Discussion
After many happy years of Porsche Boxster ownership I finally had to hang up my hat and get a 4/5 seater car due to my increasing family.
I carefully considered for what to go for next as I was so happy with the Boxster, the obviously choice was a 996 but having been sat behind the wheel of my Boxster for 5 years I decided to go for something completely different.
I have had for the last 10 months or so a 2003 Range Rover Vogue 4.4v8 (LPG converted) and it has been one of the worst cars I have ever owned. I am at the garage at least once a month with something (water pipes, battery, stuck brake calliper, it goes on). When it works it is great but it doesn't seem to work for more than a few thousand miles without requiring attention.
When I had my 1997 Boxster I could go a year without visiting the garage.
I have always wanted a TVR Cerbera and the only thing putting me off has been the reports of maintenance and new engines being fitted after 30K etc. I know the car is a serious piece of engineering but why do a lot of TVR's have new engines after realativly low amount of miles?
My budget is circa 12k so any advise of the Cerbera would be great as this is what I really want. The sensible choice might be to go for the 996? What can I expect from Cerbera ownership? However I am now relativly used to calling my recovery service and visiting the local garage.
My normal commute is about 12 miles of country lanes and then regular traffic (something the Range Rover 70k worth 7 years ago) can't seem to cope with. And these are all tarmac a and b roads not tracks !!
I will look forward to any comments or suggestions and thank you for taking the time to read this.
I carefully considered for what to go for next as I was so happy with the Boxster, the obviously choice was a 996 but having been sat behind the wheel of my Boxster for 5 years I decided to go for something completely different.
I have had for the last 10 months or so a 2003 Range Rover Vogue 4.4v8 (LPG converted) and it has been one of the worst cars I have ever owned. I am at the garage at least once a month with something (water pipes, battery, stuck brake calliper, it goes on). When it works it is great but it doesn't seem to work for more than a few thousand miles without requiring attention.
When I had my 1997 Boxster I could go a year without visiting the garage.
I have always wanted a TVR Cerbera and the only thing putting me off has been the reports of maintenance and new engines being fitted after 30K etc. I know the car is a serious piece of engineering but why do a lot of TVR's have new engines after realativly low amount of miles?
My budget is circa 12k so any advise of the Cerbera would be great as this is what I really want. The sensible choice might be to go for the 996? What can I expect from Cerbera ownership? However I am now relativly used to calling my recovery service and visiting the local garage.
My normal commute is about 12 miles of country lanes and then regular traffic (something the Range Rover 70k worth 7 years ago) can't seem to cope with. And these are all tarmac a and b roads not tracks !!
I will look forward to any comments or suggestions and thank you for taking the time to read this.
You might be better on the tvr forums or using the search facility which will bring up loads of info.
They are nice cars with a great sense of occasion...but unless your minted or good with spanners they can ruin you as they are very unreliable & the chassis will be a important factor at your price range.
Good luck with your search & if you visit a local tvr club meet there will be plenty of people who can share experiences.
They are great cars when they are running,but invest in the RAC or AA you will defo need them i know i have...on more than one occasion.
The cerb does get under your skin though & i have had mine 5 years in june so its doing something right.
All the best.
They are nice cars with a great sense of occasion...but unless your minted or good with spanners they can ruin you as they are very unreliable & the chassis will be a important factor at your price range.
Good luck with your search & if you visit a local tvr club meet there will be plenty of people who can share experiences.
They are great cars when they are running,but invest in the RAC or AA you will defo need them i know i have...on more than one occasion.
The cerb does get under your skin though & i have had mine 5 years in june so its doing something right.
All the best.
As mentioned above, you're best off asking in the Cerbera section. That's where the highest concentration of people with first hand experience will be.
I vaguely considered one before the Chim and the general consesus seemed to be the good ones aren't as bad to maintain or as scary to drive as people make out. However, if it was for regular use I suspect a 996/997 might still be a safer option! Less fun, but probably more sensible...
Also don't forget, you have a quite fundamental difference between the earlier AJP V8 engined cars and the later Speed Sixes. Both are TVR's own engines so they're a step up in complexity from the Buick/Rover-based V8 in many of the earlier cars. You get proper super car pace for it, though, and a soundtrack that will set off car alarms for the next two streets.
