Cerbera reliability beyond a joke
Discussion
I would expect more tolerance on a forum like this one. Ben is an ex-TVR owner and is kind enough to contribute to this thread. He is not trying to convert anyone to anything, merely talking about his own experience. People buys cars for a variety of reasons ranging from 'soul' to performance and reliability. I would be pi**ed if anyone dared commenting on how I rate each of these features.
So please stop slagging off people who contribute to this forum, even if they don't write what we would love to read !
Other than that, have a nice day... real shame though 'cos the Cerb' look bl00dy nice.
Have a nice day everyone
Roms
Antigua Blue Chimaera 450
MCC Smart Passion Grey with Bungee Red interior ;o)
So please stop slagging off people who contribute to this forum, even if they don't write what we would love to read !
Other than that, have a nice day... real shame though 'cos the Cerb' look bl00dy nice.
Have a nice day everyone
Roms
Antigua Blue Chimaera 450
MCC Smart Passion Grey with Bungee Red interior ;o)
quote:
"Owning or driving a TVR or any other sportscar with a soul and character is like loving and paying for a supermodel, you have to give her a hell of money and she still will have a lot of niggles, behave very strange etc"
Your right Benno a Tvr seems a lot like dating a Supermodel or some other Beautiful woman, and no matter how beautiful , no matter how sexy , no matter how great her body is , some one some where is sick and tired of all her whineing and all the problems that go with her. but like you they still put up with it,,,, for a while anyway
just to put a few thinigs straight..
1) the quote below originated from marki it was not mine
2) Flasher / Mr Brettle nobody hates TVR's, nobody said they were shite apart from the 2 of you in your e-mails.
3) I know the list of cars faster is ridiculous, but it was Flasher who said only the McLaren F1 is faster - when have you ever seen one of those on the road??. I was just pointing out a few others, if you want to be more realistic try Carterham R500 or Ultima (both of which are 50K or less) and potentially faster over some measurements. (dependent on which Cerb the 1-100 time is between 9 - 10.2 seconds, this time is bettered by a 360 modena at 8.8 and matched by 996 Carrera at 10 and 550 at 10.1) - for christs sake dont come back and say 'but they all cost more' I know that, I am just trying to add an air of realism to the 'there is nothing on the planet other than a McLaren F1 which will touch it comments of earlier in this thread'
4) Flasher, even you the greatest supporter of the marque admit your Cerby had over 2K's worth of running repairs in your 6 month ownership period. If you look 4 other contributors have said the same thing on this thread. This is a lot on a 2 year old car.
5) Flasher, Before I get shot down, for being critical take another read through my mails, it was you that used 'smirking clever dicks', 'wanker', 'characterless','run of the mill'. I have thrown no such mud or personal slur.
6) for the record i have had 4 TVR's and as you know flasher I almost relented and bought another one last weekend. I am addicted to TVR's and love the raw power and unique charm and even the smell the GRP gives off.
7) When will some of you it in to your heads that everytime somebody says I love the cars but cannot live with the problems / the cost of the problems, it does not put them up for abuse.
8) Simple fact is if TVR suddenly found a way of enginering 'normal' levels of reliability in to their cars then we would all benefit. By this I mean 10K service intervals, no serious mechanical problems for 100K miles....
ps. anybody whom criticises point 8 is either a bufoon or a 12 year old.
Ben
Edited by bennno on Thursday 20th December 09:31
Edited by bennno on Thursday 20th December 09:41
1) the quote below originated from marki it was not mine
2) Flasher / Mr Brettle nobody hates TVR's, nobody said they were shite apart from the 2 of you in your e-mails.
3) I know the list of cars faster is ridiculous, but it was Flasher who said only the McLaren F1 is faster - when have you ever seen one of those on the road??. I was just pointing out a few others, if you want to be more realistic try Carterham R500 or Ultima (both of which are 50K or less) and potentially faster over some measurements. (dependent on which Cerb the 1-100 time is between 9 - 10.2 seconds, this time is bettered by a 360 modena at 8.8 and matched by 996 Carrera at 10 and 550 at 10.1) - for christs sake dont come back and say 'but they all cost more' I know that, I am just trying to add an air of realism to the 'there is nothing on the planet other than a McLaren F1 which will touch it comments of earlier in this thread'
4) Flasher, even you the greatest supporter of the marque admit your Cerby had over 2K's worth of running repairs in your 6 month ownership period. If you look 4 other contributors have said the same thing on this thread. This is a lot on a 2 year old car.
5) Flasher, Before I get shot down, for being critical take another read through my mails, it was you that used 'smirking clever dicks', 'wanker', 'characterless','run of the mill'. I have thrown no such mud or personal slur.
6) for the record i have had 4 TVR's and as you know flasher I almost relented and bought another one last weekend. I am addicted to TVR's and love the raw power and unique charm and even the smell the GRP gives off.
7) When will some of you it in to your heads that everytime somebody says I love the cars but cannot live with the problems / the cost of the problems, it does not put them up for abuse.
