Cerb or M5?

Cerb or M5?

Author
Discussion

now a dad

Original Poster:

4 posts

268 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
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Having gained a daughter but lost a griff and wondering how I can now get my automotive kicks.

Having looked at market am tempted by M5; family motor with some punch but perhaps too refined for its own good.

Or spend £35k on decent Cerb? The ultimate family car?
Anybody out there having/had same predicament?


chrisb8cpd

52 posts

268 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
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No, Cerb every time!

leszekg

263 posts

274 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Yep. 2 kids aged 3 and 5. I use it as my daily car. Used for school runs on my way to work. They love it, I love it. Wouldn't dream of a BMW, personally.

johnmckenzie

158 posts

275 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Got a cerb but love the idea of an M5 as well. Problem is I don't want the PratRep 318i/520i image that goes with a BMW. Also I don't think I could develop the appalling road manners that seem to go with a BMW as standard

Regard

John

JonRB

76,108 posts

279 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Did you really expect an unbiased opinion on the Cerbera thread?

p7ulg

1,052 posts

290 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Skateboard or zimmer frame!

yum

529 posts

280 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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when I first got the chimaera, the distance between the drive and the garage was often 20 miles!

Remember how you probably were when you got the griff - will you get the same feeling from a BMW?

Ston

633 posts

276 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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quote:

the distance between the drive and the garage was often 20 miles!



LOL, to true

yellowcerbie

159 posts

277 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Placed a deposit on the new M5 in late 1999 / early 2000 shortly after the arrival of a baby girl. When she was about 8 months, cancelled order on M5 and bought a Cerb 4.5 which arrived in Sept 2000.

Now have a 3 and a 1 year old. They love it. So glad we did not go ahead with the M5 which looks 'ordinary' on the road. In my opinion, the Cerb looks, goes and sounds much better.

If you want a good one which has never been driven on track or thrashed around, mine's up for sale - see ads in Pistonhead

>> Edited by yellowcerbie on Wednesday 31st July 12:55

razor

1,344 posts

271 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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I am having sort of the same dilemma.

I bought a new Cerbera Speed 6 in March (having ordered it in Nov 2001): it's one of the most cracking looking and sounding cars I have ever come across. But, my wife is now 6 months pregnant. So, I am also in a dilemma as to whether to sell the Speed 6 and replace it with a more sensible (but fast) car: the M5. (God knows what I'd actually get for the Cerbera on re-sale or part-x!)

Had I known that my wife was to fall pregnant, I would have opted for an M5 in November. The Cerbera has bag loads of grunt and looks (far superior to any BMW), but handles really badly in wet conditions, has no ABS or traction control and doesn't have the other safety features or storage space of an M5. Plus, if you get an M5 in the right colour it can also look like dynamite (albeit not in the same league as a Cerbera), and is pretty fast.

I suspect that the Cerbera will become impractical and I have nightmares of driving the car very rarely and for limited amounts of time (as I have been told by a friend who replaced his TVR with an X5 - but, hey, I'm not willing to sell out completely).

My ideal compromise is, of course, to get an M5 as well, which I may well do (shortly before filing for bankruptcy). As I have found out, with the Cerbera, once driven, forever smitten.

torqemada

168 posts

273 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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quote:

The Cerbera has bag loads of grunt and looks (far superior to any BMW)
quote:


Absolutely right!

quote:

but handles really badly in wet conditions, has no ABS or traction control
quote:


Technically right, but absolutely wrong! It's called your right foot

quote:

if you get an M5 in the right colour it can also look like dynamite (albeit not in the same league as a Cerbera), and is pretty fast.
quote:


Probably right.

quote:

I suspect that the Cerbera will become impractical and I have nightmares of driving the car very rarely and for limited amounts of time
quote:


Not so, I use mine as daily transport, with my two children (aged 3.5yrs and 7 months) with absolutely no difficulties, we go away for weekends etc and the boot can accommodate all the crap associated with kids without any problems. Even though we also have a Jeep grand Cherokee at our disposal.

quote:

My ideal compromise is, of course, to get an M5 as well, which I may well do (shortly before filing for bankruptcy). As I have found out, with the Cerbera, once driven, forever smitten.
quote:


You seem to have provided your own solution to the problem
quote:

olly

2,174 posts

291 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Cerb or M5 for £35K...

