Used car buying guide: TVR Sagaris

If you’re tempted, it’s best to take action now: prices have rocketed in the past few years and look set to continue climbing, given the limited numbers that were produced.

Production ran from 2005 to 2006, and of the 200 or so built, recent data suggests that just half are still on the road in the UK. That said, we found a relatively healthy selection in the classifieds, ranging from a four-owner car with 58,000 miles to a two-owner example with just 13,000.

Subtle but useful updates were planned for 2007 – we even drove a prototype – but sadly never came to fruition. That prototype was road-registered, however, and was last seen for sale recently at £100,000.

How to get one in your garage

An expert's view

Alex Gray, TVR Car Club: “My ‘Sag’ had been put together for a customer to a very high specification. I was lucky to get it during the period when prices were at rock bottom. The two biggest pains with the Sagaris are that the engine needs looking after and the gearbox is very agricultural. People also tend to upgrade the ECU, because there’s the newer ‘MBE’ unit available. The car is very direct to drive and very responsive, but you need to be respectful when using it, because it has no ABS or traction control.”

Buyer beware…

â–  Engine: The potential unreliability of TVR’s Speed Six engine is hardly a secret, but by the time the 4.0-litre lump was shoehorned into the Sagaris, its most glaring issues had been ironed out. In any case, many have had a comprehensive rebuild by now – often upgrading to 4.3 litres or, for the ultra-brave, 4.5. If you go down this route, be sure to get a warranty on the work. If the engine is losing oil, pray it’s the sump washer at fault, rather than the front crank seal, and listen for the tell-tale rattle of a knackered mounting.

â–  Gearbox: The original clutch ‘fingers’ often wore out before the pressure plate itself, necessitating replacement even at low mileages. Most will have been replaced now, but check for heaviness. An OEM-spec AP replacement will cost around £800. Difficulty shifting from fourth to fifth could mean the notoriously weak synchro is knackered. Reverse doesn’t even have a synchro, so it’s best to shift down into first before backing up.

â–  Bodywork: Front and rear splitters are vulnerable to damage and expensive to repair, so feel for scrapes and cracks and take it easy over speed bumps. The chassis can rust, but most cars are dry-stored and don’t go out in rain, so it should be fine as long as you check and protect it regularly.

â–  Electrics: There’s no ABS, traction control or airbags to worry about here, which means potential gremlins are limited mainly to dodgy connections (check the windows work as specified and the lights don’t flicker over bumps) and the troublesome dashboard ribbon wires coming loose. A misbehaving ECU can yield an incorrect water temperature reading, so do some digging before panicking about the head gasket.

Also worth knowing

Until last December, original and reproduced spare parts were available from OEM-backed TVR Parts Limited. Since its licence expired, the firm, now trading as Racing Green, can’t describe its 250,000 components as genuine, but it uses the same suppliers and remains committed to maintaining and expanding its offering. Try Powers Performance for consumables and uprated components and Str8six in Oxfordshire for sales and servicing.

How much to spend

£65,000-£67,499: Even the cheapest cars look pristine.

£67,500-£69,999: Cars with fewer than 20,000 miles and stacks of service history from reputable specialists.

£70,000-£72,499: Cherished and garaged cars, mostly with common body damage repaired.

£72,500 and above: High-end dealership dwellers fresh from long-term dry storage.

One we found