Daft questions about running costs
Discussion
Just wondering about Chimaeras 400s as they seem to be getting affordable these days. What I'm wondering about mainly is how much dosh you'd need to run one for a year....
So what kind of fuel economy do you get on a 4 litre? (and all others for that matter)
How much are tyres and what kind of life do you get out of them?
How much does the average service (at an indy) come to?
If I was to buy then it would be a second car (used at weekends and for longer trips) and would see less than 7k miles a year (mainly due to fuel costs)
Also is it pre 93 cars that are pre cat. Do any Chimaeras fall into this category or is it only Griffiths.
Basically for an older Chimaera how much would you want to have in the bank. Just trying to work out if I'm rich enough.
Also anyone want to guess how much I should pay for an early, non PAS, pre-underwingmirror door opening, non aircon Chimeara.
Cheers
Andy K
So what kind of fuel economy do you get on a 4 litre? (and all others for that matter)
How much are tyres and what kind of life do you get out of them?
How much does the average service (at an indy) come to?
If I was to buy then it would be a second car (used at weekends and for longer trips) and would see less than 7k miles a year (mainly due to fuel costs)
Also is it pre 93 cars that are pre cat. Do any Chimaeras fall into this category or is it only Griffiths.
Basically for an older Chimaera how much would you want to have in the bank. Just trying to work out if I'm rich enough.
Also anyone want to guess how much I should pay for an early, non PAS, pre-underwingmirror door opening, non aircon Chimeara.
Cheers
Andy K
ok...mine is a 400 and puts out 216bhp at the wheels
MPG...well....anything between 11 and 27!!!!!
12k Service was £1168 , had a few things but nothing major done (was at a main dealer, but will go to indy in future)
It has been VERY reliable (touch wood)
I am totally in love with it after nearly 2 years
MPG...well....anything between 11 and 27!!!!!
12k Service was £1168 , had a few things but nothing major done (was at a main dealer, but will go to indy in future)
It has been VERY reliable (touch wood)
I am totally in love with it after nearly 2 years
Mines cost about £3.5k in servicing and repairs in 16 monthes of ownership, but that is at the top end of what it's likely to cost. I had some bad luck with everything wearing out at the same time from the gearbox back! Mind you I've done 30k miles in that 16 monthes!! If your only going to be doing 7k miles then this figure will be reduced hugely.
MPG-wise, I get about 300 miles of motorway driving from a £40 fillup, and thats not driving slow but not hammering it. Expect between 18-25mpg in normal conditions.
Tyres - I've got Toyo's all round now, but the bridgestones that were fitted when I bought the car where already part worn and I got about 8k from the rears and about 20-25k from the fronts. Budget about £100 per corner.
An indy service is about £400.
Not sure about the cat situation, got a feeling all Chims have them. But in my opinion, if your going to get a chim then get a slightly later one (M reg ish) the engine was slighty changed around this time (known as pre-serpentine - older, and serpentine - newer) and also the rover gearbox was swapped for a Borg-Warner box which is more reliable apparently.
I picked my N reg 4 litre up for £12.5 in Dec 2002 with 63k miles on the clock. But if you look around now there are some real bargins. BTW, mine has PAS and is pre wing-mirror-openable, and non aircon.
I've not had any engine problems whatsoever since owning it and despite the repair costs I mention earlier, the car has only once failed to get me to my destination!
Last word is, get one, get one, get one!!! Great fun cars, well respected by old and young, rich and poor, unlike the italian and german cars who's owners sometimes get greif from jealous types.
Good luck and happy hunting
Dan
MPG-wise, I get about 300 miles of motorway driving from a £40 fillup, and thats not driving slow but not hammering it. Expect between 18-25mpg in normal conditions.
Tyres - I've got Toyo's all round now, but the bridgestones that were fitted when I bought the car where already part worn and I got about 8k from the rears and about 20-25k from the fronts. Budget about £100 per corner.
An indy service is about £400.
Not sure about the cat situation, got a feeling all Chims have them. But in my opinion, if your going to get a chim then get a slightly later one (M reg ish) the engine was slighty changed around this time (known as pre-serpentine - older, and serpentine - newer) and also the rover gearbox was swapped for a Borg-Warner box which is more reliable apparently.
I picked my N reg 4 litre up for £12.5 in Dec 2002 with 63k miles on the clock. But if you look around now there are some real bargins. BTW, mine has PAS and is pre wing-mirror-openable, and non aircon.
I've not had any engine problems whatsoever since owning it and despite the repair costs I mention earlier, the car has only once failed to get me to my destination!
Last word is, get one, get one, get one!!! Great fun cars, well respected by old and young, rich and poor, unlike the italian and german cars who's owners sometimes get greif from jealous types.
