Hello and question on buying a Cerb for 17k

[ginkent]

Hello all, have been a voyeur of this forum (and your beautiful cars) on and off for a while, and have at last made a decision to join the mad world of owning a Cerbera. Trouble is, I can't find one (not in my budget at least).

which leads to my question, am I being realistic trying to find a Cerb for up to £17k?

in an ideal world, my criteria would be:
must have full history
must be a known car with a known past (i.e. for sale by a PH member)
any colour any model
not a Cat C/D

if I am realistic, maybe it's just the wrong time of year, or maybe I just need to be more patient?

[ginkent]

Twinkam said:

Hi GK.
Well, I just did (spent quite a bit less than that, actually).
But you might have to 'kiss a few frogs' first.
My advice would be to get a thorough independent inspection done.
Mine cost £300. So be sure that you actually want that one before instructing the inspection.
And, having paid for that professional advice, follow it.
Good luck!
Rik

thanks, and thanks for the feedback.
there's a guy advertising on fleabay to vet pre-purchase for 299, did you use them (Inter******) ?

jamieduff1981 said:

..I myself made the decision you have in the month of August a few years back, and didn't actually buy my car until the following January..

eeek. So I should learn some patience. Maybe not a bad idea, I imagine patience and waiting are key ingredients in TVR ownership

[ginkent]

philipbrown123 said:

Hi Gk. Up your budget to £18.5k and go for a green one ( best colour ) !

you have no idea how tempted I am. But my head is ruling right now, telling me not to dip into the keeping-it-maintained-war-chest

[ginkent]

sybaseian said:

go and drive a few before you purchase.

how does that usually work? Most private sellers want to see full comp insurance before allowing a test drive.
tbh I haven't spoken to my insurance company, but is the idea to get a temp insurance each time?

[ginkent]

thanks James, have sent you a mail.

and thanks everyone else for chiming in - really appreciate it

[ginkent]

ukkid35 said:

That caught me out. I'd assumed you were buying as an investment - not to actually drive it. After all, why would you care whether it was Cat C/D - that's an instant discount which wouldn't affect the resale value proportionately.

Also, colour is not a consideration - not if you never intend to be seen in it.

And you want a FSH on a car that's nearly 20 years old - why? Who cares what happened before, the only thing that matters is the state it's in now. A fully restored car with a new chassis but no service history is worth twice that of a regularly serviced dog.

OK, so perhaps you're looking for a cheap investment vehicle, perhaps not. Should the rest of us care? I don't know, but it would make things clearer if you told us.

fair question.

so maybe my noob is showing here.

I read that a cat c/d affects insurance, i assume massively, maybe i'm wrong there
i'm not mechanically minded at all, so i'd prefer to pay a little extra if it were to de-risk the purchase, if FSH does de-risk it - you suggest not.
do people really buy these only for investment? blimey - i don't know if i could walk past it not wanting to drive it.

if i had a choice of colours, I know what i'd pick, but I'm being realistic. colour is important, but it won't be a deciding factor

I'm looking for a weekend toy, in as good a condition as my budget can afford. And i'm looking for advice on getting that, hence me being here.

Edited by ginkent on Tuesday 14th June 21:18

[ginkent]

thanks everyone for the comments, i'm soaking all this up. and have a couple on the radar now

[ginkent]

so i've joined the cult. Pick up my Cerb speed six tomorrow morning. Purchased from a PH member.
thanks all for your help.
I'll be travelling back home with it ~70miles. Why do i feel like Tim Peake making his nervous return journey.