40 replies to this topic

[Tommyturbo]

Firstly hi to all, pleased to meet you and all that lark! Although new to this forum, I been poking my head in and out of vx220's for a couple of years now along with my mate Josh (aka MadFreebird on here) as well as many other performance cars in my time in the motor trade. Ancient thread I know, but I just thought the contributors in this thread might want an owners view of a Griff 500. Bought mine in April 07 and tbh have been incredibly pleased throughout! The Griff (and sister Chimera) are unique in the fact that they are the only two modern TVR's with a Tuned Rover V8. This powerplant not only makes the cars incredibly reliable, but is so well documented and used in motorsport, that it's costs are tiny against the performance it gives. Many of the TVR horror stories you hear about, lie sadly with the Speed six and Speed eight engines, and as these these units have TVR specific parts costs were always much higher. Comparing what I have spent on my Griff to what Josh has spent on his NA VX, there is really hardly anything in it. It also has never let me down out on the road in 18 months! Encountered Faults: Alternator Oil pressure sensor Sump gasket Not bad for a 98R junior supercar! I know supposed reliable family saloons that have a list twice that length!

[Alex L]

I'm now 1 week into Chimaera ownership, I was originally looking for a Griff but to get a decent one from a dealer I was looking at more money than my dad sold his for 10 years ago (£20k+) and his was only 2 years old!!

More Chims were built and therefore easier to find a good well specced example with PAS etc.

Bought my 450 Chim from Fernhurst TVR with full warranty, I've never owned a car which attracted so much attention, thumbs up and smiles from at least 10 other motorists on the way home around the M25. The noise and torque was the main selling factor for me, I'd say go for it, but budget for fairly expensive running costs. Mine has full history and there isn't one service for less than a grand.

Edited by Alex L, 23 January 2009 - 06:33 PM.

[Toady]

buy one and you'll spend ages polishing it and looking at it, cause you will not be driving it anywhere except back anf forth to garage..

One word - sh*t

What a useless and to me bloody annoying post! (well the 2nd bit anyway, I agree with the 1st bit!) Obviously you've never owned one then and are more than likely a jealous kind of person! I used to have an ajp8 cerbera and although I only owned it for about 8 months (due to mrs wanting to buy a new house!) It NEVER let me or the previous owner down once, and he'd owned it for nearly 3 years! It was driven regularly and serviced properly.

A neighbour had a Griffith a few years back. He only ever used it as a weekend car and yet he was always moaning about reliability. Awesome car but also I suspect one of the most frustrating car you would ever own for this reason.

Like all cars they like to be driven regularly or they will go wrong. Mine had 50k miles on it when I sold it as was used a few times a week, and was running like a dream on its original engine. They are posh kit cars at the end of the day not your everyday mass produced car, so build quality and components are not quite as good obviously, but it is proven that the ones that are used regularly are far less problematic!

Plus with a set of Nitrons and full geo set up the handling can be much improved! If you are a crap driver thats not used to oversteer though then its not for you as it will most likely end up in a ditch!

[Tfp]

If you are a crap driver thats not used to oversteer though then its not for you as it will most likely end up in a ditch!

Scariest car I ever owned, had too many near misses and brown trouser moments.

But I managed not to ditch it, maybe more luck than judgement.

But on a serious point, anyone looking to buy one of these cars, take it easy for the first few weeks, they will spin up unexpectedly even in the dry, so leave it in the garage on the wet days.

Refering to some of the comments on reliability, again I must have been lucky, 18 months with only a starter motor and fluid leaks on top of normal servicing.

Heard many horror stories, but carefull purchasing of the right car and regular use I think is the key.

I would have another one if I was a more experienced driver, but would only go for the V8 engine models, Griff or Chimera.

It has to be the best sounding car I have had, neighbours will love it or hate it. (my elderly ones constantly complained)

[mevans]

I owned a 1998 Chim 400 before the VX and thought it was a wonderful car.

Parts were generally very cheap as many were sourced from other manufacturers parts bins. The disks for instance were from a Sierra, the wing mirrors were from a Citroen CX and the indicator stalks and window switches were Vauxhall's finest!

The tubular steel frame chassis needs to be checked periodically, especially if the car is used throughout the year, as the outriggers can start to rust when exposed to water and stone damage over a period of time. I ended up rubbing down and re-painting the visible sections of tubing over several weekends then slapping on a layer of waxoil.

