Running a Noble
Discussion
Hey guys
Just having a bit of head scratching at the moment about future cars. I currently own a TVR Tuscan 4.0 that has just had a full engine rebuild. I love the car however I am getting married in May and I fear the service costs (combined with bigger house and small people) are going to price me out of ownership. So I have been looking about for cars that might prove to be cheaper to run but with similar performance.
My budget would be around £20k so this would put me in the price range for an early 2.5 from what I have seen, my question is really the kind of money you need to run it each year? I understand a lot of the parts are Ford so that side of thing shouldn't be too expensive (hope I'm right) but what about servicing etc can they be done DIY?
What is the access like when working on the engine, does it need to come out for service items (like cam belt) or is it not too bad when all the piping is removed?
Cheers for any advice.
Just having a bit of head scratching at the moment about future cars. I currently own a TVR Tuscan 4.0 that has just had a full engine rebuild. I love the car however I am getting married in May and I fear the service costs (combined with bigger house and small people) are going to price me out of ownership. So I have been looking about for cars that might prove to be cheaper to run but with similar performance.
My budget would be around £20k so this would put me in the price range for an early 2.5 from what I have seen, my question is really the kind of money you need to run it each year? I understand a lot of the parts are Ford so that side of thing shouldn't be too expensive (hope I'm right) but what about servicing etc can they be done DIY?
What is the access like when working on the engine, does it need to come out for service items (like cam belt) or is it not too bad when all the piping is removed?
Cheers for any advice.
Well.
Serviceing costs are generally about £600 to £800 if it is routine and that is every 6000 miles, Some guys do it themselves but they do know a lot about them, I would rather pay the money for setting the engine up.
Obviously it will help if you can get one with the LSD and upgraded gearbox etc but if you are looking at £20K I am not sure you will get that.
You need to get one with the correct ECU in it as well as thay can be a small fortune.
Exhausts seem to range from about £800 up to what you like if you want a Roush.
They have a camchain rather than belts and I must admit I dont know if they are replaced at any stage or not.
Serviceing costs are generally about £600 to £800 if it is routine and that is every 6000 miles, Some guys do it themselves but they do know a lot about them, I would rather pay the money for setting the engine up.
Obviously it will help if you can get one with the LSD and upgraded gearbox etc but if you are looking at £20K I am not sure you will get that.
You need to get one with the correct ECU in it as well as thay can be a small fortune.
Exhausts seem to range from about £800 up to what you like if you want a Roush.
They have a camchain rather than belts and I must admit I dont know if they are replaced at any stage or not.
The devil said:
Well.
Serviceing costs are generally about £600 to £800 if it is routine and that is every 6000 miles, Some guys do it themselves but they do know a lot about them, I would rather pay the money for setting the engine up.
Obviously it will help if you can get one with the LSD and upgraded gearbox etc but if you are looking at £20K I am not sure you will get that.
You need to get one with the correct ECU in it as well as thay can be a small fortune.
Exhausts seem to range from about £800 up to what you like if you want a Roush.
They have a camchain rather than belts and I must admit I dont know if they are replaced at any stage or not.
Thanks sounds like the servicing is around the same as TVR charge. What ECU is used in them out of interestcan you not fit a fast processing aftermarket one (used to own a tuned Twin turbo Supra).Serviceing costs are generally about £600 to £800 if it is routine and that is every 6000 miles, Some guys do it themselves but they do know a lot about them, I would rather pay the money for setting the engine up.
Obviously it will help if you can get one with the LSD and upgraded gearbox etc but if you are looking at £20K I am not sure you will get that.
You need to get one with the correct ECU in it as well as thay can be a small fortune.
Exhausts seem to range from about £800 up to what you like if you want a Roush.
They have a camchain rather than belts and I must admit I dont know if they are replaced at any stage or not.
Ahh thought they would have had belts, chain sounds better. Is the price of parts reasonable? One of the killers with the Tuscan is that nearly everything on it is made by TVR so things like heater control boxes can cost £550!
If you do the work yourself as I do a full service cost £150 for all parts , it's a STD Mondeo engine , lots of the parts on the car are not Noble only so can be picked up at very sensible prices !! Weak points are Diffs and gearboxes , also with a 2.5 make sure you have a MBE ecu !! Tux
Daston said:
Hey guys
Just having a bit of head scratching at the moment about future cars. I currently own a TVR Tuscan 4.0 that has just had a full engine rebuild. I love the car however I am getting married in May and I fear the service costs (combined with bigger house and small people) are going to price me out of ownership. So I have been looking about for cars that might prove to be cheaper to run but with similar performance.
