Buying a Cerbera

[SimonJW]

Hi All,
I'm thinking of purchasing a 97 R (R72 EAN) is the plate from Dream Machines, does anybody know the car and if so is there anything to watch for. The guys and gal at DM seem an honest and reputable bunch but I am totally new to Cerbera buying, TVRs in general and car forums for that matter. Not bad for 38!!!! All messages appreciated in whatever vain?

Simon

[GCerbera]

The previous owner is on these pages so should be able to help you out
with any questions.

Good luck.

[DuncanM]

Hi there,

I bought my first Cerbera in May and I can tell you that it is the best thing I have ever decided to do .

In my opinion you have to be the sort of person to put up with some pretty odd quirks.

I'm talking about water getting into the footwells (can be fixed), electric windows deciding to not go up (can be fixed), lots of other electric gremlins (which thankfully I haven't experienced yet!).

The weak points are well documented on here.

Clutch seems to be one of the big ones, despite what you might have heard the engines are not weak points on these cars! (a good thing ).

Checking the oil is very important, Cerbs drink oil (1ltr per 1k miles!) and you should border on obsessive when it comes to checking it.

The one major thing I think you should budget for is suspension.

A car like the Cerbera is absolutely pointless if it doesn't handle and it appears that out of the factory Cerbs aren't great in this department.

I am about to get mine set up by Joospeed (Thursday) and am looking forward to getting rid of the tramlining, bumpsteer and squirming under braking that affects my car at the moment.

Please note that when I say Suspension I don't mean just the fitting of new Shocks/Springs (Nitrons Very highly recommended) but the setup of the car by someone who knows Cerbera's.

Joospeed come very highly recommended hence my pending visit on Thursday. Specialists like Joospeed have the skills to transform your car into what you want it to be .

You can also save money on fecked tyres as the standard geometry wears the inside third excessively, this can be changed to improve handling and, like I say save you some mula when it comes to tyre outlay .

Depends what floats your boat really but if you want a car that does it all, looks, style, power, pace, sound, handling (see above ) and character then the Cerbera is a must buy .


Duncan

[SimonJW]

Many thanks for prompt responses, much appreciated. V interested in what you're looking to outlay for the suspension setup Duncan?

Much obliged to all PHs for vast amount of info on this site.

Will keep you informed.

[DuncanM]

Hi Simon,

I already have some nitron shocks on my car so am only going in for stiffer springs and a full setup.

Not sure on cost, if you were to factor in everything (shocks, springs and setup) I think you wouldn't need more than £1250.

Worth doing and probably straight from word go so you can enjoy the car to its full potential .

Good luck on your search.

[gbbird]

SimonJW said:

Many thanks for prompt responses, much appreciated. V interested in what you're looking to outlay for the suspension setup Duncan? Much obliged to all PHs for vast amount of info on this site. Will keep you informed.

All i can do do is echo the above posts. Go into it with eyes wide open. It will let you down every now and then, but you just have to take it on the chin. And i would'nt recommend having it as your only car, although many phers on this forum do so and will surely pipe up to prove me wrong.

I got mine nearly 12 months ago, really went in at the deep and and did'nt know much about 'em beforehand. But i don't regret it one bit - its such a beast of a car which really puts the fun into driving . Good luck with your search.

Oh yes, and its true what they say - budget a couple of grand maintenance a year, just to be on teh safe side.

[gary judd]

hi
my cerbera is for sale at peninsula it is totaly sorted
new 2002 spec engine 4500 miles and just been rebuilt
nitrons , grooved discs new pads,new sports exhaust, hydratrack just been rebuilt, new radiator, new starter motor,new clutch complete with bell housing,,just had new alarm system,new ecu unit, still got orginal gearbox
speak to richard smith he has got details

gary

[Tripps]

SimonJW said:

I'm thinking of purchasing a 97 R (R72 EAN) is the plate from Dream Machines, does anybody know the car and if so is there anything to watch for. The guys and gal at DM seem an honest and reputable bunch but I am totally new to Cerbera buying, TVRs in general and car forums for that matter. Not bad for 38!!!! All messages appreciated in whatever vain?

Simon,

I was going down to DM on Saturday to do a 4.2 vs 4.5 comparison on this car and the Halcyon Midas (mainly to decide whether I'd be happy with a 4.2) but had to cancel.

I'm planning to go down there again this Saturday so I'd be happy to meet up with you and discuss it (I'm not ready to buy yet so I won't be competition) as I've spent a lot of time driving Cerberas (for a non-owner anyway) so I can give you a subjective view point if that'd help.

DM are well respected warranty-wise so even if you have niggles you should be OK, obviously if you're based a long way from them that won't be quite as useful...

[gary judd]

daggart said:

gary judd said: hi my cerbera is for sale at peninsula it is totaly sorted new 2002 spec engine 4500 miles and just been rebuilt nitrons , grooved discs new pads,new sports exhaust, hydratrack just been rebuilt, new radiator, new starter motor,new clutch complete with bell housing,,just had new alarm system,new ecu unit, still got orginal gearbox speak to richard smith he has got details gary What must of your car been like to drive without all that work being done to it?.

just like a cerb without all the upgrades

[arcbeer]

I bought my car from Dream Machines. They've been very good. I got the Car Care Plan warranty with it which is a warratny that actually pays out and provides a very good level of cover.

Any little niggles were sorted without fuss of argument

[Captain Beaky]

I didn't buy my Cerb from DM but they looked after it while I was living in Kent. I was pretty happy with their service - they are straightforward and enthusiastic and don't do any work you don't need.

They let me test drive all the other models too, even though I wasn't thinking of changing the Cerb.

[njw 77]

Simon, I drove that car the week before I bought my car. Would have bought it there & then but we couldnt agree on a price (though they did phone me 3 weeks later to ask if I still wanted to buy at my offer price!).

From my limited knowledge of Cerbs (test drove 2 and owned mine for 2 months!) the car seemed as 'sorted' as my car and it, to my limited experience, drove as well (just not as noisy... ) DM's car has/had, standard 17" wheels, no sports zorst, still has/had its cats and standard lights, in case you didnt know. The DM car looked nicely prepared for sale, in very good condition, but then I was hanging on too tightly to really have a good look round!

I'll leave the comments about DM themselves to those who have had servicing dealings with them , but I fond them to be very affable.

Nick