The RV8 used to generate quite a bit of heat which was great in the winter as the footwell would get nice and toasty on a spirited drive. The standard suspension was OK but a little too soft for any type of track work.

The car was easy to work on and proved very reliable for something that was 10 years old. The temp sender and wiper park switch were the only parts to fail outright while the rad started to leak a little so I replaced that for peace of mind.

Sleeving the exhaust was a popular mod as was removing the silencers altogether. If you really wanted to annoy the neighbours you could also bash out the pre-cats and fit a de catted y-piece.

Here's some RV8 noise: Linky1 Linky2

[The Batman]

Firstly hi to all, pleased to meet you and all that lark!

Although new to this forum, I been poking my head in and out of vx220's for a couple of years now along with my mate Josh (aka MadFreebird on here) as well as many other performance cars in my time in the motor trade.

Comparing what I have spent on my Griff to what Josh has spent on his NA VX, there is really hardly anything in it. It also has never let me down out on the road in 18 months!

Encountered Faults:

Alternator
Oil pressure sensor
Sump gasket

Not bad for a 98R junior supercar! I know supposed reliable family saloons that have a list twice that length!

you alright buddy, remember me? was the guy in the mandarin vx who came to your garage few months back!

in the past 2 years of owning i havent encounted any problems

[ukgulf]

My brother has had one for 5+ years, he's registered here so I'll ask him to comment..

[theotherjonnymac]

You must be mad IMO !!! Buy a transporter at the same time!!

[TurboTomato]

You must be mad IMO !!! Buy a transporter at the same time!!

Have you actually owned one to make that statement?

[theotherjonnymac]

You must be mad IMO !!! Buy a transporter at the same time!!

Have you actually owned one to make that statement?

No but both my neighbour and my best mate have both had them. They both knew what the reputation was for reliability and both were genuinely shocked at how often they were off the road - perhaps they were unlucky.
Don't get me wrong I was tempted to buy one myself about 10yrs ago but the reliabilty issue was always the stumbling block.

[TurboTomato]

They were unlucky. There are good ones and bad ones - don't tar them all with the same brush.

[rich_r]

Griff sound... yummo

http://uk.youtube.co...feature=related

Edit, ok might not be a Griff, but still

Edited by rich_r, 03 February 2009 - 08:33 AM.

[Toady]

They were unlucky. There are good ones and bad ones - don't tar them all with the same brush.

[Tfp]

Drove a Tuscan briefly today, have to say that the interior was falling alart, wasn't running right, and last big repair bill only 1500 miles ago. Not the best example I have seen, done 30,000 miles. Also saw a sagaris at the same place, that had done 120,000 miles.... Yes, 120,000 miles. As already said, some are good, some are not so

[Alex L]

Griff sound... yummo

http://uk.youtube.co...feature=related

Edit, ok might not be a Griff, but still

Rich, I think that's a Tuscan.

Given up trying to sell the VX?

Not heard of a 120k miler Sagaris but there is a write up of a 125k miler Tamora in this months Sprint mag

Edited by Alex L, 03 February 2009 - 07:07 PM.

[Tfp]

Griff sound... yummo

http://uk.youtube.co...feature=related

Edit, ok might not be a Griff, but still

Rich, I think that's a Tuscan.

Given up trying to sell the VX?

Not heard of a 120k miler Sagaris but there is a write up of a 125k miler Tamora in this months Sprint mag

Ahhh, it could have been a Tamora, me getting mixed up in my hot flush of being surrounded by TVR's

The chap did say it had been featured in a mag.

Was at a specialist in Melton Mowbray.

[Alex L]

That sounds like the Tamora then.

[rich_r]

Griff sound... yummo

http://uk.youtube.co...feature=related

Edit, ok might not be a Griff, but still

Rich, I think that's a Tuscan.

Given up trying to sell the VX?

Not heard of a 120k miler Sagaris but there is a write up of a 125k miler Tamora in this months Sprint mag

Hi Alex

Yeh decided to keep it, with the current market its worth more to me, i'll probably keep it for a good while now and track it more. Saving money to get something else

Chim looks nice! Good work

[Alex L]

Thanks, pleased with it so far. No point selling at the moment, took a fairly big hit on my S2000. I doubt you'd find a VX in better condition than yours.