My budget would be around £20k so this would put me in the price range for an early 2.5 from what I have seen, my question is really the kind of money you need to run it each year? I understand a lot of the parts are Ford so that side of thing shouldn't be too expensive (hope I'm right) but what about servicing etc can they be done DIY?
What is the access like when working on the engine, does it need to come out for service items (like cam belt) or is it not too bad when all the piping is removed?
Cheers for any advice.
Nobles cost you a fortune, especially them early 2.5 versions, i am taking out another loan just to keep mine on the road, i think it has cost me 3 times what i originally bought the car for, new exhausts, new manifolds, new radiators, new coolant hoses, new transmission, new clutch, new ECU, fuel pump and wiring replacements, the uprights are prone to fracture, the ball joints and bearings can be a pain to replace, the chassis needs contstant TLC from rust, have to take off the floor pans and replace them, the cabins leak, the turbo actuators go faulty, the electrics go faulty, the lights go dim when the fans turn on, the battery is a pig to replace, they get problems with tickover, all the lights are like candles, the interior is all bargain basement, the carpet is about 2mm thick, all the air pipes fall off of the internal vents, it is a nightmare trying to change a console bulb, the tunnel is prone to overheating, the alloy wheels are like butter, the air controls do not work, the reversing sensors go faulty, they are built to poor tolerances and camber and geometry can be way out on some cars which really affects handling, same with the panel gaps, the hub bolts are inadeqaute, the ball joint blocks are very weak, there has been a recent activity with people reporting broken engines, very difficult to get access to certain areas of the car and the engine bay, plus the bloody wheels sometimes fall off...... Just having a bit of head scratching at the moment about future cars. I currently own a TVR Tuscan 4.0 that has just had a full engine rebuild. I love the car however I am getting married in May and I fear the service costs (combined with bigger house and small people) are going to price me out of ownership. So I have been looking about for cars that might prove to be cheaper to run but with similar performance.
My budget would be around £20k so this would put me in the price range for an early 2.5 from what I have seen, my question is really the kind of money you need to run it each year? I understand a lot of the parts are Ford so that side of thing shouldn't be too expensive (hope I'm right) but what about servicing etc can they be done DIY?
What is the access like when working on the engine, does it need to come out for service items (like cam belt) or is it not too bad when all the piping is removed?
Cheers for any advice.
But if you get past all that and invest another 40k on top of your original 20 they can be quite a nice car.
lol, i'm joking, they are great cars, i think they are the best cars ever!!
If you like messing around with cars you will love the Noble, thats all we do on here is keep messing to see how we can improve our nobs, they are not just a car , they become a hobby, in fact messing with then can be addictive.
But if you want to keep some spare time in your life, i.e. not spending all your spare time messing with your nob, then a good alternative for you is the Lotus Europa, you can get a 2007 for under 20k, and it is very easy to take them to 300bhp, it is just a VX220 turbo in essence, or even a Cayman S with supercharger which can acheive 400bhp, they are my alternatives, if you are wanting to keep a low maintenance performance car for under 20k that is.
R0162 said:
Nobles cost you a fortune, especially them early 2.5 versions, i am taking out another loan just to keep mine on the road, i think it has cost me 3 times what i originally bought the car for, new exhausts, new manifolds, new radiators, new coolant hoses, new transmission, new clutch, new ECU, fuel pump and wiring replacements, the uprights are prone to fracture, the ball joints and bearings can be a pain to replace, the chassis needs contstant TLC from rust, have to take off the floor pans and replace them, the cabins leak, the turbo actuators go faulty, the electrics go faulty, the lights go dim when the fans turn on, the battery is a pig to replace, they get problems with tickover, all the lights are like candles, the interior is all bargain basement, the carpet is about 2mm thick, all the air pipes fall off of the internal vents, it is a nightmare trying to change a console bulb, the tunnel is prone to overheating, the alloy wheels are like butter, the air controls do not work, the reversing sensors go faulty, they are built to poor tolerances and camber and geometry can be way out on some cars which really affects handling, same with the panel gaps, the hub bolts are inadeqaute, the ball joint blocks are very weak, there has been a recent activity with people reporting broken engines, very difficult to get access to certain areas of the car and the engine bay, plus the bloody wheels sometimes fall off......
