How did you buy your's?
Discussion
I saw an add on PH classified, the cheapest chim out there at the time.
I arranged to meet the guy at a motorway service area some where near Oxford.
Met the guy, went for a spin gently tickleing the throttle after reading horror stories of tail slides.
The guy goaded me to "put my foot down" and "give it some stick" which I did to schoolboy delight.
I was soon hooked, we agreed a price, shook hands and arranged to meet same time, same place, next week!
Back I came, exchanging a bundle of cash for the chim and a folder of history.
You can picture it now, two dodgy looking guys sitting in an old TVR in front of the Little Chef counting out piles of cash
.
Anyhoo, of I went a happy guy driving as quickly as the conditions allowed, amazed at the instant overtaking abilities and smiling inwardly at the envious looks from the henpecked guys in their euroboxs.
All the wrong buying moves but my heart had said "yes"
.
I arranged to meet the guy at a motorway service area some where near Oxford.
Met the guy, went for a spin gently tickleing the throttle after reading horror stories of tail slides.
The guy goaded me to "put my foot down" and "give it some stick" which I did to schoolboy delight.
I was soon hooked, we agreed a price, shook hands and arranged to meet same time, same place, next week!
Back I came, exchanging a bundle of cash for the chim and a folder of history.
You can picture it now, two dodgy looking guys sitting in an old TVR in front of the Little Chef counting out piles of cash
.Anyhoo, of I went a happy guy driving as quickly as the conditions allowed, amazed at the instant overtaking abilities and smiling inwardly at the envious looks from the henpecked guys in their euroboxs.
All the wrong buying moves but my heart had said "yes"
.I started out looking for a chim but soon saw the light. 
Anyhoo... spent months checking out chims then Griffs.
The Griff I bought was too old, tatty and green so discounted it early on. It was only after driving maybe ten others that I realised how good it was. It was all the above but it went like stink and felt planted and just 'right'.
I went back to it, tried it again and I was right - leagues ahead of all the newer, prettier 500s I'd tried. Did the deal there and then.
Bliss for the better part of four years.
Admittedly, I got a bit fed up by the end - there was always something to do. Nothing out of the ordinary for a nigh on twenty year old car but a PITA nonetheless.
I'll get another Tiv of some sort within a year or so.
Anyhoo... spent months checking out chims then Griffs.
The Griff I bought was too old, tatty and green so discounted it early on. It was only after driving maybe ten others that I realised how good it was. It was all the above but it went like stink and felt planted and just 'right'.
I went back to it, tried it again and I was right - leagues ahead of all the newer, prettier 500s I'd tried. Did the deal there and then.
Bliss for the better part of four years.
Admittedly, I got a bit fed up by the end - there was always something to do. Nothing out of the ordinary for a nigh on twenty year old car but a PITA nonetheless.
I'll get another Tiv of some sort within a year or so.
Ahh ! It's here :-) Was simple for me.. Saw it, drooled over it, drove it once, fell instantly in love with it, bought it. First one I'd looked at.... Mad ? probably. happy ? Oh yes. And no regrets.... None.... Not even a little bit..... 
There's something very very special about these cars, and as someone else said on a thread recently, you either 'get it' or you don't'...
There's something very very special about these cars, and as someone else said on a thread recently, you either 'get it' or you don't'...Found mine on the forecourt of the local franchised Merc dealer... had been chopped in by the very elderly former owner for an SLK at the insistance of his wife, after he managed to get wedged half in/half out one day after parking too close to a wall in their undercroft parking (really). The Merc dealership were scared to death of the Chimp (can you imagine how often it would have kept coming back for warranty work at the hands of an average Merc customer), and I made them an offer they didn't refuse (well no more than three times anyway).
The driver's mirror fell off 10 minutes before I picked it up
The driver's mirror fell off 10 minutes before I picked it up
Similar. Wanted one for years (something about that drive down to Le Mans - hearing a rapidly approaching howl coming up behing and then a train of TVRs being driven with some 'spirit' coming monstering past). I bought the bible, did a bit of research on here (thanks PH), looked at a couple and bought the first one I drove. Is it the best I could have got for the money? - Don't know, don't really care. It's good enough, it's mine and I love it.
bought mine as a project, full of water in the footwell, hadn't been driven for over a year, needed quite a bit of TLC. It was the only one I saw, but i couldn't have afforded a runner at the time but just had to have one. Did take me a lot longer than I thought to get it back on the road, but I've not regretted it for a minute!
I had a picture of one on my bedroom wall when I was at school, so to stop me getting too excited when I looked at my first one I decided to take a mate to keep me sensible.Problem was the guy started it and my mate just looked at me and said buy it! I am back on the look out for a replacement one this year but Iam gone a drive a few more this time round and not take that mate!
.
