WHO'd You Rather? Would You Want A PERFECTLY Engineered Auto From The Factory OR One With Quirks?

If it's my daily driver, I want it bulletproof. Because I love tinkering on cars, I am obviously OK with #3.

You mean because you like TVRs you're OK w/ #3? ;)

#1 for daily drivers, #2 for toys, IMHO.

Any vintage car is going to be #2 to #3. Installing a Corvette wiring harness and an LS7 will make any TVR easily in the second category. There are even aftermarket TVR wiring harness replacements that are a lot better than stock, but they are pricey

As I said, I love tinkering on cars.

Besides @Agent00R you wouldn't be caught dead in a TVR.

There are no PERFECTLY engineered masterpieces - there is always something to do wrong. Bicycles have a basic setup that has been proven for decades - but still the chain occasionally falls off.

Those of us who tinkered on our own vintage specialty cars - or made their own cars from crash parts - don't expect them to be any more perfect than WE who work on them are. There was a TVR Dealer in New Jersey down between Eatontown and Asbury Park - so I actually had the "pleasaure" of working on a coupe of them - although I primarily worked on Transmissions. THe English made quite a few different small two seaters - and they were a blast to drive - and all OF THEM had electrical problems - plus other nagging things to go bump in the night. So we learned to work on them ourselves - or had a trusted mechanic nearby.

THe problem is - if the car has few problems - it is likely to have few reasons for buying it beyond reliability - ie - no fun. For those who want a toyota Corolla that's fine. However - ALL of the premium manufacturers (YES - from Rolls - Bentley - to Mercedes and Bmw - and even Cadillac) - made cars that eventually needed service - because there is inherently more than can go wrong in cars with lots of features. If you havethe money to buy new - and trade in during the warranty - you are both rich and lucky. The rest of us learned what to fix - what to leave broken - and what to upgrade. And the "quirks" are part of the charm.

If you really want rock solid reliabilty - buy a car From Fred Flintstone - that works on foot power.

Reliability/dependability is a huge deal for me. Without them, it's like bragging about an overclocked, liquid cooled PC that crashes or hangs if you look at it wrong.

So I take it you're into into an early 80s TVR Tasmin coupe converted to a 2.3 ecoboost? LOL

While you all are arguing about how the TVR was rebuilt, so it is actually functional - what's up with this DB (and I don't mean the David Brown as in "DB9") in the video who claims to own the car?

Why does that Aston have Michigan "US Congress" tags? Is Doug DeMauro really a Congressman? Why is he complaining about annoying things on what is likely an 10 year old AM Vantage with 55,000 miles on it that he probably picked up for $25,000?

Everything he is complaining about are needed repairs he should make - the doors don't stay open because the 10 year old struts are worn. The hand brake has been the same in Astons for like 15 years. He is just an annoying idiot, though he is apparently a well-known auto commentator.

Aston's are not for everyone - however if you buy a 10 year old one, don't complain about the stuff that is worn out.

Quirks, defects, anomalies, gremlins and problems are far preferred to reliability and smooth operation due to perfect engineering. What a foolish question!

1st car was a Corolla. 2nd was a BMW 3 series. Current vehicle is a 4Runner. Never ever, ever leaving the Toyota brand again. Zero surprises. Just start and go. Amen. #1. 24/7/365.

1st car: avocado Mustang Grande. 2nd car: Jeep Cherokee 4.0. 3rd car: Jensen Interceptor courtesy of a "grandfather".