Serious Advise Need

[olayeefosa]

After 2 years with my Chimaera (4.0L), I have decided to buy a Cerbera (most likely 4.5), I will be going to test drive the car on Saturday at Fernhurst.

Now the reason for this post is that I need advise on running costs. (Here we go again).

I have used my Chim as an everyday car for 2 years now..driving it from Sunday 2 Sunday at about £25 of Shells finest a day (Ouch!!), so am used to paying extra for running costs, my servicing has always been around the £800 mark, as there was always other non-servicing items that needed fixing or replacing.

Insurance has been as follows (Fully Comp), 1st Year £3700.00 - 2nd Year 2800.00 - 3rd Year 2500.00.

Am 26 in may and have been quoted 1800.00 for my next renewal.

I want to only run the Cerb as a weekend toy (hehe - got a pug for daily drives), and was wondering if it would actually cost me less than the Chim did !! (Hope So!)

Also I need to know of any special insurance companies or schemes that will let me reduce my premium (i.e - Limited Mileage)....Any one got this sort of insurance cover.

Am not scared of the actual running costs of having a Cerb. Just want to go in with my eyes wide open.

Also I keep hearing of the Hydra-track diff (what the hell is it, compared to a normal diff ?)

The car am looking at are Dark Blue 98R 4.5 with 1 years dealer warrenty and about 20,000 miles on the clock.

Sorry for the babbling on..

Any advise would be greatly recieved...

[mlumb]

if i'm reading your fuel usage correctly,then i think the saving on that alone would probably pay for the cerb.

if you use a specialist for servicing you could save money there too.

go for it.

[beano500]

Looks like you're paying main dealer servicing costs. Running a Cerbera with the supprot of an independent specialist is most likely to be of the same order. Why not have a trawl through profiles on here to get a feel for different car costs, although be careful of the diffenrent factors, for example my Griff running costs look a pittance in comparison to your car's but it has the benefit of getting out every day.

[mike_e]

To echo what Mike said above, your daily current running costs are way above what a Cerb would cost to run as a weekend car. Even allowing for running a second cheap car, your annual expenditure should drop.

My average running cost over 2.5 years on a 98 4.5 is under 3k a year including fuel, insurance, tyres, brakes etc. To put it another way, half of your annual fuel expenditure.

Shop around for insurance, try going via the TVRCC and also try people like Tesco's / Direct line they are very competitive. Limited use should help reduce the premiium.

The hydratrak is an optional diff, prone to problems and not generally liked it seems. Won't be covered by your warranty either (they wear as opposed to break so not covered).

Mike

[NewGuy]

Insurance??? Yawn

Seriously though, what do you want to cover? Social only or do you want track use in there too?

You could try Elephant for your insurance, their online quote system is very good.

I have a number of ways to reduce your insurance premium, so if you want to mail me direct and we can go through them.

I'm 23, Fully Comp on a 2000 SP6 Cerbera, £1550.00. Am just looking for the right car now!

[gazzab]

There are a couple of 4.5 Cerbs at Fernies. One used to belong to a chap on PH until recently. He is 'rolexblue' or something like that !!
I am sure that his info might help you understand what to go for.
I could sell you my later one for a lot less than that!! And with the £5K left over you could budget for 2 yrs of running costs and depreciation!

[gazzab]

what about the cerb 4.2 P reg you bought as 'bling' in april last year? I assume that didnt work out?

[pena]

Lets Just say I lost about £1500 in that deal, the guy (private seller) was a joke...

The car basically had a blown engine which he and his buddy had rebuilt in the back of their garage...

Shame he forgot to mention this until I had put a deposit down....

W**nkers

(O ! By the way am Bling, Pena & olayeefosa)

>> Edited by pena on Friday 14th March 17:50

[whatever]

I got a good insurance deal with SunningHill insurance, who advertise in Sprint. They cover track days, too.

As for the hydratrak, I'm told that they last much longer if given time to warm up. And with a sensible approach to warming up the engine, then that'll do nicely for the hydratrak as well. That, and avoiding spinning only one wheel too much (e.g. one on grass, the other on tarmac, and loads of welly).

I also think I'm right in saying that they're standard fit on a 4.5? So having it might be unavoidable.

[chrissy g]

I think the general concensus is bank on £3k a year on running costs if you are staying within the main dealer network.

Go through the warranty with a fine tooth comb

Take time to look at the cars history

Shop around for insurance you'd be surprised the differences in premium the ones I'd recommmend are:

A Manning UK Ltd - I'm 26yrs old 3 points 3 yrs ncb
I garage the car my mileage is ltd to 5k a year - premiunm cost approx £750 I own 4.2 P reg Cerb.

Try Sunninghills, Cheam, Priveledge, Tescos for quotes also.

Don't overlook earlier cars as they are a comparitive bargain.

Good luck

Chris

[pena]

Yeah, am looking at all years, but due to experiences in the past, I want to go through a dealer (Does not have to be franchise).....

Insurance is a real prob at the mo..car will be parked off stree, but not in a garage. Am thinking if maybe fitting a tracker system might help me premium...

[JimT]

Just bought a Cerb 4.5 and was quoted £3900 for insurance. Mental.

Try www.sunninghillinsurance.co.uk I got the quote down to £1029.00 - nice.

JimT

>> Edited by JimT on Saturday 15th March 15:38

>> Edited by JimT on Saturday 15th March 15:38