Hate to say it !

[TonyF]

But I am seriously considering chopping in my 4.5 LW against a 500 SL Merc conv soon as my local dealer has made me a good offer on my cerb, cost to change as you would expect for an 03 model with 4k miles on it(merc) ain"t cheap but, wow, what a car! now I know it won"t come near the cerb on performance but my criteria is this;
I"m on my 3rd TVR now, none of which have been that troublesome(ish) I don"t use it as much as I should as it is a 2nd car, and most importantly I really am struggling to part with it. HELP, what do you all think I should do ???????????????

[julianhj]

New SL? Factory spec. chestwig and medallion included in the sale?

A smashing choice for any hairdresser done good!

[TonyF]

Are they really that bad !

[julianhj]

I dunno. If I was given one I'd love it. Then sell it and get a mint 993 Turbo! Clarkson loves his SL55, admits it makes him look gay and endlessly slags MB customer service. I gather he's trying to chop it in for a Ford GT.

If you feel the need for a immensely capable cruiser, go for it. But it's no TVR

>> Edited by julianhj on Tuesday 30th March 21:24

[TonyF]

I"m under no illusion that it is, truth is I was thinking of going to europe on tour this year in the tiv but.... its let me down once to often..

[julianhj]

I know exactly what you mean!

[j_s_g]

SL55 or something Brabantic (as DeRes'd put it) then possibly. But an SL500? It's not a real sports car. I'd probably got for something older & classier - a 'rari 550, a DB7 Vantage, etc. rather than the SL500.

>> Edited by j_s_g on Wednesday 31st March 01:17

[julianhj]

Ohhh, Fezza 550. As Big Al would say, Oh .

Running costs on those puppies?

I'd still plump for a 993 Turbo if I had the kind of cash we must be talking about here...

[TonyF]

Hmmmm,he has also got an E55 AMG in stock but then the roof doesn"t come off that... and I already have an E320 cdi estate for family use anyway, and as you say the running costs on the fezza etc will be to much to bear i think in real terms so its back to the SL 500 oohhhh I can"t make my bloody mind up. I did look at a F355 but it was 5 years old and ....costs and.... god knows what else made me decide it was not the one for me, SO.. i"m going back to have another chat with the merc dealer.

[Julian64]

Go for both. They don't overlap. I bought my TVR with the intention of getting rid of the BMW 8 series. But for different reasons I can't part with either now.

Some days I want the adrenaline enema, and some days I want to curl up behind a comfy steering wheel with warm seats and toes on cold and frost days. Click on the cruise control, kick my shoes off. Hear an oh so gentle purr from the engine, and get the choice of any radio station I want .

[MOD500]

The merc will be a great car, but will be BORING after the cerb, especially the 500......but most cars will I suppose. If you want a more exciting German drop top try a SL55 AMG or Porsche C4S cab. Or if you are not bothered about the drop top go for a 993 twin turbo as suggested or a 996 twin turbo if funds allow, they are as fast / faster than the cerb and handle much better.

You could try a Noble also if you defo don't want another TVR.

Best Regards


MOD.

[burriana500]

Julian64 said:

Go for both. They don't overlap. I bought my TVR with the intention of getting rid of the BMW 8 series. But for different reasons I can't part with either now.

Ah, now we're talking... If you want something that can be benign one moment and an outright yob the next, go for an 850 CiS, my mate has just replaced his 850 Ci with one, delimited, good for around 200, and even has some fancy gizmo that steers the back wheels the same direction as the front in a split second if you do something really daft enough to lose it sideways... JS?

I want a go in it!

[j_s_g]

burriana500 said:

Ah, now we're talking... If you want something that can be benign one moment and an outright yob the next, go for an 850 CiS, my mate has just replaced his 850 Ci with one, delimited, good for around 200, and even has some fancy gizmo that steers the back wheels the same direction as the front in a split second if you do something really daft enough to lose it sideways... JS?

Hey, I only ever lose it in a straight line! As do you, from memory, when approaching certain speed-cameras (and the rear end of other cars).

[s1nrr]

Ok so you have the Merc Estate for the wife and kids.....how about this??

Step 1/ Keep Cerb.....
Step 2/ Sell Merc estate!!
Step 3/ Wife blows her top Leaves with Kids to live with her mothers
Sep 4/ Buy SL55

only problem is you would loose both cars and the house in the divorce???

maybe not such a good idea!!

[Plotloss]

Brabus is a good call, quicker than the Cerbs and Tuscans at Brunters.

However, £140K for the engine alone or some such...

Its not that much of a fair comparison.

[j_s_g]

Question: why are you wanting to sell the Cerb? Tired of TVR badge? Want a convertible? Want driver aids for you/the wife?

There are loads of GTs (some more of a compromise than others) that you could trade to, following on from the list above:
Ferrari 550
SL55 AMG
Ferrari 456
DB7 Vantage (Volante, too)
XKR (convertible)
M5
Corvette
Viper
911 (either 993/996 TT)
etc.
etc.

Did Joel on here not eventually trade his Cerb for a Fezza 456? I was looking at them as a replacement when things sort themselves out, but I'm not quite that rich (yet)!

[gazzab]

why are you asking the question re the merc?
I am sure it is a great car but it really is totally different. If you want shot of the cerb then go for it. If you want an SL then go for it.

[Le TVR]

TonyF said:

Are they really that bad !

Not really, as a long distance bahnstormer theyre petty good.
Its just that the weight and detachment from road feedback will tell you its totally different to a TVR.

That antiseptic engine note can have its uses when the morning after headache precludes 30km of open TVR sports exhaust...

If you get one I just hope that your on-board/softtop CPU doesnt start flashing defeckt...defeckt too. TVR service back-up started to look exemplary by comparison to that episode......

[Bruciebabe]

TonyF, don't sell anything. Just add a secondhand XJR to the fleet with your upgrade money. They are suprisingly cheap now, they top the J D Power ratings every year as well as the government real world safe car stats. Fit in unconspicuously in the traffic then unleash 370 real bhp and mountains of supercharged torque. They just demolish distance. Gentlemans club interior makes a Merc look like a Nissan. Reasonable servicing/spare parts/insurance because it is British.
Downsides are making sure you don't get a Nicasil motor (see Jag forum) fuel consumption and a front suspension re-bush every 40k or so.
One of the world's great cars, I don't regret mine.

[oggs]

Or just use the Radical