From a Mitsubishi Evolution 6 to a TVR Cerbera ?
From a Mitsubishi Evolution 6 to a TVR Cerbera ?
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Discussion

fsulaim2

Original Poster:

39 posts

254 months

Friday 24th March 2006
quotequote all
Hi guys,

I am currently an owner of Ralliart Evolution 6. The car has low mileage, full dealer service history, and is totally standard. It is in beautiful condition inside and out, and totally unmarked. To sell privately, the car is worth may be £13-13.5k.

Here she is: www.pistonheads.com/sales/70340.htm

I am toying with the possibility of switching to a TVR Cerbera of similar price.I am currently exhanging e-mails on the cars hyperlinked below, at the possibility of simply swapping cars.

www.pistonheads.com/sales/49274.htm
www.pistonheads.com/sales/69818.htm


I can afford to plough more money into the Cerbera budget but I really do not want to do this as I have other important commitments.

These cars look immaculate with low mileage, but I am seriously concerned that I would loose a near perfect Evo for a dog of a Cerbera that will cause me endless headaches.

Can I have people's thoughts on these two cars ? And whether this is a sensible thing to be considering? Are these REALLY what Cerbera's are worth these days in this condition and mileage ?

Any comments would be appreciated.

>> Edited by fsulaim2 on Friday 24th March 19:49

purpleheadedcerb

1,143 posts

251 months

Friday 24th March 2006
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I think the Blue one you linked to was viewed by Liam (toady). I think he had some issues which he may be able to mention. I can't quite remember and don't want to say just in case I'm putting down a perfectly sound car.

Best of luck. Have you tried ebay. I part-ex'd with someone on there and I am very pleased with what I got. Was around your sort of budget as well.


Scott

davidn

1,028 posts

288 months

Friday 24th March 2006
quotequote all
Both look good cars, colour spec etc. The blue car (faster) seems to have had more spent on it but that could just be the way the advert is worded. Check the history of both, the red car may have just as fat a wad of recipts as the blue.
Sadly that is what these cars are worth right now. Alot of us paid a heck of a lot more but didn't necessarily get a better car because of it.
Realistic prices don't always equate to an owner trying to off load a dog, the majority of these cars (as probably yours) have been the owners pride and joy and up to a point have had no expense spared on their up keep.
As allways eyes open and look for the obvious but always an idea to get a second opinion especially with something as quirky as a Cerby.
I hope you make the change they really can't be beaten and at that price it would be a crime not to.
Good luck
David

touchingcloth

11,706 posts

268 months

Friday 24th March 2006
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You should consider Extra 300 Driver's one here:

www.pistonheads.com/sales/57925.htm

Don't be swayed by the milaege of the others, 19,000 is pretty bloomin low for a 96 and can cause it's own issues. A car that has put the miles in sensibly and used often is sometimes a far better option.

E3D is a regular on here (the others could be for all I know, but have not chosen to add their PH logins in the add so doubt it), and I am pretty sure his car is a goodun.

t5grf

2,035 posts

293 months

Friday 24th March 2006
quotequote all
Strangely enough I sold an Evo 6 to buy a Cerb a few years ago. Can't comment on the individual cars you are thinking about, but Cerbs have dropped in price in a major way over the last 12 months so they both seem fairly priced if they are straight cars.

Be under no illusion that the Cerb will cost MUCH more to run than the EVO (even with the crazy Mitsi service intervals) and will almost certainly give you a few frustating moments if you buy one. In addition your Evo will handle miles better then a standard Cerb (without Nitrons or similar), it will of course also be far more practical being a 4 door, four seater etc.

However the sense of occasion of taking it out of the garage, warming it up and thrashing it down the road, oh and the noise will go along way to compensating for it's other shortcomings, just make sure you go into ownership with your eyes open, and get your car inspected by someone that knows Cerbera's.

Good Luck!

fsulaim2

Original Poster:

39 posts

254 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
Thank you guys for the very useful and interesting comments.

t5grf,

Thats very interesting that you have already done what I am currently thinking !

I appreciate you comments about dynamics and handling, I am certainly under no illusion that a Cerbera will have the cross country pace of an Evo...but the whole package just appeals as being more 'special' and the straight line performance figures are simply astounding. Practicality is not an issue. I would only use it as a weekend car only.

I am a little surprised by your comments about running costs though. I had convinced myself that the running costs would be at the worst case 'comparable'?

I am currently servicing the Evo 2/year at a main dealer (Cost £600-£700)

Surely servicing a TVR 1/year at a 'Specialist' would not cost more than this ?

Also fuel consumption figures are comparable (a TVR at least does need to run on Optimax)?

Tyre replacement I suspect would be cheaper on a TVR ?(I currently replace 1 full set every year on the Evo..but that 4WD).

As far as insurance, I have been quoted £640 for the Cerbera. Actually cheaper than the Evo !

With the exception of the 'break down' costs for the TVR...have I missed something fundamental out in my 'cost comparison', or is my logic sound that both cars will cost roughly the same to run ?

Thanks again!





>> Edited by fsulaim2 on Saturday 25th March 00:49

>> Edited by fsulaim2 on Saturday 25th March 00:50

gazzab

21,637 posts

311 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
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They REALLY do cost £3K pa to run for servicingand repairs. They rarely cost much less. Can cost a lot more!

sethlj

367 posts

284 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
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t5grf said:
Strangely enough I sold an Evo 6 to buy a Cerb a few years ago.
Ditto. I came out of a totally sorted and 100% reliable modded 6 into a 4.5 Cerb.

