Please help can i run for 20,000 miles per year
Discussion
You could..........
Service every 6K miles. From a main TVR dealer you're looking at £600+ for a 6K service, £800+ for a 12K service (indies can nearly halve this).
I get about 20mpg (ish)of Optimax and budget about £40 of oil per 6K.
Don't think clutches last much over 20K so I'd budget £1500 every 18 months for that.
If I could afford it and had a job where I'd cover that amount of mileage then I'd do it.
Service every 6K miles. From a main TVR dealer you're looking at £600+ for a 6K service, £800+ for a 12K service (indies can nearly halve this).
I get about 20mpg (ish)of Optimax and budget about £40 of oil per 6K.
Don't think clutches last much over 20K so I'd budget £1500 every 18 months for that.
If I could afford it and had a job where I'd cover that amount of mileage then I'd do it.
This subject has been brought up a few times.Probably going to get a lot of flack over this, but think you will find when the weather is grotty and you have had a hard day with a long journey infront of you the cerbera might not be the best choice.Tremendous fun cars and probably OK for reasonable every day use but not IMHO a rep mobile.Yes you will get the odd person who will be able to afford to do it. Probably cheaper to get a decent eurobox and keep the tuscan for fun.Always get a sense of anticipation when I lift the garage door to use my TVR don't know if I would get the same feeling using it everyday.At the end of the day its up to the individual.
Agree with p7. Mines covered in snow now & I'm leaving it at work and useing the transvetite van.
If I've got a quote to do at night & Its raining, I tend to use the van or missus metro.
Sometimes I like a quiet life, little things like not having to avoid pot holes & speed bumps, pulling out of two lane junctions & hopeing the car next to me is lower than mine so I can see through or over it, driving over stones that make my car shake & launch the removable stereo at me etc etc etc
p.s. still love it
If I've got a quote to do at night & Its raining, I tend to use the van or missus metro.
Sometimes I like a quiet life, little things like not having to avoid pot holes & speed bumps, pulling out of two lane junctions & hopeing the car next to me is lower than mine so I can see through or over it, driving over stones that make my car shake & launch the removable stereo at me etc etc etc
p.s. still love it
joospeed said:
i think the same way, one of the reasons i've delayed the cerbera purchase is that sometimes you just don't want to do battle with a cerbera if you're not feeling 100%. The S can be very relaxing to drive if u want it to be .. plus the S is faster!!
, not sure about the faster than a cerb, well perhaps if the road/track has no straight bits longer than 400m though 
. Interstingly enough, when mine was with V8D for fettling
, I was please on collection, to be told they had forgotten how much nicer a drive the S was compared to the other RV8 Tivs they normally see . Harry
>> Edited by HarryW on Wednesday 28th January 17:36
IMHO, the practicality of running a Cerbera at this kind of annual mileage depends a lot on what type of driving you are going to do (motorway cruising Vs track day usage) and your driving style (quick and smooth Vs mindless turbo nutter). Having had my 4.5 for nearly 6 years from new and put 44,000 on it I would make these observations.
Its given me far less trouble when in regular use than when its gone through low usage spells - well we all know that dont we!
Major items (engine, transmission) hold up well if you treat the car with a degree of mechanical respect especially cold start and initial running (see numerous threads on this). For example, oil consumption on mine is the same now at around 1600 miles/litre as when new - so not much wrong with bores/rings/guides. Cams still looked excellent at last service, again because of cold running care and regular shim checks.
Clutch is still as tight as a drum and I expect it to last 70 to 80,000 miles - lots of motorway work and no turbo nutter start line antics. Similarly the gearbox seems as sweet as any, no noises with a smooth and a VERY quick shift.
No diff problems either (pays to warm it and the gearbox up well before hard charging).
Interior trim has all held together and still looks pretty much like new - but then its cleaned and given leather treatment regularly.
Tyres obviously take some wear but again depending on use - rears will go 18 to 22,000 miles if you do a lot of motorway work, fronts 40 to 45,000 assuming you take care of the front wishbone bushes.
Cats seem to be a lottery - I had one break up at 20,000 ish and was replaced - the other is still going strong.
Radiators are a known weakness - had mine recored at 36,000 but it had been standing around a lot for a period so I dont know if that aggrevated the problem.
