Cerbera buying help.
Discussion
Hi folks. I set myself a target a while back of owning a certain few cars before i'm 40, and next on the list to be ticked off is a TVR. It's just an itch that I desperately need to scratch, and i'd like to get it sorted out before Christmas. (A nice present to myself) For a while I thought it would have to be a T350, but styling wise there are a couple of little things on them I don't like. The Cerbera on the other hand ticks all my boxes and has done since I first laid eyes on one many years ago.
Anyway, what i'm after is some sort of buying guide if someone could point me in the right direction of one? I'll be honest, I tend to jump in to cars with my heart and not my head without getting them thoroughly checked out, but this time I need it to be different due to the cars well documented 'quirks'. (Which I should've done with previous Lotus and Porsche purchases!) For starters if you good people could tell me which model is the one to go for, what to look out for etc i'd much appreciate it. When I do find a car i'd like to view are there any specialists who could give it a checking over? (I'm in Ealing, West London, and probably won't want to travel mega far) I know certain things i'd like on the car, but they're mainly exterior/interior options I can't go wrong with, it's the mechanical aspects I really need your experience and knowledge of.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Anyway, what i'm after is some sort of buying guide if someone could point me in the right direction of one? I'll be honest, I tend to jump in to cars with my heart and not my head without getting them thoroughly checked out, but this time I need it to be different due to the cars well documented 'quirks'. (Which I should've done with previous Lotus and Porsche purchases!) For starters if you good people could tell me which model is the one to go for, what to look out for etc i'd much appreciate it. When I do find a car i'd like to view are there any specialists who could give it a checking over? (I'm in Ealing, West London, and probably won't want to travel mega far) I know certain things i'd like on the car, but they're mainly exterior/interior options I can't go wrong with, it's the mechanical aspects I really need your experience and knowledge of.
Thanks in advance for any help.
As you are in Ealing I would get myself up to STR8SIX at Lewknor, J6 off M40 and speak to the chaps there, they get plenty through their hands and they will give a more subjective view than most on here. I am up there next Saturday if you want me to introduce you to the team and I can also take you out for a little spin if you wish to get an idea?
My I absolutely love mine, mental car that I can drive all day long and still look forward to the drive home, makes the getting there more important than the being there:-)
Buy on condition not age or mileage.
My I absolutely love mine, mental car that I can drive all day long and still look forward to the drive home, makes the getting there more important than the being there:-)
Buy on condition not age or mileage.
Ikobo said:
I thought i'd clarified the question in my last post for you? Ah well, having read a lot of the stuff in the TVR section of the forum, i'm sure there will be someone with a bit of experience along soon to offer some invaluable advice. I enjoyed your little wavey man though.
Right.. And if you read the guides you will find some common points, which may suggest they are accurate. Then if you look at the Pistonheads results within that search you will see over 10 pages of hits from the forum and the 'knowledgeable' ones, which probably also mention some of those points.
You will also learn that which model you buy is down to budget/want/preference.. For example, I wanted a proper one, so got a V8.
Literally a couple of threads down is this one..
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?h=0&a...
Then a couple of clicks away
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Ikobo said:
I thought i'd clarified the question in my last post for you? Ah well, having read a lot of the stuff in the TVR section of the forum, i'm sure there will be someone with a bit of experience along soon to offer some invaluable advice. I enjoyed your little wavey man though.
If you read back through this forum you will see that the same question as yours gets asked roughly every couple of weeks. The replies to any of those previous questions would be a good starting place, they all say the same thing. Buy on condition of the individual car. gruffalo said:
As you are in Ealing I would get myself up to STR8SIX at Lewknor, J6 off M40 and speak to the chaps there, they get plenty through their hands and they will give a more subjective view than most on here. I am up there next Saturday if you want me to introduce you to the team and I can also take you out for a little spin if you wish to get an idea?
My I absolutely love mine, mental car that I can drive all day long and still look forward to the drive home, makes the getting there more important than the being there:-)
Buy on condition not age or mileage.
Thanks, I have had a good look at their site a few times and had seen lots of positive comments on here. I might have the weekend off so may go up for a visit on saturday. Would've been good if they'd had one in stock to get an idea of what was on offer from such a well respected dealer, unfortunately nothing in right now.My I absolutely love mine, mental car that I can drive all day long and still look forward to the drive home, makes the getting there more important than the being there:-)
Buy on condition not age or mileage.
Had a couple of promising sounding leads via PM, so i'll see what comes of them too.
