Going back to a Griff from a Cerb
Discussion
medieval said:
Sorry to hear that Andy - I am thinkning of going over to the Cerb side but I must confess, the cost issues are a major concern.
The Griffith has been faultless......oh well, a rethink perhaps.
The Griffith has been faultless......oh well, a rethink perhaps.
Some people manage to run Cerbs relativley cheaply, mine is an exception, it is one hell of a car but I am wondering if I should think with my head for a change instead of my heart. The Griff was R403 YOF. Wonder where is it now?
I had a griff then 2 cerberas one after the other then back to griff. I still miss the Cerby but not the bills. The Griff I think is the better long termer with good residuals and I love open top motoring. The noise of the V8 I missed but then again I now miss the crackle and pop of the Cerb.
I've recently done this and while I'm still getting used to the Griff I'm enjoying driving it more than I did the Cerb, quite frankly the Cerb was a better car but not as much fun.
The Griff is much more a of a live wire hot-rod which needs full attention whereas my old cerb felt much more modern and fuss free , bit odd really.
Some of it might be down to the the cerb was on a full set of nitrons and set-up by Steve Guglemi and the Griff has GAZ shocks of an unknown vintage and the geometry definitely needs looking at as it tramlines all over the shop on a bumpy road
Its down to the old adage :
its not how fast it goes, but how it goes fast
Matt
The Griff is much more a of a live wire hot-rod which needs full attention whereas my old cerb felt much more modern and fuss free , bit odd really.
Some of it might be down to the the cerb was on a full set of nitrons and set-up by Steve Guglemi and the Griff has GAZ shocks of an unknown vintage and the geometry definitely needs looking at as it tramlines all over the shop on a bumpy road
Its down to the old adage :
its not how fast it goes, but how it goes fast
Matt
I'm a newbee to TVR and my comments probably don't count for much, and I've never driven a Cerb, but having driven other modern performance cars, I find my Griff much more exciting and exhilarating than many other more modern cars. Having so much torque and so little weight and an old fashioned suspension set up, means you have to have your mind on the job.
That coupled to the fact that it sounds so good, (mine is straight through) makes it such an enjoyable drive, however fast you are going.
That coupled to the fact that it sounds so good, (mine is straight through) makes it such an enjoyable drive, however fast you are going.
andysgriff said:
Has anyone done this? Any regrets? I am starting to wish I had never got rid of the Griff..
I love the Cerb but it is beginning to feel like death by service/repair bill..
I love the Cerb but it is beginning to feel like death by service/repair bill..
Just looked at your running costs.......! Nightmareish reading and you must be more than a bit pi88ed off during some of those times. Was thinking of going over to cerb ownership but rethinking it all. Then again.....never was good with decisions!
Whatever you decide to do, good luck!
Dave.
sam gamgee said:
andysgriff said:
Has anyone done this? Any regrets? I am starting to wish I had never got rid of the Griff..
I love the Cerb but it is beginning to feel like death by service/repair bill..
I love the Cerb but it is beginning to feel like death by service/repair bill..
Just looked at your running costs.......! and me... ouch!!! i was upset about my £1200 service on the chimt too
surely you've done all the jobs that will need doing for a long time and you can just enjoy the cerb for a bit, i'd hate to think there were other costs lurking after that lot!
would make a great second hand buy though... and in my fav colour combo, hmm....
Nano2nd said:
sam gamgee said:
andysgriff said:
Has anyone done this? Any regrets? I am starting to wish I had never got rid of the Griff..
I love the Cerb but it is beginning to feel like death by service/repair bill..
I love the Cerb but it is beginning to feel like death by service/repair bill..
Just looked at your running costs.......! and me... ouch!!! i was upset about my £1200 service on the chimt too
surely you've done all the jobs that will need doing for a long time and you can just enjoy the cerb for a bit, i'd hate to think there were other costs lurking after that lot!
would make a great second hand buy though... and in my fav colour combo, hmm....
