£10k - £12k Chimaera - will this be asking for trouble?

[Squirrelofwoe]

Hopefully some of you knowledgeable people in this section can help me out.

I've wanted a Chim for around 10 years now- I kept putting it off on the basis that any meaningful money I saved really ought to be going towards a house deposit first, and the fact that due to renting for ages I was struggling to actually save any meaningful money... In the meantime I've watched their prices steadily rise further & further.

Anyway, I finally moved into my own house recently and have decided that with that major obstacle now out of the way, it's pretty much now or never to get a Chimaera.

My 10-12k budget is obviously very much at the lower end of the spectrum, but does still seem to throw up a decent number of examples. My question really is whether it's possible to get a decent, usable example at this price range, or will all of these be requiring a fair bit of immediate work? I know the chassis/outrigger condition is the biggie and I've read a fair about the common upgrades/fixes, but is there anything else specific to the Chim that I should be looking out for, checking on viewing etc?

It will be purchased as a second car as I need my estate for my mobile DJ business, but my commute to my day job is close enough (and along interesting enough roads) that I'd use the Chim instead whenever the weather was half decent. It certainly wouldn't be a garage queen, and in fact would live on my drive under a cover for most of the year, only getting stored in the dry over at my parent's place during the winter. Regular usability would very much be the main priority (along with making a good noise).

So realistically I'd be hoping to do roughly half of my annual mileage in it, up to around 6,000ish- British weather permitting!

I'm happy doing basic-moderate spannering myself as required, but I'm not someone who derives significant joy spending every weekend tinkering for the sake of it- I'd far rather be out driving.

Is this achievable with a £10-£12k Chimaera?

The short(er) version: I badly want to buy my first Chim, have a budget of £12k tops for purchase. Will be second car but used as much as the weather allows. I'm not seeking cosmetic perfection (it will be kept on my drive under a cover for 3/4 of the year), just one that will start most of the time, sound amazing, and put a huge smile on my face. Is this possible at this price?

All thoughts much appreciated

I was following Paul's thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... with interest as we had been discussing our similar plans for Chimaera ownership on another thread over in GG.

[Squirrelofwoe]

Yex 450 said:

pwd95 said:

What you want is one that's had the new Meta Alarm upgrade by Carl Baker & an engine rebuild...

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/tvr/chimaera/tvr-chimaera-john-eales-4-6-1998-r/5935970?v=c



Very nice 450 there for a good price

As has been said buy on condition and not mileage and preferably from a regular poster on here

Funnily enough that was the one that has brought forward my thinking by a couple of months! I assume that one is one of yours?! I do like the look of it a LOT, that interior combo is right up my street too.

I've no problem with high mileage having owned a 158,000 mile E30, a 140,000 mile Starion Turbo, and a 142,000 mile Accord Type R

What is the chassis like on that one?- I apologize if I missed it among everything else in the (rather excellent) ad!

[Squirrelofwoe]

Seandenyer said:

Can have mine for 12k

Is that in the classifieds, I don't remember seeing it?

[Squirrelofwoe]

jazzdude said:

If you are putting 6k miles on it per year you will quickly eat into the premium you will pay for a low miler.

This was very much my thoughts too.

[Squirrelofwoe]

pwd95 said:

Sorry, bottled it again! What on earth would I replace it with at that price. Think I'll sell the old Vectra & just use it as my daily.
As you were...

I thought the advert ninjas had been at work during the night

Don't blame you though, I've been there before with one of my cars that I was letting go cheap simply because of high mileage.

[Squirrelofwoe]

Seandenyer said:

Not in classifieds, I just don't seem to drive it enough,

Oh fair enough. We'll if you were serious about selling I'd certainly be interested in hearing more about it, feel free to PM me if so

[Squirrelofwoe]

This one in the classifieds keeps catching my eye, purely from a colour combo perspective- the Bordeaux Red looks incredible.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Advert doesn't go into too much detail though (or perhaps that's just because I like to write somewhat 'comprehensive' adverts when I've sold my cars...).

It mentions 'perfect chassis' and that it's a HC model, but then I can't help thinking something must be amiss for it to be sub-£12k considering it's only done 57,000 miles.

[Squirrelofwoe]

pwd95 said:

Looks nice. It's the 'old model' with slightly different rear end & dash board. Being a 96 model it will have the same engine & gearbox as the later models. The diff is probably the earlier GKN type. 97/98 cars had the BTR diff. No difference on the road really but rebuild parts are getting rare for the GKN apparently. There is a simple kit available now to convert if you ever need to.

Thanks for the info.

It does appeal, although I'd have to find out as much as possible before going to view it as it's 150+ miles away.

I'm hoping to go and view this one this weekend: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t... as the dealer isn't too far from me and it looks decent, having the Meta alarm and a few other upgrades.

I'm also in the position that despite having wanted one badly for over 10 years I've yet to even sit in one, let alone drive one! So whilst I'm not expecting to find any serious problems in this regard, I thought it sensible before I commit serious time/travel towards viewing one particular example such as the previous one mentioned.

[Squirrelofwoe]

pwd95 said:

Older model again, different seats/dials. May have the old Rover gearbox (reverse next to 1st not 5th). Not a bad thing, very strong box, a bit slicker than the T5 in later cars & will go forever in a 4.0.

In the ad it says it has the Borg Warner gearbox, am I correct in thinking this refers to the later T5? Rather than the older (SD1?) Rover gearbox?

[Squirrelofwoe]

That does just show the minefield when it comes to buying these- not so much the fear of being deliberately mislead over the condition but like you say the fact that the seller might genuinely have no idea!

