition for the money
Not a golf cart!!!
Alot of spares very easy to come by (but not front indicators as I have observed on this forum)
Easy to work on

Not as quick or as practical but more of a laugh and you get plenty of questions and looks on the road.

Doesn't matter which you will love either especially the noise and the help from other owners is brilliant.

Had it for 3 months driven it loads instead of commuting car plus any excuse and its still putting a huge smile on my face everytime

[neil240970]

Hi there, not sure of your budget but I guess if you're looking at the S and the Chim we're talking £5-7k, which is top S or bottom Chim money........

An S for £5k should be a beauty. A Chim for £7k could be walk on the wallet-draining side.

There's a guy called Tillo who recently sold his S for a Chim. He's back after about a month of ownership looking for another S, citing that "it just wasn't the same".

My OH drives mine now and again and loves it. She recently had her MX-5 MOT'd and used the S for a couple of days and couldn't believe how tame the Mazda was after using it.

Worst case scenario : buy the S, if you don't like it, get a Chim next Winter. Best get in quick before the sun disappears

I would also agree that the help available on this forum is brilliant!

If it's a toy get the S for sure, the Chim might be a better bet as a daily driver, purely on the basis that it's more civilised, got a bigger boot and the PAS option. The S, however, is a grin all the time. A number of people post on this forum how much they miss their old S.........

At current prices I really don't think you can go wrong with an S - I sold my TR6 and bought my S for less than half the price I got for the TR and would never go back.

Drive them both and buy on condition, see which you prefer. Be warned though, once you've got the soundtrack (V6 or V8 version) in your ears you'll be buying one!!

Happy hunting................

[phillpot]

What about a Griff ? have no experience of anyting other than an S but get the impression they are maybe in between the two ?

"just thinking" of one myself so any comments welcome if anyone has or has had one ? ( sorry if I've hijacked your thread )


PS whats an MK Indy BEC

Edited by phillpot on Wednesday 1st July 21:36

[Gerald-TVR]

http://www.fastroadandtrack.co.uk/frat/showad.php?...

My SWHMBO says 'gerald' (S2) is one of the most comfortable cars she has every sat it!!!!!

[Jed-S]

phillpot said:

PS whats an MK Indy BEC

MK = MK sports cars ( http://www.mksportscars.co.uk )
BECc = Bike Engined Car. Basically very light and very nimble and very quick up to a point where the aerodynamics of a se7en style car kick in. This isn't an issue on the roads though.


To the OP. There are quite a few on this forum who came from Westfield ownership - myself included.

I'd say try a couple of S cars before you decide. They all feel different and some feel more solid that others (ie mine). The one thing that annoys me about my piddly V6 is the exhaust noise within the cabin and that is down to the exhaust design. This hopefully will be resolved soon with a custom exhaust.

If you can afford it, do try V8S. Having just driven a V8S belonging to a nice chap on here I have to say that the mid range acceleration is really nice. Also they are supposedly better built and the one I drove certainly was.

Bottom line is that my girlfriend would rather be in the S than the Westfield that she purchased (that has since been sold).

[nownek]

Martin,

Where abouts in Oxfordshire are you? I'm in Pangbourne so right at the very bottom but if you wanted to have a poke around my V8S you'd be very welcome

Cheers

Harvey

[JUD]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think the fact that I posted in the S section of the forum kind of tells you where my heart lies.

I think I will start having a look at a few.

Budget doesn't stretch to a Griff, and I get the point that a good, sorted S would cost the same as a tired Chim which then may become a money pit.

Power Steering won't be an issue as SWMBO won't be driving it that often .

Harvey - thanks for the offer, I am in North OXON. I'll give you a shout if I need help.

Off to start searching - will keep you posted.

Cheers

Martin

[Dave_M]

Good luck Martin, never had a Chim but i like all TVRs. As said earlier, cost is a positive for the S. They certainly have a chuckable feel to them too.

You could do worse than visit local TVR CC meetings, there may not be many S's there but there are bound to be people with some experience.

Dave

[Barkychoc]

The other thing is that there are far less S's about than Chim's - so if you get an S and want to move it on I reckon you'll have an easier time selling it.

Looking at the classifieds today there are 16 S's for sale and 84 Chimaeras!