Did I expect too much?
Discussion
Reflecting on my ownership now that my 4.5 RR “LW” has gone.
Having waited over 15 years to buy my dream car I was hoping it was going to be a year of joy with a few niggles along the way. I paid a strong price, bought a car everyone was telling me was great, from a dealer everyone said was great so did my best to mitigate any TVRness.
Unfortunately there were problems, multiple attempts to fix with no joy, and I just had no faith the car would firstly start at all and if it did if it would complete the journey. I only took it for one trip out somewhere to a destination and nearly didn’t make it back, all other drives were just A-A for fun.
Had it for 3 months, over a month of which it was at the dealer or waiting for the dealer to pick it up to fix yet again.
I wasn’t expecting perfection from TVR ownership but the problems were just too much for me with everything else I have going on in life at the moment and happened too soon into ownership, tainting the car for me so it got returned to the dealer.
It wasn’t all negative. It looked spectacular and when it was working was utterly fantastic to drive and experience.
Was I expecting too much? I don’t think they are all this bad? I’d certainly be open to trying another in the future when the rest of my life isn’t stressing me out.
Having waited over 15 years to buy my dream car I was hoping it was going to be a year of joy with a few niggles along the way. I paid a strong price, bought a car everyone was telling me was great, from a dealer everyone said was great so did my best to mitigate any TVRness.
Unfortunately there were problems, multiple attempts to fix with no joy, and I just had no faith the car would firstly start at all and if it did if it would complete the journey. I only took it for one trip out somewhere to a destination and nearly didn’t make it back, all other drives were just A-A for fun.
Had it for 3 months, over a month of which it was at the dealer or waiting for the dealer to pick it up to fix yet again.
I wasn’t expecting perfection from TVR ownership but the problems were just too much for me with everything else I have going on in life at the moment and happened too soon into ownership, tainting the car for me so it got returned to the dealer.
It wasn’t all negative. It looked spectacular and when it was working was utterly fantastic to drive and experience.
Was I expecting too much? I don’t think they are all this bad? I’d certainly be open to trying another in the future when the rest of my life isn’t stressing me out.
Penelope Stopit said:
It's a shame in a way that there was a warranty on the vehicle
Several Cerbera owners here could have sorted the problems for you
This thought had gone through my mind. Every time I had a problem I asked on the Cerb owners Facebook page and there were always people there saying yep had that this is the fix. Several Cerbera owners here could have sorted the problems for you
I even said what the suspected problem and suggested fix was when the car went in for work but they seemed to have a we know best attitude and apparently did other things. Was never quite sure what was done to it each time, no paperwork was given just non specifics in conversation.
I think if I’d have bought it for £5-8k less and got it sorted myself I may well still be enjoying it now.
That's a shame you've had such a negative experience, I know you bought your car from the same dealer as I did at the same time I did, think you viewed/bought the same week as me. I've done 3100 miles in my Tuscan since, with the only issues being some dodgy door/mirror electrics which got sorted no questions asked. Obviously the Tuscan is not the Cerbera, but I feel like I've got lucky and you've got unlucky. Did the dealer in question take the car back for the price paid so at least you didn't take a bath?
I recall you paid strong money. Perhaps try and buy a car towards the cheaper end of the market to see if you enjoy it more? Mine was towards the lower end and as I said no problems to date (touch wood).
I recall you paid strong money. Perhaps try and buy a car towards the cheaper end of the market to see if you enjoy it more? Mine was towards the lower end and as I said no problems to date (touch wood).
Edited by Cascade360 on Monday 2nd August 09:59
Sorry to hear that. I know which car you bought from the threads previously and I can guess vaguely what you paid.
It was a beautiful looking example but it's a shame to hear that the warranty / sorting issues were problematic given that dealerships good reputation.
If it's any consolation, my first cerb was pretty much my daily driver. Spent most of it's life in the garage being repaired. Having fallen foul of an engine rebuild and chassis problems I suppose I had a retrospective view of 'the worst that could happen'. This was 10 years ago mind you when there was more TVR 'resource' around.
My second has been faultless but is a Sunday plaything when the weather is good.
Honestly, you can do all the upfront prep, pay what you can afford - through gritted teeth, and still get burned. Sorry it wasn't a good experience for you but again... consolation, I'll admit that niggling doubt, that something could go wrong at any time, never really goes away; even when things are good
It was a beautiful looking example but it's a shame to hear that the warranty / sorting issues were problematic given that dealerships good reputation.
If it's any consolation, my first cerb was pretty much my daily driver. Spent most of it's life in the garage being repaired. Having fallen foul of an engine rebuild and chassis problems I suppose I had a retrospective view of 'the worst that could happen'. This was 10 years ago mind you when there was more TVR 'resource' around.
My second has been faultless but is a Sunday plaything when the weather is good.
Honestly, you can do all the upfront prep, pay what you can afford - through gritted teeth, and still get burned. Sorry it wasn't a good experience for you but again... consolation, I'll admit that niggling doubt, that something could go wrong at any time, never really goes away; even when things are good
Cascade360 said:
Did the dealer in question take the car back for the price paid so at least you didn't take a bath?
No that was a bit of a sore point. They didn’t want to take it back and when they offered too it was for a joke of a reduction in price, like I was trading it in. They saw it as doing me a favour rather than taking it back as a faulty car.
So were trying to justify the reduced refund by claiming huge costs for getting the car back to sale standard despite it not really needing anything (apart from the problems fixing that was going to cost them regardless).
And forgetting that I had a folder of invoices from them showing how much the work they were telling me was required actually costs.
They were adamant the car was good and fit for purpose so not suitable for rejection.
