RedM Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 After today's Cars in the Park event me and my lass have fallen in love with TVRs. To get my partner raving about a car is almost unheard of. To her, all cars look the same except for the Supra and now TVRs. They look stunning, the interiors are gorgeous and they sound awesome. However, there are the stories of reliability issues, free lifetime AA membership etc etc. So, just how bad are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 So, just how bad are they? Bad It seems to vary a lot though, depends who built it, what mood they were in and so on... some are OK, some aren't... bit of a lottery. They did look great though, as usual I came away hankering after a Cerbera but the newer ones were pretty too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmark Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 They have a bad rep for reliability and most if not all iirc do not come with an airbag or even traction control. Also "A Friday car" treament seems to be known on them. I have a mate up in Edinburgh who had one for 2 months (a Cerbera) he got rid of it for one reason, and that was it was a total handful in the wet, and he was not mad behind the wheel, he found it near impossible to put any kind of power down. He loved the power though as in the dry he said it was awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 So RLTC for the wet then. Back to reliability. Do they have any common faults? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnd-mkiv Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Think im going to sell the supra next year for one, stunning cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 After today's Cars in the Park event me and my lass have fallen in love with TVRs. To get my partner raving about a car is almost unheard of. To her, all cars look the same except for the Supra and now TVRs. They look stunning, the interiors are gorgeous and they sound awesome. However, there are the stories of reliability issues, free lifetime AA membership etc etc. So, just how bad are they? http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showpost.php?p=1412266&postcount=1 First post should be enough to scare you lol that really is a testament to how bad they are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daston Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 All depends on what you are looking for, Speed six engine ones do have their problems however a lot of the faults were delt with and the later ones were much better. The Chimera and Griff both use the Rover V8 and are pretty damn reliable my old man has had his griff for 7 years and my supra has broken down more times than his TVR. The Cerbera is a different beast all together the V8 version uses TVR's in house AJ8 (think that is right) engine that was dubbed "speed 8" it has its problems like most inhouse engines from a small company. Bottem line is if you dont mind getting your hands dirty then they are a blast and scary quick too, they may not be the fastest on the road but they are one of the quickest and with our traffic makes one hell of a difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 I just tried looking on http://www.tvrforum.co.uk/ but it doesn't seem to be working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 At the CITP meet me an my partner went for a long walk. On the way back she spotted an AA truck in the show area and joked that it'll be there for a TVR. It turned out to be for a VX220. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Although the AJP is bad (I've heard rebuild every 18k???) the speed 6 appears to be worse!! Pick your poison I guess. I would kill for one. I love the character and beauty of the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 So RLTC for the wet then. Back to reliability. Do they have any common faults? I feel that you may be digging a big hole for yourself Martin!! They are a beautiful machine but there are so many horror stories. Oh and how big are your pockets........ H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 Not big enough. TBH we wouldn't buy one simply because we don't have a garage. However, we both really like them. My other half REALLY likes them and wants the Supe resprayed in the red wine colour that of one that we saw today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr keef Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 I love the Tvr's, always have done,and to be honest i was looking at tuscans,problem is if ya look on pistonheads,theres so many that have had engines rebuilt or fitted,and to me that spells big $$$,they look amazing sound even better and the interior's are just pure sex,the only reason i didnt buy one was i spoke to a few guys at a TVR meet and they all agreed on one thing,make sure you have got a few grand spare in the bank for when things go tits up,and to be honest if i did buy one then id be pretty much broke,so if it did go tits up id be feked!!Theres a garage up my way who does quite a bit work on them,when i had the sunny GTI-R in there i got cracking on to him about tvr's and he told me to stay well clear of them,said they are a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 However, we both really like them. My other half REALLY likes them and wants the Supe resprayed in the red wine colour that of one that we saw today! Sounds like a good compromise mate!! The colours of the TVR and the reliability of the Supe!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanchan Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 I just tried looking on http://www.tvrforum.co.uk/ but it doesn't seem to be working Is that an actual forum or does someone out there have a good sense of humour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 After seeing my bosses Chimera when a motorbike hit it I decided against them, he replaced it with a Cerb which is basically a roll cage on wheels and much stronger, quicker too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Is that an actual forum or does someone out there have a good sense of humour? I googled and that came up. I really do think it is a real forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supra61 Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 i had two tvr's in the past,420se (wedge shape )and a s2.the 420 was fantastic to drive,but like most soft top tvr's theyleak at the first drop of rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 My colleague has a v8 Griff and it's fine. Definitely a summer car though. Electrics are always dodgy, and they have a tendency to warp brake discs if pushed hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJI Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 There is a lot of hear-say when it comes to TVRs. I've talked to loads of TVR owners and they have only had minor things go wrong with their cars.... the same stories you get when you talk to any car owner really. I was contemplating going for a Cerberra 4.5 a number of years back, and then when the Sagaris came out I thought I'd wait for those to drop in price... then I was tempted by Nobles etc. etc. But I have stuck to my Supra But I've asked a lot of questions to various owners and never really heard of many horror stories on the later cars. In the early 90's there were a lot of quality problems but I think when you get to the late 90's and definitely after year 2000... reliability and build quality improved tremendously. As with any car, modding them reduces the reliability. Maybe its true to say that a modded TVR isn't anywhere as reliable as a modded Jap car. But why modify a TVR, the interior is very nice to look at, they already accelerate like a rocket and the body work wouldn't look good with more bodykit chucked all over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 The Rover v8 versions are the most reliable also make sure the chassis is waxoyled, this was one of the min points i picked up when searching on piston heads, I like the griff the best! This guy has a very good rep for selling tvr's:- http://www.jamesagger.com/default.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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