First time buyer....trying to remain calm!!!
Discussion
Hi all
Looking to buy my first TVR and it has to be a Cerbera! I need to do one or two runs from Barrow to Liverpool each week and be able to fit kids in for weekend travelling - but still have FUN! Decided after hearing much "umms and arrs" regarding reliability and running costs to do some proper research and was well happy when I found PistonHeads.
Problem is...before finding Piston Heads and the Cerbera forum I thought I might want a Cerb and might spend up to £20K...now I've spent the last 8 hours reading some of the reviews and forum threads (and have to stop now or my missus is going to break my nice new mac powerbook over my head to stop me!) I KNOW I WANT ONE and I think I'm prepared to push my spending limit to around £35K. Probably mainly cos i want low miles and newer spec but am I better off thinking different?
Everyone here seems to know their onions so I am hoping to get some good advice as i start my search for true love, and look forward to being able to announce the arrival of a new 'baby' sooner rather than later.
I am planning to start by taking the advice of many of you and taking a few drives to get a feel for the beast in a few guises. Am thinking of contacting folks at christopher neil in cheshire to drive both models they currently have online at www.christopherneil.co.uk and the Sports and Specialist Car Co. at York re their Purple Paradise 4.5 (big difference in price to the first two) and any word of wisdom on where my money might be best spent from this choice might give me a good idea as to how to continue my shopping around?
Also any recommendations for a good place for servicing/repair once i find the right car near to me in Barrow in furness (we did actually have a TVR centre once!), cumbria would be appreciated.
I've just realise what a long first post this is....sorry guys....just very excited about the prospect of 'joining the club', but wanting to make sure I take as much advice as possible along the way!
Can't wait for large helpings of bang, crackle, and pop for breakfast on 'liverpool mornings'!
Hello Paul....
Welcome to P/H........
You seem to have done all the right things so far.........
Test drives are a must....go ahead with that idea.
I'm sure one of the guys from your way will pop up soon to give you some names for servicing.
Have a look on www.tvrcc.co.uk and find out who the Regional Organiser is for your area.
I would suggest you give him a call and pop along to a local meet where you can chat with some Cerb owners.
Good luck in your search.....and let us know as soon as you have found 'The One'...
...//P//
Welcome to P/H........
You seem to have done all the right things so far.........
Test drives are a must....go ahead with that idea.
I'm sure one of the guys from your way will pop up soon to give you some names for servicing.
Have a look on www.tvrcc.co.uk and find out who the Regional Organiser is for your area.
I would suggest you give him a call and pop along to a local meet where you can chat with some Cerb owners.
Good luck in your search.....and let us know as soon as you have found 'The One'...
...//P//pablo luvgroove said:
Am thinking of contacting folks at christopher neil in cheshire to drive both models they currently have online at www.christopherneil.co.uk and the Sports and Specialist Car Co. at York re their Purple Paradise 4.5 (big difference in price to the first two) and any word of wisdom on where my money might be best spent from this choice might give me a good idea as to how to continue my shopping around?
Hi Paul,
I ’m looking for a Cerbera too, (not in competition with you though as I’ve recently decided to save up a bit before taking the plunge). I can tell you a little about the car at Sports and Specialists in Borobridge.
It’s been up for sale for quite a while, (at least 3 months). The only thing that would concern me about it is that the mileage is so low that it’s obvious that the car hasn’t been used for large chunks of time. You would need to check that its been serviced on time not just mileage. Even then, it would need a thorough checking over as all the bits that are supposed to move, flex, stretch etc haven’t!
The other thing that I would have a problem with is the colour. !!!
On the plus side, when I made a tentative phone enquiry a couple of months ago, the guy I spoke to immediately knocked 2 grand off the price and I had a feeling he would go lower.
Paul,
My 2p's worth:
£20k is easily enough to buy a good Cerbera if you spend a bit of time searching. If you're spending £35k, then you're gonna hit massive depreciation over a couple of years, and beyond a point it's luck as to whether something breaks or not. What "newer spec" features are you looking for? Other than all the mechanical changes in '02(ish), the front-end, rear-lights, (optional) 18" wheels, interior, etc. can all be replaced. Personally, I'd save some of that money for potential bills, and spend a bit having an expert inspect the car if you're not to happy to poke about with the mechanics/electrics yourself whilst looking.
Personally, I definitely wouldn't buy a Cerbera that had done less than 4k miles a year - (in my opinion) it'll have been left sitting around for too long or may just have been taken out for quick blasts. When I was looking, I set myself a target of a car that'd done around 6k miles PA as a rough guideline to something that had been used regularly. In doing this, and making sure I had paperwork for every trip the car had had to the dealer since new, I could see that all the niggles had been dealt with, etc.