.I hadn't grown up with a hankering for a TVR but woke up one day deciding I wanted one. Must have been a mid-life crisis.
I saw a car advertised on eBay, a '99 450 with 16,000 miles on it. The advert was terribly written - so bad there was a thread on it here at the time, all the words of wisdom advising avoiding it like the plague as it was way too cheap (discussion about my car starts with 'gf350 on 13/04/05).
The following day I appeared at the vendor's house in Bedfordshire to view it. He'd gone off to Wales to buy a horse so his wife gave me the keys and directions to a dual carriageway where I could 'exercise' it. She didn't know me from Adam and I'd turned up in a white Transit, so that was very trusting of her.
I knew straight away it was a bargain and went home to click 'Buy It Now'. But someone had beaten me to it! I e-mailed the vendor to say I'd buy it if the deal didn't go ahead. The following morning his wife phoned to say the buyer 'only wanted to see it but couldn't get there for three weeks'!
The following day I turned up with a banker's draft and drove off. That was six years ago and, on a good day, it would still fetch what I paid for it!
I saw a car advertised on eBay, a '99 450 with 16,000 miles on it. The advert was terribly written - so bad there was a thread on it here at the time, all the words of wisdom advising avoiding it like the plague as it was way too cheap (discussion about my car starts with 'gf350 on 13/04/05).
The following day I appeared at the vendor's house in Bedfordshire to view it. He'd gone off to Wales to buy a horse so his wife gave me the keys and directions to a dual carriageway where I could 'exercise' it. She didn't know me from Adam and I'd turned up in a white Transit, so that was very trusting of her.
I knew straight away it was a bargain and went home to click 'Buy It Now'. But someone had beaten me to it! I e-mailed the vendor to say I'd buy it if the deal didn't go ahead. The following morning his wife phoned to say the buyer 'only wanted to see it but couldn't get there for three weeks'!
The following day I turned up with a banker's draft and drove off. That was six years ago and, on a good day, it would still fetch what I paid for it!
Bang for bucks
Bang for bucks
Bang for bucks
With minimal research i decided the Chimaera 450 was the car of choice. At the time (4 years ago) it seemed i would have to pay about £10k for a fair example.
I looked on PH etc and found my car on Ebay. I bid but missed the end of the auction. The price went to £7450 but had not hit the reserve. So i kept watching till it was relisted with no reserve and i somehow managed to get the car for £6050.
I had to travel 300 miles to collect the car where it was covered in leaves and tree sap outside a very posh house with electric security gates. A short test drive then handed over the cash and went to my sisters. A couple of hours later and the car was back to showroom standard. I was a happy bunny.
Bang for bucks
Bang for bucks
With minimal research i decided the Chimaera 450 was the car of choice. At the time (4 years ago) it seemed i would have to pay about £10k for a fair example.
I looked on PH etc and found my car on Ebay. I bid but missed the end of the auction. The price went to £7450 but had not hit the reserve. So i kept watching till it was relisted with no reserve and i somehow managed to get the car for £6050.
I had to travel 300 miles to collect the car where it was covered in leaves and tree sap outside a very posh house with electric security gates. A short test drive then handed over the cash and went to my sisters. A couple of hours later and the car was back to showroom standard. I was a happy bunny.
I went to look at mine 9 years ago was 22 and wanted a convertible...in true style it didnt start but went back dealer took me down the road and I knew I was having it. Didnt look at anything really didnt care at that point. I just cant ever see me selling my car especially now after my recent rebuild.
Chilliman said:
Interesting that all the advice given on PH on Chim purchase is usually look at and drive as many as you can... said advice doesn't seem to have been followed in the examples above 
Seems more like love at first sight applies 
Certainly seems that way, all that good advice and human nature takes over Seems more like love at first sight applies 
.I probably shouldn't mention this but I never quite got TVRs. 
But, thankfully, that all changed when I was thrown the keys to a friend cherished SC450 Chim. I was absolutely hooked from that point onwards and knew that I didn't want to have one but instead I needed to have one! I just didn't realise that I'd end up buying one so soon..
We had a Hillman Imp in our garage and I had some fantastic ideas for it, namely chucking an Imprezza lump in the back and having a 300bhp Imp. I'd done all the ground work and had begin budgeting for the project but after having a few rides in Chimaeras, my brother started making noises about wanting a Chimaera too.
We used to send links back and forth from the PH classifieds to one other on a weekly basis when we both spotted a very familiar looking Chim. It was very well known to us both, very well known amongst TVR owners and we knew that it was in tip-top condition so I agreed with my brother that if we're both happy, we'll go halves on the TVR and get shot of the Imp. After a few phone calls to the seller, we arranged to get ourselves over to High Wycombe to see it and us luck would have it the sun was out in full force!
The keys were handed over to us and we were off on a test drive. We were smitten! The pair of us tried to hide our smiles when we drove back up the driveway but I'm fairly certain we both failed miserably. We handed over the deposit which meant I had to get rid of the Imp ASAP to clear garage space. A friend and fellow PHer kindly took the Imp off my hands and will be carrying out the very same project I had in mind (if he evers stops buying cars or undertaking other projects.. 
).
So, now we have ourselves a Chim sat in the garage!
As it happens, the former keeper/tamer of the TVR is now a very good friend of mine and has been very helpful due his huge knowledge of TVR and cars in general. He's been invaluable, especially since he offers mobile servicing for all things TVR related and he's extremely handy when it comes to detailing cars too.
I probably shouldn't post his details on here just incase I infringe some of the PH advertising laws but if anybody needs/wants his details, please feel free to PM me.
But, thankfully, that all changed when I was thrown the keys to a friend cherished SC450 Chim. I was absolutely hooked from that point onwards and knew that I didn't want to have one but instead I needed to have one! I just didn't realise that I'd end up buying one so soon..
We had a Hillman Imp in our garage and I had some fantastic ideas for it, namely chucking an Imprezza lump in the back and having a 300bhp Imp. I'd done all the ground work and had begin budgeting for the project but after having a few rides in Chimaeras, my brother started making noises about wanting a Chimaera too.
We used to send links back and forth from the PH classifieds to one other on a weekly basis when we both spotted a very familiar looking Chim. It was very well known to us both, very well known amongst TVR owners and we knew that it was in tip-top condition so I agreed with my brother that if we're both happy, we'll go halves on the TVR and get shot of the Imp. After a few phone calls to the seller, we arranged to get ourselves over to High Wycombe to see it and us luck would have it the sun was out in full force!
The keys were handed over to us and we were off on a test drive. We were smitten!
The pair of us tried to hide our smiles when we drove back up the driveway but I'm fairly certain we both failed miserably. We handed over the deposit which meant I had to get rid of the Imp ASAP to clear garage space. A friend and fellow PHer kindly took the Imp off my hands and will be carrying out the very same project I had in mind (if he evers stops buying cars or undertaking other projects.. ).So, now we have ourselves a Chim sat in the garage!
As it happens, the former keeper/tamer of the TVR is now a very good friend of mine and has been very helpful due his huge knowledge of TVR and cars in general. He's been invaluable, especially since he offers mobile servicing for all things TVR related and he's extremely handy when it comes to detailing cars too.
I probably shouldn't post his details on here just incase I infringe some of the PH advertising laws but if anybody needs/wants his details, please feel free to PM me.
I was hooked the minute I was taken out for a drive in my friends 450. A quick blast around the town receiving looks from the elderly locals as though we were the anti christ and my mind was made up.
I looked at a few across a wide price range as per the advice offered here but didn't really gel with any of them so the cash stayed in the bank. My friend then spotted a new advert for a 450 in Whitstable (home of many TVR's it would seem) and I went to view it the next day after a nice email exchange with the owner. It wasn't cosmetically perfect and needed new tyres, wheels refurbed, a bit of paint and a polish from my paint man and a new dash because of the almost standard lifting veneer. However, the car had a sound history and the outriggers were well maintained and protected.
I made the owner an offer which he accepted and picked the car up two days later once I was insured and the car had passed an HPI check. I dropped in on Lepsons on the way home and booked it in for a wheel refurb and then left the car with my paint man to tidy the bodywork. New Falken 452's were then fitted and the wheels refurbed to an exceptional standard by Lepsons.
All in all the car was now where I wanted it to be and the dashboard will be addressed sometime this year. I still break into a smile when I walk into the garage and see it parked there and grin like a maniac everytime I start it up.
Should have bought one years ago
I looked at a few across a wide price range as per the advice offered here but didn't really gel with any of them so the cash stayed in the bank. My friend then spotted a new advert for a 450 in Whitstable (home of many TVR's it would seem) and I went to view it the next day after a nice email exchange with the owner. It wasn't cosmetically perfect and needed new tyres, wheels refurbed, a bit of paint and a polish from my paint man and a new dash because of the almost standard lifting veneer. However, the car had a sound history and the outriggers were well maintained and protected.
I made the owner an offer which he accepted and picked the car up two days later once I was insured and the car had passed an HPI check. I dropped in on Lepsons on the way home and booked it in for a wheel refurb and then left the car with my paint man to tidy the bodywork. New Falken 452's were then fitted and the wheels refurbed to an exceptional standard by Lepsons.
All in all the car was now where I wanted it to be and the dashboard will be addressed sometime this year. I still break into a smile when I walk into the garage and see it parked there and grin like a maniac everytime I start it up.
Should have bought one years ago
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