Where did you buy?
Discussion
OK so I have been browsing this forum for a few months and have decided to buy a Cerbera in the next few weeks. I have budgeted for 20-23k for the car, plus about 3K for maintenance and £750 for insurance (old git!). The car I will buy is the one that makes me "feel right" taking into account condition, price history and driving experience that suits my needs and driving style. What I am undecided over, and what I hope you all can help with is where should I buy?
I would appreciate you sharing your experiences. Did you buy from a Main Dealer, specialist, general garage or from a private seller? Is the higher purchase price at a dealer really worth it? What about warranties? From what I have read so far most don't seem to cover much?
Finally, any tips regarding finding the "right" car would be much appreciated.
Regards,
Dean
I would appreciate you sharing your experiences. Did you buy from a Main Dealer, specialist, general garage or from a private seller? Is the higher purchase price at a dealer really worth it? What about warranties? From what I have read so far most don't seem to cover much?
Finally, any tips regarding finding the "right" car would be much appreciated.
Regards,
Dean
Hi Dean,
I've had two Cerberas and this is what I have found.
The first I bought privately.
I did extensive research on every car before I went
to see them.
Checked past history, called dealers, rang TVR
and of course did HPI.
I narrowed it down to 4 that I went to see and the
one I felt was right, I had inspected and it was given
a mighty fine report.
Still didn't stop the seller's shoddy (ok, c**p) work
from leaving me with an extra £2.5k bill.
Thankfully, the car was already under priced, so
at the end of the day after TopCats Racing
had done a stunning turn about on the car, I was left
with a car I used every day with only 2 minor and cost
free hiccups in the following six months of use.
Over the last year and a bit, I have attended many
events, car club meetings and met up with many
Cerbera owners for a chat.
The same names always crop up in terms of who
to have work on your car, TopCats, Joospeed,
TVR Power, Offords, APM to name but a few.
Use them and you will be in good hands.
There are many good dealers to buy from, but if you
want a truly personal service, James Agger
stands out way above anyone else selling that
I have dealt with.
My second Cerbera came from James and he
has gone out of his way to assist me and
having spoken to another dozen or more
of his Cerbera clients, they feel the same.
At the end of the day, it will be who you get
on with, who can supply you with what you
want and...who will be there for you when
and if you have any 'issues' with the car.
The Warranty issue does divide people, but
it would appear, who you have fighting your
corner is also a major factor in progressing
things along.
If the car comes with a warranty you are
off to a better start than if it doesn't,
but the recently mentioned AA cover appear useful.
Good luck with the search and I hope
you find the right Cerbera for you.
Go create some weather...
Graham
TCR The Cerbera Register
www.TVR-Cerbera.com
I've had two Cerberas and this is what I have found.
The first I bought privately.
I did extensive research on every car before I went
to see them.
Checked past history, called dealers, rang TVR
and of course did HPI.
I narrowed it down to 4 that I went to see and the
one I felt was right, I had inspected and it was given
a mighty fine report.
Still didn't stop the seller's shoddy (ok, c**p) work
from leaving me with an extra £2.5k bill.
Thankfully, the car was already under priced, so
at the end of the day after TopCats Racing
had done a stunning turn about on the car, I was left
with a car I used every day with only 2 minor and cost
free hiccups in the following six months of use.
Over the last year and a bit, I have attended many
events, car club meetings and met up with many
Cerbera owners for a chat.
The same names always crop up in terms of who
to have work on your car, TopCats, Joospeed,
TVR Power, Offords, APM to name but a few.
Use them and you will be in good hands.
There are many good dealers to buy from, but if you
want a truly personal service, James Agger
stands out way above anyone else selling that
I have dealt with.
My second Cerbera came from James and he
has gone out of his way to assist me and
having spoken to another dozen or more
of his Cerbera clients, they feel the same.
At the end of the day, it will be who you get
on with, who can supply you with what you
want and...who will be there for you when
and if you have any 'issues' with the car.
The Warranty issue does divide people, but
it would appear, who you have fighting your
corner is also a major factor in progressing
things along.
If the car comes with a warranty you are
off to a better start than if it doesn't,
but the recently mentioned AA cover appear useful.
Good luck with the search and I hope
you find the right Cerbera for you.