Front discs are another known problem - tend to warp badly and quickly on the 4.5 and at £900 a pair, not a joke. Dump them ASAP and replace with drilled tuscan items fitted with new pads for £400 - I've had these on awhile now and they seem to be far more stable. Pad life is down to you and your right foot.
Electrics are the usual TVR nightmare. All the ECU's by and large are OK but switchgear is fragile so expect things to stick open, jam closed, stop working randomly and at the most inconvienient time. Heater control units have been suspect for me (2 replacements). Nothing however has ever stopped the car from actually working so its not all bad.
Starter motors have been a source of problems for many, me included. Had one replaced at 30,000 ish and the solanoid changed on this one just 5 weeks ago.
Thats the main highlights. In summery, regularly used and doing soft mileage on motorways etc then the bills are containable if you use a good independent (many threads on this) or Peninsula who fettle mine (now TVR but ex independent) then the costs are probably no more than running say a high end BMW such as a 540i or similar Merc. If however you want to play at being Schumacher at weekend track days and race in the traffic light grand prix ...... well its your wallet and I hope its very deep.
Hope this gives some help
Regards
John
Its given me far less trouble when in regular use than when its gone through low usage spells - well we all know that dont we!
Major items (engine, transmission) hold up well if you treat the car with a degree of mechanical respect especially cold start and initial running (see numerous threads on this). For example, oil consumption on mine is the same now at around 1600 miles/litre as when new - so not much wrong with bores/rings/guides. Cams still looked excellent at last service, again because of cold running care and regular shim checks.
Clutch is still as tight as a drum and I expect it to last 70 to 80,000 miles - lots of motorway work and no turbo nutter start line antics. Similarly the gearbox seems as sweet as any, no noises with a smooth and a VERY quick shift.
No diff problems either (pays to warm it and the gearbox up well before hard charging).
Interior trim has all held together and still looks pretty much like new - but then its cleaned and given leather treatment regularly.
Tyres obviously take some wear but again depending on use - rears will go 18 to 22,000 miles if you do a lot of motorway work, fronts 40 to 45,000 assuming you take care of the front wishbone bushes.
Cats seem to be a lottery - I had one break up at 20,000 ish and was replaced - the other is still going strong.
Radiators are a known weakness - had mine recored at 36,000 but it had been standing around a lot for a period so I dont know if that aggrevated the problem.
Front discs are another known problem - tend to warp badly and quickly on the 4.5 and at £900 a pair, not a joke. Dump them ASAP and replace with drilled tuscan items fitted with new pads for £400 - I've had these on awhile now and they seem to be far more stable. Pad life is down to you and your right foot.
Electrics are the usual TVR nightmare. All the ECU's by and large are OK but switchgear is fragile so expect things to stick open, jam closed, stop working randomly and at the most inconvienient time. Heater control units have been suspect for me (2 replacements). Nothing however has ever stopped the car from actually working so its not all bad.
Starter motors have been a source of problems for many, me included. Had one replaced at 30,000 ish and the solanoid changed on this one just 5 weeks ago.
Thats the main highlights. In summery, regularly used and doing soft mileage on motorways etc then the bills are containable if you use a good independent (many threads on this) or Peninsula who fettle mine (now TVR but ex independent) then the costs are probably no more than running say a high end BMW such as a 540i or similar Merc. If however you want to play at being Schumacher at weekend track days and race in the traffic light grand prix ...... well its your wallet and I hope its very deep.
Hope this gives some help
Regards
John
Agree with john, use mine every day except tomorrow due to snow and look after her like a baby. after speaking to lots of people before i bought a cerb, it seems to be the user that drags her out every other sunday for a hard blast that get all the problems. Mine just seems to be getting better....only complaint is the battery charging is suspect if youve everything on i.e lights, radio, hetaing etc and your stuck in traffic.
Neilpoll said:
Hi i am looking to purchase a speed 6 to use for business & pleasure and reckon on about 20,000 miles per year does anyone have any experience on running cerberas on this sort of mileage yearly.
Any thoughts would be useful.I don't won't to by a BMW.
thnx neil
S6 is the best out of Cerberas for the purpose but 20000 mile mandatory run is too much. If you cut down to 8000 miles a year, then buying a £400-£600 economy car with insurance and a small fuel bill would all fall within the 'Cerbera savings' (mutually contradictory terms!).
You can also buy the TVR sticker saying 'my other car is a TVR'! Costs £5 probably.
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