Cerbera reliability - What a Car !!

[jensena]

I have just come back from a blast around france (I did an earlier thread - Off to france, but thought I'd start a new one to raise some new points)

There have been some threads on this Forum about the downward slide of Cerb values, and perhaps that is because potential Cerb owners search through the Forum and all they find are horror stories of problems. So here is an attempt to redress the balance.

I've had my Cerb only 2 months now (it's my second one). a '99 4.5 - one of those ones low mileage ones ,16k, that 'are bound to go wrong because they havent been used enough. I was apprehensive about taking the car to France, so here's my report............

I set off Wednesday morning, and arrived home last night, 1895 mls in total. And I drove it hard, I didnt try to be gentle with it! I used Tom Tom to avoid motorways mostly, so it wasnt just a leisurely drive along Motorways, all A and B roads, lots of gear changing and point and squirt overtaking. in the Massif central region, I went up roads that resembled a hill climb, steep mountain passes with real hairpin bends, lots of hard driving, and gear changes, so the Car was used hard.

I used to think it was a great car, now I think it's an amazing car. I was on my own so overtaking is a bit scary, you have to pull out to see whats up head and quickly dart back in if something is coming, and if its clear make a quick jusdgment and go for it. I'd see a line of, say 6 cars, with a bend or brow of a hill looming ahead, so I'd judged that I could get past 2 of them before the bend, so into 3rd, accelerate, and Oh, I'm past the 2 cars already, I can take the 3rd, and the 4th, and the 5th, and even the 6th and I'm in with time to spare - It's just amazing.

Everywhere I went the car attracted attention, the most often used comment was 'This is a BEAUTIFUL car Monsieur'.

So in summary - Nothing went wrong, absolutely nothing, I used 1/2 litre of oil, 74 gallons of petrol, averaged 20.3 mpg, never got any aches or pains from driving the car up to 10 hrs a day, and I enjoyed every minute.

[mickk]

Well done that man Out of interest what spares did you take, just in case of course.Was it a boot load or a few simple items.

[dc53]

we was at bruntingthorpe charity day yesterday and my dad had problems with the engine(not bad slight missfire again due to cam timing out)well it was about 1/2- 1 mile airfiled track and the car was amazing getting 135 mph out of a 1/2 mile straight with very little speed coming out of the chicane,abd the harder my dad seemed to drive the better the car was and we scared at least 10-20 people ,and also had thousnad's of comment's "wghat a lovely car","it's the best sounding car ive ever heard" which was very good considering there were Dodge vipers,ferraris of most era's heavily tuned skyline GTR's and scooby STI's,porsche gt thingy's,and many more scarily fast car's
very happy with the car so far with our 2 month's of ownership

and great to see jensena that your emjoying your car as much as our's as they are one of the best,IF NOT THE BEST TVR MADE!.
Dan

[byker28i]

Nice and well done.

[caduceus]

Great story Jensena. Its so nice to hear owners sharing the good times they have with their Cerb, and not just the woes. I too have a 99 4.5, and since decatting it I hav'nt stopped grinning. Nothing else on the road sounds like it. Awesome

[gazm]

Nice one mate - the more I read these stories the more I'm considering doing a trip to 'the ring'. Maybe next Spring. Glad you enjoyed your trip

Edited by gazm on Monday 21st August 13:21

[Touching Cloth]

gazm said:

Nice one mate - the more I read these stories the more I'm considering doing a trip to 'the ring'. Maybe next Spring. Glad you enjoyed your trip

Edited by gazm on Monday 21st August 13:21

There was talk a while back of a potential Cerb pilgrimage, never got further than idle chat but I am another who plan to get over there in 2007 so maybe we should all get our arses in gear and put a little group together.

[jensena]

Only spares I took were fuses, oil, assorted Jubilee clips, and a good selection of tools.

I don't know if this will work, but heres an interesting little video clip. As I was leaving the toll booth on the Peage, this Alfa 166 got through the booth first and floored it....