Go create some weather...
Graham
TCR The Cerbera Register
www.TVR-Cerbera.com
Think Graham's covered the usual points there well.
Personally, I bought based upon the car rather than who was selling it - and took quite a gamble in the process... In the end, I got my Cerb from a company that basically pick cars up at bargain basement prices through the auctions and sell them straight on after a quick valet. So, in theory, I was crazy buying an ex-company car that'd been through the auctions and was being sold by a company that knew nothing about TVRs and was probably quite experienced in hiding problems.
However, I got the paperwork for every single trip the car had ever had into the garage, rang up the dealers that'd serviced it, knew that it had had 1 owner from new (4 years), that it'd consistently done 6000+ miles per year with only one clutch slave-cylinder problem (still the case at almost 30k miles). And most importantly, it drove like a dream - light clutch, even power delivery, well weighted steering, high build quality, etc. I didn't get an expert to inspect the car, but if I hadn't got family in the motor trade I probably would have. Given the choice, I'd have like to have bought privately so I could see how the owner drove it and looked after it.
Basically, it's all risk management - is it worth paying an extra £3k to a dealer in the hope that something goes wrong it'll get fixed for free... Depends on whether you think the problems will add up to more than £3k or not.
As for warranties, I went 50/50 with the supplying company on the cost of one. I'm glad I did it for the peace of mind, but it's yet to pay for itself (and in some ways hope it never does).
Personally, I bought based upon the car rather than who was selling it - and took quite a gamble in the process... In the end, I got my Cerb from a company that basically pick cars up at bargain basement prices through the auctions and sell them straight on after a quick valet. So, in theory, I was crazy buying an ex-company car that'd been through the auctions and was being sold by a company that knew nothing about TVRs and was probably quite experienced in hiding problems.
However, I got the paperwork for every single trip the car had ever had into the garage, rang up the dealers that'd serviced it, knew that it had had 1 owner from new (4 years), that it'd consistently done 6000+ miles per year with only one clutch slave-cylinder problem (still the case at almost 30k miles). And most importantly, it drove like a dream - light clutch, even power delivery, well weighted steering, high build quality, etc. I didn't get an expert to inspect the car, but if I hadn't got family in the motor trade I probably would have. Given the choice, I'd have like to have bought privately so I could see how the owner drove it and looked after it.
Basically, it's all risk management - is it worth paying an extra £3k to a dealer in the hope that something goes wrong it'll get fixed for free... Depends on whether you think the problems will add up to more than £3k or not.
As for warranties, I went 50/50 with the supplying company on the cost of one. I'm glad I did it for the peace of mind, but it's yet to pay for itself (and in some ways hope it never does).
Well.... everybody has hit the nail on the head!!! There seems to be a right and wrong way of doing it but in the end a lot of people follow their heart, myself included. I looked at a few but ended up back at the first one. Bought privately but although it wasn't a 'known car' it had been in Harrogate all its life.
I had it checked out by the local TVR dealer but apart from a couple of small points they didn't have anything major to report.
Maybe I was lucky, especially if you read back on some of Graham's old posts.
At the end of the day just find one you are comfortable with and budget for a few k to get it to where you are happy with it!!
Andy
I had it checked out by the local TVR dealer but apart from a couple of small points they didn't have anything major to report.
Maybe I was lucky, especially if you read back on some of Graham's old posts.
At the end of the day just find one you are comfortable with and budget for a few k to get it to where you are happy with it!!
Andy
I bought my car from a guy in a little chef cark park who had driven it down that day from blackpool, and was emigrating to australia the next day.
I believe theres one born like me every minute.
I did however do some HPI checking to make sure the car wasn't stolen, jacked the car up and went over the car with a fine tooth comb.
It was one month out of service and four months away from an MOT with two months of warranty left.
I estimated about £2000 of work needed which was agreed and knocked of the bill. When it went in for a service the bill was £2700. Waranty aguements over they paid about £2000 odd and I paid the rest.
Now 8000 miles later just been though a service at Austec with only minor niggles CV boots etc. I'm feeling justified if a little reckless still.
I believe theres one born like me every minute.
I did however do some HPI checking to make sure the car wasn't stolen, jacked the car up and went over the car with a fine tooth comb.
