Day-to-day Cerb
Discussion
Hi All,
Well it's been a good 4 weeks of living with the new Cerb...and I still love everything about it. Despite a few niggle and the Japanese still call it a TBR, the leter 'V' does not exist here...so my name is Kebin and I drive a TBR.
I guess this is a posting for many of the newbies (like me) and potential buyers who wonder if it can be driven everyday...some answers below:
In short, yes...from day one I intended to use it as a daily driver and got rid of the GT3 with some hesitation (main reason was the insane depreciation due to the 997 version on sale, so got out before I lost too much. Japan is a volatile place for used cars...no one wants them!). Anyway, I digress.
The Cerb.
Day 1. Battery dead...the Navigation specialist (somewhat of an oxymoron) worked on it all day and left me for dead so to speak.
Day 2. Clutch pedal straight to the floor; fluid turned into Evian after a long hot day of driving and had to get the system refilled, bled etc with some really good Castrol DOT5.1 - problem solved - A testimony to this website is when it broke down outside a Starbucks, I pulled my laptop out and logged onto PH, searched the forum for 'clutch pedal problems' and narrowed down the cause to one of 3 things. How damn cooll is that! Online help when I needed it most. TBR could learn a thing or two from you guys.
Day 3. Oil Pressure a bit low...topped up with oil and have now learnt to do this once a week. Just half a litre in 3 weeks so not too bad a burner. Oil pressure is now at least 50+ on warm idle.
Day 4. Accelerator stuck down when in 2nd gear and almost smashed into a truck, a car, a fence a bicycle, a restaurant and a dog. My wife shat herself, I shat myself and the dog shat himself but I had enough sense whilst yelping and screaming like a young girl to press the kill button...before i actually killled anyone. After some therapy, and a bit of lube on the pedal and other moving parts the problem is gone.
Day 5. Nothing happened.
Day 6. Nothing happened.
etc etc etc etc.
Today: 4 weeks later it is running like a dream. Although I getting a small knocking sound from the rear checked out, it happens when I turn left? From the forum I see it is a common thing and suspect either a rubbing exhaust, or mounts, ARB etc. Probably not too serious. I hope.
I drive it 20km round trip everyday, for 3 weekends it did 300km or so to the beach. And the shopping, drycleaning etc is now done exclusively in the Cerb.
If I had some complaints, not really, just naggs, it would be the heat in the cabin after parked for 30mins or so is insane! Also the head rests on the Tuscan seats are a bit wierd as I guess they are meant for track days/helmets and set way too far back? My wife needs a pillow to bridge the gap between the headrest and her actual head. The weekly checks are a bit of a pain, but I guess it's just like owning a pet, they can't feed themselves. Just a bit to get used to after the 996.
My neighbours hate me, but everyone else thinks it is the coolest thing they have ever seen. So it kinda evens out.
Anyway, that's my day-to-day so far with a Cerb. If you want to get one as an only car, I would simply echo the other comments on this site; look after it and get into a habit of weekly checks. If you don't have the time or patience to do this, then you beter get yourself a Mondeo.
Best
K
Well it's been a good 4 weeks of living with the new Cerb...and I still love everything about it. Despite a few niggle and the Japanese still call it a TBR, the leter 'V' does not exist here...so my name is Kebin and I drive a TBR.
I guess this is a posting for many of the newbies (like me) and potential buyers who wonder if it can be driven everyday...some answers below:
In short, yes...from day one I intended to use it as a daily driver and got rid of the GT3 with some hesitation (main reason was the insane depreciation due to the 997 version on sale, so got out before I lost too much. Japan is a volatile place for used cars...no one wants them!). Anyway, I digress.
The Cerb.
Day 1. Battery dead...the Navigation specialist (somewhat of an oxymoron) worked on it all day and left me for dead so to speak.
Day 2. Clutch pedal straight to the floor; fluid turned into Evian after a long hot day of driving and had to get the system refilled, bled etc with some really good Castrol DOT5.1 - problem solved - A testimony to this website is when it broke down outside a Starbucks, I pulled my laptop out and logged onto PH, searched the forum for 'clutch pedal problems' and narrowed down the cause to one of 3 things. How damn cooll is that! Online help when I needed it most. TBR could learn a thing or two from you guys.
Day 3. Oil Pressure a bit low...topped up with oil and have now learnt to do this once a week. Just half a litre in 3 weeks so not too bad a burner. Oil pressure is now at least 50+ on warm idle.
Day 4. Accelerator stuck down when in 2nd gear and almost smashed into a truck, a car, a fence a bicycle, a restaurant and a dog. My wife shat herself, I shat myself and the dog shat himself but I had enough sense whilst yelping and screaming like a young girl to press the kill button...before i actually killled anyone. After some therapy, and a bit of lube on the pedal and other moving parts the problem is gone.
Day 5. Nothing happened.
Day 6. Nothing happened.
etc etc etc etc.
Today: 4 weeks later it is running like a dream. Although I getting a small knocking sound from the rear checked out, it happens when I turn left? From the forum I see it is a common thing and suspect either a rubbing exhaust, or mounts, ARB etc. Probably not too serious. I hope.
I drive it 20km round trip everyday, for 3 weekends it did 300km or so to the beach. And the shopping, drycleaning etc is now done exclusively in the Cerb.
If I had some complaints, not really, just naggs, it would be the heat in the cabin after parked for 30mins or so is insane! Also the head rests on the Tuscan seats are a bit wierd as I guess they are meant for track days/helmets and set way too far back? My wife needs a pillow to bridge the gap between the headrest and her actual head. The weekly checks are a bit of a pain, but I guess it's just like owning a pet, they can't feed themselves. Just a bit to get used to after the 996.
My neighbours hate me, but everyone else thinks it is the coolest thing they have ever seen. So it kinda evens out.
Anyway, that's my day-to-day so far with a Cerb. If you want to get one as an only car, I would simply echo the other comments on this site; look after it and get into a habit of weekly checks. If you don't have the time or patience to do this, then you beter get yourself a Mondeo.
Best
K
Glad to see you're enjoying the TBR 
I use mine most days but once or twice a week, I connect her up to my Accumate over night just to top the battery up. Might be worth considering? As I found out recently, the engine management electrics willl give out if the battery is too low, but all the window motors etc will still work. A little scary when you're doing 60ish and the engine just dies and the steering and clutch gets even heavier!
You also want to be checking your oil, water, and PAS fluid almost on a daily basis especially if you travel a few miles. I tend to keep the oil topped up on the Max mark.
Give her another couple of months and you'll be relaxed into Cerb ownership. And you'll never ever want another sports car!!
I use mine most days but once or twice a week, I connect her up to my Accumate over night just to top the battery up. Might be worth considering? As I found out recently, the engine management electrics willl give out if the battery is too low, but all the window motors etc will still work. A little scary when you're doing 60ish and the engine just dies and the steering and clutch gets even heavier!
You also want to be checking your oil, water, and PAS fluid almost on a daily basis especially if you travel a few miles. I tend to keep the oil topped up on the Max mark.
Give her another couple of months and you'll be relaxed into Cerb ownership. And you'll never ever want another sports car!!
One thing I forgot to add was that this week I am going to change my Reg. No as it is currently #436 - which adds up to the number 13, and 1+3=4 which just happens to be the number for death in Japan. So just to be sure to be sure. Am removing it asap. The Cerb has enough to deal with and I just got all superstitious.
K
K
Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff