Ok, what would you go for?

highlander

highlander

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Now retired and my head says sell the Mas because at some point a big bill will arrive and "the boss" would kill you if you spent a big lump of your pension on servicing a car...........my heart on the other hand says stuff what she thinks, it's a great car that has gave you no issue in 3 years, so don't f'n dare!!!!
But that is not the question because deep down I know I will probably need to let her go. The question is what would you have as a summer toy not needing specialist input if you had 30k? I find myself looking at classics more and more, a late 60s/ early 70s Alfa spider, lotus Elan plus 2, Volvo P1800 to name 3 wafting alternatives that have caught my eye but you might have other ideas.......
 
gb-gta

gb-gta

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I guess any classic could hit you with a large bill. Maybe get something that has a good parts supply to keep the potential costs and off road time down?
 
MrRMB

MrRMB

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I have an Alfa Spider, which is a perfect summer car. The values are all over the place. £30 k would get you a concours Series 2, 15K a good all rounder, S4 has PAS and injection so is more reliable. Either would be fairly cheap to run after that, but do get the bodywork checked by someone in the know. . Spares are readily available and they are very DIY friendly. Not a fast car but great fun in every way. I don't think i would ever be without one.
 
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allandwf

allandwf

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I've had loads of Alfa's, 2 V6 spiders and a 2.0 spider included. I don't know if they would fit the bill after the Maserati. A 60s/70s spider might though. Good ones are expensive, and they rust.
 
Superflyguy

Superflyguy

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I’ve had plenty of TVRs before the Maser. They are great fun cars and very good value for the smiles per miles factor. Something like a Chimaera or Griffith would be a great summer car and with it being an old Rover V8 very easy to work on, without complex electrics and an ubundance of parts available.

My last TVR was a 390se wedge. They only made 103 of them in total.
 

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RodTungsten

RodTungsten

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Alfa GTV or a Citroen DS. Both easy to work on, parts plentiful and enough specialists around to help - but then I am biased of course.
 
highlander

highlander

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allandwf said:
I've had loads of Alfa's, 2 V6 spiders and a 2.0 spider included. I don't know if they would fit the bill after the Maserati. A 60s/70s spider might though. Good ones are expensive, and they rust.
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yeah but you stay by the sea! The air so thick with salt everything rusts lol
 
highlander

highlander

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When I got the 3200 the other car in the running was a chimera, so TVR has been in my search history........sheeesh, what hasnt! Even looked at a Bentley GT and a Merc SL 55AMG to tick a box for one summer then sell on ffs! Though would be interesting to see if my man maths skills are up to selling either of them to Fiona as a sound move ;)
 
Bebs

Bebs

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Superflyguy said:
I’ve had plenty of TVRs before the Maser. They are great fun cars and very good value for the smiles per miles factor. Something like a Chimaera or Griffith would be a great summer car and with it being an old Rover V8 very easy to work on, without complex electrics and an ubundance of parts available.

My last TVR was a 390se wedge. They only made 103 of them in total.
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Snap!

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Bebs

Bebs

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Andyk said:
I so yearned for one these back in the day and have to say it still looks great today. The wedge was just a brutal thing.
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Agree, they were real monsters back in the day. Mine was a 1990 400SE (242 made). No cats, sounded fantastic. Wish I had kept it.
Swapped it for a factory new Griffith 500 and two years later a factory new Tuscan Speed Six Red Rose.
 
Andyk

Andyk

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Bebs said:
Agree, they were real monsters back in the day. Mine was a 1990 400SE (242 made). No cats, sounded fantastic. Wish I had kept it.
Swapped it for a factory new Griffith 500 and two years later a factory new Tuscan Speed Six Red Rose.
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The 400SE was the one I sooooo wanted. I would have one now. I drove a yellow Griffith 500 from Birmingham NEC to Wales after the sports car show as my mate had a garage and a stand there with 6 cars on it. That was a hand full as well but fun. I did get a TVR eventually and it was a joy.


Just noticed the yellow 500 is in the background.

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Bebs

Bebs

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Andyk said:
The 400SE was the one I sooooo wanted. I would have one now. I drove a yellow Griffith 500 from Birmingham NEC to Wales after the sports car show as my mate had a garage and a stand there with 6 cars on it. That was a hand full as well but fun. I did get a TVR eventually and it was a joy.


Just noticed the yellow 500 is in the background.

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Hah that’s funny, my test drive in a 500 was exactly that colour! That was the day I ordered my Griff.
Beautiful that T350, did you have much trouble engine wise?
My 2001 Tuscan had 3 new engines in a year!
I dumped it for silly money after that first year as I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. Lost count of how many times it came back from the continent on a trailer!
Bought the 360 immediately once the Tuscan had gone. It was only once I got the 360 that I realised exactly how ‘flimsy’ TVRs were.
Would still have a wedge in the garage today though. My first V8 and I absolutely loved that car.

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Andyk

Andyk

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Bebs said:
Hah that’s funny, my test drive in a 500 was exactly that colour! That was the day I ordered my Griff.
Beautiful that T350, did you have much trouble engine wise?
My 2001 Tuscan had 3 new engines in a year!
I dumped it for silly money after that first year as I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. Lost count of how many times it came back from the continent on a trailer!
Bought the 360 immediately once the Tuscan had gone. It was only once I got the 360 that I realised exactly how ‘flimsy’ TVRs were.
Would still have a wedge in the garage today though. My first V8 and I absolutely loved that car.

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Stunning eve try one buddy.

I use my T350T as my daily drive. Did about 5000 miles a year and had it for just under three years and it never missed a beat. Every time I had it serviced I thought here comes the big bill but it never happened. I think using it daily helped. Guess I was one of the lucky ones. Still think the T350 was one of their best designs also. Build quality was pretty shocking mind you.
 
Andyk

Andyk

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c4sman said:
Mate of mine had a wedge that set me on my TVR journey. Started with a 2.8S, then 4.0 V8S, onto a Griff 4.0 and ended with a Griff 500HC. Loved every one of them but the V8S and Griff 500 were special for different reasons
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I test drove a V8S and loved it.
 
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