As for "where to buy", a dealer may be more willing to pay for issues arising shortly after purchase of the car. They will build the cost of this into the price they charge, though. They usually just sell the WH warranty too, which you can buy personally. I picked up my car from an independent (non TVR specialist) dealer, and got them to stump up for the warranty, which my local (official) dealer has been happy to put things through on. Given the choice, I'd actually rather buy privately - you can save a couple of £k which will help fix most problems, and you can see how the car's been maintained/driven rather than relying on a dealer. There are also well-known specialists who'll inspect any car for you for a fee, if necessary.
Servicing's down to personal choice - a good independent specialist will be every bit as good as a decent dealer (or maybe better?), and will cost quite a bit less. I'm sure people will be able to e-mail you off-forum about good/bad places in your area. Losing the dealer stamp will hit residual prices (especially on a newer car), though. Dealer services & independents for other work is always an option. If it's a long drive to one or the other then that may make the decision for you, of course.
As for a model-by-model breakdown:
The S6 engine is much maligned for needing rebuilds. It's been continually getting better since it was introduced, but probably isn't as reliable on a 2nd hand car as the V8, and 2nd hand prices reflect this/the worry of this. [Prepares to get flamed by Ocean]
The 4.5 is generally no faster/barely faster than the 4.2, but costs a lot more. Unless you're planning on the RR conversion, it's quite a premium to pay.
Hope some of that helps! [Remembers to save this off for the next person that asks]
My 2p's worth:
£20k is easily enough to buy a good Cerbera if you spend a bit of time searching. If you're spending £35k, then you're gonna hit massive depreciation over a couple of years, and beyond a point it's luck as to whether something breaks or not. What "newer spec" features are you looking for? Other than all the mechanical changes in '02(ish), the front-end, rear-lights, (optional) 18" wheels, interior, etc. can all be replaced. Personally, I'd save some of that money for potential bills, and spend a bit having an expert inspect the car if you're not to happy to poke about with the mechanics/electrics yourself whilst looking.
Personally, I definitely wouldn't buy a Cerbera that had done less than 4k miles a year - (in my opinion) it'll have been left sitting around for too long or may just have been taken out for quick blasts. When I was looking, I set myself a target of a car that'd done around 6k miles PA as a rough guideline to something that had been used regularly. In doing this, and making sure I had paperwork for every trip the car had had to the dealer since new, I could see that all the niggles had been dealt with, etc.
As for "where to buy", a dealer may be more willing to pay for issues arising shortly after purchase of the car. They will build the cost of this into the price they charge, though. They usually just sell the WH warranty too, which you can buy personally. I picked up my car from an independent (non TVR specialist) dealer, and got them to stump up for the warranty, which my local (official) dealer has been happy to put things through on. Given the choice, I'd actually rather buy privately - you can save a couple of £k which will help fix most problems, and you can see how the car's been maintained/driven rather than relying on a dealer. There are also well-known specialists who'll inspect any car for you for a fee, if necessary.
Servicing's down to personal choice - a good independent specialist will be every bit as good as a decent dealer (or maybe better?), and will cost quite a bit less. I'm sure people will be able to e-mail you off-forum about good/bad places in your area. Losing the dealer stamp will hit residual prices (especially on a newer car), though. Dealer services & independents for other work is always an option. If it's a long drive to one or the other then that may make the decision for you, of course.
As for a model-by-model breakdown:
The S6 engine is much maligned for needing rebuilds. It's been continually getting better since it was introduced, but probably isn't as reliable on a 2nd hand car as the V8, and 2nd hand prices reflect this/the worry of this. [Prepares to get flamed by Ocean]
The 4.5 is generally no faster/barely faster than the 4.2, but costs a lot more. Unless you're planning on the RR conversion, it's quite a premium to pay.
Hope some of that helps!
[Remembers to save this off for the next person that asks]
Thanks guys for the feedback so far (esp to J S G). I can see from this and other research that I'll be wise to spend more of my time and energy, and probably less of my cash (upfront), to get this right!
Best feedback in the last 24 hours has come from my old dad who, after listening to my description of what i was looking for, frowned and said "why can't you just be normal son?"
Best feedback in the last 24 hours has come from my old dad who, after listening to my description of what i was looking for, frowned and said "why can't you just be normal son?"
pablo luvgroove said:
Best feedback in the last 24 hours has come from my old dad who, after listening to my description of what i was looking for, frowned and said "why can't you just be normal son?"
My favourite was when I told my mother and she started with "Just because it's a fancier shape and can go fast doesn't mean the speed limit's changed". Then my father piped up with "I seem to recall you only agreed to go on a date with me four decades ago because I had a Porsche." She hasn't said a word since.
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