Cerberas... Are they REALLY That Bad?
Discussion
Hi there, I'm new to the forum!
I will try to keep this as short as possible!
I'm looking to get a Cerbera. It is my ultimate dream car. If someone offered me a Veyron I'd still have the TVR.
Now, I know that they can be very very expensive to run, the most expensive TVR to own I believe, but I don't think that will stop me. I'm not planning to use it as my everyday car, just for the summer and weekends.
Now, I know that forums can be quite "edgy" about people asking questions that may have been asked before, or about them not searching and finding out for themselves. I have been searching every now and again for the past 2 years on the net about the cerb, but it is extremely annoying and misleading when reading comments and information from people who probably don't even have a clue. Come across one statement and then read the opposite another day.
I feel its best to ask REAL people with REAL experiences and history with these cars to try and help me out.
Im wanting the AJP, not fussed whether its a 4.2 or 4.5, and its the engine that worries me most.
So, :
:Are they really as unreliable and as expensive as that has been made out?,
:What are your past experiences with them - engine faults, etc?
:What are the most common problems / failures?
:Costs?
:Necessary Services?
:Important things that must be done / look out for?
:Reliability differences between the 4.2 and 4.5?
:Ive heard seals in the gearbox / clutch are notorious for failing, is this true?
:What is the gearbox like?
Maybe I'm being naive, but I refuse to believe that they are as much of a nightmare as I've researched!
I have serviced and repaired all my previous cars so I am quite knowledgeable, but being such a specialist engine is it possilbe to carry out work by myself? Or is it best left to the specialists?
As said, it would be my second car, so its not as if I'm going to have breakdowns all the time, then again I don't want to breakdown every time I take it out on a nice summers day! I want it to be a usable car!
I really wouldn't want to fork out thousands and thousands constantly on it, but after all it is my dream car - I feel I must have it! But again, will I even be spending that much or has the whole thing been way too exaggerated?
I have been a massive fan of TVR's and I feel now is my time to be a part of it all!
Any feedback would be simply massive and a great help!
Anyway I think thats all I have to say just now, and I hope to be posting more on here in the future!
Cheers,
Michael
I will try to keep this as short as possible!
I'm looking to get a Cerbera. It is my ultimate dream car. If someone offered me a Veyron I'd still have the TVR.
Now, I know that they can be very very expensive to run, the most expensive TVR to own I believe, but I don't think that will stop me. I'm not planning to use it as my everyday car, just for the summer and weekends.
Now, I know that forums can be quite "edgy" about people asking questions that may have been asked before, or about them not searching and finding out for themselves. I have been searching every now and again for the past 2 years on the net about the cerb, but it is extremely annoying and misleading when reading comments and information from people who probably don't even have a clue. Come across one statement and then read the opposite another day.
I feel its best to ask REAL people with REAL experiences and history with these cars to try and help me out.
Im wanting the AJP, not fussed whether its a 4.2 or 4.5, and its the engine that worries me most.
So, :
:Are they really as unreliable and as expensive as that has been made out?,
:What are your past experiences with them - engine faults, etc?
:What are the most common problems / failures?
:Costs?
:Necessary Services?
:Important things that must be done / look out for?
:Reliability differences between the 4.2 and 4.5?
:Ive heard seals in the gearbox / clutch are notorious for failing, is this true?
:What is the gearbox like?
Maybe I'm being naive, but I refuse to believe that they are as much of a nightmare as I've researched!
I have serviced and repaired all my previous cars so I am quite knowledgeable, but being such a specialist engine is it possilbe to carry out work by myself? Or is it best left to the specialists?
As said, it would be my second car, so its not as if I'm going to have breakdowns all the time, then again I don't want to breakdown every time I take it out on a nice summers day! I want it to be a usable car!
I really wouldn't want to fork out thousands and thousands constantly on it, but after all it is my dream car - I feel I must have it! But again, will I even be spending that much or has the whole thing been way too exaggerated?
I have been a massive fan of TVR's and I feel now is my time to be a part of it all!
Any feedback would be simply massive and a great help!
Anyway I think thats all I have to say just now, and I hope to be posting more on here in the future!
Cheers,
Michael
Edited by MaccaTVR on Wednesday 19th January 21:39
To be honest others experiences wont dictate your own. It is likely it will cost a fair few quid to run. I have had a year of less than £3K once and have had a 3 years of £7K plus, one of about £12K. But I dont do the work myself and I am a perfectionist re the mechanicals and would rebuild an engine if it was burning too much oil.
If you do the work yourself then maybe you will get away with £2K pa on avg? A little bit less if you are lucky but probably more.
Buy a car with a proven good chassis, one with a great engine (?) and one with tons of recent bills (eg at least £5K in last 2 years) then you will be ok. Front discs are £400, clutches are a grand, tyres £700 upwards etc....
I have had cerbs since 2001 ish but I am sure there are others on here who have been around for a shorter period who have spent a lot less.
