First year of cerb ownership
Discussion
As posters regularly ask how to buy and run a Cerb and how much they cost I decided to give a report on my first year of ownership
Buying - I wanted a sensible 4-seater that I could sprint so what else but a Cerbera. I did the proper thing and lurked on this forum for 6 months or so, then once I had sold my last car (a Triumph GT6) I started looking. I had a budget of £12k, decided to go for a 4.2 and did a fairly detailed look at the adverts before going to see any. In the end I only looked at 3. First I went to Fernhurst who were incredibly helpful as they let me crawl all over a couple to get my bearings and to see what good ones looked like, unfortunately they had just sold the one I could afford.. I then went and looked at a real dog that burst a fuel pipe just as I was about to take it out on a test drive. But I got to see what a rusty outrigger looked like and a hundred other faults.
After that I missed a couple of very good ones that were sold before I could get to them and I also realised that there was the odd 4.5 in my price range so when another 4.5 came up nearby I was off for a look. I have spent a lot of time taking cars apart over the years so I think I know what to look for. I had it HPI’d and then gave it a very thorough going over including just letting it idle for the best part of an hour whilst I checked everything before taking it for a test drive. It had done only 3000miles in the last 7 years during which there was effectively no service record but it looked very well cared for and I couldn’t find a good reason not to buy it.. The glitch list was that it needed a 12,000 mile service and the exhaust had a hole in it.
The car - It is a 98 4.5 with 40k miles on the clock, it has 18” spiders, an aftermarket alarm, later light pods and an electric sunroof all of which seem to have been very professionally fitted. Unlike some 10+ year old cars I have owned it was not missing anything and seemed to be largely as it had left the factory except the above extras. It also came with the original 17” RL7s which are destined to be re shod with track tyres.
Running - What an absolutely awesome car. One year on and it is still an event every time I press the black button. As one friend put it ‘imagine what you could have done with this in your 20s’ I know exactly what I would have done – killed myself in the first month. It definitely needs to be treated with respect, but as I have driven mainly simple RWD cars for the last 30 years there were no big surprises. But oh my god is it fast, the only previous driving experience which has come close was pillion on my mates Fireblade.
Servicing - The only things I hadn’t picked up on inspection were that the rear number plate wasn’t correct (not translucent), one of the heated rear window terminals had debonded and the wiper buttons are a bit intermittent.
I did all the bits and bobs over the first 6 months including all of a 24,000 mile service except the chassis treatment and gearbox oil change. For these I gave it to Neil Garner, as the weather was too wet and I wanted someone else to look at the car. He seemed to think the car was without problems, which was reassuring. Anyway the exhaust box took fifteen minutes to weld up and is still going strong probably as I bought a spare off fleabay which is still sat in the shed. In addition to all the service items I replaced all the coolant and fuel pipes, and put in a four point harness for sprinting. Servicing has been fairly straightforward all that is necessary is to follow the manual and use this forum.
I joined the TVRCC speed championship but work commitments severely limited my participation to only three events this year. The car is probably easier to drive than my GT6 although I did manage a couple of off road excursions (Country at Harewood and Bobbies at Combe). I didn’t set any lap records but I was virtually the only car on full road tyres and I was typically 10 seconds faster than I could manage in the GT6.
First year stats
Total running costs £2800 (Tax, insurance, fuel and maintenance)
Maintenance costs £1240
Mpg - average 18, minimum 14, maximum 23
Miles completed 2400
Sprints completed - Harewood, Prescott, and Castle Combe
No breakdowns, always starts and the only problems that have emerged during the year are a blown pico fuse stopping the Mil light working and a very slight weap from a cut injector o-ring.
