First Weekend of Cerbera Ownership
Discussion
After a week of sleepless nights and a severe dent in my bank balance it finally got to Saturday morning, Cerbera collection day. Off I went to Fernies, my nerves and anticipation fuelled by the processions of performance cars making their way to Goodwood, Rachel and her Corsa struggling to keep up with then.
I arrived, the car looked awesome, very clean and tidy and much better that I remembered it! Simon showed me the ropes and after fighting with the biting point on that triple plate clutch I was on my way to Woking to drop Rach’s car off and make our way to mid-Wales for the weekend (land of my fathers and all that).
We parked up in Woking and swapped our stuff between cars. I pull away and….STALL. This clutch is going to be the death of me! I try to start the car….and nothing. I check the alarm, try again…..NOTHING! I try to get out…..no doors……no windows. I grab the emergency release and pop the door. By this time I’m thinking fuses, relays or perhaps an inertia cut off switch…..but I didn’t think I stalled that severely. I get around to the boot……won’t open……..arggggggggggg!
OK, calm down…….phone Fernies, no calm down some more before you phone them. Right, the guys at Fernies talk me through the immobiliser and all the other common causes…..nope…onto third line support…..Brian from the workshop takes charge. “That sounds like a blah de blah fuse, call the AA and they will be able to change it for you”.
So an hour and a half later I’m sitting at the side of the road, sucking furiously on my 10th cigarette. Various comments from passers by, such as “that’ll look good on your mantelpiece” or “shame it don’t go as good as well as it looks” don’t do anything for me. I’m trying to fight it, but I slowly start to think about the implications of buying a ‘Lemmon’. Rach by this time has taken the sensible option of sitting outside my 20 metre annoyance zone.
The AA man finally turns up, pops a set of jump leads on the car and……VROOOM. So it’s not a fuse. He takes them off again and tries to start it. Not a thing. He checks the alternator….good…checks the battery……DEAD. So after all that it turns out that by some of act God my battery decides to throw a cell just at the moment I stall…..”and that could happen to a Porsche!”, I wish I could shout at previous passers by.
To cut a very very long story short…..after another two hours of resetting the door and window computers, struggling to get the battery out, struggling to get the new one in (which Fernies very kindly arranged to be couriered over), the car was back to good health. After 300 miles of M4 and nearly 200 miles of ‘quick’ Welsh roads, the car has not missed a beat.
The moral of the story…..it’s probably not as bad as you think it is!
I’d like to thank the AA guy who went above and beyond the call of duty, who also got his beer paid for that night. I like to thank Fernies for all the help they provided, and ensuring that I was not left stranded……..but most of all I’d like to thank Peter Wheeler….no matter how much you try to hide it with leather and walnut, that car is a double hard ‘batsard’.
Sorry for the dribble folks, had to get it out of my system.
Cheers,
Rob
>>> Edited by rjben on Monday 14th July 10:29
I arrived, the car looked awesome, very clean and tidy and much better that I remembered it! Simon showed me the ropes and after fighting with the biting point on that triple plate clutch I was on my way to Woking to drop Rach’s car off and make our way to mid-Wales for the weekend (land of my fathers and all that).
We parked up in Woking and swapped our stuff between cars. I pull away and….STALL. This clutch is going to be the death of me! I try to start the car….and nothing. I check the alarm, try again…..NOTHING! I try to get out…..no doors……no windows. I grab the emergency release and pop the door. By this time I’m thinking fuses, relays or perhaps an inertia cut off switch…..but I didn’t think I stalled that severely. I get around to the boot……won’t open……..arggggggggggg!
OK, calm down…….phone Fernies, no calm down some more before you phone them. Right, the guys at Fernies talk me through the immobiliser and all the other common causes…..nope…onto third line support…..Brian from the workshop takes charge. “That sounds like a blah de blah fuse, call the AA and they will be able to change it for you”.
So an hour and a half later I’m sitting at the side of the road, sucking furiously on my 10th cigarette. Various comments from passers by, such as “that’ll look good on your mantelpiece” or “shame it don’t go as good as well as it looks” don’t do anything for me. I’m trying to fight it, but I slowly start to think about the implications of buying a ‘Lemmon’. Rach by this time has taken the sensible option of sitting outside my 20 metre annoyance zone.
The AA man finally turns up, pops a set of jump leads on the car and……VROOOM. So it’s not a fuse. He takes them off again and tries to start it. Not a thing. He checks the alternator….good…checks the battery……DEAD. So after all that it turns out that by some of act God my battery decides to throw a cell just at the moment I stall…..”and that could happen to a Porsche!”, I wish I could shout at previous passers by.
To cut a very very long story short…..after another two hours of resetting the door and window computers, struggling to get the battery out, struggling to get the new one in (which Fernies very kindly arranged to be couriered over), the car was back to good health. After 300 miles of M4 and nearly 200 miles of ‘quick’ Welsh roads, the car has not missed a beat.
The moral of the story…..it’s probably not as bad as you think it is!
I’d like to thank the AA guy who went above and beyond the call of duty, who also got his beer paid for that night. I like to thank Fernies for all the help they provided, and ensuring that I was not left stranded……..but most of all I’d like to thank Peter Wheeler….no matter how much you try to hide it with leather and walnut, that car is a double hard ‘batsard’.
Sorry for the dribble folks, had to get it out of my system.