8) Simple fact is if TVR suddenly found a way of enginering 'normal' levels of reliability in to their cars then we would all benefit. By this I mean 10K service intervals, no serious mechanical problems for 100K miles....
ps. anybody whom criticises point 8 is either a bufoon or a 12 year old.
Ben
Edited by bennno on Thursday 20th December 09:31
Edited by bennno on Thursday 20th December 09:41
For any of you guys (and gals, perhaps) who are SERIOUSLY thinking of buying one, here`s my 2€ cents worth, from the past 8 months and 10k miles.
The day after I bought S348 BVO - a silver 4.5 - I drove to Munich (from the North of England) something like 1400 kms if I remember correctly, via the Chunnel, in around 12 hours at an average of 21 litres / 100 km. It never missed a beat and was a great way for car and driver to familiarise themselves.
Since then, as might be slightly obvious with over 10,000 miles in 8 months, I`ve been to and from Munich a few times, to and from Amsterdam twice and from Amsterdam to Paris and back twice - on top of everyday use and many shorter trips in and around Europe and the UK.
I have spent about 1600 GBPounds on maintenance/ servicing, including a new sports exhaust. The only other problems that have needed rectifying being a dodgy wiper park switch (warranty), having the front suspension uprights replaced under a recall notice (again free of charge) and fitting new seals to the front n/s brake calipers (got in the car one morning, pressed the stop pedal and it hit the floor - brake juice all over the drive etc., v. fortunate not to have been moving). This latter incident might have cost me more than 250 quid (dealer price for a new caliper "sorry sir, the factory don`t do seal kits") but a very helpful chap at AP sent me a spare set FOC on the condition that I sent the old ones back for analysis - very comforting. I actually enjoyed refitting them, it took me back 20 years, to the days when I had to do it every year on my dear old Mini 1000!!!
Sure there have been other little niggles - like the drivers door coming loose at some ridiculous speed on the E40 between Bruxelles and Liege at 3 in the morning (pulled into a gas station, open the door, latch fell off onto the floor, picked it up, bought a set of allen keys, fixed it - TIGHT - never been a problem since) in fact the window and lock system works better since, too.
By the way, the concrete sections of the E40 in Belgium are a nightmare drive in a Cerbera - kind of how I imagine driving on corrugated iron must feel!!
My overall impression, for what it`s worth, is, just as Christof says, that it is the soul and character of the car that endears it to me. My wife thinks I`m crazy to spend that amount of money on a car - and still have to get my hands dirty occasionally, but hey! it`s cheaper than a Mistress.......
My advice? Well, they`re basically racing cars with a body and one or two creature comforts. Accept the fact that TVR Quality Assurance is not upto BMW and Mercedes standards and, perhaps most importantly, Caveat Emptor - do your own research, investments can go down as well as down and don`t whinge if you do buy one.
Oh yes, one other thing.... life is never dull with a Cerbera - good one or bad one - their owners develope an affliction to embarrassing moments (how about a thread on that?) and a very thick skin. If you`re shy, don`t even think about it.....
OJ
The day after I bought S348 BVO - a silver 4.5 - I drove to Munich (from the North of England) something like 1400 kms if I remember correctly, via the Chunnel, in around 12 hours at an average of 21 litres / 100 km. It never missed a beat and was a great way for car and driver to familiarise themselves.
Since then, as might be slightly obvious with over 10,000 miles in 8 months, I`ve been to and from Munich a few times, to and from Amsterdam twice and from Amsterdam to Paris and back twice - on top of everyday use and many shorter trips in and around Europe and the UK.
I have spent about 1600 GBPounds on maintenance/ servicing, including a new sports exhaust. The only other problems that have needed rectifying being a dodgy wiper park switch (warranty), having the front suspension uprights replaced under a recall notice (again free of charge) and fitting new seals to the front n/s brake calipers (got in the car one morning, pressed the stop pedal and it hit the floor - brake juice all over the drive etc., v. fortunate not to have been moving). This latter incident might have cost me more than 250 quid (dealer price for a new caliper "sorry sir, the factory don`t do seal kits") but a very helpful chap at AP sent me a spare set FOC on the condition that I sent the old ones back for analysis - very comforting. I actually enjoyed refitting them, it took me back 20 years, to the days when I had to do it every year on my dear old Mini 1000!!!
Sure there have been other little niggles - like the drivers door coming loose at some ridiculous speed on the E40 between Bruxelles and Liege at 3 in the morning (pulled into a gas station, open the door, latch fell off onto the floor, picked it up, bought a set of allen keys, fixed it - TIGHT - never been a problem since) in fact the window and lock system works better since, too.
By the way, the concrete sections of the E40 in Belgium are a nightmare drive in a Cerbera - kind of how I imagine driving on corrugated iron must feel!!
My overall impression, for what it`s worth, is, just as Christof says, that it is the soul and character of the car that endears it to me. My wife thinks I`m crazy to spend that amount of money on a car - and still have to get my hands dirty occasionally, but hey! it`s cheaper than a Mistress.......
My advice? Well, they`re basically racing cars with a body and one or two creature comforts. Accept the fact that TVR Quality Assurance is not upto BMW and Mercedes standards and, perhaps most importantly, Caveat Emptor - do your own research, investments can go down as well as down and don`t whinge if you do buy one.