For some reason PH only displays half of the URL, so this is my way round it, so copy the whole of the text below and paste next to the http://, then click on one the clip and download it

uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/[e-mail]/lst?&.dir=/Cerbera&.src=bc&.view=l

[byker28i]

He He - How big was your grin?

[farmyardpants]

That's good to hear. You don't get to read many stories of cars not going wrong

I can concur, having taken mine to the south of France in early June (it's a 2000 4.5). Similar mileage and same mpg. I used a bit more oil, maybe a whole litre.

I took the toll roads which made it less interesting and challenging, for both car & driver, but she didn't miss a beat the whole trip, even when stuck in jams in Lyons in 33degC heat.

Stopping over in Dijon proved the most fun. It's an old city with narrow streets, and the cerb got universally amazed reactions from pedestrians and other road users. I had people shout and clap, take photos, wind down their windows and ask about it, pull forward at traffic lights to see the badge on the front, and it drew a gathering of half a dozen locals when I stopped for fuel. My French is poor but I did manage 'plus vite que Porsche', and 'trois cents kilometres' which elicited suitably respectful nods and grunts. When I parked in an underground carpark the attendant thought it was an Aston - praise indeed - and charged me 45 cents for my 3 hour stay.

Looking back I think I was quite brave, given the minor yet incapacitating failures I've had since (all eletrical), but the cerb can be a great GT given enough care and luck.

[BCA]

Touching Cloth said:

gazm said:

Nice one mate - the more I read these stories the more I'm considering doing a trip to 'the ring'. Maybe next Spring. Glad you enjoyed your trip

Edited by gazm on Monday 21st August 13:21

There was talk a while back of a potential Cerb pilgrimage, never got further than idle chat but I am another who plan to get over there in 2007 so maybe we should all get our arses in gear and put a little group together.

Where did I put my brave pills??
I cant help but feel the Cerb would be ridiculously scary around the ring.

[BCA]

Actually, we also did a massive trip this weekend. Brum to Carlisle (usually a 3 hour trip) - instead, it was over 10hours, most of which was at almost stand still. Actually it was worse, because it was stop start stuff, that cars generally hate. I still got out of the Cerb feeling fine afterwards.

[Knut Handsome]

Nice, positive TVR story.

jensena said:

For some reason PH only displays half of the URL, so this is my way round it, so copy the whole of the text below and paste next to the http://, then click on one the clip and download it

uk.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/[e-mail]/lst?&.dir=/Cerbera&.src=bc&.view=l

Doesn't work for me.

Try:
http://tinyurl.com/jpp68

[RUSSELLM]

I'm impressed with the oil consumption. 1/2 litre for almost 2000 miles.

[jensena]

Knut Handsome - the 'Tiny' URL doesnt work either, that only contains 1/2 the URl, you'll just have to copy an past it ALL

[Touching Cloth]

clicky

[cooky]

Glad you enjoyed your trip mate, If you're anything like me you'll be planning the next euro-outing.
With regards to all he falling Cerb prices, go with it, buy a second Cerb
I have no worries whatsoever with resale value as I love my Cerb so much motoring will never be the same without one. Even if I do get to own a DB9 oneday, it will still be stabled next to the Blackpool Rocket.
Nothing, without paying silly money Looks, Sounds and Performs like a V8 Cerbera,

can someone please post the link to uncle daves 'posting piccys for idiots' and I'll share some snaps from me 'n' Griff's trip to Southern France.
cheers,
Cooky

Edited by cooky on Monday 21st August 16:27

[Knut Handsome]

jensena said:

Knut Handsome - the 'Tiny' URL doesnt work either, that only contains 1/2 the URl, you'll just have to copy an past it ALL

Hmm, it works for me in IE, but not in Firefox.
The one you posted works for me in Firefox, but not IE.

Allowing/disallowing popups alters things too.

Never mind.

Edited by Knut Handsome on Monday 21st August 16:30

[gbbird]

we need more of these stories as the bad ones are usually the exceptance to the rule! great stuff

g

[Far Eastender]

Great story. I'll be off through Germany and Swizerland in September, returning via France and hoping for the same reliabilty I had during my World Cup run in July.