TVR's are great......as 2nd cars

[DuncanM]

I currently own a Fiat Coupe and have been thinking about a TVR next. Unfortunately after reading some of the topics on here it saddens me to say I could not afford to run one in the near future as it would be my only car and doesn't sound very reliable. I will get one one day but it would have to be a second car and that's when they start making sense isn't it ?. I can't think of a car I'd rather be in on a sunny day hood back on a good A road than the Chimaera and they are affordable !. What I really hate though is on this site the idiots who think the are clever slagging TVR's of when they have never owned one, Fair enough if owners want to have a moan but tw@t's like Z1, JK and cck are IMHO very sad individuals. So big respect to all you TVR owners and let's face it they must be great cars to own otherwise you wouldn't put up with the seemingly persistent problems. Yours Duncan (Someone who wishes they could afford to own a beautiful TVR) DuncanM

[craigw]

sometimes I wonder why..thanks Duncan. Get one asap.

[chuckles]

So far my TVR has never let me down in the sense of leaving me stranded on the way to work etc. I have done 14000 miles in the last 18 months or so, and used it in all weathers. It IS really a summer car, but there are people out there who use their's every day. The faults are generally niggles rather than major traumas, but someone will undoubtedly have a horror story to frighten you with! I must admit, I do run a second car, because I'm a single parent with 2 children, but even that isn't as expensive as you might think. I picked up a FSH BMW (G-REG) from my TVR dealer for £3000, and it runs great, and I paid the same for a Mondeo before that. Get a deal on a 2-car insurance policy package, and the main cost becomes the TVR finance, unless you pay cash for that as well, you rich bitch! Do, it, DO IT NOW!!! It's worth the effort....:-) Incidentally, Duncan seems a popular name for Tivvers - 'cos it's my name too!! Any more out there?! - and yes, the rest of you have lovely names, too... don't have an epi!!! Edited by chuckles on Monday 22 January 09:58 Edited by chuckles on Monday 22 January 10:20

[fourwheeldrift]

No major problem with my Cerbie in the last 2 years. Just an immobiliser failure and slave clutch cylinder failure (both of which can happen to any car!) and Cerbera's are supposed to be unreliable (well if you read these pages you ). Remember though you only hear of the bad things and if 5 people moan about their cars on here think of the other 1000+ owners out there who have nothing to moan about. I do have a second car but I use it only for things that I can't physically use my Cerbie for or if my Cerbie is iced up (yes it's also parked outside.....and still reliable!!!!!) or I'm too tired in the morning and late to move two cars around to get it out, but I then regret it on the drive in to work. My TVR is out in all weathers so it's not just a summer/fine weather car. It especially likes the snow I even test drove it during a thunderstorm !! Get a TVR and enjoy yourself. Oh, and get a life (copyright cck 2001)

[Graham]

12k miles a year parked outside on the road, used as my only car, the wife does have a discovery but that hardly ever gets used. The only problems i have is getting in to the dam thing when its left in a car park at night the door locks freeze up occasionaly, but its never let me down. Just go out and buy one, you know you want to ... I think the troublesome ones should be easy to spot... they look immaculate do 500 miles per year and have had 6 owners..... Edited by Graham on Monday 22 January 14:41

[coala]

In the God forsaken country of reliable Volvo's and SAAB's I have tried MG's, Triumph's, Lotus, Jags and TVR's. The most unreliable of them all was a Jaguar XJ6! Having owned four TVR's (currently two) my experience is, as with every car, that they work fine as long as you maintain them well, service them frequently and don't mess with things you do not have the knowledge to. I find them as reliable as any British car make. Too snowy and cold to run TVR's in the winter here though... then the VW takes the honour.

[ADB]

Drove my Griff to work this morning, hadn't used it for a week(sorry) and did it start first time?yes ,did it mist up? no, did the wipers work? yes (rainx good too) has it ever been anything other than reliable? Only once guv and not as often as other cars I have owned/currently own/have use of. Including JD Power survey STARS ! For the price of a new Fiat Turbo Coupe you could buy a P reg Chimp AND an old range rover for the winter/spare parts! Just think, not one but two lovely V8s. I dare you, in fact I double dare you Edited by ADB on Monday 22 January 13:02

[stig]

Thing is, people will only usually post messages when they are having a problem so it distorts the unreliability issue. If we were to do the same with all the 'good times' we've had in the cars, we'd overload Pistonheads with mail!

