TVR CHIMAERA 500 FOR SALE - RECENT FULL COMPREHENSIVE BODY OFF RESTORATION

[rockits]

Thanks Andy/Phil.

I'm going to keep my powder dry for a bit I think and wait until something pops up that catches my eye. Maybe waiting 6-12 months as I think we might see some price softening Q2 onwards next year as the economy woes bite. Maybe some asset liquidation to scramble for cash. Might even see the same for property prices maybe

Would love to have got permission to build the house in next 3 months but not sure it will happen and will take longer. Would be a great time to sell existing house now.

That Vantage is very nice Andy and certainly up my street. Definitely min £10k upgrades on that as you say. I would love a Strad but compared to a Vantage like that I'm not sure the numbers stack up so well.

If a Strad came up at £40k next year I'd likely be all of it it. Not impossible but maybe unlikely.....who knows?

 

[zagatoes30]

Good luck with the sale looks good value for a sorted TVR all the main concerns addressed, not my thing but I know there are some that love them

 

[Hawk13]

Good luck indeed.

Not my cup of tea either but I do remember a mate taking me out in one in 1996 and scaring the **** out of me (he was a terrible driver!).

 

[rockits]

A bit of an update today from Bespoke Performance. The car flew threw the MOT with no advisories so all good. Service and check all good. A couple of minor things to keep an eye on so all good also.

So then we get into meat for the debate so happy for all and sundry to chip in to give me their 2p's worth.

Had a nice chat with Martin on dropping the car off Monday. Lovely honest trustworthy people and more than happy for them to cater for all my TVR requirements now and moving forwards. Highly recommended.

Had a great chat with Mark this afternoon who as always is very professional, very honest and always looking out for the best options even to their detriment if so. The good thing is that they have have agreed with my thoughts that the car is at the moment requiring big balls, stupidity or a very good driver to drive it well or get the best out of it. They agree it is a very nice example, has had a lot of work and money spent on it so is a great car that is 90% there. What it misses and this is the piece of the puzzle it is missing is better suspension/dampers, an LSD and then full geo setup. This little 10% would make the car drive so much better in their opinion and would allow for much more confidence. So that is good that they are in agreement with my thoughts.

It is a little frustrating I guess for Bespoke and myself as the car has had a ton spent on it and it seems maybe the suspension/LSD/Geo spend was compromised a little so suffers a little because of this. Don't get me wrong it is far from disastrous to drive. I managed to keep up with an Aventador the other week OK so it drives really well but not as well as it could be and I knew it should do. The other 400's I have owned drove no better but I guess I expected more from a fully rebuilt 500 in comparison. I guess people such as Bespoke know TVR's inside out and know what a car can drive like so know when something can be improved.

Therein lies the rub. It seems to get some decent dampers, the LSD and geo setup would be circa £3k. As I was going to leave the car with them to sell this creates a small change of plan it seems. They wouldn't be happy selling car as it is as it really needs these changes made so they would be 100% happy retailing the car. I can understand this 100% and a buyer buying from them can take great confidence in this stance. So for me, to spend the money for them to sell it for me when I add on the rightfully so sales commission it changes my numbers quite a bit. At this point it starts to not make sense so much to do it this way I think.

I guess my quandary is do I to spend the money and keep the car to enjoy its benefits with that extra 10% it would give? Or sell it likely privately, as it is, at a lower price. The new owner can then decide if firstly they agree and want to do these mods. Then can choose what they want to do to customise and personalise these mods to their requirements/tastes. I am inclined to sell it at a cheaper price as is because I always have not been a fan of it being a red car so that will never change. I don't dislike red and don't find it offensive but it doesn't grab me or wow me. I've only ever had one red car and mainly had blues or grey/black cars. Of course some may love red as it is certainly a subjective thing.

The engine is certainly strong and clearly well spec'd with a great V8D build. The gearbox is great with no issues. The new interior I think is really nice and has a lovely new leather smell with no glue or glass fibre smell at all. It is very much a nearly car for me personally but it is just not grabbing me as much as I really wanted it to or need it to.

