Cerbera | Chimaera | 911
Discussion
Hi All! As a newbie I 'd thought I'd get some advice on a new purchase. I currently have a 1972 Mercedes 350SL as a weekend car. I had the pleasure (and pain!) of using a 1996 4.5 Cerbera through work and fell in love with it - despite starter / clutch / bonnet / boot opening / not opening / overheating issues. I have around £18k to spend and am thinking a mid 70s 911 Targa or a a 1998 ish Chimaera or Cerbera. Any not so obvious issues? Dealer with Warranty vs Private? All info welcome!
Thanks.
Hi
I'm pretty new as well only had the 3 months. I missed out on three for different reasons so just jumpped in blind. I bought a 97 4.2 private and didn't even have it looked over!!! Which I do think was a little mad. The way I looked at was; the car was £4K cheaper than any I'd looked at the dealers so I had at least £4K to spend in the first year. I did a lot of reading on this site and you will pick up most of the tell tale signs. The one I spotted on a couple was scuff marks under the floor pad, supposed to be from the kerbs on the track so tell tale sign it's been used for track days.
Good luck
John
I'm pretty new as well only had the 3 months. I missed out on three for different reasons so just jumpped in blind. I bought a 97 4.2 private and didn't even have it looked over!!! Which I do think was a little mad. The way I looked at was; the car was £4K cheaper than any I'd looked at the dealers so I had at least £4K to spend in the first year. I did a lot of reading on this site and you will pick up most of the tell tale signs. The one I spotted on a couple was scuff marks under the floor pad, supposed to be from the kerbs on the track so tell tale sign it's been used for track days.
Good luck
John
Well, you're on a Cerbera forum, so I think you know full well what you're going to get advised to do...
Get a Porker, they're the dogs!
No, wait, that's not it...
Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb.
You know what a pain they can be at times, and your heart still wants you to have one. Sounds like an owner-in-waiting to me.
Brewing up a big pot of coffee, sitting down for a weekend, and trawling through the last 2 years of "Newbie - help!" posts is one of the best investments you can do. The summary will read something like:
* Don't buy the first one you see (although you can come back to it later once you've compared it to a few others)
* Private sale + £3-4k to play with or buying from a dealer will work out about the same if there's something major wrong
* Getting money out of warranty companies is only easy for those that can conjur blood out of rocky outcrops.
* Early car = really raw power = good. Early car = clatter cams which may need replacing if they haven't already, and an expensive clutch replacement if/when it goes (assuming it hasn't already) = bad.
* Spiders + Nitrons + Headlight conversion + whatever else = really nice-to-haves that half the cars get upgraded with once the owners see all the other pretty, shiny ones. But it won't add that much to the value
* Budget £3k P/A for running it. Hopefully it'll be less every year. That'll cover most things if the worst should happen, though.
* Drive it regularly and it'll be a happy car. Lock it up in a shed for a week, and it'll complain just like the girlfriend did when I tried that the other week
* Similarly, if you can find one that's been run regularly, all the better
* If buying privately, make sure the current owner doesn't rag it from cold
* Lots of paperwork = a good thing, not a bad thing.
* There sometimes are real bargains around - people get sick of them and just want rid from time to time. There are also dodgy ones on occasion, too...
* Use a specialist like James Agger ("jamer" on PH) to source you a car if you want something between private/dealer sale.
* 4.2/4.5 performance is near-as-damnit the same. You'll pay a premium for the latter, but will get most of it back when selling it on. Upgrades such as Nitrons will make it a much "faster" (and more enjoyable) car for less money
* Buy on condition, not mileage
* See above... ^
* Make sure the message sinks in this time... ^
* Blue's the only colour allowed.
Tired of typing now. Just buy one.
Get a Porker, they're the dogs! No, wait, that's not it...
Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb. Buy a Cerb.
You know what a pain they can be at times, and your heart still wants you to have one. Sounds like an owner-in-waiting to me.