[Graham]

Before i bought mine i spent loads of time surfing to find what went wrong, and most of the stuff you find is stupid bits like, trim falling off or the wiper self park keeps breaking, big deal...i dont think there are many cases of serious problems... Ok Ok there are a few rouge cars about, but i bet you can find asmany stories about, ford, rover , gm ect.... must say i do like the idea of a P reg chim and a rangey... Cheers Graham P reg Chim & 3.9 Disco

[jamesc]

FIAT turbo coupe - has to be one the most under rated cars ever. Did 80,000 miles trouble free motoring in mine. Also have DARE G4 as second car. No problems with that either.

[craigw]

I just bought a P reg Jeep Cherokee to look after the Griff at night. fantastic car, not too big, really quick(relatively) and uses almost as much fuel as the TVR..

[Graham B]

I've had three Tvr's now (an S3, Griff 4.0, and currently a Griff 500) all of them have been kept outside and used daily as my only transport. I won't deny I haven't had problems and they have at times cost me a fortune to run. However not one of them has left me stranded, and my Griff 500 had some serious use up and down the country in my previous job. The trouble is if you take the plunge, like me you will be hooked. No matter how much it costs to run the thing it's worth it. Like everyone has said if you are worried buy a real cheapo run around... I get mine serviced by a specialist rather than a main dealer which also helps to keep the costs down. Cheers, Graham

[DuncanM]

Hi Everyone, Thanks for the responses It's nicw to see the other view point of the TVR ownership . Guess what , You've convinced me ! my next car wil be a TVR. The one I will go for will almost definitely be the Cerbie , and the reason I was put off was in the Cerbie section there were a few stories of top end rebuilds etc in the first 6 months !. Now a question I'd ask is in your opinion which engine is the more reliable ? Rover v8 or TVR's AJP. The second runabout car is a good idea but I would have to be earning more money for this. Shocking really I've only had the Fiat 3mnths and love it but I guess everyone's the same always thinking about the next car . I will buy the TVR despite running costs for the simple fact it's the car I want more than any other car. So thanks for changing my mind (not hard ) I will start saving now . By the way what do they handle like , how much grip etc Cerbies particularly . Thanks Duncan ps thanks JamesC you're right very underrated 20v Turbo DuncanM

[shak]

Having bought my first TVR last summer(1995 M 30000 miles) and used it almost every day except when it snowed!,I can honestly say that it's been fantastically reliable-no problems(except knackered alarm circuit board after 5 years).I have 2 other 'everyday' cars -VW Golf and a Mini-both have been TOTAL NIGHTMARES for reliability. GO FOR IT!!.....p.s I'm selling mine(move to London and its ludicrous house prices etc,etc).Ad. on the 'for sale' site

[fourwheeldrift]

The Cerbie rebuilds you would have heard of were all the Speed Six engines (they are still pretty new and having teething trouble), go for a tried and tested used 4.2 or better still a 4.5 V8. Handling - the steering is very direct, any movement on the steering wheel makes the car move about. This mean that if you are a little brisk on the loud pedal a quick flick of the wrists can get you back in a straight line. As long as you remember slow in fast out you will never have any real problems - on track days and I recommend trying an airfield day first you can push as hard as you like to find the "limits" of your own car. This is important as many Cerbera's have slightly different characteristics, either through modifications to the suspension or drivetrain (some come with the hydratrack limited slip differential - essentially a simple form of traction control). Nothing though will put a smile on your face more than your first burble up a crowded high street with all the windows open and listening to your cars exhaust note rebounding off the walls. Must go, I have some car alarms to set off..... Edited by fourwheeldrift on Monday 22 January 19:49 Edited by fourwheeldrift on Monday 22 January 19:50 Edited by fourwheeldrift on Monday 22 January 19:50

[PetrolTed]

