Are they complicated ?
Discussion
Hi all,
Looking to get a Cerbera as a 3rd car, ie weekend car. Don't fancy paying to drive the car everyday ! But would love one for the weekends.
But are they complicated ? If they are mechanically fairly straight forward, I have an excellent mechanic who can do any necessary work for me. Yes it's more desirable to have TVR do all the work, and I will get TVR to do routine servicing\checkups, but the mechanic I know is very very good, and I'd like to use him with my Cerbera.
Most new cars need NASA computers to fix !!! But the Cerbera sounds like it's basically mechanical ? I appreciated that this may have an effect on resale value, but just wondered how complicated they are.
Cheers
Matt
PS. Hopefully be an owner soon, usually I go for modified Japanese metal, but have always wanted a TVR.
Looking to get a Cerbera as a 3rd car, ie weekend car. Don't fancy paying to drive the car everyday ! But would love one for the weekends.
But are they complicated ? If they are mechanically fairly straight forward, I have an excellent mechanic who can do any necessary work for me. Yes it's more desirable to have TVR do all the work, and I will get TVR to do routine servicing\checkups, but the mechanic I know is very very good, and I'd like to use him with my Cerbera.
Most new cars need NASA computers to fix !!! But the Cerbera sounds like it's basically mechanical ? I appreciated that this may have an effect on resale value, but just wondered how complicated they are.
Cheers
Matt
PS. Hopefully be an owner soon, usually I go for modified Japanese metal, but have always wanted a TVR.
They use an custom MBE ECU.
The wiring is very simple, the drivetrain is extremely simple, the engine itself is one of the smallest V8 packages in existence.
But...
Joe Bloggs down the road is not the recommended route for working on these cars, regardless of how good he is, unless he is accustomed with race-engines and/or has a very good practical understanding of why TVR do things slightly 'differently' from the norm... otherwise you could be in for HUGE bills mate.
Stick to the japanese metal, these cars are meant to be driven, not stored away as a poser car.
The wiring is very simple, the drivetrain is extremely simple, the engine itself is one of the smallest V8 packages in existence.
But...
Joe Bloggs down the road is not the recommended route for working on these cars, regardless of how good he is, unless he is accustomed with race-engines and/or has a very good practical understanding of why TVR do things slightly 'differently' from the norm... otherwise you could be in for HUGE bills mate.
Stick to the japanese metal, these cars are meant to be driven, not stored away as a poser car.
I believe there are a number of owners here who do a lot of their own maintenance, Im guessing nothing a good mechanic cant do. However, as sxs says, best to get a good cerbera indie to do the major stuff/servicing.
Im lucky enough to live close to one of the good indies out there, which is just as well, as anything over and above checking/topping up the oil, or tightening up the odd screw, is beyond me.
Im lucky enough to live close to one of the good indies out there, which is just as well, as anything over and above checking/topping up the oil, or tightening up the odd screw, is beyond me.
Thanks for your condescending reply SXS ! I'll stick to whatever car I like thanks, and as for 'these cars are meant to be driven' - ALL cars are meant to be driven, the problem with TVR's is their well documented fragility.
I'm a car enthusiast that spends a lot of money on my cars, but wanted to know if TVRs were overly complicated as I have a mechanic that used to raceprep race cars and is very good at what he does. My nearest TVR dealer is a bit of a drive you see.
All the best
Matt goes off to find a more friendly owners club forum.......
I'm a car enthusiast that spends a lot of money on my cars, but wanted to know if TVRs were overly complicated as I have a mechanic that used to raceprep race cars and is very good at what he does. My nearest TVR dealer is a bit of a drive you see.
All the best
Matt goes off to find a more friendly owners club forum.......
Contrary to popular belief this is generally as friendly forum as you will find 
. I think the general answer is yes they can to certain extent be stroked and smoothed by an experienced DIY'er, however major work is best left to the experienced independents or main stealers.
No they are not overly complicated just idiosyncratic. Like all performance cars TVRs like to have their legs stretched regularly and every weekend would IMHO fall into that category.
General feeling is that cerbs will set you back £1-3K pa not including petrol/insurance.
I'm sure some more tame members will be back to offer some advice soon, sxs has a lot to offer in the way of Cerb advice, if you hang on in there, once you get past the initial rotweiller responses.
