Glenn_R

Possibly thinking about getting a Chimaera to replace the Scoob. Would appreciate comments from anyone who has owned one after a Scoob. Happy or disappointed? Whats the best engine to go for? Any major things you should look out for when buying one? Recommended dealers?

Cheers

RESSE

iTrader: (1)

Drove a 450 some time ago (R reg) and was a great car, but some of the fit and finish was "not good".

Range is/was 400, 450 of the mad, bad and dangerous to know 500.

Main dealer in Cheltenham (Broughtons) are first class 01242 515374, but they are a Rolls Roys/Bentley dealer so expect to pay top prices.

Other dealers I have heard of are Mole Valley and David Hendry Cars.

Check Top Marques for up to date listings.

I (personally) prefer the pre 2000 model cars (they had the Fiesta rear light clusters).

Richard

POC

I had a MY97 TVR Chimera 5.0 V8 and it was a total monster, straight line grunt was amazing!!!

However, it didnt suit me one bit, it felt heavy, everything about it was heavy, steering (it had PAS), brakes, gearchange, even took effort to push the gas to the floor! We didnt get on, I had it for a long weekend and chopped it in on another car.....

Looked fantastic, went like a sodding train, had a soundtrack to die for...

Scumbag

Check out Pistonheads, they'll answer all your questions on anything TVR related

Tiggs

i went from a MY01 PPP scoob to a 97 Chim 450......TVR is 100 times more fun, gets more looks, sounds better, looks better, etc

i will happily own another TVR but i cant imagine i'd ever buy a subaru again.

Tiggs

ps- build quality is fine, when people look at a TVR they dont notice that a bit of trim might be loose......when they look at a Subaru.....they just dint notice it!

philz

I've considered getting a TVR as my next car but all I ever hear is how unreliable they are (usually from TVR owners!)

I saw a Tamora a couple of days ago so I had a close look, the paint finish was terrible, looked like a 5yr old had sprayed it and the headlights were (badly) stuck in with black silicon. They looked really bodged which kinda puts me off.

andrewdelvard

What kind of intrigues me is whether a TVR can be made right with time and modifications. Like dedicated RX7 owners go through with their cars.
Has anybody actually spent the time and money doing so? Can those infamous wishbones be treated in any way or replaced with better after market parts?
If there is one car on the road worth spending the dough on getting it 'right' it surely is a TVR.

killemonthecorners

check for soggy carpet in foot wells, these cars leak. service history is a must.dont get one with chameleon paint, stone chips are unavoidable and cham paint is upto £600 a litre. alloys are pretty crap too, a friend had a speed six and buckled all four wheels on a track day, and before you ask no he didnt leave the track or use the rumble strips, just drove it hard and they buckled. cost him £6000 for new wheels and a respray to bonnet to remove stone chips. unless youve got money to burn dont buy one.

also unless you are a really confident driver you wont like the tail happy handling.

Tiggs

chimera has been around for years....the wheels dont buckle when i drive it to work and it will cost less in maintaining it than i spent trying to get the scoob to look half decent.

The RingMaster

Have just sold my TVR Tuscan; will never *EVER*
buy another TVR !!!!!!!!!!!!!

killemonthecorners

why are most fo the tvr's i see parked on the hard shoulder with the bonnet up?

reliability must be considered.
i love the look of them and the performance is to die for but british build quality leaves alot to be desired!!!!!!!!!

Gussie Cup

I've had a Griff 500 for the last 18 months but kept the Scoob as well. I ended up driving the Griff for nearly 10,000 miles over a period of 8 months before I got back into the Subaru as I just loved it so much!

The TVR is phenomenal. So much grunt but treat it with some respect on corners etc and you wont lose the tail. Its only if you try to drive it like you would a Scoob that you have any problems.

I bought a 5 year old car that had gradually had all its little 'quirks' sorted out by the time I got it (with 36000 miles on the clock)- its definitely possible to work through any small problems and end up with a totally reliable, gorgeous car.

When mine started to leak I had the seals replaced and its been fine ever since.

The only reliability issues I had with it were when the alternator failed and I dont think thats a fault thats limited to TVRs only!

