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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

i was toying with the idea of a TVR.....


mathew

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Wow what a money pit:

 

23/02/2001 24k service

valves and tappets

new throttle pots

ht leads

coolant temp sensor

new front brake hoses

new rear discs and pads

handbrake cable

replace boot emergency release cable

replace gearbox mountings

new clutch master cylinder

replace PAS steering rack

under bonnet heat shield

new wiper arms

re gas AC

 

£5,030.21 :scared:

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It depends on what TVR you get to begin with.

 

The RV8 ones ie the Chimaera and Griffith are a lot cheaper to maintain and repair, although you've still got to bank on spending a fair bit of time "playing" with it.

 

Personally I enjoy it, so its no big deal, but if you've got to stick it in a garage every time, it would become a bit tiring.

 

I don't think I'd want to have a TVR as my only form of transport/daily driver. As a complimentary car to the Supra its ideal, but to have to use it in all weathers :( I don't somehow think we'd stay friends long ;)

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Well, I should probably say that I've decided to buy a Cerbera in the next few weeks. My supra, which I've had since July 2002, will be up for sale shortly.

 

The Cerbera running costs are pretty high, but hopefully will be manageable if I'm *very* careful when choosing one :)

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Well, I should probably say that I've decided to buy a Cerbera in the next few weeks. My supra, which I've had since July 2002, will be up for sale shortly.

 

The Cerbera running costs are pretty high, but hopefully will be manageable if I'm *very* careful when choosing one :)

Speed 6 or a V8?

 

My brother was thinking about getting one recently. :)

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Speed 6 or a V8?

 

My brother was thinking about getting one recently. :)

 

Has to be the V8. The speed six is a great engine but even less reliable. I'll be looking for a well tuned 4.5, as I wouldn't be happy with something slower than my supra.

 

I get the impression the cars thrive on being used. Provided the engine is carefully warmed up and serviced at the correct intervals, there's no reason for it to be unreliable.

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I get the impression the cars thrive on being used. Provided the engine is carefully warmed up and serviced at the correct intervals, there's no reason for it to be unreliable.

Yes, that's exactly what I've heard too.

 

The ones that are used every day seem to be generally more reliable.

 

I spoke to the local TVR dealer and he said the cars don't have all these fancy electronic monitoring devices like for instance BMW do, he said you've just got to maintain a closer eye on fluid levels etc and make sure you warm it up properly before you give it any stick.

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Because as a general rule they are very unreliable.

 

I wouldn't say that my Griff is unreliable, just unpleasant to drive in adverse weather conditions.

 

The wipers aren't the best I've experienced, the rear screen mists up, you can't have the window open, or the roof off to hear the exhaust ;) and unless you're extremely careful all the time, getting traction is an absolute nightmare.

 

Of course when its not raining/snowing/icy its a great car to drive. You can't really better it for the fun aspect, its just not as versatile as the Supra.

 

Also if you guys are finding it hard to keep your Supras out of the ditches this time of year, you've got no chance with a TVR (certainly a Griff, anyway) its so bloody twitchy, sometimes I think its got tourettes :D

 

Don't get me wrong, I love twitchy cars in the right conditions, that's one of the reasons I bought the Griff, but I also knew that I wouldn't have to use it when the conditions were crap.

 

I use mine in the winter, but I just pick my days, and where I'm going. If I've got a good run out, and it doesn't look like rain, I may take it to work for the day, but at 10 mpg in town, this time of year, its got to be a lucrative call to make it cost effective :D

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Geoff, how does the Griffith compare to the supra? If you had to give one up, which would it be?!

 

I'm a bit worried that I'll regret selling the supra. It's been a fantastic car, but there doesn't seem any point owning three cars. The elise I bought last year is working out well as an everyday car, especially on petrol, so it will be the supra that goes.

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The Griffith is a great car, fast, brutal power delivery, twitchy, awesome sound, convertible.

 

Its brilliant as a fun car.

 

If I could only keep one, it would be the Supra, no question.

Its just so much more versatile. It's nearly as quick as the Griff, and you can take it out in the rain and get traction, unless you drive like a loon ;)

 

Coupled with that, I expect the Supra to start, I think the Griff will, and so far it's never let me down, but I'd never be too surprised if it didn't one day.

 

I suppose for every hour I spend working on the Supra, I must spend 3 or 4 on the Griff. I don't mind, its what I expected, but I wouldn't want to have to do it in order to get to work the next day.

 

If you can use the Elise as an everyday car, you're not in a bad situation and a TVR may well fit into your lifestyle OK.

 

Once you've owned a Supra, its a very hard car to replace. I really haven't got a clue what I'll replace mine with when the time comes, except a later Supra, but being that there aren't that many 2002 cars around, its a bit like looking for hens teeth.

 

If you do buy a TVR, FFS buy on condition and not price, there's a hell of a lot of poor condition cars around just waiting for the inexperienced (of TVRs) to fall into :(

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