Sometimes, buying a car becomes our basic necessity. It can be a status symbol in our society. Buying a car requires major financial decisions with lots of savings & farsightedness into the future. Reliant Scimitar GTE is a truly overlooked British classic car that’s quick enough & has an excellent design. Despite its speed, fun & durability, it has immense strong features. But it is offered at an excessively high price. The concept of buying a used car was better for those having low-budget options. There are many things you need to keep in mind while buying a used car. With the help of a Used Reliant Scimitar GTE Car Buying Guide, you will get clear & proper information about a pre-owned GTE car. Thus, you will get the best deal.

Reliant Scimitar GTE: what to look for

The Reliant Scimitar was launched in 1964 with its original form, i.e., the same chassis as Daimler. But soon they produced the Scimitar by using reliant Sabre gear & brand new steel chains. In 1968, it was constructed with an all-new chassis together with revised & improved suspension. Although the Scimitar has a good Ford 3.0 liter V6 engine with an attractive body styling. It has an absolute doddle to maintain the humble ford running gear & folding rear seats that make it practical for everyday use.

With the expert’s guidance, you will discover all you need to know about the used Reliant Scimitar car. A unique point will help you evaluate any potential purchase & judge the car valuation. Let us discuss a few points you need to consider while buying a pre-owned reliant GTE.

Bodywork

The glass fiber bodywork of reliant GTE is durable but crazy from stress. Although it is more challenging to maintain. Thus, while inspecting the used car, check for hasty resprays, concealing flakes, or rust spots. Pay attention & check for corrosion on outer rails & outriggers behind the front wheel. Despite the glass body, chassis rot is a common killer of scimiters, thus examine it. Check for rust between the chassis rail & the glass fiber. Includes heater fans behind the headlights, front box metalwork near the radiator & bumper mountings in testing the car before buying.

Engine

Reliant GTE has well maintained Ford V6, which is more durable & straightforward. Thus, while inspecting the car, you need to look for regular servicing, excessive oil breathing & knocks, or rattles. Check for secure fuel pipe, carb & cracked cast iron manifolds. The low revving Essex has weakness in its fiber timing gear. Although there were noisy steel replacements available. Thus, check for the steel & alloy replacements. When beginning your search, remember many Scimitars have been converted to LPG.

Suspension

In reliant GTE, the suspension is derived from the triumph Tr6 at the front. And it has a limit of load capacity. Due to which it requires frequent lubrication & bush replacement. Four components need regular greasing & lubrication, such as the trunnion, trunnion bolt, ballpoint & wheel bearing. Thus, check for the greased components, otherwise, it may expect an overhaul. Also, check for the tires that should have balanced & equal wear. To exclude the front-back swap, pay attention to the rear. To solve the overhaul issue, you can go through with poly bush suspension.

Gearbox

The gearing of reliant Scimitar is especially high on automatic. In automatic, the Ford C3 automatic gearbox can be replaced during the SE5 production. Although it can be rebuilt at cheap rates. While manual cars have a ford gearbox with top & third, offering six gear ratios at 70mph. You need to check for the dragging clutch, which means a bent dutch release fork. Some manual gearboxes are notchy while shifting. Thus check for the car humping on second & top gear. Also, test for smooth shifts & knockdowns on automatics.

Bumpers

In a reliant scimitar GTE car, you need to check for the straight chrome & good look bumper. Although these bumpers comprise high-quality stainless steel 304 with 20% chrome. Bumpers have a significant possibility to get damaged. Thus, you need to check for their re-polishing.

Electrics

You need to beware of wiring looms with cracked coatings in GTE. As Glass fiber body requires extra earthing wires in reliant GTE. Thus it troublesome errors. The fuse box can also be problematic. Thus check for the body irregularities with electrics. Also, check for corroded contacts if possible. These can create high resistance that causes more heat than wires can handle. It could melt with a risk of short circuits, or worse.

Interior trim

GTE has back vinyl trim & tan, leather options. Thus, inspect for a torn front seat frame. Interior trim is more unobtainable. Soft trim can be refurbished, replaced & upgraded by a competent trimmer. Thus check for interior trim, & water leaks. Test for the window leakage & window sealant. Sometimes carpets get rot away, growing mushrooms & carpet get soaked because of leaks. Due to which the tailgate hinges can be rusted & stop working.

Exterior

For the exterior of reliant GTE, check for the body irregularities. Although recent resprays can cover the horror tracks. GTE models have metal reinforcements in the body shell. Thus, look for the metal rusts & cracks on the body locally. Also, check the condition of metal parts & bumpers, which does not show an accident.
The wheels are composites with alloy centers. These are more expensive & hard to restore. Thus check for the dreaded center caps in wheels & cracked ones.

Chassis

The chassis of the GTE is really strong but it can rust after long periods of inattention. A galvanized chassis should be better protected from rust. But without proper upkeep, rust can appear after some years. Thus, you need to check for rust & corrosion. At the front end chassis, rust can occur around the radiator & towards the front end. Thus check under the car, under the spare wheel, bumper mountings & the suspension mounting brackets.

Front chassis outriggers may collect mud & debris. Inspect the upper side of the body with chassis. Pay special attention to the B pillar, where the roll bar is fitted. All the outer seat belts mounting with a roll bar. Thus, inspect the chassis seat belts does not absorb the impact of energy in an accident.

Reliant Scimitar GTE: the Classic & Sports Car verdict

The Scimitar GTE has a much better fate than the classic market. Although it offers outstanding value & sports hatch, which is innovative & ridiculously cheaper to buy. Let discuss some key points that elaborate the reliant GTE features.

For

It has immensely versatile and usable features.
Offers high gearing gives relaxed cruising.
Glass fiber bodywork does not rust.
It combines sports car handling with space, versatility, and practicality.

Against

Tired bodywork is expensive to put right.
Chassis rot can render repair uneconomic.
Low prices mean most require TLC.

Reliant Scimitar GTE specifications

• It has solid/number built from 1968 to 86.
• It was constructed under a steel tubular chassis & glass fiber body with steel tube reinforcement.
• Length 14ft 2in-14ft 61/2in (4320-4430mm)
• Width 5ft 5in-5ft 7in (1650-1700mm)
• Height 4ft 41/2in (1335mm)
• Wheelbase 8ft 31/2in-8ft 71/2in (2525-2630mm)
• Weight 2542-2945lb (1155-1339kg)
• Mpg 19-26
• 0-60mph 8.9-12.3 secs
• Top speed 110-121mph
• The engine of reliant GTE comprises two chokes, Weber or Solex, that have 4750 rpm at 135bhp & 5200 rpm.
• It has a four-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission. It has good driving wheels.
• Reliant GTE has good suspension with front double wishbones & anti-roll bar rear live axle. With trailing arms, it has watt linkage, coil springs & telescope dampers.
• Well maintained & powerful steering. Steering is rack & pinion, power-assisted with servo & dual circuit.

Running cost of Reliant Scimitar GTE car

The reliant scimitar was a branded car with an unfortunate reputation for catching fire. It has prospective buyers that warned off over undeserved unreliability fear. Although it was coupled with insurance premiums plants that have languished at the bottom of used cars in markets. It has eliminated or neglected many examples. While this may not save enthusiasts who enjoy any opportunity to restore a classic to its former glory, buyers should go into any potential sale with their eyes closed. Problems can arise at the lower end of the scale. While restoration examples look attractively cheap (often around the £1,000 mark), the cost of restoring a scimitar can easily exceed the total value of the car, so keep that in mind.

GTE prices are determined by condition and specification rather than model or year. Examples of all in need of restoration can be picked up for £500, fantastic examples are £4k-5k, while exceptional cars in high spec with a pleasant history and color scheme can fetch £10k or can earn more than £20k.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have given complete information on things to consider before buying a used Reliant Scimitar GTE car. For the best deal, we mentioned all the factors & components that you need to check for. Although sometimes, buying a new car is not possible because of the low budget. Thus you can go through with the used car. Hence, with the help of this used Reliant Scimitar GTE car buying guide, you will get complete information that you need to know about the used car. Because of this, you will get a better understanding of dealing with the used car with a potential purchase.