Buying Advice

[UKMKiVFelix]

Over the last few months myself and the missus have decided that we want to do something with our youth (or what remains of it) other than pay off our mortgage.

Our decision is to go for a TVR Tuscan. Budget of around 25K tops. Now I know that wont buy a very new Tuscan, but we are looking to buy around July/August time and reckon we may get a 2001 plate for that money.

To throw a spanner in the works, Ive found an accident repair Tuscan well within budget. It has all Red Rose conversions (from what I understand, thats a little more power, brakes and 18" wheel upgrades).

Now before you have kittens, Im being told it has had a whole new chassis and body. Should I steer well clear or is it worth a look, considering its about 7K less than I am budgeting for. That 7k could come in handy for servicing and any (touch wood, infrequent) repairs.

Your views on what action to take would be appreciated. Im very tempted to go for the repaired (cat D) car at the moment. As long as all TVR receipts can be provided for work done.

[Blue]

Then Lagoo is your man to get hold off, he drove a TVR Tuscan Red Rose for almost a year i think it was.

And Bison still owns a T350C

[Ian_C]

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Over the last few months myself and the missus have decided that we want to do something with our youth...

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Link deleted as requested by the poster, since it wasn't any longer pointing to the correct car

(Blue)

I really would not go there. Money spent [fixing it] you never regain, a false economy despite the 7k saving - you may as well just buy a proper one to start with. They are not 18" spiders, hence dubious about the 'red rose upgrades' the (private??) seller claims. Also 9000 miles is incredibly low for a 4yo, not many 4yo 360 Modenas with miles that low! God knows when it was smashed, how long it has been off the road or the condition of the various 'bits' used to rebuild it.

Please think long and hard about buying a CAT D TVR....

Ian C

[Blue]

yeah, same advice here, maybe you don't mind buying a car that's been smashed up, but i'll bet when you come to sell it on again, you'll get stuck with it

you're looking at a up front saving that, in my eyes, will cost you ALOT more in the end

a better one might cost more now, but will loose less money over the ownership and will be therefor less expensive

[UKMKiVFelix]

Hmmm - suppose its the same old "if its too good to be true" then its probably not. theme.

Have to admit the saving does draw me, but also there would be the doubt that its been up for a while, and perhaps being stuck with it is exactly what that owner now is.

Also I suppose a 180mph car needs to be pretty straight if its being pushed, and I would only have the owners say so that it was a propper job.

So, back to plan A.

What should I be looking for for around the £22-£25k mark. Ive heard that I should look to get a 2001 car if possible as they seem to have the more "reliable" engines as they have benifitted from tweaks/fault fixing during the first 12/18 months of the speed six engines life.

Also is it best to go for one thats been driven, i.e. not be attracted by low miles as this means there may be some niggles left to come out and bite. Would going for a car with 25/30k on the clock be better as any problems should have reared their heads and been sorted by now.

Unfortunatley I dont have the funds to afford a larger budget and in my opinion the Tuscan is the best loking TVR in my price range - so any further guidance would be much appreciated.

[Bison1379134007]

Hi Helix,

And welcome... and respect the descision to get a true car of joy

I know lagoo sold his Tuscan Red rose about 12 months ago for about 24K (it was a W plate with 24K miles if memory serves) so you should definitely be able to get a car for your budget.

So this going to be a second car then? If you're gonna do a lot of miles i'd say this wasnt the car. The fact they need quite an expensive service every 6K miles alone is enough to put you off.

Re the reshelled car.. don't do it. I mean they don't start with the greatest build in the first place

Re the engine. Your right. The first versions of the Speed six 4.0 engine had a few issues. Infact there was a recall to get the finger followers sorted out as i think they caused the most issues. So if you go for a 2000 car make sure it had the recall done to it! (i think the plates in the boot) lagoo will prolly be able to tell you more.