Yep, I would hope that the current round of repairs should keep it going for a bit. There aren't many parts that have not been replaced or upgraded...it will be having a full respray some time in the near future and possibly a full re trim in black leather.
sucker for punishment.. im a newbie to tvr world but i started off wanting a cerb and started scouring the classifids for a cerb and the one thing i noticed was the amount of cash these thing hemeraged in service/depretiation so i opted for a griff and ive fell on lucky with my purchase as ive got a well sorted one,
The rover engine was the big swinger in my case as i found a cerb sp6 with a blown head and the cost of rebuilding the head on it was £2000.00 for that money i bet i could buy a fully reconditioned 5.0 rover unit(i think havnt priced one up yet)
The rover engine was the big swinger in my case as i found a cerb sp6 with a blown head and the cost of rebuilding the head on it was £2000.00 for that money i bet i could buy a fully reconditioned 5.0 rover unit(i think havnt priced one up yet)
I remember an article in Sprint that talked about Cerby ownership, and referred to an annual cost of repairs and routine maintenance of about £3000. My Griff has never cost that much in a single year (yet, he says, rapidly touching wood.....).
Have driven a 450 Cerby - was awesomely quick, but not in the low end grunt way of a 500 Griff - despite a young child, I would not change!
Have driven a 450 Cerby - was awesomely quick, but not in the low end grunt way of a 500 Griff - despite a young child, I would not change!
Edited by tvr_nut on Sunday 18th March 20:18
We looked at a 4.5 Cerb that had a lower mileage and was newer than the Griffith 500 we bought - thing was we wanted a soft top so went for the Griff. And how pleased I have been !!
Each and every time I return to the dealer for advce, MOT, upgrade or service the very same Cerb I almost bought is sitting there either waiting for parts or being repaired .... I hate to think what it would have ended up costing me had I bought it.
I am sure I too would love the power and I know I love the looks ..... but I am so glad I bought a Griff 500 that has - touch wood - been no problem in the 2 years I have had it
Each and every time I return to the dealer for advce, MOT, upgrade or service the very same Cerb I almost bought is sitting there either waiting for parts or being repaired .... I hate to think what it would have ended up costing me had I bought it.
I am sure I too would love the power and I know I love the looks ..... but I am so glad I bought a Griff 500 that has - touch wood - been no problem in the 2 years I have had it
Andy,
Frightening costs to run a car for less than 10,000 miles although noted that you have done a fair few upgrades.
Not sure I understand the logic of continuing to upgrade a car that you are not sure you are going to keep? I for one would not spend another penny on it. Some cars are serial money pits and if it costs this much to run at 30,000 miles it will surely cost even more at 60,000.
The Flawse philosophy for TVR ownership is to not stint on the routine maintenance but I have never spent a penny on things that might be called upgrades. You never get your money back and much like moving from a 4.0 to a 5.0 you soon get used to the new performance, paint, sound or whatever and will start to want more if you enter the improvement cycle. Can you envisage the car reaching a condition in which you would not want to improve it further - probably not in which case why start in the first place? Fully understand that many will disagree with this however.
I now have an SE Griff which I do plan to keep. I will put in a roll bar but otherwise I will just let it age gracefully. Stone chips - who cares, maybe sort them out in 10 years time? For me originality is key when it comes to long term value/depreciation.
Whatever you decide I hope you have a bit more luck than you seem to have had with your Cerb.
L.F.
Frightening costs to run a car for less than 10,000 miles although noted that you have done a fair few upgrades.
Not sure I understand the logic of continuing to upgrade a car that you are not sure you are going to keep? I for one would not spend another penny on it. Some cars are serial money pits and if it costs this much to run at 30,000 miles it will surely cost even more at 60,000.
The Flawse philosophy for TVR ownership is to not stint on the routine maintenance but I have never spent a penny on things that might be called upgrades. You never get your money back and much like moving from a 4.0 to a 5.0 you soon get used to the new performance, paint, sound or whatever and will start to want more if you enter the improvement cycle. Can you envisage the car reaching a condition in which you would not want to improve it further - probably not in which case why start in the first place? Fully understand that many will disagree with this however.
I now have an SE Griff which I do plan to keep. I will put in a roll bar but otherwise I will just let it age gracefully. Stone chips - who cares, maybe sort them out in 10 years time? For me originality is key when it comes to long term value/depreciation.
Whatever you decide I hope you have a bit more luck than you seem to have had with your Cerb.
L.F.
L.F,
Surely a quick dab of touch-up paint on those stone chips in the intervening 10 years?? I have found it hides them well enough to postpone that front-end respray for another year or two!