Oh yes, one other thing.... life is never dull with a Cerbera - good one or bad one - their owners develope an affliction to embarrassing moments (how about a thread on that?) and a very thick skin. If you`re shy, don`t even think about it.....
OJ
I think if people want ‘normal’ reliability they should buy a ‘normal’ car, when I replace my S my money will be going on a griff and a normal car for everyday use. Cerbies are tempting specially as I seen them as low as £15995 for an early 4.2 but I couldn’t afford to keep it running.
Benno's got point 8 spot on.
I have a Chimaera (love it, its bullet proof and has never let me down in 3 years and 24000 miles). I'll be a Dad in less than 2 months and I would dearly want a Cerbie for the 2+2.
These days you can get a Maserati 3200, XKR, and even an old (but reliable) DB7 for new Cerbera money. Wait another year and MG will have the X80 for £50k.
True, they are all slower, but the slowest car on the road is a stationary Cerbie on the hard shoulder.....
For pity's sake TVR, make them better or your new sales will dry up and you'll go bust again.
I have a Chimaera (love it, its bullet proof and has never let me down in 3 years and 24000 miles). I'll be a Dad in less than 2 months and I would dearly want a Cerbie for the 2+2.
These days you can get a Maserati 3200, XKR, and even an old (but reliable) DB7 for new Cerbera money. Wait another year and MG will have the X80 for £50k.
True, they are all slower, but the slowest car on the road is a stationary Cerbie on the hard shoulder.....
For pity's sake TVR, make them better or your new sales will dry up and you'll go bust again.
I think the issue can probably be summarised:
1) The performance offered for the money by a Cerbera is exceptional.
2) Therefore people expect to spend more maintaining them
3) If the money was being spent on preventative servicing rather than fixing breakages then it would be more predictable and palatable.
1) The performance offered for the money by a Cerbera is exceptional.
2) Therefore people expect to spend more maintaining them
3) If the money was being spent on preventative servicing rather than fixing breakages then it would be more predictable and palatable.
agreed
the whole point is kemille my first choice would be the Cerbera, if TVR could just match the quality of the other cars you mentioned (XKR, Maser 3200 etc) to make it similiarly painless to run.
Ted has got it right, it goes like stink, you expect it to cost money to keep running - you do not expect to spend large chunks on new Ecu's / differentials etc on a nearly new car.
ben
Edited by bennno on Thursday 20th December 10:27
"Owning or driving a TVR or any other sportscar with a soul and character is like loving and paying for a supermodel, you have to give her a hell of money and she still will have a lot of niggles, behave very strange etc"
Sorry the originator of the 'Swiss Tony' style script was Christophe, rather than Marki..
ben
Sorry the originator of the 'Swiss Tony' style script was Christophe, rather than Marki..
ben
Ok...big touch wood before I say this. I am fairly new to Cerbie ownership...I have only had my 4.5 for 3 months experience but I have only had one problem...throttle potentiometers needing changing two days after I bought it (warranty)...apart from that there are minor niggles like squeaky brakes, a couple of rattles and one instance of the earth coming loose and the car not working...otherwise it has been fantastic...quite frankly who gives a toss about minor niggles..if the car goes and boy it does go I am not fussy...with the sports exhaust I cannot hear the rattles over 40 mph so bothered not !! The sound, looks and performance more than make up for any minor issues...I get excited by the end of the week hping the weekend is clear just to get in it and go for a blast...Yeah £30k could have bought me a nice BMW or a Merc, but a)how boring b)so did 500k other people c)having 4 useable seats implies a willingness for children to be created now I am married....nah...I'll keep the Cerbie, live with the niggles and enjoy EVERYTHING about the experience....not often you drive a car that others move out of the way for or stand around waiting for you to start it....of course I don't commute in it so maybe my love is untainted but considering I am such a sinner this is as close as i will probably get to Nirvana...
As somebody who is seriously considering a Cerbie in the next 12 -18 months it was "illuminating" to see some of the issues that various owners have had.
My big question is are there specialists around who can supply parts/services to keep the demons on the road?
I realise that we should be realistic about the costs of ownership, but I shudder to think of the sort of issues reported. Dealer or private?
My big question is are there specialists around who can supply parts/services to keep the demons on the road?
I realise that we should be realistic about the costs of ownership, but I shudder to think of the sort of issues reported. Dealer or private?
quote:
Both cars have been perfectly reliable. I worked on them myself
Here we are: if you want the job done correctly do it yourself.
Don't you all remember our ancestors early in the century who worked themselves on their cars? And the ones who really loved their cars were not the kind to complain when something broke down!
I think we all tend to loose some basic mechanic education and we gain over-confidence as most of us don't know what is going on under the bonnet!
IMHO that's a message conveyed by "TVR-ness": owning a Tiv is "everything or nothing": you have to know your car from A to Z, work yourself on it.
As far as I am concerned I work myself on my car because
1)I can't afford any garage
2)this is the main point: it makes me feel my car is becoming "part of myself" because I learn how it is made; and I take some pride in working on it because it's ultimately the biggest part in the 'sports car enthusiasm'
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