How about £25K Cerb, and £10K BMW 740 ? More luxury than an M5 in the 7, and more toys & space.

And you still get the Cerb...

Alistair H.

1,173 posts

278 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Thats me!

Cerbera 4.5 - play time
BMW 730I - Work time

olly

2,174 posts

291 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Lucky man !

But, that will be me again once we move house...

razor

1,344 posts

271 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Torquemada,

Those be reassuring words & you're certainly correct about my right foot (which is on the heavy side: encouraged by the sweet music that the Speed Six produces).

One "technical" question, though: is the Cerbera baby seat (Recaro)ok for newborns? (a technical consideration raised by the wife and which, I admit, remains well over my head, with nil experience of babies etc).

tommomic

283 posts

277 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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quote:

One "technical" question, though: is the Cerbera baby seat (Recaro)ok for newborns? (a technical consideration raised by the wife and which, I admit, remains well over my head, with nil experience of babies etc).


Just been through the same problem ourselves over the last few months.

No, I don’t believe the Recaro seat can be used from birth – these must be rear facing, and the Recaro one is only front-facing. After much research (see other post on here under ‘child seats’ - www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=6&h=0&t=5333) we opted for the Klippan – it can be used as a newborn rear-facing. Saying that, our baby is now 9 months old, and used the special baby carrier that came with our pram (Silver Cross – much safer and cosier for new borns) – the Klippan is a little ‘BIG’ for a newborn.

If you want the Recaro, wait till the wee-one is around 9 months old – but do compare with the Klippan, they both fit in a Cerbera and most other cars well.

Cheers,
Tommo


>> Edited by tommomic on Wednesday 31st July 15:50

adamb

418 posts

291 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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quote:

Torquemada,

Those be reassuring words & you're certainly correct about my right foot (which is on the heavy side: encouraged by the sweet music that the Speed Six produces).

One "technical" question, though: is the Cerbera baby seat (Recaro)ok for newborns? (a technical consideration raised by the wife and which, I admit, remains well over my head, with nil experience of babies etc).





Afraid not. Both the Recaro and TVR seats are only good once the child is 9 months or over. You can get a normal baby seat in the passenger seat though but that does mean MRS behind the driver or in the boot.

cammy

105 posts

284 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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Wife is due on Sunday, current car (S6) should have been long gone according to wife's initial demands. She gave up her chipped TT, so by God the TVR was going.The M5 was to be the replacement.

However, she bought a 3.0 A4 Avant, and has stated that the TVR is so gorgeous and different that it can stay (she is a part owner). One family car is enough!

ap_smith

1,997 posts

273 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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You married the right woman!!

sjc

14,308 posts

277 months

Wednesday 31st July 2002
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I had exactly the same (nice problem). I'd had 2 griffs, a cerbera and a tuscan and the wife fell pregnant last year. Was sorely tempted to go back to a cerbera as I loved mine but due to the bad taste left by my piece of s"*t tuscan, TVR didn't deserve any more of my money, and the practicalities of the cerbera weren't totally realistic when I really thought about it. I wanted a V8 manual and eventually narrowed it down to a straight choice between an M5 and an HSV GTS/GTS-R. Had the M5 for a day and it was a great car but seemed to lack character (anything would after a TVR!) and I just didn't get that "buzz". So the HSV it was, bags of character, great noise but quiet cruising, safe, rare, decent build quality and doesn't have that "image" thing. And Autocar mag had one for a year and loved it which helped. It's probably the closest thing in spirit to a TVR that a 4 door saloon can be. Now the wife's preggas again it makes even more sense!............hmmm, but I really did love my cerbera.......