Jeez guys, how about some GOOD luck stories...
Discussion
I am a potential Cerbie purchaser and I cant help but get the impression from these boards that they are littered with woes about reliability and expensive mainenance. Now I'm sure its not all doom and gloom so has anyone actually got any stories of reliability and NOT having to have the engine rebuilt at every service?
My old Griff was faultless really but I need a rear seat of sorts and have no garage anymore so a Cerbie appeals to me....or it did until I came on here
Sell them to me!
How much routine maintenance is required a year on a "good one"? £1000?
p.s. and whay are there virtually no 4.5's for sale? Are they alot rarer or just worth keeping?
My old Griff was faultless really but I need a rear seat of sorts and have no garage anymore so a Cerbie appeals to me....or it did until I came on here
Sell them to me!
How much routine maintenance is required a year on a "good one"? £1000? p.s. and whay are there virtually no 4.5's for sale? Are they alot rarer or just worth keeping?
You won't know if you've got a good one until you've run it for a while and worked that out, but a previously good car might end up costing you a fortune if all the little niggles have been building up to one big bill just as you buy it. on the other hand you might find a car with 10k worth of repair that seems a bad buy, but which then goes on and on for ever and a day. hmm .. not really much use is it? and not what you were expecting to hear i guess - you can only do your research and buy what appears to be a good car, but whether it keeps like that is anyone's guess. You can limit any wallet damage by not going through dealers for repair and servicing - there's loads of disillusioned techies leaving dealers and setting up on their own - these are the guys to go to. Be prepared to spend 2k plus per year on your baby though ..
Joolz
PS Good luck ..
Joolz
PS Good luck ..
My 0.5p worth is that the car might cost you a big block all at once, but more likely to cost a few smaller chunks of cash.
The message that I am hearing from Joolz, and others such as Colin Blower is that - apparently totally at odds with the reputation - the AJP8 engines are reliable. It is the bits that are around it that are not quite as good (Starter motor/Clutch/alternator etc). These are likely to go - but are not as expensive to fix as an engine.
This is why I got a 4.2, and after the early days of driving it, I am now far more comfortable with the sounds that the car makes.
I have not had the car long, but it seems like it is a good 'un, fingers crossed
The message that I am hearing from Joolz, and others such as Colin Blower is that - apparently totally at odds with the reputation - the AJP8 engines are reliable. It is the bits that are around it that are not quite as good (Starter motor/Clutch/alternator etc). These are likely to go - but are not as expensive to fix as an engine.
This is why I got a 4.2, and after the early days of driving it, I am now far more comfortable with the sounds that the car makes.
I have not had the car long, but it seems like it is a good 'un, fingers crossed
Its true that people dont post just to say "my car is great", thats why I have posted this thread I guess. I have read alot of the profiles of owners too and alot of them have what seem to be prohibitive running costs (well prohibitive to my budget 
)
I am prepared for a heavy service bill every now and again, but with only pleasure mileage of a few thousand a year I am daunted by the prospect of Jool's £2000 figure, plus insurance etc etc. The reality is my Griff was well under half that a year and was a '95.
Trouble is, the image a gleaming Cerb with the light conversion and 18" spiders on my driveway just wont go away!
) I am prepared for a heavy service bill every now and again, but with only pleasure mileage of a few thousand a year I am daunted by the prospect of Jool's £2000 figure, plus insurance etc etc. The reality is my Griff was well under half that a year and was a '95.
Trouble is, the image a gleaming Cerb with the light conversion and 18" spiders on my driveway just wont go away!
James, if it helps, i went up to a 1998 4.5 Cerbera from a pre-cat Griff, & ( so far ), with the aid of independant servicing, i have found the costs comparable, as well as reliability.
What is not comparable however, is the extra performance, noise, impact on other road users & the way the car feels to drive.....totally sensational, i havent looked back!
What is not comparable however, is the extra performance, noise, impact on other road users & the way the car feels to drive.....totally sensational, i havent looked back!
Dont do it if you cant afford it.
The really big bills are rare (I had an engine rebuild).
You can shop around for starters and such like.
But 2K is probably a good amount to allow for for servicing and consumables. But I would say allow 3K if you want to put money aside for bigger bills.
sounds like your griff has been a good one. The average franchised service for a griff must be near a grand (when you add on the little niggles etc) and then a couple of tyres could be £300. One prob with a rad , starter or such like and you are soon heading for £1500 pa.