The noise is incredible and if you like a bit of attention, the TVR is always going to outclass a regular Scoob.

Before I bought this one, I looked at a few others and admittedly some of them looked a bit rough build wise and hadnt been very well looked after and I think they suffer if neglected.

Servicing has been more expensive than the Scoob but about half the costs of servicing a Cerbera.

I'm selling mine at the moment but only to free up some cash and I will definitely be getting another TVR this time next year.

Cant comment on the specifics of a Chim but I would say make sure you get one with a full history and preferably a file full of details regarding any upgrades/recall work thats been done. After 20,000 miles or so, any faults should have been fixed and you dont have to worry so much about depreciation.

Hope that helps.
Ben

CarpetCleaner

Thing is these cars really are 'racing cars' if you stand up close to any race car they look poorly put together

TVR's appeal cause they are cheap to buy and offer the perfomance normally associated with Lambos/Ferraris etc. With the Lambo/Ferrari you spend the dosh up front when you buy the car. In the case of a TVR the money you spend on the purchase price you spend keeping it fettled, in tune etc

You can't have your cake and eat it. The reason why you see many on the side of the road is not because the components are ****e but most likely because they are abused. They need garaging, kept in the dry, fluid checked regularly, used regularly not stuck in a garage for weeks and then expected to run without missing a beat

These cars are not Vectras/Mondeos in other words they need taking care of. They are not the appliances of the car world

Yeah you might get a badun but the majority will fail due to abuse, neglect or a combination of both

I love em

Tiggs

"why are most fo the tvr's i see parked on the hard shoulder with the bonnet up?"

odd, i see about 1 other TVR a week....but you see enough to generalise about the % you see that have broken down.

come to think of it, i cant remember the last time i saw any car parked at the side of the road?

T

audinut

I was asking a similar questions 2 months ago but have gone and done it.
Main concern issue I had was moving from a 4wd turbo handling on rails machines to a no ABS, rear drive oversteering monster.

I bought a 1998 Chimaera 4 litre after taking heed of 2 pieces of advice:
1. Dont get 500 if you are a rwd virgin, commute in traffic or are going to use it as a daily all weather car.
2. Buy as new as you can afford.

I tried higher power versions but decided that the 400 has plenty of poke, has wonderful handling, is tractable in traffic and is fine in the wet.

My main advice would be choose based on your intended use of the car. If I wanted a sunny weekend plaything Id have bought a Griff 500.

As for reliability, they made more Chimaeras than any other TVR. Later models seem much better screwed together than the early cars I looked at. Got mine privately off pistonheads.
Its a totally different car than a scoob. You have to actually drive the thing which makes it more involving. The reaction from other road users is always positive and the noise is incredible.
Try it!

Glenn_R

Cheers for the comments (and the piccies) guys. I went for a drive in a 4.5 today and thoroughly loved it. It had just rained before I took it out but it didn't feel intimidating as I imagined - just a little bit of respect coming off the roundabouts! Any boy did it fly on the straights

The car will only be used as a weekend car and kept in the garage anyway so everyday commuting niggles shouldnt apply! The only thing I didnt really like was the driving position which felt a bit cramped, especially in the footwell. Suppose you get used to it but wonder if it would be a pain on a long journey. Scoob felt as roomy as an S-class when I got back in it!!

Obviously I will have to change from the Scooby driving style or I will spend a lot of time in hedges. Gonna look for the right car over the next few weeks so will keep you posted.

Cheers

Glenn

Tiggs

glenn,

when the sun comes out (soon please!) and you take a drive out into the countryside to have a nice pub lunch there is NO car in the world that is as cool to be in.

it is a proper sports car and thats pretty rare....even on here!

audinut

Glenn
I was seriously tempted by the 500 as it is sooooo quick; but not for the daily grind....

As you are after a weekend car Id recommend at least trying a 500 before you buy. Might as well be completely daft. I saw the 450 described as 'faster than the 4 litre without without the demonic fury of the 500'.

You have to move fast when you see the one you want as everyone is buying at the moment. I found that several trader's cars had sold before they hit their websites. A dealer who was out of stock put me onto Pistonheads and I was driving my TVR within a week.