Few emails back and forth and showing them just how the car was failing according to the CRA and they changed their tune a bit and we compromised on a figure I still wasn’t happy with but couldn’t be arsed arguing over anymore. And they wanted me to deliver the car back at my cost and give them the tax refund.
I see now as you say they have it back up for sale and for a few £k more than I paid. So unless they have spent thousands fixing the issues it had ( they didn’t fix known issues with the car before selling it to me) they will do well out of it.
I see they have changed the name they give the car this time that they had used the last 2 times, maybe trying to make people think it is a different car? Rest of the ad is the same though.
As you say I seem to have been massively unlucky.
I can’t believe the problems I’ve had with the car, and the dealer given the reputation they have.
Though I did accidentally get sent what was supposed to be an internal message that showed me all I need to know about what they really think of their customers.
It wasn’t about me either.
I'm pretty sure i know the car you are talking about and I'm sorry you've had these issues - I feel your pain as am going through a similar experience! Bought in April and has been undriveable since May with oil pressure issues. Looking at fighting the CRA route as well. Funnily enough i saw your car come up thinking that was the one I should've just paid up for!!
We all know the risks with these cars and I was happy to stump up for big bills when they came, just not 30 days into ownership!
We all know the risks with these cars and I was happy to stump up for big bills when they came, just not 30 days into ownership!
D4SH said:
I'm pretty sure i know the car you are talking about and I'm sorry you've had these issues - I feel your pain as am going through a similar experience! Bought in April and has been undriveable since May with oil pressure issues. Looking at fighting the CRA route as well. Funnily enough i saw your car come up thinking that was the one I should've just paid up for!!
We all know the risks with these cars and I was happy to stump up for big bills when they came, just not 30 days into ownership!
For clarity, I believe yours is a different seller to the OP ?We all know the risks with these cars and I was happy to stump up for big bills when they came, just not 30 days into ownership!
RUSSELLM said:
For clarity, I believe yours is a different seller to the OP ?
correct - completely unrelated. It just feels like a few new owners have been bitten recently.The OP's question was did he expect too much and I am also pondering the same question. None of us buy these cars thinking they'll be a walk in a park, but is it too much to expect when paying a premium price for the marque from a dealer claiming the car is in a good state and wont need any serious work, that will be true to form for at least say 6 months?
The oil pressure disappeared on mine after a month, certain TVR specialists advise me this means a full rebuild to adequately solve the problem (with £14k repair bill and 9-12 month wait - original chocolate crank should be replaced). Although the seller of my car has now offered to cover the costs of repair, it is by no means the rebuild recommended by others.
Genuine question whether RB Will and I did expect too much?! If I'd had a fun summer with the car and it then went pop on me 6 months down the line, I would've taken it on the chin.
There isn't any way of posting this without getting into the debate what can be posted on PH without censorship. But here goes:
I think posts like this are important for the community and highlight the more challenging side of TVR ownership. Leaving them in full view, without heavy handed censorship seems like a practical approach, particularly when it appears RB Will has been diplomatic and non-defamatory in his OP.
It's not until something like this is mentioned that other similar experiences come out of the woodwork and being open on the forums helps to give a balanced view.
The very reason I joined PH, years ago, was because I got absolutely shafted by a garage that is no longer in existence. Yes I've moved on but was angry for many a year. I hoped the PH forums would be a place of assistance and measured views from the TVR faithful. Unfortunately, my reservations with said specialist were in the very small minority. I loiter and contribute rarely and see there is a great community here, but people were fiercely backing the garage without knowing the facts.
Not the extremes of what RB Will has had, by any means; but I definitely believe there is value in documenting experiences openly and honestly on these forums, without being slanderous. Obviously I don't know the full story of RB Wills car but it all just helps to add perspective.
I can't see this ever happening on PH but there's always two sides to every story. The PH rules unfortunately mute the negative side of some of these experiences.
I think posts like this are important for the community and highlight the more challenging side of TVR ownership. Leaving them in full view, without heavy handed censorship seems like a practical approach, particularly when it appears RB Will has been diplomatic and non-defamatory in his OP.
It's not until something like this is mentioned that other similar experiences come out of the woodwork and being open on the forums helps to give a balanced view.
The very reason I joined PH, years ago, was because I got absolutely shafted by a garage that is no longer in existence. Yes I've moved on but was angry for many a year. I hoped the PH forums would be a place of assistance and measured views from the TVR faithful. Unfortunately, my reservations with said specialist were in the very small minority. I loiter and contribute rarely and see there is a great community here, but people were fiercely backing the garage without knowing the facts.
Not the extremes of what RB Will has had, by any means; but I definitely believe there is value in documenting experiences openly and honestly on these forums, without being slanderous. Obviously I don't know the full story of RB Wills car but it all just helps to add perspective.
I can't see this ever happening on PH but there's always two sides to every story. The PH rules unfortunately mute the negative side of some of these experiences.
RUSSELLM said:
Answer to your question…
A 25 year old TVR has developed a fault ?
I’ll be honest, it’s not unheard of.
It sounds like the seller has offered to repair it ?
In fairness to RB Will, it is a dealer that prides itself on its reputation as being the go-to specialist, and that you pay a premium to buy a car from, on the basis that they only sell well sorted cars. He paid towards the top end of the market for a Cerbera. It appears to have a fault that was known to them before they sold it, and they didn't fix it before they sold it, and weren't able to fix it when he took it back to them - and not just a minor fault, but one that means he couldn't trust it to take him somewhere and get him back home. It isn't ideal. A 25 year old TVR has developed a fault ?
I’ll be honest, it’s not unheard of.
It sounds like the seller has offered to repair it ?
Edited by RUSSELLM on Monday 2nd August 13:41
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