Your advice is spot-on though - I spent a lot of dosh upgrading a 350i to a 4.0L, plus suspension mods, and was then stupid enough to test drive a Griff 500. Got back very little of the money I had spent upgrading the Wedge.
The Griff is staying in original state, although I too an toying with the idea of a roll cage and 4-point harnesses for the trackdays.
Surely a quick dab of touch-up paint on those stone chips in the intervening 10 years?? I have found it hides them well enough to postpone that front-end respray for another year or two!
Your advice is spot-on though - I spent a lot of dosh upgrading a 350i to a 4.0L, plus suspension mods, and was then stupid enough to test drive a Griff 500. Got back very little of the money I had spent upgrading the Wedge.
The Griff is staying in original state, although I too an toying with the idea of a roll cage and 4-point harnesses for the trackdays.
lockhart flawse said:
Andy,
Frightening costs to run a car for less than 10,000 miles although noted that you have done a fair few upgrades.
Not sure I understand the logic of continuing to upgrade a car that you are not sure you are going to keep? I for one would not spend another penny on it. Some cars are serial money pits and if it costs this much to run at 30,000 miles it will surely cost even more at 60,000.
The Flawse philosophy for TVR ownership is to not stint on the routine maintenance but I have never spent a penny on things that might be called upgrades. You never get your money back and much like moving from a 4.0 to a 5.0 you soon get used to the new performance, paint, sound or whatever and will start to want more if you enter the improvement cycle. Can you envisage the car reaching a condition in which you would not want to improve it further - probably not in which case why start in the first place? Fully understand that many will disagree with this however.
I now have an SE Griff which I do plan to keep. I will put in a roll bar but otherwise I will just let it age gracefully. Stone chips - who cares, maybe sort them out in 10 years time? For me originality is key when it comes to long term value/depreciation.
Whatever you decide I hope you have a bit more luck than you seem to have had with your Cerb.
L.F.
Frightening costs to run a car for less than 10,000 miles although noted that you have done a fair few upgrades.
Not sure I understand the logic of continuing to upgrade a car that you are not sure you are going to keep? I for one would not spend another penny on it. Some cars are serial money pits and if it costs this much to run at 30,000 miles it will surely cost even more at 60,000.
The Flawse philosophy for TVR ownership is to not stint on the routine maintenance but I have never spent a penny on things that might be called upgrades. You never get your money back and much like moving from a 4.0 to a 5.0 you soon get used to the new performance, paint, sound or whatever and will start to want more if you enter the improvement cycle. Can you envisage the car reaching a condition in which you would not want to improve it further - probably not in which case why start in the first place? Fully understand that many will disagree with this however.
I now have an SE Griff which I do plan to keep. I will put in a roll bar but otherwise I will just let it age gracefully. Stone chips - who cares, maybe sort them out in 10 years time? For me originality is key when it comes to long term value/depreciation.
Whatever you decide I hope you have a bit more luck than you seem to have had with your Cerb.
L.F.
Hi, I realise that modifying a car is essentially a poor move financially as if anything it may have a negative effect on the saleability or value of the car. However I am a bit of a dabbler and if i know there are 'upgrades' available I like to have them done. To be honest I was never really happy with the performance or handling of the car soon after I bought it so I modified it to a state that I can honestly say I am satisfied with and I am confident that the novelty will not wear off for some time yet.
Trouble is that every time I get it to good working order and I run it for a while, work/repairs (other than servicing) is required..bit of a catch 22 situation.
I guess I just hanker after the relatively hassle free days of Griff ownership
tvr_nut said:
...The Griff is staying in original state, although I too an toying with the idea of a roll cage and 4-point harnesses for the trackdays.
Then you'll think about some 4 pot calipers oh perhaps 300mm discs, then perhaps some adjustable dampers like Nitrons - just for the track of course! Then because it handles and stops better you could actually handle a bit more power, after all a Tornado chip and rolling road session hardly ruins the originality does it? Then maybe a bigger plenum and some flared trumpets which can easily be turned back to standard (but why would you) and then perhaps a distributor-less, multi coil-pack ignition system and then.... 
Edited by richb on Tuesday 20th March 14:46
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