So I would say that a Cerb wont necessarily be more expensive to run or at least not by a signifcant margin. BUT if things go wrong then it will be worse than a griff. IMHO.
There are normally a reasonable selection of known 4.5s for sale. I would say go for a car that people know or through a dealer or a specialist. Avoid people who dont know TVRs or people who might not have treated the engine with respect. If a seller doesnt go on about treating the car with care when cold etc then leave it.
The really big bills are rare (I had an engine rebuild).
You can shop around for starters and such like.
But 2K is probably a good amount to allow for for servicing and consumables. But I would say allow 3K if you want to put money aside for bigger bills.
sounds like your griff has been a good one. The average franchised service for a griff must be near a grand (when you add on the little niggles etc) and then a couple of tyres could be £300. One prob with a rad , starter or such like and you are soon heading for £1500 pa.
So I would say that a Cerb wont necessarily be more expensive to run or at least not by a signifcant margin. BUT if things go wrong then it will be worse than a griff. IMHO.
There are normally a reasonable selection of known 4.5s for sale. I would say go for a car that people know or through a dealer or a specialist. Avoid people who dont know TVRs or people who might not have treated the engine with respect. If a seller doesnt go on about treating the car with care when cold etc then leave it.
mines a 96 car and contrary to what you might hear is none the worse for so early off the production line. its done 26k,runs spot on,gives good power,not creaky inside,doesn't leak and seems generally to be a good car.however although i haven't had it for that long when it needs something it gets it so the little bills can add up over the year.you can save money though if you are prepared to get your hands dirty,for example my wipers were getting very slow so stripped the motor down regreased etc,now better than ever.total cost,zero.took a couple of hours.
go for it.
go for it.
The point about about costs, as everyone has said, is the myriad of small bills add up over the course of a year. Mine has been fine so far (owned it just over a year).
However it did need a new alternator and the temp gauge is a pathalogical liar which gave me scare until I got used to it. I use main dealer for mine because I trust them to look after it properly and the good independents are always booked up (which kinda tells its own story).
I would also say that later 4.2's are actually rarer than 4.5's though obviously the early cars will all be 4.2's.
So get one and see for yourself. BTW mine has spiders and a light conversion....
Rob.
However it did need a new alternator and the temp gauge is a pathalogical liar which gave me scare until I got used to it. I use main dealer for mine because I trust them to look after it properly and the good independents are always booked up (which kinda tells its own story).
I would also say that later 4.2's are actually rarer than 4.5's though obviously the early cars will all be 4.2's.
So get one and see for yourself. BTW mine has spiders and a light conversion....
Rob.
I have to agree with the majority of comments here I have had my 96 4.2 for 2.5 years and its cost me in the region of 7k+. However thats all servicing and upgrades which I didnt have to do and hence have a rather full visa card.
The car has needed engine work 1.5K all in from an indapendant but that is about it touch wood. I have also had light upgrades to both ends and fitted sports pipes and 18" 7spoke (original 4.5) wheels.
I dont run mine every day however just weekends and holidays.
At the end of the day the expense is worth it
and hence have a rather full visa card. The car has needed engine work 1.5K all in from an indapendant but that is about it touch wood. I have also had light upgrades to both ends and fitted sports pipes and 18" 7spoke (original 4.5) wheels.
I dont run mine every day however just weekends and holidays.
At the end of the day the expense is worth it
Thats not Joolz' posing mobile, he has a cavalier for that! The maestro is merely for aesthetic effect o/s his workshops (and for barricading the doors for that extra ram-raid deterrent!!)
JOOLZ......Maestro, piper cammed Cerby engine lying in the workshop!!! Is there a plan here or what!!
JOOLZ......Maestro, piper cammed Cerby engine lying in the workshop!!! Is there a plan here or what!!
Used mine as daily driver for 1st 2 years of ownership and only stopped when I actually added up the real cost of fuel and servicing [I was doing 12K PA]. Providing you can handle 2 or more services a year and the mpg, then my car certainly handled daily use extremely well. In fact my 'reliable' cheap daily hack pinkycento has just broke, so the Cerb's back in daily use again until I can fix the Fiat. Nice to have a reliable Cerb as a backup for when the 'reliable' daily transport packs in
WB
WB
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