I must must confess at this point that I got the Cerb knowing that it needed a bit of work (and yes I had it professionally inspected). I ended up spending c.£5k in 5 months on repairs and servicing and it went to the dealer 5 times - of the 20 weeks I had the car I think it spent about 8 at the dealers!

Having sorted the car, lost any confidence in it and had my boyhood illusions of TVR ownership shattered I sold it. (Paid £19k at the time and sold it for a tad under £21k so it wasn't all bad!).

That said it was an absolute beast of a car - not comparable to the Evo in terms of driving experience - the Evo was far quicker around the twisties, as you would expect. Straight lines and accelerating were something else in the Cerb, right foot down and it went all blurry around the edges - oh and the sports 'zorst crackle on over-run just has to be done.

Would I still have done it had I known then what I know now. Yes. If you are a true petrolhead, and in the same way Clarkson reckons every petrolhead has to own an Alfa, I reckon if you haven't had a Cerb you also don't qualify. But do expect to pay for the experience in frustration, torment and raw cash!

S.

jesfirth

1,743 posts

271 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
Hey dont knock the cerbs handling. A properly sorted one is good. At north weald sprint last sunday I beat a well driven Evo 6 by over 3 seconds on a 60 second run! But I agree on the back roads I would struggle

RUSSELLM

6,002 posts

276 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
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I see the Blue one's had 4 owners, what about the Red one ?

fsulaim2

Original Poster:

39 posts

254 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
Not sue about the red one Russel. i am awaiting for e-mail response from the owner.

£3k in repair and servicing ????????? seriously ?

Sorry for the anal question, but can people give examples of 'common' problems with I Cerberas ?

I was building up an impression that Engine/Gearboxes were pretty robust and that electrical problems was the main issue ? Is this not true ?

Also..(perhaps I am in the wrong forum for this) but how does the Griffith compare in terms of performance, reliability and cost of ownership ?

The Griffith is viable alternative for me. Not very keen on the Chimaera !

Thanks again.

granville

18,764 posts

290 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
Ooh yes, sounds familiar but I did something similar in reverse.

I had an EVO VII not long after running a 4.5 Cerby and you couldn't ask for two more completely differing beasts.

I think the Cerb is something to get out of your system but as years and waistline advance, there seems to me something increasingly attractive about returning to the fold of the banzai auto ninja.

Undoubtedly, the Cerbera, especially with decatted exhaust, is in a sound spectrum only fit for Italian opera but it's real world shortcomings, dynamically, are imho, too myriad to give it a heartfelt thumbs up.

Many times, I remember lamenting the car's lack of pace against far humbler 'on-paper' opposition, it was certainly a triumph as far as I was concerned, of will over reality.

The grass is invariably greener but I think you will miss the EVO's lightning responses.

Toady1

1,622 posts

253 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
hi mate, i went from a 330ish bhp well modded pulsar to my cerb 4.2. The evo would handle much better than the gtir even tho i had coilovers on it, but my cerb would run rings around the gtir! (except in the wet!) The whole experience is totally different to the turbo hit! I never was a big fan of the turbo cars to be honest, as i really didnt like the unresponsiveness of the low compression engines! Get yourself out in a cerb, and you'll see what i mean. It helps if you can do servicing yourself tho, as ive a feling that specialist charge that bit extra just due to the prestige of the car.

How much power are you running in the evo? if its the std 280-300 then in a straight line the cerb if running right would leave it behind. The main difference i like about the cerb is the actual driving experience, you really feel that you are driving something special, whereas you wont get that in the evo, or at least i havnt had the same feeling in any other car. Also the pops and bangs from the sports exhaust just makes you chuckle! every time im out in the cerb i grin like a chessire cat!

Oh, and playing with fast sports bikes is so much fun!

dean.h

149 posts

250 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
i went to look at the blue one about 6 months ago. i took it for a drive it was ok .i think it was up for more then .i found a better car in a dealer up north, got there when the doors opened and had a great deal with the guy £9250 best money i have ever spent

granville

18,764 posts

290 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
dean.h said:

£9250...
for a TVR Cerbera.

I'm sorry but that it is phenomenal!

fsulaim2

Original Poster:

39 posts

254 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
That blue one does look beautiful.

I shall wait to see if he is actually interested in my car. It is avery long shot in the dark...but it could potentially save me the headaches of the private sale.

Any comments on the Griffith ?

gazzab

21,637 posts

311 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
fsulaim2 said:

£3k in repair and servicing ????????? seriously ?

Yes !!!!!!!!!!!!
Plse just believe it !!! If you do the work yourself then you might knock this down to £2K ?

sethlj

367 posts

284 months

Saturday 25th March 2006
quotequote all
jesfirth said:
Hey dont knock the cerbs handling.
That's rich coming from someone who's modified the life out of their Cerb to get it handling better!

Mine was standard (no new Nitron set up for me) so I guess my comments still stand.

S.

Byker28i

91,447 posts

246 months

Sunday 26th March 2006
quotequote all
Morning,

I'm considering a Cerbera as a fun/weekend/special car. IS the £3K a year servicing real? What's the breakdown of the costs?
Thanks

fsulaim2

Original Poster:

39 posts

254 months

Sunday 26th March 2006
quotequote all
Byker28i said:
Morning,

I'm considering a Cerbera as a fun/weekend/special car. IS the £3K a year servicing real? What's the breakdown of the costs?
Thanks


This is the one detail that is holding me back at the moment as well.

I would guess a budget of £700-£800 for regular servicing (At a specialist) and the rest for fixing breakdowns.

£2000+ a year in repair work only (outside servicing and normal maintenance) is a horrendous thought !

I am in a bit of a pickle at the moment as to what to do. I think a test drive will be the decider!



>> Edited by fsulaim2 on Sunday 26th March 10:25