Advice on cheap speed six Cerbera please.

[peter miller]

Hi all,
I currently have a Chimaera, which I bought nearly 2 years ago, and has given me great pleasure and little in the way of problems.
However I had a phone call tonight from a family friend who is in the car trade, who was offered a 2001, X reg speed Six with 41K miles for £18k, and wondered if I was interested.
Although this is obviously a cheap car, it would be strictly trade terms only, and sold as seen.
So I was hoping someone on here could give some advice as to the value, and what to look out for, especially, are any of this engines known potential problems noticeable by just listening to it running or is special equipment needed.
Any advice to the above concerns would be very appreciated..

Thanks, Peter.

[davidd]

Peter

I would be interested to now what the service history was. If it is all there and there are signs of a recent engine rebuild to whatever spec is supposed to be the best one for that car then it is a good bet.
Just make sure you keep a few quid in the bank for those 'pecial bills' that one gets with a cerbera.

Good luck

D

[mudstud]

I would suggest a look on the 'Tuscan speed six' forum. 2nd to top there is a thread on the speed six engine - myths and misconceptions. Worth a read before going for a speed six. Have a V8 so can't comment on the validity of any of it.

[SwanJack]

As your profile says your in S Wales - Not sure if its the same one but I think an x reg dark blue cerb s6 with similar mileage has been around since January. If its reg xxxx DDU or something like that, it was in Llantrisant cars at the start of the year for £22/23k IIRC. The salesman said it had a recent bill for £8k. When I looked at it, it had budget (Champiro) tyres all round

>> Edited by SwanJack on Thursday 15th July 11:16

>> Edited by SwanJack on Thursday 15th July 11:18

[jamster]

either way 18K is so cheap its not true!!!

[pdavison]

At £18k you could allow for a few grand needing to be spent and it would still be good value!

[kevin63]

Try and find out if the Cylinder head is the latest spec, if the head has been re-conditioned then it will say REWORKED on the exhaust front side but if nothing it could be the original or the latest spec, if reworked could be iffy but if original then it could be a good one if it has lasted up until now, and if it is the latest spec then you may have cracked it for that price. GOOD LOOK

[gazzab]

pdavison said:

At £18k you could allow for a few grand needing to be spent and it would still be good value!

Like a new engine at £10K?
If the car has budget tyres then walk away - if someone skimps on tyres then they wont look after mechanicals.

[peter miller]

Thanks all for your replies,
I have given it a lot of thought over the weekend,I looked through a lot of posts on the speed 6 motor to get as much info as possible, and have decided not to go ahead with the purchase.
Not just because of the potential rebuild costs or grief I may encounter, although this was a factor in my decision, but to be honest, I am very happy with my Chimaera.
Apart from a couple of rack replacements,It has proved to be very reliable, and running costs have been low. I also would miss the V8 exhaust note for sure, and not being able to get the roof off is another major factor.
Though I have to agree with gazzab on the tyres issue,It is unlikely that Anyone who would put budget tyres on a cerb would have been willing to maintain a complete service history with no expense spared....
So I will stick with the devil I know and love for now.

Thanks Peter.