There are also plenty of dogs of cerbs out there (which is apt) and so its clear that not everyone attends to their cars. There are TVR specialists that have to give cars back with only half the jobs attended to as punters cant afford it. But if you have the cash, you have the spannering skills and you have the passion to own one then you'll be fine.
If you do the work yourself then maybe you will get away with £2K pa on avg? A little bit less if you are lucky but probably more.
Buy a car with a proven good chassis, one with a great engine (?) and one with tons of recent bills (eg at least £5K in last 2 years) then you will be ok. Front discs are £400, clutches are a grand, tyres £700 upwards etc....
I have had cerbs since 2001 ish but I am sure there are others on here who have been around for a shorter period who have spent a lot less.
There are also plenty of dogs of cerbs out there (which is apt) and so its clear that not everyone attends to their cars. There are TVR specialists that have to give cars back with only half the jobs attended to as punters cant afford it. But if you have the cash, you have the spannering skills and you have the passion to own one then you'll be fine.
I use mine everyday and costs about 85p per mile.
Have a look in my profile for a break down of the costs.
I,ve had to use the big yellow taxi twice in four years, once for a clutch at 45000 ish and the second for a temp sensor (£12) which controls the fans
All in all not bad I say
Have a look in my profile for a break down of the costs.
I,ve had to use the big yellow taxi twice in four years, once for a clutch at 45000 ish and the second for a temp sensor (£12) which controls the fans
All in all not bad I say
Edited by Dave 500 on Wednesday 19th January 21:55
[quote=MaccaTVR]Im wanting the AJP, not fussed whether its a 4.2 or 4.5, and its the engine that worries me most.
So, :
:Are they really as unreliable and as expensive as that has been made out?, No really quite good so long as you buy one that has been looked after
:What are your past experiences with them - engine faults, etc? Never had an engine fault but I have only had mine for just over a year and done 10,000 miles, never let me down.
:What are the most common problems / failures? They are getting on a bit so they leak oil and gaskets can go.
:Costs? Quite high, £500+ for a 6K service and £1K+ for a 12K service.
:Necessary Services? 6 and 12K
:Important things that must be done / look out for? keep an eye on fluid levels temp guage and oil pressure.
:Reliability differences between the 4.2 and 4.5? Early 4.2's broke crank shafts, I am sure all the dodgy ones will have been sorted by now.
:Ive heard seals in the gearbox / clutch are notorious for failing, is this true?Yes, prpbably the most fragile thing on the car IMO.
:What is the gearbox like? It is a standard T5 box very strong.
I have heard of these cars with over 100K miles on the clock and still no problems, basically they are very strong cars mechanically, they can have their qwerks but mostly they are solid, chassis condition is a thing to check, they can be rusty but can also be repaired.
They are not cheap to run, a few grand a year on bits and bobs and servicing is what I recon on but the cost per grin is very cheep.
If you want to talk in detail PM me with a number, happy to talk through with you.
So, :
:Are they really as unreliable and as expensive as that has been made out?, No really quite good so long as you buy one that has been looked after
:What are your past experiences with them - engine faults, etc? Never had an engine fault but I have only had mine for just over a year and done 10,000 miles, never let me down.
:What are the most common problems / failures? They are getting on a bit so they leak oil and gaskets can go.
:Costs? Quite high, £500+ for a 6K service and £1K+ for a 12K service.
:Necessary Services? 6 and 12K
:Important things that must be done / look out for? keep an eye on fluid levels temp guage and oil pressure.
:Reliability differences between the 4.2 and 4.5? Early 4.2's broke crank shafts, I am sure all the dodgy ones will have been sorted by now.
:Ive heard seals in the gearbox / clutch are notorious for failing, is this true?Yes, prpbably the most fragile thing on the car IMO.
:What is the gearbox like? It is a standard T5 box very strong.
Edited by MaccaTVR on Wednesday 19th January 21:39
[/quoteI have heard of these cars with over 100K miles on the clock and still no problems, basically they are very strong cars mechanically, they can have their qwerks but mostly they are solid, chassis condition is a thing to check, they can be rusty but can also be repaired.
They are not cheap to run, a few grand a year on bits and bobs and servicing is what I recon on but the cost per grin is very cheep.
If you want to talk in detail PM me with a number, happy to talk through with you.
spot on
I've had mine just over two years. I have had the misfortune to have to rebuild the engine, which I did myself,though I believe that this was due to the bunch of monkeys who claimed to to have rebuilt it for the previous owner.
Clutch slave cylinders are a weak point, but changing them isn't too bad. Some of the chassis are starting to get a bit ropey so make sure you check that out carefully. I don't know if you've had TVRs before, but for me the biggestvthing to come to terms with is the patch build quality and sometimes woeful lack of engineering integrity - and that comes after kit car, Lotus and Ferrari ownership. Having said all that, most of the issues are not too dreadful to overcome, and indeed many will have been dealt with since the cars left the factory. Once they are sorted there really is nothing like a Cerbera...
Just take your time and find one which has been looked after.