Still, I'm intending the Chim to be a purchase for the long term so I've accepted that this is something I will likely have to deal with at some point anyway regardless. I am at least well hardened (no pun intended) to seeing horrific rust, after my E30 3-series and my Mitsubishi Starion in particular, where for example the radiator essentially disintegrated as I tried to remove it...

[Squirrelofwoe]

portzi said:

http://www.neilgarner.co.uk/Car_Sales/

I have never been or met Neil Garner, but heard nothing bad about his TVR garage, the supercharged chim is defo worth a look at that price, and l doubt he can afford to sell poor quality cars worth a punt?

I've seen their name crop up numerous times in relation to TVRs, I hadn't realised they were pretty much on my doorstep! The supercharged Chim doesn't appeal to me personally, but it's good to know there is somewhere that seems to know their TVRs only half hour away from me.

[Squirrelofwoe]

portzi said:

If he's close by you could pop him and chat to him. Tell him your predicament, 12,000 to spend keep me informed of any potential cars that fit my requirements. I did this with X-works service in kirkham and they found me what l was after. I am sure Mr Garner would do the same??, especially if you use him for servicing etc too?

That is very true, I would almost certainly use them for servicing so I'll definitely look at popping round there and having a word asap.

I've also had a couple of PHers email me with regard to their soon-to-be-for-sale Chims, one of which is right within my budget and on paper at least exactly what I am after- so currently awaiting some pictures of that particular one, and I do like the idea of buying from somebody on here.

[Squirrelofwoe]

portzi said:

Quite true there are some great cars on here. But if you buy though a TVR specialist , he may know a good car for sale that he knows and services and mot's at least once a year, he can give great guidance on a car purchase. I don't mean to be little anyone on here, but a specialist like Mr Gardner or Mr Matt Smith at Downham market who will mostly have far superior knowledge of these pretty simple cars,than us mere mortals who play at TVR mechanics as a passion and hobby

All very true!

[Squirrelofwoe]

^^^That looks superb!! Bet that sounds rather good too.

I know, it's always sensible to talk these man-maths ideas through and get a second opinion

That's not a bad call on the outriggers too, I'm of the opinion that once I find a Chim I plan to keep it for a long time so I'm going to end up doing them inevitably anyway. On the other hand though, I'd like to get one that I can jump in and use straight away!

Cosmetic stuff I can sort out as and when, and given it will spend much of the time outside under a car cover it is never going to be perfect in that regard anyway, I'm more keen on getting one that I can use regularly.

[Squirrelofwoe]

portzi said:

I have no connection with Matt Smith Tvr at Downham , but if he was to recommend a car to buy he knows well, as sure as eggs is eggs it will be a solid car. Alot of P'heds use him so he comes recommended and again it's worth a phone call to ask whether he knows any for sale?

Cheers for the heads up, he's right up the other end of the country from me but even so I suspect it's still worth a call. It's another contact added to the ever growing list

[Squirrelofwoe]

StarmistBlue400 said:

Mines for sale (more than £12K) but has had everything done that needs to be done.

I'm only in Reading so if you want to have a poke around and a passenger ride let me know. It might help with your search.

I missed this post yesterday somehow! Thanks for the offer of a poke around and a passenger ride, I might well take you up on that offer if I can fit it in- I figured the more I can see, the better

[Squirrelofwoe]

Prizam said:

Also in Reading, also star mist blue chim 400. 10,000 on the clock and just had a chassis freshen up and ALL suspension components replaced.

Give me a shout if you want a poke about. 12k might tempt me if she is going to a good home. MIGHT.

Cheers for that, I'll keep it in mind. I do like Star Mist Blue...

[Squirrelofwoe]

That looks superb, that interior combo in particular is just

I've made the appointment to go and view six Chimaeras at a dealer tomorrow morning, should give me a good starting point.

Getting excited now

[Squirrelofwoe]

portzi said:

Pretend to be a scotsman with deep pockets, take someone who knows about TVR's, get on the floor and inspect that chassis, wheel arches etc, and if there is aload of paint and black wax oil gobbed all over the chassis and outriggers stay well clear as you don't know what lyes underneath!!!! if there is rust in the engine bay you can bet the rest of the car will need looking at as thats where all the corrosion exists from road debris, please don't buy on that day go home have a discussion then back for another look, its so temping to get pulled in with these cars and the noise !!! is superb.

Cheers portzi,

I've no intention of buying tomorrow- I'm a tight-arsed accountant by day, it takes me months of research & deliberation to buy absolutely anything... Did I mention I started seriously researching Chim's when I qualified, a mere 7 years ago back in 2009?

In all seriousness, I'm also waiting for some Chim pics from a PHer and plan on looking at plenty of cars before I make a decision. The dealer has been extremely accommodating (I appreciate that's their job), so I'm hoping to be able to get a good look at the chassis- which will also give me a better idea of what to look for when viewing others. They have six currently, covering the entire Chim value spectrum, so hopefully that should give a good comparison between different conditions.

The main purpose of tomorrow is to get a good look at them up close and get a feel of what I need to look for- as I said before, despite having been lucky enough to drive/passenger in all manner of cars over the last 10 years, I've never even had the privilege of sitting in a Chim, let alone driving one! That said, two of the examples I'm viewing are very much potential contenders on paper (I wouldn't be going up there otherwise), I just won't be making any rash decisions on them tomorrow... regardless of how good they might sound.

[Squirrelofwoe]

ray von said:

Seeing 6 in a day at one dealer is maybe not such a good idea either, you will not be giving yourself enough time to have a good look at each car..
Good luck though

Point taken, but only 2 (possibly 3) of them are in my budget anyway- I'm only interested in having a quick look at the others to compare what the conditions are like to the ones that are in my budget