I have the new incarnation of the speed six engine which is the 3.6 version... had no problems with it at all! Infact no mechnanical issues at all.

All the above aside the TVR is the car of uber joy. It has its occasional issues but the pros far out weigh the cons as long as you are aware they exist.

I'll try and get lagoo in on this thread as he knows his tuscans much better than i.

N

[UKMKiVFelix]

Thanks for the info on the recall Bison, do you know if this applied to all 4.0L speed 6 engines, or was it sorted by 2001?

The car is going to be a second car of sorts. By that I mean it will be replacing the missus's 99' MX5 Sport. Last year hers did about 1100 miles. Some weeks due to our differing shifts it gets driven daily to work (2 miles), some weeks it will only come out at the weekend, and during the summer is when it sees most of ts miles - but still very few for a year.

Hence the decision for a Tuscan...

For her: it has aircon, leccy windows, convertible, leather trim, posing factor and enough room for some shoe shopping in the boot.

And for him: it weighs about as much as a jay cloth has 350bhp to the rear wheels.

It should be quite a jump in performace from the 147bhp 1400kg car now. Im thinking of getting us both booked in on an advanced driving/skidpan type thing when we eventually get one.

I was going to take a trip to a dealers today and have a good lok round one - I have done before, but not really with the intention of buying so didnt pay that much attention. Im a bit wary of how I would adjust to the pedals for one thing. However the dealers shuts at 2pm and Ive only just got up and its about 5miles away and I dont know the area - think Ill leave it until next weekend. I alo dont want to waste a private sellers time as Im not buying for a couple of months yet.

When was the 3.6 introduced? Was this done because of "problems" experienced with it in 4.0L form? Suppose not, as the S is a 4.0L.

Im very new to the world of TVR, but so far the servicing costs and insurance (being only 26 his year) have not put me off - the reliability may be an issue, but I can cope with that for the joy of driving a mahine like that in my youth.

Ill only regret not doing it sooner if I wait a few more years!

[Lagoo]

Hi Felix!!

I owned a very nice ( IMO ) Tuscan Red Rose on a W plate but sold it just after my 26th b'day!! I loved it, go do it tomorrow if you can

Tuscans have had a new chasis design in the last couple of years. I had a series one chasis and if i had a smash in it then it would be a close call as to whether it would be written off or repaired! If you can get a series 2 then all the better!

Now to the reshelled one you have had a look at... i dont know whether i would be as put off as the others here purely becasue a reshell on a TVR isnt that much, remember that its a fiberglass body shell that doesnt stay together very well when hit! Contact the TVR factory in Blackpool and they can normally give you a very detailed history of the car (i rang them and they could confirm whether it had had the recall on an engine rebuild )!!

My Tuscan had the 4.0l lump and yes it had to have the rebuild for the finger follower issue, but that was down to a low grade metal being used! This happened alot to early 2000 cars and was sorted by mid 2001 cars. Bison sadi that you get a recall stamp in the boot but you dont ( hes trying to remember everything i told him ) the stamp on the VIN plate in the boot is for the suspension struts that need to be changed via recall! They stopped using the 4.0l lump late 2001/early2002, why i dont know, Bison will say its reliability but hes just jealous as "there aint no replacement for displacement"

My car had been used quite frequently and was a high milage when i got it (17k)@2yrs old, ok i had the finger follower issue @18k (noticed in the service) but that was its first rebuild! Took 3 weeks and 1000miles of gentle running in!! Well worth the wait though! When i sold it it had 24k on the clock! The hightest milage Speed 6 engine my dealership had seen and was running perfectly!

You know that the Tuscan Red Rose was replaced by the Tuscan S dont you? As the styling on the Tuscan RR is diffrerent (and better IMO) than the Tuscan S!!!

Ps i let it go for a little more than the 24k Bison suggests and mine was by far the cheapest on the market for the spec, a dealer wanted mine on sale or return for 26k to me and selling for £30K