So much better than peddling….
Whilst out cycling with a mate about a year ago, he randomly said “I would have thought you’d have a sports car by now?”. Little did he know I’d been thinking about it for a while….
This same mate many years ago had owned a TVR Chimaera, and whilst on the ride we started to talk about his experiences of owning one. (All good ones I’m led to believe).
I had kind of forgotten about TVR, as my focus had always on a Westfield, if I was ever to get a ‘toy’. But after speaking to him and other friends, and reading up on TVR, I started to get swayed, as you do… So the search began.
This is when I came across Shmoo Automotive in Leicestershire.
They had two Chimaera for sale. One blue 400, and one green 450. Initially the blue one caught my eye, so I called and spoke to Ed, he explained that the blue one was at the other address down in Devon. This was being dealt with by his young Padawan, Ross. (Edited by Ed to annoy Ross).
Straight off the bat my dealings with Shmoo were great. Friendly guys and not pushy or doing the big sell, just clearly enjoying what they do. So, Ross called me to introduce himself and tell me more about the options, and he was great. Really knowledgeable, and honest about the car.
Unfortunately the blue 400 was no longer for sale, but the green was still on the cards, and just happened to be with Ross having some prep work carried out, before returning back to Leicester. Ed would be getting some paintwork done, and then selling it from there. Somewhat closer to me in the long run.
So I gave Ed a call, and again a great response. He gave me a full rundown of its history and the work they were going to do prep wise, and the general plans on paint. You could tell both are passionate about what they do, and it was just enjoyable dealing with them.
The car was one they had sold before to a chap called Caspar, and although the old pics were on the website, and many other pics were sent over to me on WhatsApp, we all agreed it was best I saw the car, so that I had a better idea of the current cosmetic condition. (The testimonial by Caspar is also on their website, which I also found helpful).
So a day trip to Devon was planned. I took a friend who was an ex-car/motorcycle salesman along for some help. He’s also into his classics, so I knew he’d stop me doing something silly….
It was a 5am roll out in early morning sun. Great! We arrive in Devon in the rain….no chance of a test-drive with the roof off then.
On meeting Ross, straight away you felt at ease. There was no pushy salesman stuff going on and you could tell he’s just a fan of TVR’s (and others). With being a newbie to the Chimaera he went through everything about the car, the history, and the different derivatives. We even got fed some homemade cake! Oh, …and the surrounding was stunning.
So two hours later and one wet test-drive, and many questions asked and answered, I came away with a grin on my face. I asked my mate what he thought, and he said he couldn’t find a reason not to buy it.
The car needed some cosmetic work doing to it so I said to Ross I’d not fully commit to buying it until I knew what was going to be done. This was not an issue to them at all.
I spoke to Ed the following week and we arranged to meet up at a body shop he uses in Leicester. All the time he was keeping me updated with the work being carried out on the car whilst still in Devon so I knew what was happening.
A couple of weeks later I met up with Ed, and Harry (..his paint man at Colourkit Paint Systems)… and the car. We discussed what was going to be done to get it to the Shmoo standard. I was very impressed. So impressed that I 100% committed to buying the car. Then paying a little extra and having a full respray, that Ed managed to get sorted for me at a slightly more attractive price.
Cue the many picture and video updates as it went through the process from Ed. Brilliant! I didn’t expect this. From the September to the pick up in early November, I had photos and walk-around videos of every stage of the paint process, it was reassuring and also fascinating to see how the car changed and took shape over the weeks. (A big shout out to Harry at Colourkit, Harry has been doing paintwork for Ed for 30yrs, and clearly they have an understanding when it comes to the quality of work Ed requires, so much so that it’s made most of Harry’s hair fall out, poor guy).
After many weekly updates and a few TVR niggles sorted out, I got the call to say it was ready to collect…..EXCITED!!!
So on the day before a dreaded second lockdown I was back in Leicester. The car looked AMAZING, and the detail in which Ed had put into the prep was something else.
He left me with very little fettling to play around at. He’d spent a day cleaning the engine bay, so this was spotless. The interior had been scrubbed and G101’ed, and looked top notch. I knew both were in need of some tlc and cleaning, and I’d fully expected to have to do the engine bay myself if I’m honest.
The wheels had been taken off and cleaned and polished on the inner faces, the chassis outriggers and wishbones, that were fitted by Shmoo a few years back for Caspar, were cleaned off and touched up again. It looked even better than I could have hoped for.
So after a detailed handover, Ed drove it to a petrol station, just to make sure it was running as it should. A final few photos and a video walk round when back at his unit (these are on their website if you need proof of how good it looks) and I was on my way… with a big, big grin!
All I can say, from after making first contact with these guys, Ed and Ross were faultless and professional and a total pleasure to deal with. Months after I can still call on them for any help or questions.
Keep it up Shmoo. Brilliant, I’m a happy guy, and still seem to have that big grin…
Mark