I vaguely considered one before the Chim and the general consesus seemed to be the good ones aren't as bad to maintain or as scary to drive as people make out. However, if it was for regular use I suspect a 996/997 might still be a safer option! Less fun, but probably more sensible...
Also don't forget, you have a quite fundamental difference between the earlier AJP V8 engined cars and the later Speed Sixes. Both are TVR's own engines so they're a step up in complexity from the Buick/Rover-based V8 in many of the earlier cars. You get proper super car pace for it, though, and a soundtrack that will set off car alarms for the next two streets.
Cant get much more performance for your money I have to say....
TVR Cerbera 4.5 (1998)
47,779 miles £13,995
Stunning example finished in Jaguar Ice Blue with full black hide interior.
CD player, Air-con, Electric Windows, Alarm and Immobiliser and all the usual Cerbera refinements.
Stunning 18" Spider alloy wheels recently refurbished.
GAZ Gold Coilover suspension.
Upgraded Water Temp/Oil Pressure gauge by SPA Design which is far more accurate than the standard gauge.
De-Cat pipes and original Cats included.
More importantly the car has FSH with lots of receipts and has recently had its 12k service (2.5k ago) including tappets. Chassis and outriggers are in good condition and regularly waxoyled. Car has MOT until June 2011 and 6 months tax. This car is my pride and joy but unfortunately I now need something mundane as I'm buying a house. Any questions or if you would like more photos don't hesitate to ask. More pics on here:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...
Open to sensible offers. £13,995 ONO.
TVR Cerbera 4.5 (1998)
47,779 miles £13,995
Stunning example finished in Jaguar Ice Blue with full black hide interior.
CD player, Air-con, Electric Windows, Alarm and Immobiliser and all the usual Cerbera refinements.
Stunning 18" Spider alloy wheels recently refurbished.
GAZ Gold Coilover suspension.
Upgraded Water Temp/Oil Pressure gauge by SPA Design which is far more accurate than the standard gauge.
De-Cat pipes and original Cats included.
More importantly the car has FSH with lots of receipts and has recently had its 12k service (2.5k ago) including tappets. Chassis and outriggers are in good condition and regularly waxoyled. Car has MOT until June 2011 and 6 months tax. This car is my pride and joy but unfortunately I now need something mundane as I'm buying a house. Any questions or if you would like more photos don't hesitate to ask. More pics on here:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...
Open to sensible offers. £13,995 ONO.
I have had my Cerb 6 months now after 3 years with a Chimaera ( As a second car) I would not want to use either as a daily car and not through the winter months. As said they are great fun cars but i get more of a kick out it used as a summer toy.
The AJP seems like a strong unit and find one that has been looked after ,as for re-builds mine is at 52k and never had any work and still as tight as a drum, if its been looked after serviced and warmed up it should see that mileage again with no big issues.
Running cost i do all my work myself and don't find it that hard to work on just nuts and bolts at the end of the day. modern cars are worse to work on like volvo v50 tdi's!!!!!!!!
The AJP seems like a strong unit and find one that has been looked after ,as for re-builds mine is at 52k and never had any work and still as tight as a drum, if its been looked after serviced and warmed up it should see that mileage again with no big issues.
Running cost i do all my work myself and don't find it that hard to work on just nuts and bolts at the end of the day. modern cars are worse to work on like volvo v50 tdi's!!!!!!!!
I don't think, that anyone other than a real Cerb enthusiast, who does his own spannering or is minted,could run one everyday. They are all(for your budget)12 or so years old,and a bit more fragile than mainstream performance cars. As a second/fun car I don't think anything comes close!
Thanks a lot for the comments so far everyone, this is the first time I have posted a thread and am finding the comments useful. Still not sure what to do though, I think I may put my ptv reg on retention and start to advertise my car over next few months.
The advise on the chassis is really useful and a lot of comments re a non daily driver only as a second car.
Still any further thoughts welcome even alternative cars although I do love the Cerbera !!
The advise on the chassis is really useful and a lot of comments re a non daily driver only as a second car.
Still any further thoughts welcome even alternative cars although I do love the Cerbera !!
I've only just entered Cerb ownership but started TVR ownership with a Griff 500 as they were deemed to be more reliable and cheaper to fix so I'm not going to be able to give much in the way of experience but I can summarise what I have spent several years reading on this forum. Even though my Griff was faultless it still cost me close to 2k on a major service to have some work completed.