Answers on a postcode please

 

[CatmanV2]

Spend the money

C

 

[mjheathcote]

I'm surprised it didn't have a LSD from the factory!
The costs at £3k sounds right.
Personally I wouldn't spend the money just to sell it on.
It isn't a cosmetic enhancement.
I feel your TVR specialist is simply taking advantage of you to aid them selling the car and getting their commission.
It's like buying a new car, and the salesmen insisting you must tick the box for a particular option, because even though you don't feel it necessary, they do so they can sell it on easier at a later date!

 

[rockits]

Spend the money

C

It is tempting but I'm going over into that £20k+ barrier then getting close to F Type, Evora, Mustang and others kind of money. Can't help feeling that a Chimaera 500 at sub £20k makes sense for me but going over that I'm into money of better cars. Maybe I should have kept the Vantage and sold the Chimaera

 

[rockits]

I'm surprised it didn't have a LSD from the factory!
The costs at £3k sounds right.
Personally I wouldn't spend the money just to sell it on.
It isn't a cosmetic enhancement.
I feel your TVR specialist is simply taking advantage of you to aid them selling the car and getting their commission.
It's like buying a new car, and the salesmen insisting you must tick the box for a particular option, because even though you don't feel it necessary, they do so they can sell it on easier at a later date!

I thought they all had LSD's too just GKN ones on the earlier cars and BTR on the later cars but I am far from an expert. I bow to their better knowledge.

I think it seems to make the most sense to sell as is. Maybe an auction listing on The Market or the like would work the best.

I am not sure they are taking advantage just being honest that they would only sell it with the mods/setup as they have to warranty then support the car. I guess they can pick and choose what they sell so only deal in the best cars with the right set up to limit issues. Not sure what the issue would really be as if someone drove it badly and was an idiot they would crash it like many cars in this way. Not really the dealers fault really.

 

[mjheathcote]

I thought they all had LSD's too just GKN ones on the earlier cars and BTR on the later cars but I am far from an expert. I bow to their better knowledge.

I think it seems to make the most sense to sell as is. Maybe an auction listing on The Market or the like would work the best.

I am not sure they are taking advantage just being honest that they would only sell it with the mods/setup as they have to warranty then support the car. I guess they can pick and choose what they sell so only deal in the best cars with the right set up to limit issues. Not sure what the issue would really be as if someone drove it badly and was an idiot they would crash it like many cars in this way. Not really the dealers fault really.

Having a LSD etc has bugger all to the warranty and support to the car.
I'd just say thanks but no thanks.
Sounds like a car they would end up buying from you anyway if it went to an auction. Then if it means so much to them they can fit the LSD themselves!!

 

[Ewan]

Either do the work and keep it for a while longer and enjoy it, or just sell privately (possibly by auction) at whatever you can get.

(And I’m with you on the red thing. Although I quite like (and own) a red car, I don’t think it particularly suits this car.)

 

[nigw]

As you’re selling it I would just get the geo setup and leave it standard. I good geo setup can make a big difference on any car - on my last Chimaera it was night and day.

 

[philw696]

I would sell it as is and let the next enthusiast owner take it to it's next level.
There's enough selling platforms that you can attract the right buyer I reckon.

 

[Wack61]

there's always that numpty that uses any excuse to knock a seller on price

Do you always pay full price for cars , if I'd taken the first offer on the mustang it would've cost me £1500 , I think you're confusing who the numpty is

 

[Hawk13]

I would sell it as is and let the next enthusiast owner take it to it's next level.
There's enough selling platforms that you can attract the right buyer I reckon.

+1

 

[allandwf]

I would have just sold it on, but a potential buyer who may not have known could easily read your posts and want it done now.

 

[rockits]

Thanks all. Just to clarify I don't think it drives badly or much wrong with the setup as far as I can tell. I can put power down no problem and it handles fine for fast road driving. I am a little confused and conflicted by Bespoke's suggestions of no LSD as I thought there was one and they all had them. Also with the way it drives.