It was one month out of service and four months away from an MOT with two months of warranty left.
I estimated about £2000 of work needed which was agreed and knocked of the bill. When it went in for a service the bill was £2700. Waranty aguements over they paid about £2000 odd and I paid the rest.
Now 8000 miles later just been though a service at Austec with only minor niggles CV boots etc. I'm feeling justified if a little reckless still.
We bought ours from a dealer (Walldonway), spimply because it meant we knew we could go back to them if we had problems with the car, and it came with a warranty.
And they were (and still are) brilliant. We had a few minor problems with the car after the 1st 2 weeks getting to know it, took it back & they were all sorted FOC.
Walldonways servicing depaetment, although they are expensive, are BRILLIANT ! Anything that could be claimed off the warranty was, the only breakage that wasn't covered by the warranty was when our slave cylinder went, was that they wouldn't pay for the release bearing on the clutch, so we had to pay the £19.95 for the bearing ! We claimed about £2.5k's worth of stuff off the warranty in the 1st 12 months, so it was well worth the £800? we spent on it....
Good luck !
And they were (and still are) brilliant. We had a few minor problems with the car after the 1st 2 weeks getting to know it, took it back & they were all sorted FOC.
Walldonways servicing depaetment, although they are expensive, are BRILLIANT ! Anything that could be claimed off the warranty was, the only breakage that wasn't covered by the warranty was when our slave cylinder went, was that they wouldn't pay for the release bearing on the clutch, so we had to pay the £19.95 for the bearing !
We claimed about £2.5k's worth of stuff off the warranty in the 1st 12 months, so it was well worth the £800? we spent on it.... Good luck !
I bought mine from a small private specialist seller, dealing in buying and sellling TVR's and other fast cars - usually had about 3 or 4 in at any one time. He will also try to get you the right car too, and he offerd to buy mine back from me if/when i wanted to sell, whcih was somewhat reassuring to hear!
I spent months researching Cerbera's in general, looking at a few and talking to dealers, but when it came to the crunch i basically found the car with the right interior and and exterior colours (via autotrader), went to see it, tried it, chatted with the chap selling it, and bought it there and then.
A bit of a risk i think some will say, but there you go - i am a tad impulsive. However, had it checked out recently at a thorough service, and it got the big thumbs up.
Only two problems to note - dodgy starter motor and a loose boot mechanism. Other than that, fine!
I spent months researching Cerbera's in general, looking at a few and talking to dealers, but when it came to the crunch i basically found the car with the right interior and and exterior colours (via autotrader), went to see it, tried it, chatted with the chap selling it, and bought it there and then.
A bit of a risk i think some will say, but there you go - i am a tad impulsive. However, had it checked out recently at a thorough service, and it got the big thumbs up.
Only two problems to note - dodgy starter motor and a loose boot mechanism. Other than that, fine!
I bought mine from a TVR dealer (Dream Machines).
They've been superb. I had a few niggles in the first few months which were repaired without cost or questions. The car had a complete clutch replacement just before I bought it, is late '98 and had the colour and interior I wanted.
I've felt more secure having bought from a dealer. The car was given a 12K service and paint touch ups before I bought. I also received a Car Care Plan Warranty that can only be bought through a dealer.
They've been superb. I had a few niggles in the first few months which were repaired without cost or questions. The car had a complete clutch replacement just before I bought it, is late '98 and had the colour and interior I wanted.
I've felt more secure having bought from a dealer. The car was given a 12K service and paint touch ups before I bought. I also received a Car Care Plan Warranty that can only be bought through a dealer.
Oi Jennings!
Stick to the turbo diesel and leave the TVR's to those of us that know how to write-em off properly!
The only tip I have for you on Saturday is don't stall it when you take it for a test drive.....I found that about 7K RPM and dumnping the clutch usually ensures you don't!
Good luck and enjoy.....I'm jealous as hell!
Stick to the turbo diesel and leave the TVR's to those of us that know how to write-em off properly!
The only tip I have for you on Saturday is don't stall it when you take it for a test drive.....I found that about 7K RPM and dumnping the clutch usually ensures you don't!
Good luck and enjoy.....I'm jealous as hell!
Agree with Graham.
