Thinking of getting my first tvr

Thinking of getting my first tvr

Author
Discussion

billynobrakes

2,675 posts

264 months

Sunday 29th November 2015
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My advice if your looking for a Cerbera, check what work had been done recently or you could be buying a money pit, most second hand cars will need some money spent on it so allow a slush fund to throw at it so you will not be p---ed off when something goes wrong, check the chassis / outriggers, when the clutch , slave cylinder was changed normal life is 20-25000 miles, discs can be worn, check for oil and water leaks as you would on normal cars , don't get too hung up on the 4.2 / 4.5 thing as it only comes into play on race tracks and mostly at the top end and also the nut behind the wheel, I know been on track with a few

Have a look on the classifieds there are a couple close to your budget

And good luck with your search

PuffsBack

2,428 posts

224 months

Sunday 29th November 2015
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Can I just add to this Cerbera's are expensive to run thing.

I added up all the costs, including fuel!, that I incurred during the 3 and a half years I owned mine. It's actually less than I made when selling in appreciation. In other words I actually made money running a Cerb!!!!

That's not the same compared with my Griffith and Chim where I lost money.. Though to be fair I think I got lucky and bought the Cerb at the right time. Hoping I can repeat the trick with the Sagaris

gruffalo

7,509 posts

225 months

Sunday 29th November 2015
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I have a standing order paid into a car account of £200 a month and that covers the servicing and sundry extras bits.

Planned/modification work on top.

I have had RV8 powered TVR's and the character of the engines is chalk and cheese, in my opinion the Cerb is way more engaging and exciting.


ukkid35

6,138 posts

172 months

Sunday 29th November 2015
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The elephant in the room with any TVR is the Chassis, which the factory seemed to consider to be a consumable, because they certainly made no effort to protect them from corrosion. Apparently the 98 Cerb suffered more than most, lucky me!

If you do end up with a car that needs a body lift and chassis refurb then you will loose use of the car for several months, and some people on PH have taken two years to get their car back on the road. Whatever the initial cost estimate, most people report that this doubles because of all the other parts that you end up replacing 'while you're at it'.

Even if you can get away with just replacing the outriggers then you will need to allow £2k with a Cerb (they are more awkward to do than on a Chim).

Some consumables are surprisingly expensive: Rear discs £400, Clutch £900, 4.5 Intake hoses £500. Whereas others are Mondeo money: Pads, Hubs, Shocks, Wishbones, Plugs, Filters.

Some parts will probably need to be replaced even on a low mileage car, suspension bushes and clutch slave are prime examples.

When you buy a TVR, you don't end up with a car so much as a hobby.

http://vimeo.com/48726971

http://vimeo.com/64001222

GT6k

856 posts

161 months

Sunday 29th November 2015
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Having a history of dealing with Leyland classics, which really did rust, I am never sure that the chassis rust issue is as big as it is made out to be. Sure a full chassis refurb is a big job but if you get a reasonably well cared for car it is likely that any rust will be confined to the outrigger corners. Speaking as someone who once welded more than 50 patches onto Landrover and having replaced sills on everything from a mini to an S-type I really am not going to lose sleep over a couple of bits of tube

My experience is that if you are careful about buying AND have a bit of luck then you should be able to get a reliable car for under £13k.


2 sMoKiN bArReLs

30,230 posts

234 months

Sunday 29th November 2015
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GT6k said:
cared for car it is likely that any rust will be confined to the outrigger corners.
Sadly, for cars built about 98-99 this simply ain't true.

TheRainMaker

6,302 posts

241 months

Sunday 29th November 2015
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ukkid35 said:
I dredd to think what it would cost to keep one of these cars running if you had to pay someone else to do the work.
I can tell you exactly hehe

2014 £3256.80
2015 £1281.00

This is just for general maintenance at one of the well known specialists.

I probably only lift the bonnet once a year, just to check the engines still there hehe

Jhonno

5,762 posts

140 months

Monday 30th November 2015
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You can have a proper hairy chested British sports car for men, or you have get the Chimp.. wink

The Cerbera is probably more expensive to maintain, but remember what cars will not be able to keep up with one. They turn heads like nothing else..

SPS

1,306 posts

259 months

Monday 30th November 2015
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V8Mad said:
Seconded. A decent 4 ltr Chim would be a good starting point.
I agree - I started with a 4 ltr Chim, then a 4.5.
I now have a 2006 T350C and love it.



essexstu

515 posts

117 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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for your first TVR I would recommend the Chim. A 4.0L will soon be slightly disappointing on power so try to get a 450. I think Cerbs are great but I know they are more expensive to maintain but give massive performance. I have a Chim 450 for a year before selling it and replacing with a Mk1 Tuscan which is different again to the Chim. What ever you get, you won't get bored owning a TVR!