Good luck and happy hunting
Dan
andytk said:
So what kind of fuel economy do you get on a 4 litre? (and all others for that matter)
Well I get about 150 miles from a £30 fill up, but in 5 years I've never really worried about fuel ecomomy even when I was using it every day for work
andytk said:
How much are tyres and what kind of life do you get out of them?
Bridgestone SO3's are about £100 a corner and unless you go in for drifting should last about 15000miles
andytk said:
How much does the average service (at an indy) come to?
Well my 6k interval service/MOT came in at just over £500 but that included an annual WaxOiling and a few other bits but nothing drastic, I tend to budget for £1000 every 6000 miles if it's less than that you have money to spend on shiney bits, or performance upgrades
andytk said:
Also is it pre 93 cars that are pre cat. Do any Chimaeras fall into this category or is it only Griffiths.
All Chimaeras left the factory with Cats, doesn't mean they all still have them though
andytk said:
Basically for an older Chimaera how much would you want to have in the bank. Just trying to work out if I'm rich enough.
My very rough figures work out that if you have £250 a month disposable income to blow, not including the price of the car, you should be ok
andytk said:
Also anyone want to guess how much I should pay for an early, non PAS, pre-underwingmirror door opening, non aircon Chimeara.
Well £12k seems to get you a straight car
Cheers guys 
Hmmm, I can maybe afford it. I won't be in a position to buy until I'm based in the one place for more than 3 months at a time but its given me a rough indication.
Its either that or a new bike and the girlfriend is dead set against that.
I was thinking of buying a 10 year old car as it could then be insured as a classic and therefore cost peanuts. This would require a milage restriction and me to have a daily driver as insurance conditions.
That means if I was to buy early next year I could go for an early 95 car.
Andy
Hmmm, I can maybe afford it. I won't be in a position to buy until I'm based in the one place for more than 3 months at a time but its given me a rough indication.
Its either that or a new bike and the girlfriend is dead set against that.
I was thinking of buying a 10 year old car as it could then be insured as a classic and therefore cost peanuts. This would require a milage restriction and me to have a daily driver as insurance conditions.
That means if I was to buy early next year I could go for an early 95 car.
Andy
Fuel consumption varies according to use - pretty obvious really! At one extreme you could get 25mpg pottering around. At the other, a 500 will empty the tank in about 40 mins track day use. Quick mental arithmetic thats probably about 7mpg, maybe a bit more as I had driven to the track out of the tankful; about 30 miles. Say 8mpg then!
Realistically I averaged about 22 mpg with the 500 when I was using it on a daily basis for a year (over 18,000 miles).
Realistically I averaged about 22 mpg with the 500 when I was using it on a daily basis for a year (over 18,000 miles).
Would agree with the 21-2mpg overall, maybe a bit more than 25 mpg touring. I'd never related the track day consumption to time to empty the tank, but the 7 or 8 to the gallon is again about what we've experienced, and the type of track doesn't seem to matter!
On 4 litre TVRs, though not owned a 4.0 Chim, our experince has been maybe 10% more economical
>> Edited by daftlad on Friday 23 April 12:14
On 4 litre TVRs, though not owned a 4.0 Chim, our experince has been maybe 10% more economical
>> Edited by daftlad on Friday 23 April 12:14
That sounds horrific, but with with six £500? services, three sets of tyres at £600 a set, an exhaust at £600 and a complete brake overhaul at £7-800, which are all IMHO reasonable service costs for 36,000, we arrive at a little over £6000. It doesnt take much to get the other thousand or so...
I suspect many people who post on this site see servicing costs in this ball park, but rarely spread over two years.
I guess the logistics of running a less expensive everyday car and the Tiv for fun have already been looked at and failed??
>> Edited by daftlad on Friday 23 April 12:45
I suspect many people who post on this site see servicing costs in this ball park, but rarely spread over two years.
I guess the logistics of running a less expensive everyday car and the Tiv for fun have already been looked at and failed??
>> Edited by daftlad on Friday 23 April 12:45
daftlad said:
I guess the logistics of running a less expensive everyday car and the Tiv for fun have already been looked at and failed??
Shnozz, only the other day, posted some sensible words of wisdom on the very subject.....
.... I had to run away and hide rather than consider them properly!!!!
You only have to look up a few "members cars" (like mine) to see the range of costs that come up for running cars.
Ron,
Performance anything = bigger than normal service bills.
Cutting back on the mileage takes some of the sting out of the costs as they are normally pro-rata with mileage.
Down side, which you didn't want to grasp, is that it also has a preportionate effect on the enjoyment factor!!! No easy answer as reducing servicing costs tends to threaten reliabilty. No easy answer and I geuss it's flippant to say just keep "taking the pills".......
Performance anything = bigger than normal service bills.
Cutting back on the mileage takes some of the sting out of the costs as they are normally pro-rata with mileage.