Cheers,
Rob
>>> Edited by rjben on Monday 14th July 10:29
Quite a start to your ownership Rob!
I had a similar start and was thinking, "Oh dear, what
have I just done", but that feels like about 10
years ago now ( was it really only 3 1/2 weeks ago?! )
and I'd never want anything other than a Cerbera now.
Take your time 'bonding with the car' and you will have
the time of your driving life!
Sounds like Fernies and the AA came up trumps too.
Hope to see you and the car on TCR....
Go create some weather...
Graham
TCR The Cerbera Register
www.aauk.biz/Cerbera/index.htm
I had a similar start and was thinking, "Oh dear, what
have I just done", but that feels like about 10
years ago now ( was it really only 3 1/2 weeks ago?! )
and I'd never want anything other than a Cerbera now.
Take your time 'bonding with the car' and you will have
the time of your driving life!
Sounds like Fernies and the AA came up trumps too.
Hope to see you and the car on TCR....
Go create some weather...
Graham
TCR The Cerbera Register
www.aauk.biz/Cerbera/index.htm
Rob, how odd. I had exactly the same problem with the 2000 4.5 LW I bought from Fernies about 3 months ago. I drove it home and all was well. Went to start it the next day and it was dead. Battery had failed.
Wasn't at all impressed at the time, but well over it now and the car is first class.
Wasn't at all impressed at the time, but well over it now and the car is first class.
Rob, I know how you felt!
i picked my Cerbie up on Saturday too, great day - drove miles around Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. And then this:
www.fotango.com/p/eba00234868f00000003.jpg
GUTTED! Cooling problems!
I have to say the AA were appallingly slow, i know they had a busy day but i was waiting over 5 HOURS!!!
i picked my Cerbie up on Saturday too, great day - drove miles around Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. And then this:
www.fotango.com/p/eba00234868f00000003.jpg
GUTTED! Cooling problems!
I have to say the AA were appallingly slow, i know they had a busy day but i was waiting over 5 HOURS!!!
Bunt, are you the guy my wife an I were talking to a couple of Saturday's ago up there?
We have the blue Chimaera that was stopping you getting on the forecourt properly, and you said you were still undecided when we left.
Graham was tweaking with something under the bonnet when we were talking could it be related? Assuming you are the same person!!
We have the blue Chimaera that was stopping you getting on the forecourt properly, and you said you were still undecided when we left.
Graham was tweaking with something under the bonnet when we were talking could it be related? Assuming you are the same person!!
Yeah hi Mark, i did meet you both that day. As you can see i made my mind up!!
When you were there Graham was simply looking to see if there was pressure in the A/C as it wasn't working, but that was fixed last week when the car was also serviced etc before i went to pick it up.
I'm sure it'll be fixed soon and then my grin will return!
When you were there Graham was simply looking to see if there was pressure in the A/C as it wasn't working, but that was fixed last week when the car was also serviced etc before i went to pick it up.
I'm sure it'll be fixed soon and then my grin will return!
....//P//Hi Yellow,
I would love a closer run out. Thinking about going for a drive on Sunday, problem is the girlfriend is coming and she tends to like to plod along in between shopping and lunch, perhaps not as focused as I like it.
As you may have seen from my other posts, I'm off to France in the car on 26/27th for a couple of weeks, so if anything is happeing before or after that, please let me know.
The latest on my Cerbera ownership saga goes somwthing like this......just opened my mail to find my insurance docs.....turns out they have insured it from next weekend! I've been driving around all weekend without insurance...I'm not going to get much sleep tonight knowing the car is still not insured till the morning. How the hell can they make such a mistake!
Anyway, I'll stop ranting know,
Cheers Yellow, let me know whats happening.
Rob
I would love a closer run out. Thinking about going for a drive on Sunday, problem is the girlfriend is coming and she tends to like to plod along in between shopping and lunch, perhaps not as focused as I like it.
As you may have seen from my other posts, I'm off to France in the car on 26/27th for a couple of weeks, so if anything is happeing before or after that, please let me know.
The latest on my Cerbera ownership saga goes somwthing like this......just opened my mail to find my insurance docs.....turns out they have insured it from next weekend! I've been driving around all weekend without insurance...I'm not going to get much sleep tonight knowing the car is still not insured till the morning. How the hell can they make such a mistake!
Anyway, I'll stop ranting know,
Cheers Yellow, let me know whats happening.
Rob
rjben , stop worrying so much. One thing about TVR ownership and in particular cerberas, tuscans etc is that you need to chill and not allow yourself to worry too much about the experience.
I know people who have sold out early as they have got themselves convinced that the thing is a lemon even though it was just a niggle or two.
Just take it in your stride.
I know people who have sold out early as they have got themselves convinced that the thing is a lemon even though it was just a niggle or two.
Just take it in your stride.
Hi Gazzab,
I've owned a Chimaera in the past so certainly have an understanding of both the ups and downs of ownership ;-> The point I was trying to make was the scare it gave me, that 'Literally just driven it from the showroom and it’s knackered’ feeling!!!
After my weekends driving experience I’d be willing to forgive it of virtually anything.
Cheers,
Rob
I've owned a Chimaera in the past so certainly have an understanding of both the ups and downs of ownership ;-> The point I was trying to make was the scare it gave me, that 'Literally just driven it from the showroom and it’s knackered’ feeling!!!
After my weekends driving experience I’d be willing to forgive it of virtually anything.
Cheers,
Rob
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