Struggling to find a Cerb - Does this seem a good buy ?

[cerbhope]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-CERBERA-4-2-V8-AJP-S...

Been looking for my first ever TVR, never had the funds before for a second car but at long last I'm hoping to find a decent Cerbera to realise my dream!

Doesn't appear to be too many on the market, my ideal budget is £15k or close to it, does the 'T210 ACU' on eBay seem a good buy? I'm a bit concerned re 60k mileage, but it seems a well cared for example which I guess is more important from my research so far - but £18,995.00 what do you think?

Any help or guidance appreciated

Many thanks, Matt

[Willtl]

Sounds very good, but why does the seller want to get rid of it? That would be my question.

[cerbhope]

Great point !Has left a mobile number so will call tomorrow to find out the reasons, any other probing questions I should ask?

[N7GTX]

If you are not too bothered by the colour then I would be taking a look at this first. Almost identical spec and much lower mileage for sale by a respected dealer too.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

There is a good selection on the PH for sale page.

[jamieduff1981]

Milage shouldn't specifically be an issue.

2 questions I'd have are:

1) Assuming it hasn't done 60k on the original clutch, when was it changed?

2) What was the recorded valve shim thickness at the last 12k service?


A clutch pack will set you back £900 or so. The fact it's had a Raceproved clutch slave cylinder fitted is a big positive though and the gearbox has been off so perhaps the clutch was changed then.

Inlet valve clearances close up. When you reach minimum shim thickness, you need a top end rebuild.

Otherwise these cars are best used.

Edited by jamieduff1981 on Thursday 4th June 06:15

[tbdgriff500]

hi Cerbhope, you don't allow emails so please drop me a line as I have a very nice 4.5 that will be for sale shortly, email me through my profile
regards Tim

[ukkid35]

Prices all look quite ambitious to me, but I'm probably just living in the past. There do seem to be quite a few newbies and hopefuls here right now, so that must help keep prices strong.

Since there is so much variation between individual cars (certainly more than most marques), going to a TVR meet before seeing a particular car for sale, may give you a clearer feeling of how that car fits in relative to others.

[cerbhope]

tbdgriff500 said:

hi Cerbhope, you don't allow emails so please drop me a line as I have a very nice 4.5 that will be for sale shortly, email me through my profile
regards Tim

Hi Tim

I can't email you for 24 hours after joining, I only joined last night but I have enabled emails on my profile now - send me details!

Thanks - Matt

[cerbhope]

Re the car on ebay I started the post about, my general feeling was the owner had spent quite a lot of money on making the car look good and appears passionate about it. If he spent around £2k on making the front end perfect, what he describes as a 'professional' headlamp conversion plus the new chassis outriggers, stainless steel exhaust system. I get the feel that during his ownership he would have sorted any other issues as they arose and does describe an 'awful lot if history'.

I like the idea of going to a TVR meet just to get a feel of the TVR world and view some no doubt sorted cars -I'm based in Reading so will take a look.

Thanks - Matt

[WhyTwo]

Berkshire TVRCC (http://www.tvrcc-berks.co.uk/) meet is at The Peacock Farm, Bracknell, RG1 8SS on the 3rd Tuesday of every month from around 7pm. I've only been to a few meets and don't remember too many Cerbs there. That said it's always good to go a long and see other Tivvers.

I was planning to go in my Cerb this month but it's the day after a 5 day trip to Le Mans and I'm not sure Mrs Whytwo would be too happy about me going!

[Jhonno]

ukkid35 said:

Prices all look quite ambitious to me, but I'm probably just living in the past. There do seem to be quite a few newbies and hopefuls here right now, so that must help keep prices strong.

Since there is so much variation between individual cars (certainly more than most marques), going to a TVR meet before seeing a particular car for sale, may give you a clearer feeling of how that car fits in relative to others.

Possibly a little! You wouldn't pick another up like yours for the money you paid these days.. Which is a good thing!

I think the lack of supply will be pushing prices a little also.

[Byker28i]

It's not far from me. If you want someone to come along when you go to see it I may be available...

[Mr Cerbera]

Don't like the advert of the first one. Just feels like an uninterested party IMHO.

Second one looks good and may be considered a 'Classic' in the future. Don't like the fact that it's done so few miles
BUT
A year's warranty is a very interesting sales point for me.

Good Luck

[cerbhope]

Byker28i said:

It's not far from me. If you want someone to come along when you go to see it I may be available...

That's very kind of you, I have just left a message with the owner to call me to chat about the car. If this leads to a viewing I'll pm you.

Thanks - Matt

[cerbhope]

N7GTX said:

If you are not too bothered by the colour then I would be taking a look at this first. Almost identical spec and much lower mileage for sale by a respected dealer too.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

There is a good selection on the PH for sale page.

I did see the advert for this one, but as you suggest its just the colour putting me off - but I've looked at the photos again and it does look in very good shape, just trying to convince myself the colour is fine - a warranty is also obviously a massive plus point for a newbie like me. Did note a 3 year absence of history when it travelled around 5000 miles, would that be a concern?

Thanks - Matt

[Bogsye]

One thing I noticed over the years was how some dealers were better than others at taking photo's, so on some colour schemes the photos didn't do it justice.

Mine is Jaguar Antigua Blue, and there are a couple photos out on t'web one where it looks turquoise, and another where it looks a very rich royal blue.

My thought would be to go see anythng of interest - also useful for making comparisons in terms of condition & price.

Brian

[Byker28i]

cerbhope said:

That's very kind of you, I have just left a message with the owner to call me to chat about the car. If this leads to a viewing I'll pm you.

Thanks - Matt

No probs - as long as it's the Cirencester one

[philipbrown123]

Just as a comparison. I paid £15.5K for a 1999 speed six cerb from Tony Gilbert in October last year. 31,000 miles on the clock, 3 owners and a great service history including full engine rebuild at 25,ooo miles.

[Jhonno]

philipbrown123 said:

Just as a comparison. I paid £15.5K for a 1999 speed six cerb from Tony Gilbert in October last year. 31,000 miles on the clock, 3 owners and a great service history including full engine rebuild at 25,ooo miles.

As a general rule the equivalent SP6 seems to be cheaper than the V8's as well.

[N7GTX]

cerbhope said:

N7GTX said:

If you are not too bothered by the colour then I would be taking a look at this first. Almost identical spec and much lower mileage for sale by a respected dealer too.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

There is a good selection on the PH for sale page.

I did see the advert for this one, but as you suggest its just the colour putting me off - but I've looked at the photos again and it does look in very good shape, just trying to convince myself the colour is fine - a warranty is also obviously a massive plus point for a newbie like me. Did note a 3 year absence of history when it travelled around 5000 miles, would that be a concern?

Thanks - Matt

As Tim has suggested, ask about the clutch and the shims/valves on any car you fancy. If you cannot do this yourself then it is a big expense.
I do like the look of the first car, just seems a bit pricey to me. And no warranty.