Brewing up a big pot of coffee, sitting down for a weekend, and trawling through the last 2 years of "Newbie - help!" posts is one of the best investments you can do. The summary will read something like: * Don't buy the first one you see (although you can come back to it later once you've compared it to a few others)
* Private sale + £3-4k to play with or buying from a dealer will work out about the same if there's something major wrong
* Getting money out of warranty companies is only easy for those that can conjur blood out of rocky outcrops.
* Early car = really raw power = good. Early car = clatter cams which may need replacing if they haven't already, and an expensive clutch replacement if/when it goes (assuming it hasn't already) = bad.
* Spiders + Nitrons + Headlight conversion + whatever else = really nice-to-haves that half the cars get upgraded with once the owners see all the other pretty, shiny ones. But it won't add that much to the value
* Budget £3k P/A for running it. Hopefully it'll be less every year. That'll cover most things if the worst should happen, though.
* Drive it regularly and it'll be a happy car. Lock it up in a shed for a week, and it'll complain just like the girlfriend did when I tried that the other week
* Similarly, if you can find one that's been run regularly, all the better
* If buying privately, make sure the current owner doesn't rag it from cold
* Lots of paperwork = a good thing, not a bad thing.
* There sometimes are real bargains around - people get sick of them and just want rid from time to time. There are also dodgy ones on occasion, too...
* Use a specialist like James Agger ("jamer" on PH) to source you a car if you want something between private/dealer sale.
* 4.2/4.5 performance is near-as-damnit the same. You'll pay a premium for the latter, but will get most of it back when selling it on. Upgrades such as Nitrons will make it a much "faster" (and more enjoyable) car for less money
* Buy on condition, not mileage
* See above... ^
* Make sure the message sinks in this time... ^
* Blue's the only colour allowed.
Tired of typing now. Just buy one.
trooper1212 said:
Big question - straight 6 or V8?
No question at all, V8.
Well... Oh arse, I can't be bothered getting into this debate. Bullet-point summary:
* V8's faster (assuming it's a standard S6)
* S6 is much cheaper (cheapness is because early engines had a lifespan about equivalent to a single celled amoeba. Problems seem to be fixed now)
* S6 is more driveable around town
* V8 has bragging rights
Drive 'em all, know the facts, take your pick.
trooper1212 said:
Big question - straight 6 or V8?
No question at all, V8.
Well... Oh arse, I can't be bothered getting into this debate. Bullet-point summary:
* V8's faster (assuming it's a standard S6)
* S6 is much cheaper (cheapness is because early engines had a lifespan about equivalent to a single celled amoeba. Problems seem to be fixed now)
* S6 is more driveable around town
* V8 has bragging rights
Drive 'em all, know the facts, take your pick.
J_S_G said:
Well... Oh arse, I can't be bothered getting into this debate. Bullet-point summary:
* V8's faster (assuming it's a standard S6)
* S6 is much cheaper (cheapness is because early engines had a lifespan about equivalent to a single celled amoeba. Problems seem to be fixed now)
* S6 is more driveable around town
* V8 has bragging rights
Drive 'em all, know the facts, take your pick.
Ok, just trying to get this straight in my own mind.
So a Speed 6 is cheaper and better round town, kind of like a Nissan Micra.
A V8 is faster and had better bragging rights, kind of like a Cerbera.
trooper1212 said:
Ok, just trying to get this straight in my own mind.
So a Speed 6 is cheaper and better round town, kind of like a Nissan Micra.
A V8 is faster and had better bragging rights, kind of like a Cerbera.
Yep. Sounds about right. Think the S6 suits the Tuscan... wouldn't personally want a Cerb with one in. But it takes all kinds, and I wouldn't discount one without trying it...
rocket said:
My opinion...
- Get the Cerb.
- Get the V8.
- Don't get a blue one...they're sooooo common....
But blue cars are quicker?? Dont buy a green one, I disctinctly remember leaving one behind on the way back to Le Mans in the Cerbera Support Vehicle.
Mind, I also left several porsches, lotii and caterfields too... LHD/ good height - visibility is the key to good progress. - Get the Cerb.
- Get the V8.
- Get one that feels right.
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