Thanks to Bob Naismith for this fantastic picture of the car at Prescott
Buying - I wanted a sensible 4-seater that I could sprint so what else but a Cerbera. I did the proper thing and lurked on this forum for 6 months or so, then once I had sold my last car (a Triumph GT6) I started looking. I had a budget of £12k, decided to go for a 4.2 and did a fairly detailed look at the adverts before going to see any. In the end I only looked at 3. First I went to Fernhurst who were incredibly helpful as they let me crawl all over a couple to get my bearings and to see what good ones looked like, unfortunately they had just sold the one I could afford.. I then went and looked at a real dog that burst a fuel pipe just as I was about to take it out on a test drive. But I got to see what a rusty outrigger looked like and a hundred other faults.
After that I missed a couple of very good ones that were sold before I could get to them and I also realised that there was the odd 4.5 in my price range so when another 4.5 came up nearby I was off for a look. I have spent a lot of time taking cars apart over the years so I think I know what to look for. I had it HPI’d and then gave it a very thorough going over including just letting it idle for the best part of an hour whilst I checked everything before taking it for a test drive. It had done only 3000miles in the last 7 years during which there was effectively no service record but it looked very well cared for and I couldn’t find a good reason not to buy it.. The glitch list was that it needed a 12,000 mile service and the exhaust had a hole in it.
The car - It is a 98 4.5 with 40k miles on the clock, it has 18” spiders, an aftermarket alarm, later light pods and an electric sunroof all of which seem to have been very professionally fitted. Unlike some 10+ year old cars I have owned it was not missing anything and seemed to be largely as it had left the factory except the above extras. It also came with the original 17” RL7s which are destined to be re shod with track tyres.
Running - What an absolutely awesome car. One year on and it is still an event every time I press the black button. As one friend put it ‘imagine what you could have done with this in your 20s’ I know exactly what I would have done – killed myself in the first month. It definitely needs to be treated with respect, but as I have driven mainly simple RWD cars for the last 30 years there were no big surprises. But oh my god is it fast, the only previous driving experience which has come close was pillion on my mates Fireblade.
Servicing - The only things I hadn’t picked up on inspection were that the rear number plate wasn’t correct (not translucent), one of the heated rear window terminals had debonded and the wiper buttons are a bit intermittent.
I did all the bits and bobs over the first 6 months including all of a 24,000 mile service except the chassis treatment and gearbox oil change. For these I gave it to Neil Garner, as the weather was too wet and I wanted someone else to look at the car. He seemed to think the car was without problems, which was reassuring. Anyway the exhaust box took fifteen minutes to weld up and is still going strong probably as I bought a spare off fleabay which is still sat in the shed. In addition to all the service items I replaced all the coolant and fuel pipes, and put in a four point harness for sprinting. Servicing has been fairly straightforward all that is necessary is to follow the manual and use this forum.
I joined the TVRCC speed championship but work commitments severely limited my participation to only three events this year. The car is probably easier to drive than my GT6 although I did manage a couple of off road excursions (Country at Harewood and Bobbies at Combe). I didn’t set any lap records but I was virtually the only car on full road tyres and I was typically 10 seconds faster than I could manage in the GT6.
First year stats
Total running costs £2800 (Tax, insurance, fuel and maintenance)
Maintenance costs £1240
Mpg - average 18, minimum 14, maximum 23
Miles completed 2400
Sprints completed - Harewood, Prescott, and Castle Combe
No breakdowns, always starts and the only problems that have emerged during the year are a blown pico fuse stopping the Mil light working and a very slight weap from a cut injector o-ring.
Thanks to Bob Naismith for this fantastic picture of the car at Prescott
Great reading. I have just bought a 4.5 myself and it's with Neil Garner having a major service too. Like your it's done a minimal mileage since 2006 so is being treated to a major to get it fully checked.
Where abouts are you? Im in Tetbury so would be keen to meet other locals in Glous.
Where abouts are you? Im in Tetbury so would be keen to meet other locals in Glous.