My issues was mainly it had a bit too much power/torque for me and with the nature of a TVR/Chimaera being light, with little weight over the back end, the decat and raw nature of the car it was just 10% overwhelming and more than I want or need. The brakes are good and I don't any inherent issues as such, merely it was a bit too much or more than I need. This is why the Bespoke comments confused me a little as I didn't think it drove badly just it was a little too much for me. I'd likely be more happy in a lower powered car. I think I just went a step too far with this one. I always felt the 500 is suggested to be the pinnacle and many say it is much better than a 400 or 450. I'm not so sure it is for me. I drove a GEMS ECU'd Supercharged 450 Chimaera that delivered its power so differently and drove better IMHO with a more mild mannered smoother approach. Rather than a sledgehammer!

The Chimaera 400's I had before were much less intimidating and able to be explored and revved out much more so I felt slightly more enjoyable dialled down a bit. Some may love being scared in a car....I prefer not to be so scared I like a car to be confident and not so scary. Even a bad car that drives badly can give this I feel. It is more the fully intoxicating nature of this car that I'm at odds with more than it driving badly as I don't think it does at all.

I think it would make sense to sell on The Market or something but might pop a PH or Ebay ad up first to see what goes.

 

[Scaf]

I would go and get the current set up “set up” so that it’s as good as it can be and get it sold.
Black Boots Chesham are it far from you and I Leno from them setting up my classic Mustang it can make a huge difference.
I bet the LSD is not there for a reason, much easier for average driver to keep such a lively car in a straight line with an open diff.

 

[rockits]

So this process has started me looking at all options. One option that cropped up was a new shape Mustang. However for not much more you can get a new one. As it unlocks some 0% PCP deals over 3 years etc. that seems enticing. However there is some rub to this when you dig into it.

An added complication seems to be the stupid car tax levies that make buying a new Mustang an expensive option so £2175 first year car tax! Then an additional £325 per year for year 2-5 for it being over £40k new price. It is hardly encouraging people to boost the economy.

It is all well and good trying to incentivise people to buy a new car and one with better green properties it takes. However what if I don't want to buy one of those? I won't. I will also not be buying a new Mustang as refuse to pay an additional £2175 in additional car tax first year.

Also there is zero no consideration of mileage/use. I did 250 miles in my 4200 last year. It was SORN for about 9-10 months of that so there was no real additional car tax revenue gained actually less than if you had charged a reasonable amount for 12 months. Would I have driven the 4200 more? Not likely and if I did it would have been in that rather than the XJL as I can only drive one car at a time.

Also I don't do many miles any more so a new Mustang for me in a year might do 2000-2500 miles maybe. So a car that pollutes half as much that does twice the miles is the same and if does more than twice the miles it is worse. However it pays less cart tax. That doesn't make sense at all.

I have said this for years that all car tax should be on fuel. The more miles and fuel you burn the more you pay in tax. The more efficient the car the less you will pay. It is the perfect leveler and fair for all. You could also get rid of half the DVLA as you won't need them so in nett terms revenues from car tax will increase. Win win all round

So in a time of economic turmoil I would be quite prepared to go out and spend some of my hard earned on a new car to boost the economy. Except I won't due to stupid car tax levies. Makes perfect sense....not!

 

[mjheathcote]

Breaking that £40k threshold does have tax penalties for sure.
Annoying as when buying new, add extras can push a car easily over, and then the dealers and manufacturers knock a load off in 'contributions' and its back below 40K, but you still have to pay the tax penalty!

 

[rockits]

Agreed. Seems like a flawed idea to me.

One thing that has come to light to create further anomalies is mods. If you keep the engine and cc the same but map or modify the car I am guessing there will be increased CO2. You can tell your insurer and that is fine but you wouldn't pay any more tax as there is not a mechanism to deal with these scenarios on the current car tax system.

So for example some of these new 4 pot turbo hot hatches can start at say 200bhp and end up modified to 400bhp so surely this would increase the CO2 emissions dramatically? However there would be no increased tax levy.