Your thoughts on this car
Discussion
Hi all this is my first post on these forums. I am seriously considering buying my first Cerbera at the moment. The one i am thinking of looking at is this one www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=41935&s=6 , as it is within my price range and looks a nice car for the money. Can anyone give me any pointers of things to look out for. I have already checked the insurance thats no problem even with the write off.
I am a bit concerned with the mileage though as it may be overdue an engine rebuild as its never been done just new cams and a clutch upgrade to that of a 4.5.
What sort of money would you budget for running a cerbera per year not including insurance, depreciation or petrol.
Lastly could anyone coment on the price, to me it seems a bit steep with the right off and the higher mileage but I would be grateful for any thoughts.
>> Edited by cerbfan on Wednesday 11th May 00:45
I am a bit concerned with the mileage though as it may be overdue an engine rebuild as its never been done just new cams and a clutch upgrade to that of a 4.5.
What sort of money would you budget for running a cerbera per year not including insurance, depreciation or petrol.
Lastly could anyone coment on the price, to me it seems a bit steep with the right off and the higher mileage but I would be grateful for any thoughts.
>> Edited by cerbfan on Wednesday 11th May 00:45
Aaaaarrrggghhhhh run away...... it's yellow!!!! 
Have a look back through the forum, there are plenty of posts on running costs and buying guides.
As a rule of thumb, call it £3k a year to keep on the road - that's servicing and a little piggy bank for problems. That figure does NOT include fuel or insurance...
That particular car does seem a little steep as TVR's can and will do the miles, but the market doesn't like it. Also whilst insurance may not be a problem, resale might suffer from the Cat C rating.
If you're sold on the colour (silly boy!) then go for it, but be prepared to haggle, and seriously consider a full inspection by James Agger.
Have a look back through the forum, there are plenty of posts on running costs and buying guides.
As a rule of thumb, call it £3k a year to keep on the road - that's servicing and a little piggy bank for problems. That figure does NOT include fuel or insurance...
That particular car does seem a little steep as TVR's can and will do the miles, but the market doesn't like it. Also whilst insurance may not be a problem, resale might suffer from the Cat C rating.
If you're sold on the colour (silly boy!) then go for it, but be prepared to haggle, and seriously consider a full inspection by James Agger.
There are plenty of other cars that seem better value. If a car is CAT C I would expect it to be cheaper. Also - it has later lights front and rear - why? More accidents? Why sell a car with 'throttle pot' probs?! If it isnt right at selling time then I would walk (IMHO). There is another yellow one for sale on here where the guy would take £16K for a 40K car that seems sorted from what he says. If you can afford that one AND can afford 3K pa running costs then go for it?!
Whats wrong with Yellow?? OK its not ideal and my wife can't stand the colour but you need something to make them stand out don't you!
Sorry i have never heard of James Agger is he based in the North East, if so i would consider taking the car to him to get checked out.
My other concern is that my nearest specialist is Dreadnought at Callander which is around 100 miles away so not exactly close for the inevitable problems and servicing that will occur.
Can anyone suggest any other cars around this price that may be a better buy? Although they will probably not look quite as good if they don't have the Spiders and new style lights.
>> Edited by cerbfan on Wednesday 11th May 08:30
Sorry i have never heard of James Agger is he based in the North East, if so i would consider taking the car to him to get checked out.
My other concern is that my nearest specialist is Dreadnought at Callander which is around 100 miles away so not exactly close for the inevitable problems and servicing that will occur.
Can anyone suggest any other cars around this price that may be a better buy? Although they will probably not look quite as good if they don't have the Spiders and new style lights.
>> Edited by cerbfan on Wednesday 11th May 08:30
I just did suggest one! Looks like it could be a great car ? Not that I know anymore about it than the advert and 'why wont my car sell' thread.
Why go for later lights and wheels? they should be at the bottom of your buying checklist and they just make the car unoriginal thus impacting its longer term value and saleability. The only extra worth paying for is Nitrons or AVOs.
All IMHO.
Why go for later lights and wheels? they should be at the bottom of your buying checklist and they just make the car unoriginal thus impacting its longer term value and saleability. The only extra worth paying for is Nitrons or AVOs.
All IMHO.
I replied before reading your post Gazzab. I read the post from the guy who cannot sell his car, it sounds like a good one however £13K is really my limit.
The yellow one sounds to be in really good condition, it was a body off repair, the chassis was blasted and powder coated and has a full history from HHC. The previous owner to the guy that is selling it put it through a hedge, both front wings, the bonnet and a rear wing were replaced so quite a big job.
How much would the light and wheel mods cost, are you saying these add no value to the car at all.
I will obviously however listen to all you guys as you have vastly more experience than me, what do you think a realistic price would be for this car, so i can make an offer if i decide to??