The consensus is there is no such thing as a cheap Cerb, the less you pay, the more it costs you in breakdowns, parts and maintainance. Most will tell you its costs about 3K a year to keep, some will say they have spent nothing other than fuel others will have spent more than that every year.
The AJP V8's are very strong engines, its mostly the Speed 6 that has the bad reputation, but if it has covered decent mileage or been rebuilt then there is no reason not to consider it.
You need to spend many hours reading the vast information on this forum and then go and see as many as you can. Even some of the fairly highly priced Cerbs I saw had some horrible cosmetic problems, I would say your budget is far too low unless you are prepared to perform a lot of work yourself and then you won't be using it to commute everyday.
Of course there is always the exception, I'm sure more than one person has bought cheap, had no problems and got a great car but from what I have read it is the exception.
Anyway, read plenty and good luck, I'm only 2 weeks into ownership and I have fallen in love with the Cerb completely, it is an amazing car, just a shame my wife hates being in it
Mags
The consensus is there is no such thing as a cheap Cerb, the less you pay, the more it costs you in breakdowns, parts and maintainance. Most will tell you its costs about 3K a year to keep, some will say they have spent nothing other than fuel others will have spent more than that every year.
The AJP V8's are very strong engines, its mostly the Speed 6 that has the bad reputation, but if it has covered decent mileage or been rebuilt then there is no reason not to consider it.
You need to spend many hours reading the vast information on this forum and then go and see as many as you can. Even some of the fairly highly priced Cerbs I saw had some horrible cosmetic problems, I would say your budget is far too low unless you are prepared to perform a lot of work yourself and then you won't be using it to commute everyday.
Of course there is always the exception, I'm sure more than one person has bought cheap, had no problems and got a great car but from what I have read it is the exception.
Anyway, read plenty and good luck, I'm only 2 weeks into ownership and I have fallen in love with the Cerb completely, it is an amazing car, just a shame my wife hates being in it
Mags
bigkon123 said:
Still any further thoughts welcome even alternative cars although I do love the Cerbera !!
What about running two cars?With anything vaguely exotic it oftens works out far cheaper to put the boring miles on a basic runaround and save your pride and joy for the fun stuff. I run a (fun) Chimaera and a (sensible 4-seat) Focus for way less than you could combine the two in something like an M3. Not only does it work out cheaper, but it takes some of the pressure off if there's a problem with one of the cars or you need more practicality for something.
If you really want to run a Cerbera - and it sounds like you do - then this might actually be a better way of doing it in the real world.
Pursyluv said:
Jonty355 said:
Just dont go for the Speed six engine unless its been already rebuilt. Ideally, go for the AJP 4.5 V8 engine.
Not sure this is completely correct if the Speed 6 is post 2003; even then i'm still not sure such a sweeping statement is true I am 11 years in with my Cerbera, I love it to bits but could not live with it every day.
The winter would not be much fun either
.
I am sure there are others on here that will disagree with me though. After the Boxster you may get frustrated (Range Rover) or you maybe lucky 11 years one AA call (Overheated) or maybe not. I have ran my Cerbera on a very modest budget but it still costs a lot of money to keep them in nice condition. Go for it as a second car and get a focus or the like for the day to day, I have a Panda 100hp for heavens sake
The winter would not be much fun either
.I am sure there are others on here that will disagree with me though. After the Boxster you may get frustrated (Range Rover) or you maybe lucky 11 years one AA call (Overheated) or maybe not. I have ran my Cerbera on a very modest budget but it still costs a lot of money to keep them in nice condition. Go for it as a second car and get a focus or the like for the day to day, I have a Panda 100hp for heavens sake
fatjon said:
It's very true, even post 2003, the later ones are just less inclined to blow up as they have generally lower mileages on them. The V8 is the way to go. There are examples out there with 130K plus and going strong, but they do need mechanical sympathy when cold.
Here we go again!!!!My V8 is better than your SP6, childish, just enjoy what ever type of engine you have. There are LOTS,LOTS more Speed Six engined TVRs than AJP V8, and lots of TVR owners are delighted with the SP6 me included. Why are AJP owners so quick to slagg it?? What engine is in the Sagaris? Is that a bad car? Just enjoy what you have look after it and I'm sure it will reward.
The Speed Six has moved on since the early days of poor parts resulting in engine failure,but I guess some people can't move on.
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