Buying my First TVR - Cerbera
Discussion
I am looking at buying my first sports car and my car of choice is a Cerbera. There is one for sale in my local area which I've arranged a test drive for at the weekend. What advice is out there? Does anyone know an expert who can seek out a second-hand Cerb on behalf of those less knowledgeable?
Congrats on your potential purchase.
A word of caution though ...
View the car with completely open eyes. Don't make a snap decision and don't let your heart rule your mind.
Check out the competition to see what you are getting for your money and if you do decide to buy it, make sure that you can afford to keep it.
My last service cost over £3K. Believe alot of the stories people post on here with regards to servicing costs - it is true.
Having said all that and to end of a high note, Cerberas are fantastic and you'll never regret it even if you see it on the back of flat bed at the most inopportune moment.
To paraphase Land Rover Owner International:
TVR Cerbera owners die poor, but they die happy.
A word of caution though ...
View the car with completely open eyes. Don't make a snap decision and don't let your heart rule your mind.
Check out the competition to see what you are getting for your money and if you do decide to buy it, make sure that you can afford to keep it.
My last service cost over £3K. Believe alot of the stories people post on here with regards to servicing costs - it is true.
Having said all that and to end of a high note, Cerberas are fantastic and you'll never regret it even if you see it on the back of flat bed at the most inopportune moment.
To paraphase Land Rover Owner International:
TVR Cerbera owners die poor, but they die happy.
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll try to find Rob & James to ask. Carb I'm looking at was serviced in Dec, mot & tax to Nov. Is 20k miles and old body style. Had new clutch master & slave. Has new wheels.
Track days interest me - to attend and to find a Cerb that's not been "thrashed" too much.
Track days interest me - to attend and to find a Cerb that's not been "thrashed" too much.
Ad said:
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll try to find Rob & James to ask. Carb I'm looking at was serviced in Dec, mot & tax to Nov. Is 20k miles and old body style. Had new clutch master & slave. Has new wheels.
Track days interest me - to attend and to find a Cerb that's not been "thrashed" too much.
It's an interesting one that. Track days interest me - to attend and to find a Cerb that's not been "thrashed" too much.
My thinking is that sometimes it's worth searching out a car that's already been used on track, some may consider that it's been thrashed, but if someone's been 'developing' the car it may offer a more rewarding experience.
If you want a track toy, look for cars with suspension upgrade, Nitron shocks are a £1K+ upgrade so worth considering that if you're torn between a car and one without.
Spiders look good but can be very 'soft' and prone to buckling (Sp.?) and not cheap to replace.
These days, with so many cars having been tuned on a rolling road, I would ask to see the plot if the seller is claiming bhp figures.
Other than that, and I'm not being rude, but if this is your first sports car, be VERY careful, they can be a real handful. And, it make us all sad on here when another one gets stuffed. :'(
Good luck
Tim
You'll need to be willing (and able) to get your hands dirty OR have deep pockets to get the most out of a Cerb.
I've had mine (a '97 4.2) for about a year and a half now and I've put close to 15,000 miles on it in that time relatively inexpensively so it can be fun and still not cost the earth.
On the other hand I had an R-34 Skyline before I got the Cerb and it cost me hardly anything other than service items but it was just too easy to drive.
It was mentioned above that we hate to hear of another Cerb being crashed and written off.
This is true.
But we also don't like to hear of people being seriously injured or killed in any car so choose carefully and drive within your limits.
I've had mine (a '97 4.2) for about a year and a half now and I've put close to 15,000 miles on it in that time relatively inexpensively so it can be fun and still not cost the earth.
On the other hand I had an R-34 Skyline before I got the Cerb and it cost me hardly anything other than service items but it was just too easy to drive.
It was mentioned above that we hate to hear of another Cerb being crashed and written off.
This is true.
But we also don't like to hear of people being seriously injured or killed in any car so choose carefully and drive within your limits.
Hi, i second that... i have driven lots of quick cars over the years but past my pals 360 Modena, the Cerbera is the fastest car i've driven.
It still takes my breath away even after six months!
On another note i also agree with reading this forum if i had not found this i wouldn't of bought my Cerb, i wrote down anything that i was not sure about and reseached here.
I looked at my car five times before parting with hard earned.
Hope you find a good one...
It still takes my breath away even after six months!
On another note i also agree with reading this forum if i had not found this i wouldn't of bought my Cerb, i wrote down anything that i was not sure about and reseached here.
I looked at my car five times before parting with hard earned.
Hope you find a good one...
All good advice on this thread. I really like the comment about buy with your head not your heart. Sometimes I ask a good friend of mine to drive them and wait for his comments (mechanic and MOT tester). I never even drove my V8S. My logic being, I know I want them, I know what they're like and he is far more practical and wont be swayed. It's too easy to make up an excuse to buy a car simply because we want it.
A report from Rob or James could prove to be a sound investment
A report from Rob or James could prove to be a sound investment
Not long had my 4.5 Cerb, but with work and weather (it leaks into the footwell when its wet!) only done a few hundred miles in it so far.