The yellow one sounds to be in really good condition, it was a body off repair, the chassis was blasted and powder coated and has a full history from HHC. The previous owner to the guy that is selling it put it through a hedge, both front wings, the bonnet and a rear wing were replaced so quite a big job.
How much would the light and wheel mods cost, are you saying these add no value to the car at all.
I will obviously however listen to all you guys as you have vastly more experience than me, what do you think a realistic price would be for this car, so i can make an offer if i decide to??
My personal thoughts are "cars on the register = 50% discount", however everyone's different.
Getting rid of them is a nause, you tell someone over the phone that it's been in a smash & the phone goes dead, some people don't mind, but I think they're in the minority.
There are low mileage, straight cars about for an extra grand or so.
Hang on for one of them.
If your saying that £14k is the last of your spare money, do not buy a cerb, unless you just want to look at it sat on your drive.
I really would suggest you wait till you've got another 4K spare.
Good luck though, in whatever you get
Russell
>> Edited by RUSSELLM on Wednesday 11th May 10:27
Getting rid of them is a nause, you tell someone over the phone that it's been in a smash & the phone goes dead, some people don't mind, but I think they're in the minority.
There are low mileage, straight cars about for an extra grand or so.
Hang on for one of them.
If your saying that £14k is the last of your spare money, do not buy a cerb, unless you just want to look at it sat on your drive.
I really would suggest you wait till you've got another 4K spare.
Good luck though, in whatever you get
Russell
>> Edited by RUSSELLM on Wednesday 11th May 10:27
Thanks for the bump gazza, yea to be honest mate whenever you buy a car like this ,you should never spend your budget on the car itself, Save a chunk for problems ,upgrades, servicing etc Otherwise it will be for sale again in 3 months,and will be another Cerby with 25 owners on its V5 , hence poor residuals!
Cerbfan,
Cerbera's are notoriously "difficult" to keep on the road. Any problems can quickly lead to big bills especially if you have to trailer the car back to a dealer (100 miles away from what your saying) every few weeks. (and it can well be every few weeks!!).
As far as spiders go I thought there were some fowling issues which is why early cars with these wheels often ride slightly higher.
You could easily spend your entire 14k budget in the first year just on repairs.
For an example of what you could be getting yourself into take a look at my profile you'll see how attempting to run these cars on a budget does not work and can lead to an expensive drive ornament.
I also agree with the 50% discount on write-offs. Most of them are only rebuilt for use on the track. A recient example is the Matt Black cerb a few months back in Sprint Magazine.
I would budget about 3-4k min. running cost per anum on top of insurance etc.
Service Small/large - £550 - £650
Tappet Adjustment - £300
2 Tyres a year - £300
Other engine problems - £1000 (especially if the car currently has throttle problems)
Hire trailer/shipping to dealer/hastle - ?
Just with this you've spent a minimum of - £2150
Sorry to be a downer but IMHO it's better to wait until you spot a good straight car and are ready for the costs. It could be very depressing otherwise.
>> Edited by cerealsurfer on Wednesday 11th May 10:44
>> Edited by cerealsurfer on Wednesday 11th May 10:46
Cerbera's are notoriously "difficult" to keep on the road. Any problems can quickly lead to big bills especially if you have to trailer the car back to a dealer (100 miles away from what your saying) every few weeks. (and it can well be every few weeks!!).
As far as spiders go I thought there were some fowling issues which is why early cars with these wheels often ride slightly higher.
You could easily spend your entire 14k budget in the first year just on repairs.
For an example of what you could be getting yourself into take a look at my profile you'll see how attempting to run these cars on a budget does not work and can lead to an expensive drive ornament.
I also agree with the 50% discount on write-offs. Most of them are only rebuilt for use on the track. A recient example is the Matt Black cerb a few months back in Sprint Magazine.
I would budget about 3-4k min. running cost per anum on top of insurance etc.
Service Small/large - £550 - £650
Tappet Adjustment - £300
2 Tyres a year - £300
Other engine problems - £1000 (especially if the car currently has throttle problems)
Hire trailer/shipping to dealer/hastle - ?
Just with this you've spent a minimum of - £2150
Sorry to be a downer but IMHO it's better to wait until you spot a good straight car and are ready for the costs. It could be very depressing otherwise.
>> Edited by cerealsurfer on Wednesday 11th May 10:44
>> Edited by cerealsurfer on Wednesday 11th May 10:46
I have to agree with the above comments. If 13k is your upper limit then it really isn't the car for you yet. Unless you are happy with 3-4k per year plus petrol money.
Have a look at my profile for details of costs. 4k per year plus petrol. I haven't even counted the cost of the headlight upgrade and respray. I think my car has been a 'good one' but it still costs a small fortune to run it.
Have a look at my profile for details of costs. 4k per year plus petrol. I haven't even counted the cost of the headlight upgrade and respray. I think my car has been a 'good one' but it still costs a small fortune to run it.
OK you are putting me off.