But if you get past all that and invest another 40k on top of your original 20 they can be quite a nice car.
lol, i'm joking, they are great cars, i think they are the best cars ever!!
If you like messing around with cars you will love the Noble, thats all we do on here is keep messing to see how we can improve our nobs, they are not just a car , they become a hobby, in fact messing with then can be addictive.
But if you want to keep some spare time in your life, i.e. not spending all your spare time messing with your nob, then a good alternative for you is the Lotus Europa, you can get a 2007 for under 20k, and it is very easy to take them to 300bhp, it is just a VX220 turbo in essence, or even a Cayman S with supercharger which can acheive 400bhp, they are my alternatives, if you are wanting to keep a low maintenance performance car for under 20k that is.
So just a couple of things But if you get past all that and invest another 40k on top of your original 20 they can be quite a nice car.
lol, i'm joking, they are great cars, i think they are the best cars ever!!
If you like messing around with cars you will love the Noble, thats all we do on here is keep messing to see how we can improve our nobs, they are not just a car , they become a hobby, in fact messing with then can be addictive.
But if you want to keep some spare time in your life, i.e. not spending all your spare time messing with your nob, then a good alternative for you is the Lotus Europa, you can get a 2007 for under 20k, and it is very easy to take them to 300bhp, it is just a VX220 turbo in essence, or even a Cayman S with supercharger which can acheive 400bhp, they are my alternatives, if you are wanting to keep a low maintenance performance car for under 20k that is.
I love to tinker with cars one of the things I loved about the Supra's I had in the past was being able to take them apart or mod them. Thats one of the things I miss with the Tuscan, part of it is due to the fact a lot of the owners would rather take them to the dealers to fix or because the parts them selfs are only avaliable through TVR the costs are quite high.
Oh and I read your rebuild thread, man what a fantastic job you have done. I would love to have the space to do such a task (I have asked for a double garage in the new house lol) hat off to you sir!
worth mentioning that I bought my 3L car for 23k 3 years ago... ran mine as a company car for 2 years were I did 35k miles... I never did ANY mods, didnt have an lsd in my 5 speed box or a track day sump, car got serviced by noble dealer and most expensive service cost me 1k including rear tyres.
It never let me down, started every day rain or shine, even did an average of 30mpg.
I started modifying the car a year ago and have not stopped spending money... mainly as I have got carried away but have had a few costly issues as well, I think even Urb would be surprised at what the car cost me last year.
Point is IF your sensible, budget consious and look for the right car it can be very cheap to run... service them yourselves and they can be even cheaper... start playing of get unlucky and you could spend big money, similar to a TVR I guess lol
It never let me down, started every day rain or shine, even did an average of 30mpg.
I started modifying the car a year ago and have not stopped spending money... mainly as I have got carried away but have had a few costly issues as well, I think even Urb would be surprised at what the car cost me last year.
Point is IF your sensible, budget consious and look for the right car it can be very cheap to run... service them yourselves and they can be even cheaper... start playing of get unlucky and you could spend big money, similar to a TVR I guess lol
Cheers
You sound like a perfect candidate for joining the nobility, they are certainly a lot of fun to tinker about on, they are just such a simple car, i know very little about cars really, but i somehow managed to pull the Noble apart and rebuild it.
You will get a few little quirks with the car, which would cost a lot if taken to a mechanic all the time but these jobs are all easy maintenace, the parts are next to nothing, if you do all the labour yourself then they are not expensive cars to maintain, i.e. removing and resealing the floor pan can cost £400.... but if you do it yourself it only costs you one days labour, a bag of rivets and a tube of sealant.
You sound like a perfect candidate for joining the nobility, they are certainly a lot of fun to tinker about on, they are just such a simple car, i know very little about cars really, but i somehow managed to pull the Noble apart and rebuild it.
You will get a few little quirks with the car, which would cost a lot if taken to a mechanic all the time but these jobs are all easy maintenace, the parts are next to nothing, if you do all the labour yourself then they are not expensive cars to maintain, i.e. removing and resealing the floor pan can cost £400.... but if you do it yourself it only costs you one days labour, a bag of rivets and a tube of sealant.
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