I took my friend (GT40 Owner) with me to ask a few pointed questions.
But in the end it was a heart not a head decision!
Why else would you buy one???,
As for performance?
It is very fast for a car and a real handfull Be prepared!
Steve
I took my friend (GT40 Owner) with me to ask a few pointed questions.
But in the end it was a heart not a head decision!
Why else would you buy one???,
As for performance?
It is very fast for a car and a real handfull
Be prepared!Steve
Hi,
I have had mine for almost three months and am loving it BUT..... It is not like a normal car, I went from an Alfa 3.0 GTV , which I thought was reasonably quick , to mine, the difference is staggering. I'm still learning to drive mine, especialy around/near towns.
Test drive it, but be careful. I found it more useful being a passenger as it gave you time to look around and listen, and not using all your concentration just to keep it on the road.
Hope you manage to get a good one, but be prepared for the little niggles.
I've just put a new plate on mine E4 KNL, as that was what I exclaimed when testing it !!!
I have had mine for almost three months and am loving it BUT..... It is not like a normal car, I went from an Alfa 3.0 GTV , which I thought was reasonably quick , to mine, the difference is staggering. I'm still learning to drive mine, especialy around/near towns.
Test drive it, but be careful. I found it more useful being a passenger as it gave you time to look around and listen, and not using all your concentration just to keep it on the road.
Hope you manage to get a good one, but be prepared for the little niggles.
I've just put a new plate on mine E4 KNL, as that was what I exclaimed when testing it !!!
The chassis has to be pretty much the biggest thing to look at, cos if thats had it, thats about the worst thing you could be faced with, its body off to do it right. Look at the outriggers, and try..although you cant see much, to get a look where the exhausts are close under the bonnet. If you can also lift the fibreglass cover behind the rad and in front of the engine, when i lifted mine for the 1st time AFTER buying it, it wernt pretty.
I'd definitely recommend Rob Ingleby. He has just done an inspection for me and does excatly what you can't do.. take the emotion out if it. The first time I saw mine I was looking round it trying to use all the knowledge I had picked up from reading the threads here. My girlfriend was saying "just take it for a drive and see what you think" .. and right there was the whole point... If like me you have never owned one or really even been in one, but wanted one for years...once you drive it you are stuffed.. because you will love it even if is a bag of nails... because how do you know....?!!
Rob came back to me with the news that the chassis was in very good nick as was the engine (from what I can tell they are among the things that could really cost you) and pointed out the wishbones and coolant pipes were ok but not great. He is in a far better position to advise on that than I ever would have been on my own... he charged me £240 to come down to surrey and I consider that money very well spent.
Hope that helps... I haven't picked my up yet (19th) so can't advise on the driving side but I know I am going to have a huge grin for days.. but I am also going to be VERY careful for a good while!
Best of luck....
Rob came back to me with the news that the chassis was in very good nick as was the engine (from what I can tell they are among the things that could really cost you) and pointed out the wishbones and coolant pipes were ok but not great. He is in a far better position to advise on that than I ever would have been on my own... he charged me £240 to come down to surrey and I consider that money very well spent.
Hope that helps... I haven't picked my up yet (19th) so can't advise on the driving side but I know I am going to have a huge grin for days.. but I am also going to be VERY careful for a good while!
Best of luck....
My cerb was the first sports car (and only sports car i have owned) I bought it just over a year ago aged 23. As a young, relatively inexperienced driver I opted to do a ride drive advanced driving course which taught me the limits of the car (and myself) and also brought my insurance down. If you have never owned anything fast its well worth doing.
You could always buy a car thats well known on here.
Like this one for instance:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/414805.htm
Its history is well documented and the owner is willing to consider offers
I know I know -- Its a plug and I'm ashamed of myself
Like this one for instance:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/414805.htm
Its history is well documented and the owner is willing to consider offers
I know I know -- Its a plug and I'm ashamed of myself
Ad
Sun was shining and so at last I got to have a short drive this afternoon.
Well if you can say Dorking to Guilford via Horsley, then onto Petworth, Horsham and then home short!
The concrete barriers along the Guilford bypass hold all the noise in,
but all the other car drivers were smiling too!
Get one mate and enjoy!
Steve
Sun was shining and so at last I got to have a short drive this afternoon.
Well if you can say Dorking to Guilford via Horsley, then onto Petworth, Horsham and then home short!
The concrete barriers along the Guilford bypass hold all the noise in,
but all the other car drivers were smiling too!Get one mate and enjoy!
Steve
This is all good info guys, thanks. I had an hour's test drive (W-reg 2000 Cerb) as a passenger and for the first 10 minutes there was an intermittent 'deep tone scraping noise' each lasting around 10 seconds. When I enquired about the noise the owner started talking about the engine sounds, put the windows down and basically ignored my question. After that it drove like a dream, and the owner showed-off a bit which was exhilarating and scary!
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