Just wish it would stop raining.....
Enjoy!

Tiggs

nice thing about a 450 is that you can, on occasion drive it moderatly hard. within reason you can play with the back end of roundabouts, etc.

in a 500 its a bit tricky to do that as much.

remember that a TVR is a more of a race car than a scoob....on the roads it WONT go A to B as quick because it doesnt work as well on normal crappy roads and there comes a point where more power is not a good thing.

T

Glenn_R

Been having a look round the classifieds and looks like most 500's are out of budget unfortunately The 450 really appeals but it looks like you can get a better 400 for your money! Is there much performance difference between the 400 and 450?? Is it really worth hunting down that 450 over a 400??

Also, any comments on higher mileage cars? Things that could go wrong as the miles go on??

Tiggs - I've got that vision of the cruise to the country pub on a sunny day. V8 burble - pie n pint - V8 burble. I'm sold!

G

audinut

Glenn
I tried 400, 4litre HC, 450 and 500 versions before buying the 400. The 450 feels quicker than the HC and 4 litre cars; mainly at the top end. The 500 was mad.

You need to try a 400 and see if its quick enough for you. Autocar tested it at 4.9 to 60 when they tested the 400 against the Honda S2000. It isnt hanging about!

There are a lot more 400s about to choose from. I was able to pick up an abolutely mint S plate 26K mile 400 for less than tatty R plate 50K mile 450s.

Good luck.

yorkmeister

Glenn

YHM

Gussie Cup

Just thought I should counter a lot of the "the 500 is mental" type comments....

I've done 12000 odd miles in a Griff 500 and at no point have I felt unnerved by it. Even in the wet.

Treating it with respect doesn't mean driving like a granny by any means, but it will only scare you if you bury your right foot whilst taking a bend etc but I'm sure doing that in a 400 or 450 would scare the cr@p out of you as well!

Try the 500 too and you'll learn to both use and LOVE the power it offers. Dont be put off giving it a try.

Ben

ScoobySnack

hmmmmmmmmm mad

Griffith 500 , now modified with some new injectors and a full ECU remap


J

fatherpierre

Forgive the question if it's stupid. But, can TVRs be squeezed for more power, or are they already tuned to the limit from the factory?

Never seen a thread on tuning these beasts.

Gussie Cup

Theres plenty of tuning options for TVRs

www.pistonheads.com is a good bbs for finding out more about modifying TVRs.

Many of the tuning companies that carry out the work advertise on there so have a look and before you know it you'll have spent 5 grand in your head!

Ben

Tiggs

a good 400 is better than a duff 450....but a good 450 is better than a good 400.....whether a good 500 is so much better than a good 450 that its worrth the extra money is dubious.

also bear in mind that there are lots of 400's about....i would guess that a nice 450/500 will be easier come resale time.

Glenn_R

Anyone recommend a good insurance company for TVR's as I have just been quoted £1700 to insure a Chimaera!!! I only pay £900 for the Scoob!!

ScoobySnack

Fatherpierre - yep you can tune TVR's (I refer to the V8 classics) by:

ECU remaps - gets rid of deadspots, better fueling and increased rev. Also ensures there is no pinking. Remaps can also take account of the changes below

Upgraded Injectors, Cam profile, airbox, plenum chambers etc
Increased cubic capacity i.e 5litre to 5.6litre
Superchargers
Exhaust cat removal (care needs to be taken as this can play havoc with torque/bhp if done wrong.)

All these are for torque/power but the best mods are brake upgrades, suspension and a good set up..

Imagines what each extra bhp or lb/ft feels like in a car that weighs only 1000kg.... manic


Insurance companies I know of that do special insurance schemes on TVR are:

A.Manning (Henley) - TVR car club approved
Sunninghill (Sunningdale) - insured with them at the mo
Pearl Associates


J

[Edited by ScoobySnack - 5/24/2003 6:41:40 PM]

imprezaless

Tescos quoted me under 1100 for a 400 about two months back..Im 27

Was tempted, but ended up with an rb5 (£800)

Was put off by running cost and v happy with scooby now