TVR Cerbera/Griffith- Buying Advice Sought
Discussion
Greetings fellow PH'ers!
I have always hankered after either a Cerbera, or a Griffith 500. My intention would be to utilise the car for limited mileage use. Spurred on by the latest episode of, 'Wheeler Dealers,' I thought I would tap into the wealth of knowledge amongst the TVR owners on PH. In terms of reliability, I tend to lean towards the Rover sourced V8 found in the Griffith, as opposed to the AJP8. Is the Rover based V8 more reliable in reality? I have heard/read that the AJP8 can be a bit of nightmare in terms of maintainance costs. Is this true? I prefer the hardtop configuration of the Cerbera, however, if the Griffith is more reliable(?) and easier to maintain, I would probably head off in that direction.
I would be most interested & grateful to receive the advice/thoughts of TVR owners. What should I look out for when buying either car? Does the Cerbera have more potential to be more of a money pit than a Griff?
There are some cheap Cerbera's for sale in the classified section. Is it feasible to bag a good Cerbera for £10-13k? Should I exclude any thoughts of a speed six variant? I heard they are a bit of a nightmare in terms of reliability/maintainance costs? Is that true?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Many thanks
I have always hankered after either a Cerbera, or a Griffith 500. My intention would be to utilise the car for limited mileage use. Spurred on by the latest episode of, 'Wheeler Dealers,' I thought I would tap into the wealth of knowledge amongst the TVR owners on PH. In terms of reliability, I tend to lean towards the Rover sourced V8 found in the Griffith, as opposed to the AJP8. Is the Rover based V8 more reliable in reality? I have heard/read that the AJP8 can be a bit of nightmare in terms of maintainance costs. Is this true? I prefer the hardtop configuration of the Cerbera, however, if the Griffith is more reliable(?) and easier to maintain, I would probably head off in that direction.
I would be most interested & grateful to receive the advice/thoughts of TVR owners. What should I look out for when buying either car? Does the Cerbera have more potential to be more of a money pit than a Griff?
There are some cheap Cerbera's for sale in the classified section. Is it feasible to bag a good Cerbera for £10-13k? Should I exclude any thoughts of a speed six variant? I heard they are a bit of a nightmare in terms of reliability/maintainance costs? Is that true?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Many thanks
I've no experience of running a Cerbera but from a Griffith owners perspective the Cerbera does appear to be a more expensive car to run in the medium to long term. As you suggest the Rover V8 is a simpler engine that's less costly to maintain but not as powerful.
Most of the Speed 6 issues have been sorted by TVR specialists and a well maintained Speed 6 should be OK. My personal opinion is a Cerbera should have the AJP as it is an iconic engine that sounds epic and is only found in the Cerbera.
I think it's worth trying both so either join teh TVRCC and get yourself over to a local meeting where the owners will be only too happy to talk about the P&Js and probably will take you out for a run as well.
As is the case of either car condition is the most important. I'm sure some Cerbera owners will be along soon to give an owners perspective.
engine aside, you really need to decide if a convertible or fixed roof car is a determining factor.
for me, the weekend car has to have a removable roof, which puts a cerb out of the question...even tough i love the looks of them.
if managing your costs and risk is key, hard to believe the rover would be more expensive than speed 6 or aJP, even consumables such as a clutch is very different costwise
for me, the weekend car has to have a removable roof, which puts a cerb out of the question...even tough i love the looks of them.
if managing your costs and risk is key, hard to believe the rover would be more expensive than speed 6 or aJP, even consumables such as a clutch is very different costwise
I've ran a Cerbera 4.2 V8 and Griffith 500 - as has been suggested the best thing to do is drive good examples of each and see if one of them floats your boat?
Apart from the obvious - they are both very quick sports cars - they are chalk and cheese in TVR terms.
I never had any major mechanical issues with either car but generally speaking the Cerbera was more expensive to run mainly due to the engine requiring more fettling - valve clearances and setting up but not a massively so. The Rover V8 based engines are technically simpler and easier to maintain in DIY terms and there are loads of spares from numerous sources which is not the case for the AJP.
Apart from the obvious - they are both very quick sports cars - they are chalk and cheese in TVR terms.
I never had any major mechanical issues with either car but generally speaking the Cerbera was more expensive to run mainly due to the engine requiring more fettling - valve clearances and setting up but not a massively so. The Rover V8 based engines are technically simpler and easier to maintain in DIY terms and there are loads of spares from numerous sources which is not the case for the AJP.
As above really,
The Rover V8 has the advantage that you can still obtain all the components to build a new engine if needs be. I believe the AJP V8 blocks are now pretty scarce...having said that, it's not that you need a replacement engine block every 5 years??? The speed 6 engines are still well supported, it is the more bespoke electronic componentry on the Cerbera that means you have to go to TVR spares retailers
As has been suggested, drive a few of each model and see what floats your boat. They are both very quick cars, but the Cerb will show its power once you're into 3 figure speeds. Again, you don't have the opportunity to explore those ends of the performance spectrum very often. A good Griff 500 will certainly stay with a Speed 6 car up to 80/90 mph.
