Annual Running costs?? 3k?
Discussion
As someone who is looking at buying a secondhand cerbie 4.2, I was a little put back when i saw a couple of threads saying that annual running costs are around the 3k mark!
Can someone point out to me what this "annual running cost" actually breaks down too.
I can understand if you are including fuel and servicing, but surely not just to keep the thing on the road???!!!
Please help clear my confusion up.....
cheers
Dave
Can someone point out to me what this "annual running cost" actually breaks down too.
I can understand if you are including fuel and servicing, but surely not just to keep the thing on the road???!!!
Please help clear my confusion up.....
cheers
Dave
3K to cover servicing, tyres , consumables etc but excludes petrol, oil and insurance.
Some people get away with less but at some point disks, exhausts, starters, tyres, engine etc.....need work.
Then you can add on additional costs for upgrades eg suspension, wheels, brakes....
If you cant deal with 3K pa then dont do it. It will be 1k pa if you are veyr lucky but really cant be less than 1.5 - 2K in any year. 2 - 3 allows for a couple of big bills. But it could always be more.
Some people get away with less but at some point disks, exhausts, starters, tyres, engine etc.....need work.
Then you can add on additional costs for upgrades eg suspension, wheels, brakes....
If you cant deal with 3K pa then dont do it. It will be 1k pa if you are veyr lucky but really cant be less than 1.5 - 2K in any year. 2 - 3 allows for a couple of big bills. But it could always be more.
Apart from the 24k service I had carried out last year I have run my car without any problems for under £1.5k a year for two years. This includes Insurance but no consumables. I have a 99 4.5 and have it looked after by Andy at APM. If you are looking for an older car suggest you use the specialist network as dealers will still be looking to charge you full wack for your servicing. It also depends on your driving style, I am fairly quick but don't look at every road as an extension to Goodwood. Personally I think 3k is high unless something major such as a clutch lets go. So as a previous post goes, don't purchase the first you see unless it's mine! 
Don't get me wrong, I know things can get very costly if something major goes wrong (it is classed as a supercar after all!)
But if people are spending around 3k a year just to keep the car on the road then TVR have a major design flaw!!!
Insurance, tyres, fuel will alter overall running costs dramatically as it all depends on the person driving and shouldn't really be taken in to account, but do you guys really buy brake discs, clutch, starter motors every year????
Surely if your replacing your discs and clutch every year IMOA you might need to go back to driving school!
As for upgrades, that doesn't really come into affect on running costs as that is up to the individual on spending more money (the more spare cash you have the more you'll chuck at the car).
Sorry if i seem to be a little aggresive, I don't mean to come across that way, I just wanted to see some kind of breakdown/list of what people have spent on general running costs.
I'm just interested in what i might expect if i buy one.
But if people are spending around 3k a year just to keep the car on the road then TVR have a major design flaw!!!
Insurance, tyres, fuel will alter overall running costs dramatically as it all depends on the person driving and shouldn't really be taken in to account, but do you guys really buy brake discs, clutch, starter motors every year????
Surely if your replacing your discs and clutch every year IMOA you might need to go back to driving school!
As for upgrades, that doesn't really come into affect on running costs as that is up to the individual on spending more money (the more spare cash you have the more you'll chuck at the car).
Sorry if i seem to be a little aggresive, I don't mean to come across that way, I just wanted to see some kind of breakdown/list of what people have spent on general running costs.
I'm just interested in what i might expect if i buy one.
There are loads of people with full breakdown of costs on their profiles.
3K is generally what people recommend as a budget.
Depends on miles, luck, driving style, age of tyres and ancillaries etc
If you cant afford 3K pa then dont buy one.
If you can afford 2K pa and can use a credit card as back up then maybe do it.
If you can only afford 1K - 2K per annum then dont do it.
Remember if you need major work then you can easily spend a lot more than 3k pa.
Some of the items that will maybe need doing over 2 yrs:-
Tyres = £800 ?
Exhaust = £250
Starter = £250
Nose job = min £750 up to £2500
Service = £2K (assuming 3 over 2 yrs)
clutch = £1500
rad = £250
air con re gas = £100
tappets adjust x 1 = £350
other possibles include engine work, diff etc and then you have upgrades.
Thats the score. IMHO.
3K is generally what people recommend as a budget.
Depends on miles, luck, driving style, age of tyres and ancillaries etc
If you cant afford 3K pa then dont buy one.
If you can afford 2K pa and can use a credit card as back up then maybe do it.
If you can only afford 1K - 2K per annum then dont do it.
Remember if you need major work then you can easily spend a lot more than 3k pa.
Some of the items that will maybe need doing over 2 yrs:-
Tyres = £800 ?
Exhaust = £250
Starter = £250
Nose job = min £750 up to £2500
Service = £2K (assuming 3 over 2 yrs)
clutch = £1500
rad = £250
air con re gas = £100
tappets adjust x 1 = £350
other possibles include engine work, diff etc and then you have upgrades.
Thats the score. IMHO.
Cost's and issues for my '96 4.2 for the first year of ownership were as follows.
Purchased with new tyres and exhaust, 12000 mile service just completed from an independant.
Oil 2 litres. £22.00
Ignition control required reset.
New Windscreen washer tube, original melted next to manifold.
Fitted a new connector to the drivers window motor.
6000 mile service free, (part of the purchase deal).
New Rear Tyres Toyo's £197 fitted
Oil 2 Litres £22.00
Steering Wheel Button Ribbon Cable repaired.
12 Month / 12000 mile service plus
Tappets
Brake fluid
Brake Pads
Ignition Coil
Total £850.
Insurance £480.
Fuel ~£1500 (9000 miles).
RFL £165.00
Total £3236
or ~36p per mile
That's if so far.
Purchased with new tyres and exhaust, 12000 mile service just completed from an independant.
Oil 2 litres. £22.00
Ignition control required reset.
New Windscreen washer tube, original melted next to manifold.
Fitted a new connector to the drivers window motor.
6000 mile service free, (part of the purchase deal).
New Rear Tyres Toyo's £197 fitted
Oil 2 Litres £22.00
Steering Wheel Button Ribbon Cable repaired.
12 Month / 12000 mile service plus
Tappets
Brake fluid
Brake Pads
Ignition Coil
Total £850.
Insurance £480.
Fuel ~£1500 (9000 miles).
RFL £165.00
Total £3236
or ~36p per mile
That's if so far.
dejay said:
But if people are spending around 3k a year just to keep the car on the road then TVR have a major design flaw!!!
You got to remember these are highly tuned racing cars and the parts are under a lot of stress...things won't last a quarter of the time that they would do in a normal car.
You don't see a Le Mans car come back without having any problems (especially not a T440R
), after one race everything is worn out ! A Cerbera is a lot nearer a race car than a road car !
My profile has a fairly good indication as to what will go wrong. I've had mine for 3 years now, so most things have been replaced at some point.
Good luck !
Just been doing the figures, and have to agree that £3k is a good figure on which to base annual Cerbera ownership.
Totted up my figures for the servicing (24k big one) & repairs and it comes to exactly £2999 – amazing!
Add to this the cost of a piece of toilet paper (aka TVR WH Warranty), pampering (Leven bits and cleaning materials, Mobile 1), upgrades (lights, alloys) and it comes to a figure of 80p per mile, or 96p if you include fuel. Insurance I didnt include – this however is no more expensive than our family wagon.
So 3-4k for me is looking like the annual running cost for this year, but obviously its going to be a lot less for next (hopefully) as: the upgrades were one off costs; a number of issues with the car were things coming to the end of their life (discs/coils/starters/radiators - all the usual TVR suspects) and hoping their replacements will last another 20K odd miles; this service was the big one inc. tappets, the next will be substantially less.
Finally I will not be bothering wasting my money on an official TVR/Warranty Holdings warranty - complete and utter waste of time, effort and money these people. Wished I’d took the advice given on PH when I bought the car and not given the liars any of my money.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Tommomic
Totted up my figures for the servicing (24k big one) & repairs and it comes to exactly £2999 – amazing!
Add to this the cost of a piece of toilet paper (aka TVR WH Warranty), pampering (Leven bits and cleaning materials, Mobile 1), upgrades (lights, alloys) and it comes to a figure of 80p per mile, or 96p if you include fuel. Insurance I didnt include – this however is no more expensive than our family wagon.
So 3-4k for me is looking like the annual running cost for this year, but obviously its going to be a lot less for next (hopefully) as: the upgrades were one off costs; a number of issues with the car were things coming to the end of their life (discs/coils/starters/radiators - all the usual TVR suspects) and hoping their replacements will last another 20K odd miles; this service was the big one inc. tappets, the next will be substantially less.
Finally I will not be bothering wasting my money on an official TVR/Warranty Holdings warranty - complete and utter waste of time, effort and money these people. Wished I’d took the advice given on PH when I bought the car and not given the liars any of my money.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Tommomic
gazzab said:
But sadly a number of people refuse to believe that it is as high (potentially) as £3K. So they buy a car and then realise it is costing more than they hoped for to run. Then they get disillusioned.
Fuuny that - I went in to this after doing my homework, and this is almost spot on what I was expecting (except for the extras I've blown on light upgrads, alloys & Leven stuff - didnt realise pampering was quite such an addiction!). Like you say, you've got to understand exactly what you are getting into.
3K+ may seem a lot in the cold light of calculations, but what a TVR gives you compared to most motors is incalculable.
You cannot buy a 50K supercar and expect to run it on a budget. Add to this that our family non-descript Japenese wagon cost over £1.5 per annum (exc. insurance) for a 20k poopercar, then the running costs of a Cerbera do not seem that bad.
Cheers,
Tommomic
>> Edited by tommomic on Monday 1st September 14:46
bandit said:
But if people are spending around 3k a year just to keep the car on the road then TVR have a major design flaw!!!
You got to remember these are highly tuned racing cars and the parts are under a lot of stress...things won't last a quarter of the time that they would do in a normal car.
You don't see a Le Mans car come back without having any problems (especially not a T440R
A Cerbera is a lot nearer a race car than a road car !
My profile has a fairly good indication as to what will go wrong. I've had mine for 3 years now, so most things have been replaced at some point.
Good luck !
How about if you drive to the speed limits. Is it still stressed out, or should last longer then. What parts are stressed when driving slow apart from the driver.
Try these top tips:-
Always park on a hill. Put blocks under the wheels so as to save on the handbrake. Always start the car by rolling down the hill, saves the starer motor and battery.
Driving everywhere backwards saves on front end resprays.
Drive on roman roads - less turning means less tyre and steering wear.
convert to lpg.
dont bother with insurance. It is just a rip off.
That lot alone could save a copuple of K per annum.
The best idea though is to park the car in a garage and never drive it. Only got depreciation to worry about then.
Always park on a hill. Put blocks under the wheels so as to save on the handbrake. Always start the car by rolling down the hill, saves the starer motor and battery.
Driving everywhere backwards saves on front end resprays.
Drive on roman roads - less turning means less tyre and steering wear.
convert to lpg.
dont bother with insurance. It is just a rip off.
That lot alone could save a copuple of K per annum.
The best idea though is to park the car in a garage and never drive it. Only got depreciation to worry about then.
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