Go to James Agger and you are unlikely to be disappointed.
I used to think buying from a dealer was a good idea until I spoke to a few of them. They don't always know much about the car they are selling (or even care for that matter) or TVR's in general in some cases. I don't think you have much comeback with them either IMHO.
There are no guarantees with TVR's but I think you can certainly put the odds in your favour by following Graham's advice.
Go to James Agger and you are unlikely to be disappointed.
I used to think buying from a dealer was a good idea until I spoke to a few of them. They don't always know much about the car they are selling (or even care for that matter) or TVR's in general in some cases. I don't think you have much comeback with them either IMHO.
There are no guarantees with TVR's but I think you can certainly put the odds in your favour by following Graham's advice.
Depends where you are....
I bought from David Geralds - Independent TVR Specialist (www.www.davidgeraldtvr.com) on the Worcestershire/Warwickshire boarder - in April 2003.
December 98 4.5 @ 19k miles with 12 months MOT + service + 12 months dealer only AA warranty worth about £750pa. Paid about £1500 more than the private ads but peace of mind for 12 months was worth it.
I bought from David Geralds - Independent TVR Specialist (www.www.davidgeraldtvr.com) on the Worcestershire/Warwickshire boarder - in April 2003.
December 98 4.5 @ 19k miles with 12 months MOT + service + 12 months dealer only AA warranty worth about £750pa. Paid about £1500 more than the private ads but peace of mind for 12 months was worth it.
Bought mine privately from a local chap who my friend in the trade knew. He was looking to get something more refined, and I was looking for something raw & with more soul than the Subaru I had.
He offered it to me at what he had been bid on it by Peninsula. After a cheeky call to Richard at Peninsula for his opinion on the car, I set up the test drive.
I think it took 200 yards to make up my mind!!!!
I was lucky in the fact that the previous owner was very fastidious and travelled the country looking for a suitable Cerbera before buying from Fernhursts in Surrey.
I've had the car 6 months and so far only expense has been a major service and tappet adjustment (grabs wooden desk quickly) plus lots of Optimax.
If you get the right car you won't regret it !!
He offered it to me at what he had been bid on it by Peninsula. After a cheeky call to Richard at Peninsula for his opinion on the car, I set up the test drive.
I think it took 200 yards to make up my mind!!!!
I was lucky in the fact that the previous owner was very fastidious and travelled the country looking for a suitable Cerbera before buying from Fernhursts in Surrey.
I've had the car 6 months and so far only expense has been a major service and tappet adjustment (grabs wooden desk quickly) plus lots of Optimax.
If you get the right car you won't regret it !!
Thanks all for the excellent replies. They have all given me much to think about. I am lucky that I live exactly 2 miles between two Main Dealers, Hawthorns in Farnham and Racing Green in Ash Vale, so I think I will keep an eye on what they have to offer.
The name James Agger keeps popping up positively all over this forum so I think a call to him is on the cards.
Dean
Oi Bennett don't dis the B&Q Express! There's nought wrong with Turbo Diesels!
The name James Agger keeps popping up positively all over this forum so I think a call to him is on the cards.
Dean
Oi Bennett don't dis the B&Q Express! There's nought wrong with Turbo Diesels!
PhilCerbera said:
Depends where you are....
I bought from David Geralds - Independent TVR Specialist (www.davidgeraldtvr.com">www.www.davidgeraldtvr.com) on the Worcestershire/Warwickshire boarder - in April 2003.
December 98 4.5 @ 19k miles with 12 months MOT + service + 12 months dealer only AA warranty worth about £750pa. Paid about £1500 more than the private ads but peace of mind for 12 months was worth it.
Virtually the same story, a Dec1998 car from DG's, my fifth car from them and they always provide excellent service.
Cheers
DC
There is a fantastic black 4.5 for sale in the pistonheads classifieds. He lives near me and not far from where you live. My 4.5 used to look girlie next to his all black model. It is one hell of a cerb!!
Take a look! Get it checked over by APM or Fernies and you are away!!!
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=18989&s=6
>> Edited by gazzab on Thursday 19th February 20:54
Take a look! Get it checked over by APM or Fernies and you are away!!!
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=18989&s=6
>> Edited by gazzab on Thursday 19th February 20:54
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