Clutch slave cylinders are a weak point, but changing them isn't too bad. Some of the chassis are starting to get a bit ropey so make sure you check that out carefully. I don't know if you've had TVRs before, but for me the biggestvthing to come to terms with is the patch build quality and sometimes woeful lack of engineering integrity - and that comes after kit car, Lotus and Ferrari ownership. Having said all that, most of the issues are not too dreadful to overcome, and indeed many will have been dealt with since the cars left the factory. Once they are sorted there really is nothing like a Cerbera...
Just take your time and find one which has been looked after.
Edited by itiejim on Wednesday 19th January 22:22
Running costs are a function of how much work you are prepared to do / can do yourself on the car.
As for me:
1) I can't afford to use a specialist for all of my jobs
and
2) I actually get quite a bit of satisfaction from doing some of the work myself
But I know where to draw the line as to what I should be doing myself and what should be left to the experts.
If you are practical, handy with a spanner and a screwdriver and are prepared to get your hands dirty occasionally, the running costs could be reasonable.
As for tyres, clutches and other consumables, these will always be expensive - regardless of which Very high performance car you choose to own.
And thanks (or not so) to all of the horror stories banded around sites like this potentially make Cerbs good value (mine was as it turns out
)so good news if you are buying...
All IMHO of course
As for me:
1) I can't afford to use a specialist for all of my jobs
and
2) I actually get quite a bit of satisfaction from doing some of the work myself
But I know where to draw the line as to what I should be doing myself and what should be left to the experts.
If you are practical, handy with a spanner and a screwdriver and are prepared to get your hands dirty occasionally, the running costs could be reasonable.
As for tyres, clutches and other consumables, these will always be expensive - regardless of which Very high performance car you choose to own.
And thanks (or not so) to all of the horror stories banded around sites like this potentially make Cerbs good value (mine was as it turns out
)so good news if you are buying...All IMHO of course
Edited by vroom on Thursday 20th January 01:13
If you're a pssionate person then you will enjoy ownership.
They are not rocket science just established engineering. You've already admitted to knowing your way round cars so you won't have a problem with 'getting down and under'.
If you've got 50% of a brain you will recognise the state of a second-hand from the knowledge and attitude of their owners. If you buy from a agrarge check for a detailed TVRSH and negotiate a yesr's warranty into the deal.
All of these things are so obvious.
As I say if you're a passionate person the returns in driving experience, chuckability and pure pleasure will more than outweigh ANY reliabilty/costs problems.
If you commit to a purchase, this site will be your saviour
They are not rocket science just established engineering. You've already admitted to knowing your way round cars so you won't have a problem with 'getting down and under'.
If you've got 50% of a brain you will recognise the state of a second-hand from the knowledge and attitude of their owners. If you buy from a agrarge check for a detailed TVRSH and negotiate a yesr's warranty into the deal.
All of these things are so obvious.
As I say if you're a passionate person the returns in driving experience, chuckability and pure pleasure will more than outweigh ANY reliabilty/costs problems.
If you commit to a purchase, this site will be your saviour
Edited by Mr Cerbera on Thursday 20th January 08:58
Buy the best you can, don't scrimp on things that need doing, enjoy it.
Just a few simple things help:
Like not thrashing it until the engine is completely up to temp
Don't use every traffic light as a grand prix start (just a few to occasionally put people in their place)
Garage it if possible
Always put the battery on a battery conditioner
Service regularly - use a good, recommended indy
Use it regularly
keep an eye on the chassis
Mines been brilliant. Stick £3k away every year for anything that needs doing and if you don't need to spend you've money for upgrades, or for when a major bill comes in. Just don't tell the missus how much is in that pot.
Just a few simple things help:
Like not thrashing it until the engine is completely up to temp
Don't use every traffic light as a grand prix start (just a few to occasionally put people in their place)
Garage it if possible
Always put the battery on a battery conditioner
Service regularly - use a good, recommended indy
Use it regularly
keep an eye on the chassis
Mines been brilliant. Stick £3k away every year for anything that needs doing and if you don't need to spend you've money for upgrades, or for when a major bill comes in. Just don't tell the missus how much is in that pot.
Edited by Byker28i on Thursday 20th January 11:45
Buy one, buy one!! I did a few months ago, the garage we're having built for it, along side the house is nearly finished!
I'm not the person to offer advice on cost of ownership firstly because I'm such a new owner & secondly because I own my own garage & am married to the technician!
I can however, tell you that now I own this car I'm quite obsessed with it. The thought has popped into my head "what if I'd gone through life never having driven & owned this car!"
Says it all really (or perhaps I'm just a drama queen!!
)
Good luck x
I'm not the person to offer advice on cost of ownership firstly because I'm such a new owner & secondly because I own my own garage & am married to the technician!
I can however, tell you that now I own this car I'm quite obsessed with it. The thought has popped into my head "what if I'd gone through life never having driven & owned this car!"
Says it all really (or perhaps I'm just a drama queen!!
)Good luck x
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