Harry
. I think the general answer is yes they can to certain extent be stroked and smoothed by an experienced DIY'er, however major work is best left to the experienced independents or main stealers. No they are not overly complicated just idiosyncratic
. Like all performance cars TVRs like to have their legs stretched regularly and every weekend would IMHO fall into that category. General feeling is that cerbs will set you back £1-3K pa not including petrol/insurance.
I'm sure some more tame members will be back to offer some advice soon, sxs has a lot to offer in the way of Cerb advice, if you hang on in there, once you get past the initial rotweiller responses
. Harry
Muffleman said:
Thanks for your condescending reply SXS !
If you cant handle a bit of verbal abuse, how the hell are you gonna handle a car that you'll probably wrap around a lamppost on your first outing!
Chill out man... I just assumed you're some spotty-faced teenager who drives around in civics and had saved up some dosh to pick up a cerb and use your corner Jim'L Fix-it sawdust in the pan typa-mechanic....
Please come back!!!! PLEASEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! we cant survive without another wannabe owner.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Harry, that helps.
Apology accepted SXS mate but teenage spottyness is a distant memory 
I'm more than happy to spend on my cars as my long suffering 'pleasure-prevention-officer' indoors will tell you. But what I've read would suggest that TVR's arent the computer based animals currently manufactured, and that they are actually fairly mechanically simple. Just wondered if it was the case, and if so could a very competent mechanic do the routine maintenance.
And as for wrapping it round a tree on the first outing, that could well happen but I'm not inexperienced and I'm a big lover of RWD. I currently have an MR2 turbo genuinely pushing out over 340bhp, and I've just sold my modified Supra twin turbo, easily over 400bhp.
All being well, I will be a Cerbera owner soon
Apology accepted SXS mate
but teenage spottyness is a distant memory I'm more than happy to spend on my cars as my long suffering 'pleasure-prevention-officer' indoors will tell you. But what I've read would suggest that TVR's arent the computer based animals currently manufactured, and that they are actually fairly mechanically simple. Just wondered if it was the case, and if so could a very competent mechanic do the routine maintenance.
And as for wrapping it round a tree on the first outing, that could well happen but I'm not inexperienced and I'm a big lover of RWD. I currently have an MR2 turbo genuinely pushing out over 340bhp, and I've just sold my modified Supra twin turbo, easily over 400bhp.
All being well, I will be a Cerbera owner soon
You see, now thats the detail you should have given the first time!!!
Good man, there are a few good ones on sale at the moment, I would definitely say buy from a PH'er, but talk to the guys who normally service his car first to find out if he's a shoe-string budget owner! You want a sorted one, not one that looks sorted till you get hit by a big-feck-off bill at the next service!
Good man, there are a few good ones on sale at the moment, I would definitely say buy from a PH'er, but talk to the guys who normally service his car first to find out if he's a shoe-string budget owner! You want a sorted one, not one that looks sorted till you get hit by a big-feck-off bill at the next service!
I think what everyone is trying to say is that having experience in "the ways of the Cerbera" is quite important when it comes to maintenance and general fettling; hence the advice to use a good independent who has spent many years crawling around them.
That said, they're not especially complex - just quirky in places. Hence a knowledgable TVR expert is likely to have the requisite 'tricks-of-the-trade' at his fingertips to effect fixes (and probably get the job done faster than your long suffering mechanic). 
Go for it! And good luck.
That said, they're not especially complex - just quirky in places.
Hence a knowledgable TVR expert is likely to have the requisite 'tricks-of-the-trade' at his fingertips to effect fixes (and probably get the job done faster than your long suffering mechanic). Go for it! And good luck.
I know sweet FA about car engines, let alone AJP8's, so anything more than topping up with oil or coolant is done by a indie TVR garage.
However, i guess the other thing to bear in mind is that a TVR without a FTVRSH may put off potential future buyers (rightly or wrongly i could not say), hence the value may suffer a bit should you find yourself selling it
However, i guess the other thing to bear in mind is that a TVR without a FTVRSH may put off potential future buyers (rightly or wrongly i could not say), hence the value may suffer a bit should you find yourself selling it
Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff