Can you only buy Tuscans from TVR dealers?

[porterpainter]

Hey everyone,

First post, so please be gentle!

I’ve been saving my pennies for about 5 years now and have finally got myself into a position to buy my dream car.

For years I’d been split between a Cerbera or an Esprit, but over the past 6 months the Tuscan has come onto my radar more and more...(I think having turned 40 recently the thought of some blasts into the countryside with the roof off on a sunny day has become more appealing).

Set my heart on MK1 S or a possibly a MK2 if the right price.

However, getting to the point, I very rarely see any private sales of Tuscans on PistonHeads or other sale sights and I just wondered if there’s a reason for that?

Whenever I’ve bought a used car, I always like to meet the owner and learn about the history of the car...and given everything I read is about buying on condition, that’s a bit lost when you go via a dealer.

Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong places or simply people prefer to trade their cars in rather than deal with tyre kickers. But seemingly the Tuscan more than the others I’ve noticed are all sold via dealers, and to be honest I don’t know enough about any of the dealers to know whether to trust them or not.

Any good tips for me would be gratefully received.

Thanks
Andy

[porterpainter]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your comments.

Yeah, I guess if you’re a seller and therefore have the hassle of selling, then trading-in or getting a dealer to sell on consignment is the way to do it as the buyer foots the bill in the end.

The only dealer that is near to me (Liverpool) seems to be TVR Mads, but they don’t seem to be a proper dealership, and other dealers are that far away that if anything went wrong it would just be complicated to get the car back to them for any kind of warranty support - unless something went majorly wrong of course.

Pete - I did see the ‘swordfish’ Tuscan, but if it’s the one I’m thinking of, it wasn’t an S and my heart is set on the S if it’s a MK1.

Cascade - I’m one of those people that never joined Facebook back in the day, and I flat out refuse to now

I was thinking about joining the TVR club, but then found a thread on this site that PH was a much more active place for TVR owners than the TVR club.

Cheers
Andy

[porterpainter]

2Gins - I was a teenager in the mid/late 90s and got the VHS of Clarkson Unleashed on Cars, where a Cerbera destroyed all the other super cars of the time in a drag race....so for 20 + years I lusted after one.

However, apart from the targa top...the more I look at the Tuscan the more I like the look of it, and I think the speed six engine is a bit easier to maintain.

Don’t get me wrong, the Cerbera is still a beautiful car, and I wouldn’t be sad to own one. But I’d always want the fastest/best model I could get, and I understand the 4.5 engine is a bit more fragile and costs a bit more for maintaining.

There’s not much in it to be honest, but with 30-35k to spend I think I can get more for my money with a Tuscan, and one in a nice colour looks like a super car that could still be in production today.

[porterpainter]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I’ve got a couple of options, but they’re MK1 non-S...but I’m still longing for an S

[porterpainter]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

Managed to buy a Tuscan S yesterday from a private seller, from eBay of all places. Very happy with my new purchase.

I’m sure I will have a lot of questions once I start using it in anger

[porterpainter]

SFTWend said:

You beat me to it! Just enquired about this car, then flicked to PH and found you've already bought it. Congratulations.

If it's as good as the ad and pictures suggested I think you've got a good one. Looked fairly priced for a tip top late Mk.1 S. Original engine?

I'll be interested to hear how you find it after a couple of weeks ownership.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

Sorry, @SFTWend but I moved quickly when I saw it come up. Good honest seller and honest car. Yes it's the original engine, but the receipts show annual service history and it's had whatever work it's needed done whenever needed. Paint work is original and could do with some attention (if that's possible without a full respray in this colour)... but from 6 feet it looks great.

Drove it 100 miles home without any issues. I might have to change the cans to get Mrs P in it for journeys of any length as it ain't half loud...loudest Tuscan I've heard anyway. Probably the suspension will take some fettling/new parts as it's all original too.

It's MOT and annual service are due in Sept, but I think I'll bring that forward to next month. TorqueRVT and TrackVRoad are both an hour away from me, so will check out the reviews and get it into one of those to get them to give it the once over and do anything they think is needed.

Very chuffed with it

[porterpainter]

Madwud said:

Is this the Swordfish MK1 S that was for sale privately in Dewsbury recently?

No, I bought mine from York.

Swordfish, as in the film?

[porterpainter]

chrishart54 said:

Must be the weather in York. I live here and my Mk1 Red Rose is also on original engine and over the last 6 years since buying it has been 100% reliable.
Hope I havent spoken too soon!!!

Touching wood - let’s hope so!!

Madwud said:

OK, thanks. Different car. Yes Swordfish as in the film.

Ah ok, I thought JT’s one was a different colour but it might just be my eyes!