Cerbera for sale: Advise Please. C18ERE

[Ultimike]

Hi Guys

I am interested in the Cerbera 4.2 C18ERE for sale below and would welcome any knowledge/history you might have on this particular car. Any additional ownership tips and what to look for would also be greatly appreciated.

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

Many thanks

[Ultimike]

Speed 3 said:

Looks decent on the face of it. MOT history says only 1300 miles in 3 years but its not been off road for any great period so just looks like a very lightly used example. Chassis on the early Cerberas can be a problem - do as much inspection as you can although low miles and condition from the pictures suggest its been garaged. Usual caveats on low usage - check for fluid leaks / hose conditions. V8 pretty robust even from early deliveries. Be thorough with Service History check and if anyone does know the car, seek their advice (I don't). In many people's opinion, a more used (but not abused) TVR is a better bet but if its been serviced properly it could be OK. Although from an indie, their offer offer of TVR spacialist inspection sounds promising depending on who by. Cerbera's can be a money pi

t though as the first of the bespoke TVR's with very expensive non-mainstream parts so even if it does pass inspection and you take the plunge, ensure slush fund in place !

Very impressive Ultima BTW.

Edited by Speed 3 on Monday 28th December 20:28

My thanks for your advice and the kind comments on the Ultima

[Ultimike]

Gazzab said:

It's an early one and so the chassis is probably ok. These cars were from an era when Tvr did a pretty good job with the chassis.
The advert reads to me like 'this car hasn't had much money spent on it for a few years and hasn't been serviced by a specialist every year'
I think this car is the one that has wet carpets and has been leaky for years but I could be wrong.

Sound words. I have the same thoughts. This plus the fact the advert says there are six! Previous owners has me concerned and hence to understand if the TVR Community had any info on this car.

[Ultimike]

ukkid35 said:

Looking at your car history begs the question - why do you want an early 4.2 Cerb with a fairly steep asking price?

So it's low mileage, but in practice you end up replacing a significant proportion of parts on age rather than mileage. As others have hinted the chassis is the big unknown, '96 is better than '98, but if it's lived by the sea all bets are off.

If you want to do 500 or even 1000 dry road miles a year it could well be the car for you.

I have always admired TVR'S. I love their bonkers design, sound and the fact that ownership is more like being a custodian rather than owner. It's how I feel about the Ultima. The Ultima is the extreme of this but it needs huge care and popping out for a car meet or fun drive or outing with Sporting Bears means a long and full preflight check and ideally I would like an additional car that gives me a similar albeit a different sense of awe but is a little more useable when I want to pop out for a run on the weekend.

[Ultimike]

Speed 3 said:

Might just be a coincidence but would suggest this fella might just be a previous owner....



Hasn't been active on PH for a numbers of years under that username but this looks like his business:

Yes I had noticed the registration was a user profile and I have sent him an email but I have not had a reply as yet. I didn't see the details of his business though so my thanks for providing this. I suspect as his profile has been inactive for some time that he was one of the early owners of this car and it would be good to get some more recent history.

[Ultimike]

Unfortunately it looks like this business is no longer trading as the telephone number doesn't connect and the last activity on their Facebook page was in 2012. So with six perilous owners if I go ahead it looks like a case of buyer beware!

[Ultimike]

Thanks for all the advice and assistance. The search will continue and I will update you all on how I progress.

[Ultimike]

Thanks for all the advice and assistance. The search will continue and I will update you all on how I progress.