My 2 p's worth anyway.
Nick
The Rover V8 has the advantage that you can still obtain all the components to build a new engine if needs be. I believe the AJP V8 blocks are now pretty scarce...having said that, it's not that you need a replacement engine block every 5 years??? The speed 6 engines are still well supported, it is the more bespoke electronic componentry on the Cerbera that means you have to go to TVR spares retailers
As has been suggested, drive a few of each model and see what floats your boat. They are both very quick cars, but the Cerb will show its power once you're into 3 figure speeds. Again, you don't have the opportunity to explore those ends of the performance spectrum very often. A good Griff 500 will certainly stay with a Speed 6 car up to 80/90 mph.
My 2 p's worth anyway.
Nick
Before off roading for a full restoration, my '97 4.5AJP Cerb had done 97k, pulling 380hp and no rebuild. Other AJP's gone 100k plus without re-builds to the best of my knowledge. Service costs can vary from £500 for a 6k minor, to £1,500 for 12k major. Chassis, as with Griffs, can be great or made of swiss cheese.
Edited by djstevec on Thursday 28th March 16:48
For your first TVR I would edge more towards the griff as that's what I wished I had done if I had my time again, the Cerb is a money pit no doubt whereas the griff has more proven mechanicals, the Cerb is an epic piece of kit & I loved mine for the six years I had it but it's ruins your wallet big time.
The griff 500 holds its money incredibly well too but the cerb is pretty much stable aswell in its depreciation, either way nothing compares to the sound & sense of occasion of a TVR they are special vehicles
The griff 500 holds its money incredibly well too but the cerb is pretty much stable aswell in its depreciation, either way nothing compares to the sound & sense of occasion of a TVR they are special vehicles
What do you want from the car? What's your budget? Which do you want? Do you have the funds for maintenance?
Handling from a cerb will always be better, griffs aren't great. Performance from the old rover v8 isn't Supercar territory whereas a cerb is. Cerb looks very menacing whereas a griff is classic/retro. Griff is likely to be cheaper to run but its down to luck. Griff is easier to drive and live with. Griff prob a better investment. Griff owners have beards and flying jackets and chinos. Cerb owners are much cooler. Buy both?
Handling from a cerb will always be better, griffs aren't great. Performance from the old rover v8 isn't Supercar territory whereas a cerb is. Cerb looks very menacing whereas a griff is classic/retro. Griff is likely to be cheaper to run but its down to luck. Griff is easier to drive and live with. Griff prob a better investment. Griff owners have beards and flying jackets and chinos. Cerb owners are much cooler. Buy both?
I was in this position last year. I had been wanting an AJP Cerb for years and they are awesome in every sense... this includes servicing. It was when I started to look at regular service costs of £3/4K that I started to think again. If you have that sort of dosh lying around every year, then go for it. There is always a caveat!
I settled for a Chimaera 500. Of course, it doesn't have the same number of horses as the 4.5 AJP, but even a novice like myself can get a few jobs sorted and save a few pounds. There is loads of collective experience on PH for the RV8 and the parts are cheap and available. You should be able to get a healthy 500 over 300HP with a few mods. I'm heading that way now. It sounds awesome and is still very fast.
To be honest a lot will depend on the individual car and how it has been looked after. Either model has the ability to bust the bank if not looked after properly. However, for some of the bills I've seen for the Cerb, you could have paid for a LS3 after a couple of years.
I settled for a Chimaera 500. Of course, it doesn't have the same number of horses as the 4.5 AJP, but even a novice like myself can get a few jobs sorted and save a few pounds. There is loads of collective experience on PH for the RV8 and the parts are cheap and available. You should be able to get a healthy 500 over 300HP with a few mods. I'm heading that way now. It sounds awesome and is still very fast.
To be honest a lot will depend on the individual car and how it has been looked after. Either model has the ability to bust the bank if not looked after properly. However, for some of the bills I've seen for the Cerb, you could have paid for a LS3 after a couple of years.
You can do a lot of maintenance, they are not complex cars at all & a fair bit of room to work on. You can spend that sort of money but not many need to on a regular basis, some people have but also admit there are perfectionists which is fine but then you pay! The 12k service is not to bad & 6 k is just oil plugs etc nothing to daunting. £4kper annum?? Seems the fabled 3k per annum, risen due to inflation or just internet exaggeration, which is a great shame as I am sure a few people have been put off from Cerbera ownership. Some have been unlucky some have been very lucky. The W/Dealer car & Ukid bought wisely knowing he would have to Diy & has/is successfully.
Not many millionaires here but we all manage to run & enjoy this great cars.
Good Luck & have fun!!
Not many millionaires here but we all manage to run & enjoy this great cars.
Good Luck & have fun!!
Edited by gerradiuk on Friday 29th March 13:52
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