Great post OP. If you're getting that kind of mpg I am guessing it hasn't been remapped(?). As you probably know, 4.5s left the factory with a very rich map which stunts performance as well as economy. It would be well worth getting it dynoed if you haven't already, with a view to mapping it (better performance and economy - 40hp and 6mpg in my case - what's not to like? ). A decat and short induction is worth considering as well if that's your bag. But glad you're enjoying and appreciating the cerb 
). A decat and short induction is worth considering as well if that's your bag. But glad you're enjoying and appreciating the cerb Rawhide said:
Great reading. I have just bought a 4.5 myself and it's with Neil Garner having a major service too. Like your it's done a minimal mileage since 2006 so is being treated to a major to get it fully checked.
Where abouts are you? Im in Tetbury so would be keen to meet other locals in Glous.
Ahhh... That must have been yours that I saw them working on, when I popped in on Friday.Where abouts are you? Im in Tetbury so would be keen to meet other locals in Glous.
I think you did well buying that one.
M
Thanks for the hint Farmyard pants, I shall have to put a remap on the list of things to get approved by SWMBO, the plan is to go for a short induction kit and remap at some point but I am about to spend quite a bit on sticky tyres. I can't really go for a decat and as it would probably fail the noise test at soem circuits.
Excuse my ignorance, but i was told recently that short induction/remapping only really increases performance at the very top end, so for sprints i'm guessing that wouldn't be what you wanted, it will run smoother, but bottom end performance can be inhibited, just interested to know if that's what happens across all Cerbs or can it vary from car to car?
Bump and update
And now the second year is completed, the big news is that it cost £100 less in maintenance and I did 500 miles more than last year. In fact essential maintenance was only about £200 the main part was a shiny short induction kit and refurbished wheels with new tyres. I had one failure to start, my own fault for wondering what the silver key actually did http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=111...
Stats
Total running costs £2700 (Tax, insurance, fuel and maintenance)
Maintenance costs £1190
Mpg - average 18, minimum 14, maximum 23
Miles completed 2950 (I may have to increase my limited mileage cover next year)
Events completed – Sprints at Harewood and Prescott, drift day at Santa pod and a trackday at Rockingham
I solved a few niggle which I hadn’t even realised were niggles. I thought the windscreen wipers were just a bit temperamental to turn off but it turned out to be the steering wheel ribbon so they now work perfectly. The only true failures this year have been the oil pressure switch and one really strange one – the fog light lens melted and I don’t remember ever having it switched on.
The only other issue this year was some excessive tyre wear
I cant imagine how that happened
And Prescott continues to be my favourite event (and breakfast) of the year
And now the second year is completed, the big news is that it cost £100 less in maintenance and I did 500 miles more than last year. In fact essential maintenance was only about £200 the main part was a shiny short induction kit and refurbished wheels with new tyres. I had one failure to start, my own fault for wondering what the silver key actually did http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=111...
Stats
Total running costs £2700 (Tax, insurance, fuel and maintenance)
Maintenance costs £1190
Mpg - average 18, minimum 14, maximum 23
Miles completed 2950 (I may have to increase my limited mileage cover next year)
Events completed – Sprints at Harewood and Prescott, drift day at Santa pod and a trackday at Rockingham
I solved a few niggle which I hadn’t even realised were niggles. I thought the windscreen wipers were just a bit temperamental to turn off but it turned out to be the steering wheel ribbon so they now work perfectly. The only true failures this year have been the oil pressure switch and one really strange one – the fog light lens melted and I don’t remember ever having it switched on.
The only other issue this year was some excessive tyre wear
I cant imagine how that happened
And Prescott continues to be my favourite event (and breakfast) of the year
I couldn't honestly say that I noticed any difference with the short induction fitted. The reason for fitting it was that the original pipes were getting very tatty. The kit came with the appropriate chip but not with a rolling road tuning session and I haven't had the car back on a rolling road to see what the difference is.
As someone who is seriously looking to buy in the near future this has been the best guide I have read so far, many thanks for your time and effort. The op has only compounded my desire and wish to get one, SOON. Capri now sold and gone so I have a car shaped hole in the garage and the hunt can really start.
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