Str8six were exceptionally helpful in supporting me whilst selling my 4.5 to a foreign buyer. Jason did a comprehensive check on the car and also gave objective feedback on the faults in the context of car age, cost of repair, importance etc.
If I was to buy a car privately I'd be keen on having an inspection done as these cars will all have some sort of niggles and it would help you understand what your getting into.
One piece of advice I did ignore was that there is very little difference between 4.2 and 4.5s. I bought a facelift 4.5 and paid a premium for the car. This was however recovered on resale.
However the 4.2 for road use is a fantastic unit and the slightly more urgent power delivery does compensate for the slightly lazier power delivery of the 4.5 The extra power is not really accessible on the roads so don't discount a good 4.2
Drive a few as good cars are VERY different to less healthy cars.
If I was to buy a car privately I'd be keen on having an inspection done as these cars will all have some sort of niggles and it would help you understand what your getting into.
One piece of advice I did ignore was that there is very little difference between 4.2 and 4.5s. I bought a facelift 4.5 and paid a premium for the car. This was however recovered on resale.
However the 4.2 for road use is a fantastic unit and the slightly more urgent power delivery does compensate for the slightly lazier power delivery of the 4.5 The extra power is not really accessible on the roads so don't discount a good 4.2
Drive a few as good cars are VERY different to less healthy cars.
Ikobo said:
I'm aware of google thanks, the whole point of the question was to get the opinion of which guide was the most accurate, informative and reliable from the people who know best, the owners.
Thanks for your smart arse reply
though.
He did not send you a smart arse reply but one with all the links to help you find what your looking for. I doubt you will get help from many on this site if you come back with an attitude like that.Thanks for your smart arse reply
though.
@ Rawhide. I'm going to speak to str8six this week to figure out the best way to work it with taking prospective purchases in for a thorough examination pre-purchase. i hadn't really realised they were so close to where I live.
@ Central. Could be a good plan as if there are several owners in attendance i'll get myself a better idea of the good and bad across a range of cars.
@ UKkid35. It's funny, when I started looking for a TVR I was thinking how rare it was to see one in the local area. I think I saw a chimeara on the road once when I first moved here, and that was 13 years ago! Apart from that I know there's a T350 around the corner from my friends place, absolutely no other local spots for me though, and i'd definitely remember seeing a nice Cerbera. If I do see you around i'll come over and introduce myself and have a little chat about the car, I wouldn't want to ask you about it here as it seems a sensitive issue to have the same information posted twice.
@ Central. Could be a good plan as if there are several owners in attendance i'll get myself a better idea of the good and bad across a range of cars.
@ UKkid35. It's funny, when I started looking for a TVR I was thinking how rare it was to see one in the local area. I think I saw a chimeara on the road once when I first moved here, and that was 13 years ago! Apart from that I know there's a T350 around the corner from my friends place, absolutely no other local spots for me though, and i'd definitely remember seeing a nice Cerbera. If I do see you around i'll come over and introduce myself and have a little chat about the car, I wouldn't want to ask you about it here as it seems a sensitive issue to have the same information posted twice.
Basic break down of models. 4.5 V8 is the daddy but produces no more power until set up correctly. Very few make more the 350hp as standard.4.2 V8 is almost the same but with a different induction on it and finally the 4.0 speed six, a totally different feel to the car, most s6 engines will be sorted now and if they havent they propably didnt need it. All are expensive to run and upkeep. They all feel different, you need to try them all to realise how different they are but if you want outright power go for the 4.5 but be prepared to spend money to get the extra horses if the work hasnt already been done.
Hope that helps
Aub
Hope that helps
Aub
21st November is TVR Night at the Ace Cafe, there are always a few of us there.
http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/event_view.aspx?eve...
http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/event_view.aspx?eve...
C3BER said:
He did not send you a smart arse reply but one with all the links to help you find what your looking for. I doubt you will get help from many on this site if you come back with an attitude like that.
I'm sure the OP is perfectly aware of how to get to Google Mick. 
The guy only posted up for some help, I for one don't know why some people on here are so obtuse.+1 well probably small man syndrome all huff & puff ha ha OK calm down Busta blood vessel.
Stick around you'll get the feel of it , same as most cars but more so with these,dont let your heart rule your head applies a bit more than usual & Uk is right go along to a meeting most are normal & friendly;)
Stick around you'll get the feel of it , same as most cars but more so with these,dont let your heart rule your head applies a bit more than usual & Uk is right go along to a meeting most are normal & friendly;)
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