Don't be put off - DO IT!!! 40,000 miles in three years in my S4 (and I don't even drive it to work) and I've only had to resort to a trailer home on one occasion. That is 40,000 miles of driving a car with real character, not just another whining plastic Eurobox. It's changed my life too - I've met loads of people since getting the car, made many good friends and to cap it all I even jacked in a sensible job to **** about at this web site too. Remember - it's not a car you're buying, it's a lifestyle

[Leadfoot]

Couple of months ago, after much agonising over the same issues of reliability & running costs - I went for it & got a griff 500. Everyone I spoke to said that I shouldn't go for a Cerbie as an everyday car, my price range would have only have got one of the oldest anyway. There have been occasions when I wished for a "normal" car for the drive home from work - but not too many. Circumstance now dictates the need for 5 doors & a large boot, but what to buy as a 2nd (main??) car? Anything else seems dog slow in comparison. Go for it & buy one!

[CERBY]

Go for it!, even with all the sh*t our car has given us we still LOVE Tiv,s , but don,t touch anything with a Speed 6 engine in it(cebera).Go for a V8 4.5 or 4.2.Driving a TVR is a fantastic experience and nothing much comes close,the look,sound and performance never bore me.Just do it!

[kris]

Duncan Thought I would add my two pennith worth as well. I have loved TVR's for years and remember my first experience of one when I guy at school got bought a 350i Tasmin for passing his driving test (17 years old). Everyone was very jealous and drooled all over it when he drove to school. I used to have a Suzuki Moped so was particuly jealous!. However, I will never forget the look of the car, the sound and the performance, just awsome and like nothing else. I always wanted to own one since that day. 2 years ago i decided that I would buy a Chimaera as a second car. Did lots of research, read the horror stories and finally took some test drives. Then I found a Chimaera 450 that fitted my budget and suited my colour choices and took the plunge. The car had a warranty for 9 months which provided me with the piece of mind that I needed. Used the car for every week and run up 7000 miles in the first year. I had a couple of small niggles which needed sorting and returned it to my dealer and after that never had any problems at all. As the Chimaera was so reliable and my confidence in the marque grew and i decided that I wanted a Cerbera. Again, did the research and read the horror stories and finally took the plunge for a Cerbera Speed Six. I still have my other car as there are times that the Cerb is not very practicle but I do use the Cerb a lot. In nearly 6 months of ownership I have not had any problems with it at all except a wheel bareing that needed replacing (under warranty). I have just had the 6000 mile service and no major problems and a couple of things were replaced again under warranty. The biggest cost of the service were replacement rear brake pads and two new front tyres (18" wheels). I regard the Cerb to be as reliable as my other car (audi) and I could never see myself driving another marque. I do often dream of what next and in fact my only choice is should I go for the 4.5 for the additonal power. Don't get my wrong, the Speed Six is very, very fast, its very driveable for everyday use, its very smooth and feels very solid. In fact, the immense power scared the pants off me in comparison to my Chimarea 450. But you do get used to the power and you always need more power :O). When I test drove 4.5's and Six's I really liked the smoothness of the Six's, the handling and couldn't really tell the difference in power to the 4.5 during every day driving, but when you give the 4.5 some stick the top end power delivery is unreal. You need to get out and test drive a few yourself and see what you like. You can pick up some great bargins at the moment of well maintained used Cerbs with all niggles sorted out. But do take your time to find one that you like that has been well maintained. Then get yourself a good dealer and look after it and you will discover one of the best kept secrets in the auto business, the Cerbera - AWESOME! ) Do it Duncan, like me you will not regret it. Kris

[DuncanM]

Thanks Kris, It's nice to see there are so many owners out there with encouraging stories . I will I have decided definitely be getting a Cerbera as my next car but it will probably be in aboout a year to 18mnths from now. The reason being I have only just bought my new car (Fiat Coupe 20vT). I would consider doing the same as yourself and buying a Chimaera as a second car but I just plain can't afford it at this time. Can't complain though as I am only 23 and have had some great cars already ! , It's just that when it comes to the dream car the Cerbera has it all . I will post again when closer to buying time and who knows maybe I'll get a payrise and join the TVR owners club even quicker . Thanks again Duncan DuncanM