I am saying that this is my budget as this leaves me with around £3000 for repairs etc, i realise i cannot spend the entire budget on the car.
This is not intended to be my main car, we have another car for the daily comute to work, i would guess i would be using it twice a week for work when we need seperate cars and then weekends and evenings.
As for £14000 in the first year, i'm sure this has been done but this cannot be a common occurance surely otherwise who could afford one.
Would a Chimera be significantly cheaper to run, my friend has had one for over a year and its never broken down just one largeish service bill.
I am saying that this is my budget as this leaves me with around £3000 for repairs etc, i realise i cannot spend the entire budget on the car.
This is not intended to be my main car, we have another car for the daily comute to work, i would guess i would be using it twice a week for work when we need seperate cars and then weekends and evenings.
As for £14000 in the first year, i'm sure this has been done but this cannot be a common occurance surely otherwise who could afford one.
Would a Chimera be significantly cheaper to run, my friend has had one for over a year and its never broken down just one largeish service bill.
Typically the Chimaera/Griff costs about half as much to run. The Griff does come with added costs for the gold medallion and the chimaera requires new golf clubs for the boot.
They do sometimes have a shocking cost but it's rarer.
I know it sounds like we are really trying to put you off but we just don't like hearing about cars back on the market after 3 months because the new owner hadn't anticipated how much these things really cost to run. Buying it is the easy part.
They do sometimes have a shocking cost but it's rarer.
I know it sounds like we are really trying to put you off but we just don't like hearing about cars back on the market after 3 months because the new owner hadn't anticipated how much these things really cost to run. Buying it is the easy part.
A chim is very likely to be cheaper than a cerb most of the time.
My chim prob only cost me £2000 in repairs and service over 2 yrs.
My last cerb cost me £13K in 2 yrs !
BUT they now hardly depreciate and so you could argue that they are as cheap to own as a brand new mondeo.
Stretch your budget to £16K , put a couple of K to one side and buy that other yellow one (or another good 4.2 with great history etc)!
My chim prob only cost me £2000 in repairs and service over 2 yrs.
My last cerb cost me £13K in 2 yrs !
BUT they now hardly depreciate and so you could argue that they are as cheap to own as a brand new mondeo.
Stretch your budget to £16K , put a couple of K to one side and buy that other yellow one (or another good 4.2 with great history etc)!
Chimera's are generally significantly cheaper to run. The Rover based engine means that parts, information and skills to work on the car are more generally available.
You could probably find a local garage would be able to work on it without any major problems.
Also the Chimera engine is a lot less stressed, more classic 90 degree V8 low rev burbble than screeming flat plane crank.
Also tyres are MUCH easier to find and get fitted.
A friend of mine has an early Chim 400, 60,000 miles and still going strong with no major problems. He can also get the roof down
Just to make it more fun, there are also significantly more tuning parts available for the Rover V8 models. You can spend the spare budget you have on goodies.
You could probably find a local garage would be able to work on it without any major problems.
Also the Chimera engine is a lot less stressed, more classic 90 degree V8 low rev burbble than screeming flat plane crank.
Also tyres are MUCH easier to find and get fitted.
A friend of mine has an early Chim 400, 60,000 miles and still going strong with no major problems. He can also get the roof down
Just to make it more fun, there are also significantly more tuning parts available for the Rover V8 models. You can spend the spare budget you have on goodies.
Yep, looking in the classifieds, I'm finding it difficult to find a single reason as to what's dragged you to that advert, other than the fact that it's one of two cars under £14k, the other one having covered two years less mileage & being straight (HPI & inspection willing that is)....
I paid £16k for mine two years ago, 1 owner, tvr plate, 24k on the clock....& it's been a crock of sh1te, only joking,
Be patient, you will find one, or buy Chris's & he can get the Red Rose Tuscan in this month's "sprint" at under £20k
Talking of Sprint, I think there's a few in there at sub £15k that have had engine rebuilds, bargain
I paid £16k for mine two years ago, 1 owner, tvr plate, 24k on the clock....& it's been a crock of sh1te, only joking,
Be patient, you will find one, or buy Chris's & he can get the Red Rose Tuscan in this month's "sprint" at under £20k
Talking of Sprint, I think there's a few in there at sub £15k that have had engine rebuilds, bargain
Your car does sound tempting Chris, however i think it is above my budget, it would not leave me anything this year for repair and maintenance costs.
Even though it is a Cerb that i really really want i might have to lower my sights and go for a Griff or a Chimera, to be fair its not really lowering my sights to much is it. The thing i will miss the most is the noise i love the sound of a Cerb popping and banging on the over run. Is there anyway i can get the Rover V8 sound like this?
Even though it is a Cerb that i really really want i might have to lower my sights and go for a Griff or a Chimera, to be fair its not really lowering my sights to much is it. The thing i will miss the most is the noise i love the sound of a Cerb popping and banging on the over run. Is there anyway i can get the Rover V8 sound like this?
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