# TVR Opinions...



## Johnnywb (May 31, 2006)

Afternoon all.

What with the envy taxes announced this week and few other things, i'm revisiting the idea of chopping the TT in for a TVR.

I know a couple of you guys on here have got T350's etc and wondered what your thoughts are?

Would it be useable on a 'daily' basis?

(I don't use my car daily, probably two or three times a week, from short trips to the shops, to motorway miles, to hooning around).

The reason i ask is that it's pretty unlikely i'd be able to afford to own and run two cars, so it'd be the only one.


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

I was looking at a 1 year old TVR back in 2003 it was for sale at the main dealers when i asked about reliability the sales man sait 
" It is a hand built British sports car and you should not get upset if things go wrong now and again "


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## head_ed (Dec 10, 2002)

KMP ran a T350 a couple of years ago, so he'd be a good person to ask.

It was a stunning motor 8)


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## cuTTsy (Jan 31, 2003)

Do it!   

I think the best thing you can do is spend some time looking over Pistonheads but remember its the same as any forum some people only post when they have a problem.

I ran one for about a year and never had any problems.
Can you run one everyday? Yes but it's not your jump in and go type of car great care needs to be taken warming up the car as well as driving it.

Some journeys can be too short for them as well.

If I was going out today to buy another I would look for a 04 and up Speed six engine car one of TVRâ€™s biggest problems is they decided to test the speed six engine on their customers. The later the car the more problems have become ironed out, Just remember this is a British built sports car not a German engineered robot made car.

I would even look for a car with a rebuild. Try and get as much history about the car as possible and make sure the owner has warmed the car up properly when using it. They owner should know the oil temperature in ratio to revs during the process.

There are some real enthusiasts out there so much like this forum buying one from someone who has cared about their car would be a good move.

There are lots of independent places offering servicing etc now and the cost of servicing has come down greatly due to TVR not insisting on charging clients high labour rates. However each service is every 6K.

I would buy one again if my circumstances made it sensible to do so.

I had some of the best driving experiences in my T350 incredible sound and performance to match. Seriously fun car but do your research carefully and donâ€™t buy the first car you see.

You will love it!

Just noticed you are in London, you will need to watch the speed bumps :wink:


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## TVR_Man (May 21, 2002)

Firstly I suspect the original question is posed because cars classified as PLG in the DVLA datbase pay around Â£180 p.a. car tax (I forget the exact amount). So all low volume cars and many unofficial imports (i.e. not by manufacturers). A new Skyline which is personally imported would fall into this category, as would a Chevvy Suburban or Dodge RAM. Good news for petrolheads.

TVRs are definitely not for people who get impatient at every minor fault. Yes, they should not go wrong at all. But they do need tweaking once in a while. The more you use them the more reliable they are (apples to most cars I think). Don't buy without a good warranty and I wouldn't buy a car that's been sitting around a dealers for a while (because there must be a reason - if it was a good buy it woud have sold already).

Best thing is to buy private, with an inspection by a knowledgeable indie/dealer. Pistonheads is the oracle for all things TVR.


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## Johnnywb (May 31, 2006)

Thanks guys.

I spend a lot of time on Pistonheads so have read a lot of the info there, i just wanted to get the views of some people who had switched from TT's to TVRs.

Part of the consideration is the low RFL, but i've always craved a TVR, so i'm taking the increases as a hint! And with the growing reality that no TVR's will be built again, as we know them, now would seem a good time to take the plunge.

I will indeed have to watch the speedbumps!


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## cuTTsy (Jan 31, 2003)

I think that the difference in RFL shouldn't be a consideration as your increased fuel consumption, running costs as well as a insurance will make that insignificant.

However the fact that there will probably never be any more made and that there are only about 300 T350's out there is another good reason to buy one, try David Gerald as I think they had some of the last to be registered recently.

Go on a test drive


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## Johnnywb (May 31, 2006)

cuTTsy said:


> I think that the difference in RFL shouldn't be a consideration as your increased fuel consumption, running costs as well as a insurance will make that insignificant.
> 
> However the fact that there will probably never be any more made and that there are only about 300 T350's out there is another good reason to buy one, try David Gerald as I think they had some of the last to be registered recently.
> 
> Go on a test drive


The test drive is on hold at the moment, as i know very well what the outcome will probably be! The insurance was surprising actually. Going through a specialist trader, (can't remember the name now), and getting a quote on a Sagaris it was actually chepaer by Â£200 than the TT insurance. FIgure that one out!

It's something i'm seriously thinking about. I love the look of the Sagaris, but it's outside my price range at the moment, and the T350 looks equally stunning and seems incredible value for money.

Will do a bit more research and see...


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## justtin (May 6, 2002)

head_ed said:


> KMP ran a T350 a couple of years ago, so he'd be a good person to ask.
> 
> It was a stunning motor 8)


Shame he deleted all his posts about it, I was looking at one and all the posts, good and bad, disappeared.

Justin


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

I have a feeling Kev deleted all his posts just before he sold it.

As he sold it as a mint car, I guess he didn't want pople searching the interweb and finding out he'd stacked it.

We looked at a Chimera before buying the TT, but, again, the salesman actually warned us of buying it as an only car.

Still want one htough. :roll:


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

justtin said:


> Shame he deleted all his posts about it, I was looking at one and all the posts, good and bad, disappeared.





Kell said:


> I have a feeling Kev deleted all his posts just before he sold it.
> 
> As he sold it as a mint car, I guess he didn't want pople searching the interweb and finding out he'd stacked it.


Clearly you two don't know how to use a basic search function. Nothing was deleted, and nothing was hidden - because it wasn't, as Kell put it, 'stacked'.

HERE
HERE
HERE
HERE
HERE
HERE

... and many others, if you know how to use the search function properly.


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## justtin (May 6, 2002)

My apologies if the posts were there along. I did do a search at the time but nothing was returned, sorry if I mistook a forum error for you removing posts.

Justin


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## hallsie (Aug 10, 2006)

A few tips

look for the latest car you can afford.
The speed six has had problems, and if you have read the pistonheads forums you will be well aware of the, but again, bad news seems to be more publicised than good!!
Servicing sould be every 6k or there abouts.

I have had NO problems with mine over the last 2 years, its been a dream to drive, but i do only use it on the weekends when its not wet............................... not much!!

Hagertys will do an agreed price insurance and the class TVR's as classics.
Mine was about Â£430 fully comp, tuscan 2 agreed at Â£28000, well happy!

If you want anymore info give me a shout, 
I sometimes come along with the hornster to the LEEK meets if you fancy a chat and a quick scream around!

Stu


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