Wise to drive to France?

[adamwhite]

Hi All,

I am buying my TVR Cerbera 4.5 lightweight tomorrow in a private sale. It has 20k on the clock and has been well serviced and maintained, going for £17k. I can not wait! This has been my dream car for some time and I am buying it even though I am not particularly mechanically minded, i am prepared to pay for the pleasure. My question though lies in my planned trip for Christmas.

I plan on driving it to the Pyrenees and back over Christmas. I will drive in to Portsmouth and catch the overnight ferry to Saint Malo, down through bordeaux, toulouse then pyrenees and back. approx 1200 miles all in.

My concern of course is going so far from english shores with a car that is not known for its reliability, can only generally be mainatained in England, and of course it wil be freezing cold!!!

Am I being daft or not? I think I may have a little too much fear of this cars reliability, I hear good and bad. I have been viewing the annual running costs and they are acceptable. But this is a long trip. What are my odds of not making it back without a hiccup..

[FUBAR]

Hi Adam

Many of us have done several Euro jaunts, including plenty to Le Mans and back and 20 of us went to the Nurburgring via Dusseldorf and back (well, most of us )earlier this year. Also, several Cerbies on the recent Spa/Ring/Spa trip without problem.

Go for it...but take out Euro breakdown cover, just in case

[esso]

Did 1008 miles in my 4.5 to Le-Mans this year with no issues.Would recommend car is checked over before you go,i had a pre-check done on mine at TVR Power,they picked up the rear shocks required replacing before i travelled.Go for it!you wont regret it,its what Cerbs are best at,as said above make sure you have decent European cover that returns the car to the UK if it does break down.Just hope the weather is good for you-enjoy!

[custardkid]

it does snow in the mountains and the middle of france.... be carful

i'm going to limogue over christmas, and taking the boring car as i dont think Tuscans and snow chains mix

custard

(can also fit in my bike, xmas pressents and bring back more beer / wine / ceramic tiles...)

Edited by custardkid on Sunday 9th December 16:46

[amazon]

Firstly - lucky lucky man! :-)

Secondly, as others have said, great trip for a Cerbera, it will love it! It will eat up the miles in style and WOW the locals. I will take my Cerbera anywhere happily, if it's gone break, it will break - but it hasn't done yet! ;-)

However, I am not sure that I would choose to take it to the mountains in winter for my first real run in my new car! Of course, you may have had them before, I don't know - but I don't think the challenge is for the car, I think it's more for you - in the car! (Absolutely no disrespect intended!).

Have a fantastic time

[Work-Shy-Wanabe]

TVR moneypit said:

Just be very carefull in the cold and damp.

Not crashing may be you biggest problem during early ownership in less than ideal conditions.

[Scrooloose]

Having biked over the Pyrenees last May, I wouldn't go anywhere near the roads in winter!!! Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Would be a much better trip in the warm and dry

[Mr M]

Quite ambitious if you've not had a Cerb before. If it were me I'd probably spend a good three months getting used to the car and how to drive it well.. good luck if you choose to go though ; in at the deep end so to speak :-)

[fatjon]

I'm with MrM and scrooloose. The car will in all probability be fine but as a new driver to one of these be very very careful on those challenging roads in winter. Cerberas are not forgiving and not meant for that kind of driving. We would all be sorry to see your mugshot on the news as a statistic. If your well experienced in 400HP RWD cars with no ABS or traction control, go for it!

If you are determined I would take oil, coolant, bulbs and a good recovery policy or your credit card could take a nasty pounding getting it dragged home on a french tow truck.

[adamwhite]

Thanks all, great piece of mind.

I will take it easy and definitely get Europe recovery.

I am certainly looking forward to joining the TVR club and seeing some of you out on the track, at which point do not expect me to take it easy.....

[Byker28i]

Not quite in the same league but we took ours to the Lake district for 5 days and over 1000 miles, just over a month after getting it. It's such a good grand tourer (on top of everything else). Really comfy, good strong engine that just sits at high double figure speeds all day long.

I'd get used to driving it around and spot any niggles/listen to the noises before you go though.

[Gazzab]

do they require snow chains out there? If so you are likely to be driving illegally.

[Moulder]

I picked my Cerbera up on 20th December and drove it up to Edinburgh between Christmas and New Year (2002).

My greatest memory of the time I owned the car is driving (pretty quick) up the A7 from Carlisle to Selkirk on the A7 with snow banked up on each side of the road. Seemed so incredibly out of context and certainly concentrated the mind, fantastic.

Wasn't faultless all the way though, it spent the 28th and 29th at TVR in Melton Mowbray having a new clutch slave cylinder fitted!

Go for it, take it easy when appropriate, don't let the expectation of breakdown cloud the journey, but be prepared in case it does strike...

[Far Eastender]

Adam, I drove from London to Frankfurt to Luzern to Strasbourg and back earlier this year, without any problems at all.

However, I would strongly recommend some kind of European RAC/AA cover.

[billy no brakes]

Go for it got my cerb wednesday afternoon went to Reims the next morning for 5 days been to Le Mans 5 times Honfluer twice Arras and Reims 3 times no problems only had one problem whem I went to folembray with PH group.

Just make sure you have RAC or AA

[JensenA]

Mine has been to the South of France and back 2 years running with zero problems, as others have said, the car should be fine, but on snowy roads in the Pyrenees in the middle of winter I'd rather drive a 10 year old Fiesta !

[adamwhite]

There is a new product called the snow sock. Apparently it fits the Cerbs (I will believe it when I see it!) I am more worried about the wind noise from the roof box!!!

I used to ride as motorbike so the respect I have for ice/snow and rain is deep within. It takes a couple of painful falls for that.

Is there anyone that can work on TVR in France?

[johnbear]

Don't forgot to take a blanket for your legs. Cerb's don't have the world's best heaters and tend to blow cold air at you all the time.

Shake 'n' Bake

[ncs]

Hope you have a great time, youre certainly going in at the deep end but many of us on here have done similar trips & had great fun doing them.

I see youre London based, feel free to join us any time you like when you get home

Nick
SE London & NW Kent TVRCC

[adamwhite]

The wife is going to give me a hard time isnt she, not too many luxuries that she would be interested in.....

I would definitely like to join your club when I get back Nick. Let me know how to join.