Thinking of getting my first tvr
Discussion
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
Have a look on the classifieds there are a couple close to your budget
And good luck with your search
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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 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
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!
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