Down side, which you didn't want to grasp, is that it also has a preportionate effect on the enjoyment factor!!! No easy answer as reducing servicing costs tends to threaten reliabilty. No easy answer and I geuss it's flippant to say just keep "taking the pills".......
have to agree - i bought the car to use, many folks leave them in the garage for 90% of the time. don't really see the point in that.
just like insurance - if you promise not to use it too much then servicing won't be a big headache, and you will get more for the car when you pass it on due to lower mileage.
if you can carry out work yourself, never drive it, and have another car to use they're very cheap to run and make good financial sense
just like insurance - if you promise not to use it too much then servicing won't be a big headache, and you will get more for the car when you pass it on due to lower mileage.
if you can carry out work yourself, never drive it, and have another car to use they're very cheap to run and make good financial sense
Thats one of the reasons to keep to 7k miles a year, as you'll only ever see one service a year which it would have to have anyway (despite milage).
The other is I can't afford megabucks for the fuel each month.
Still thinking though. You're only young once and it would be nice to drive a V8 while I'm still in my 20's (rather than be doomed to "economy cars" until the inevitible having children scenario
)
It'd beat any normal car on looks and enjoyment anyhow.
Andy
The other is I can't afford megabucks for the fuel each month.
Still thinking though. You're only young once and it would be nice to drive a V8 while I'm still in my 20's
(rather than be doomed to "economy cars" until the inevitible having children scenario) It'd beat any normal car on looks and enjoyment anyhow.
Andy
what you say makes sense, however what you say regarding fuel raises concerns. if you're worried about the gas consumption, what's going to happen if you get wolloped for a bill for a recon diff?
don't want to put you off, but these things do happen.
when i first bought my car the garage told me it was a goodun. can't fault them on that, but.....
if it's going to be a weekend toy, why not an elise ( though servicing costs won't be much different ) or, ( shh, say it quietly ) a caterham? think of it as a comfortable bike. you can be sitting in a fast 'k' caterham for 12k - such as this one:
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=22155&s=39
the club seems to be full of enthusiasts who love pulling their cars apart, so getting good advice shouldn't be a problem.
sorry - i really don't want to put you off, cos i've really enjoyed mine, but there are plenty of folks here who will tell you that tvrs are really cheap to run. maybe i've been unlucky, or maybe they've been lucky - i dunno.
for elise:
www.british-cars.co.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=lotusbbs&access=&mode=tlist&subject=2001
for caterham:
www.blatchat.com ( enjoy it while you can... )
all the best anyway.
don't want to put you off, but these things do happen.
when i first bought my car the garage told me it was a goodun. can't fault them on that, but.....
if it's going to be a weekend toy, why not an elise ( though servicing costs won't be much different ) or, ( shh, say it quietly ) a caterham? think of it as a comfortable bike. you can be sitting in a fast 'k' caterham for 12k - such as this one:
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=22155&s=39
the club seems to be full of enthusiasts who love pulling their cars apart, so getting good advice shouldn't be a problem.
sorry - i really don't want to put you off, cos i've really enjoyed mine, but there are plenty of folks here who will tell you that tvrs are really cheap to run. maybe i've been unlucky, or maybe they've been lucky - i dunno.
for elise:
www.british-cars.co.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=lotusbbs&access=&mode=tlist&subject=2001
for caterham:
www.blatchat.com ( enjoy it while you can... )
all the best anyway.
Chimburt - cheap isn't the word I'd use (and I've had nary a problem - see my profile for details), but definitely worth every penny.
daftlad said:In fact, the general impression I get is that if it's not used regularly the cost per mile goes up quite steeply too. The bottom line is that they are made to be driven and don't generally take very well to hibernation.
No easy answer as reducing servicing costs tends to threaten reliabilty.
Del,
Don't think you've been unlucky, but rack up that kind of mileage in a performance car, and you will attract those kind of bills. TVRs aren't cheap to run, they are cheap to buy if you consider performance and the degree of practicality they afford
If you want outright performance, buy a motorbike, but dont expect to use it and not attract big bills...A hi-performance motor bike as a comparison will cost £7-8000 in tyres alone in 36000 miles. Not chains, not brakes and not normal servicing!
Good luck with what ever you choose if you choose to bin the Tiv.
>> Edited by daftlad on Friday 23 April 15:37
Don't think you've been unlucky, but rack up that kind of mileage in a performance car, and you will attract those kind of bills. TVRs aren't cheap to run, they are cheap to buy if you consider performance and the degree of practicality they afford
If you want outright performance, buy a motorbike, but dont expect to use it and not attract big bills...A hi-performance motor bike as a comparison will cost £7-8000 in tyres alone in 36000 miles. Not chains, not brakes and not normal servicing!
Good luck with what ever you choose if you choose to bin the Tiv.
>> Edited by daftlad on Friday 23 April 15:37
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