Pre '98 Cerberas
Discussion
I am currently at the saving & dreaming stage of TVR ownership, and am v. tempted by an early cerbera or a chimp. However, I was told by one of the blokes at a TVR main dealer that they wouldnt touch a pre-98 cerbera due to all sorts of problems (mainly handling I think). Can anyone confirm this or is it dealer-speak? Does a 96 Cerb make a good buy, or does it need handling mods and if so, how expensive? Is it a better bet just to play it safe and get a Chimaera? Cheers in advance, CurryM
I am not sure about the pre 98 cars on the whole and I am no TVR expert but a mate of mine bought one of the very first Cerbera 4.2's off the production line, and while I wont go into to specific issues as I dont want a bad apple to ruin the bunch, it had a lot of issues with the engine.
Conversely though if you get one of these cars now, chances are that it will have been completely sorted along the line by one of the owners.
They are like all cars in that respect, sometimes you get a good one, sometimes bad.
Matt.
Conversely though if you get one of these cars now, chances are that it will have been completely sorted along the line by one of the owners.
They are like all cars in that respect, sometimes you get a good one, sometimes bad.
Matt.
Was the dealer Mole Valley ? They advised me exactly the same....
My advise ? BUY A CERBERA !!!
We bought a very late 1997 4.2, 4 months ago, and have loved every mile in it. We've done 8500 miles with no problems.... Only tested the handling to 160, but it's fine up to that....
My only advise is buy from a dealer (if you can). The car will be more expensive, but will have just been serviced & will come with 12 months warranty. The other thing is you can go back & complain as/when things go wrong.
My advise ? BUY A CERBERA !!!
We bought a very late 1997 4.2, 4 months ago, and have loved every mile in it. We've done 8500 miles with no problems.... Only tested the handling to 160, but it's fine up to that....
My only advise is buy from a dealer (if you can). The car will be more expensive, but will have just been serviced & will come with 12 months warranty. The other thing is you can go back & complain as/when things go wrong.
They're the Best !
I've had my July 97 4.2 since new. Never a single engine problem. 33 miles.
Regularly driven at 7,000 rpm.
They also make the best noise(once warm) 'cause of the harder cams.
Just remember to budget at least a grand for a clutch at some point 'cause you can't get the 4.2 one anymore.
It depresses me to see some of them going for such cheap money.
Edited by dyb on Monday 10th December 23:23
I've had my July 97 4.2 since new. Never a single engine problem. 33 miles.
Regularly driven at 7,000 rpm.
They also make the best noise(once warm) 'cause of the harder cams.
Just remember to budget at least a grand for a clutch at some point 'cause you can't get the 4.2 one anymore.
It depresses me to see some of them going for such cheap money.
Edited by dyb on Monday 10th December 23:23
I had a very early 96 Cerbera and then a 98 Cerbera.
Dealers are talking the truth when they advise you to go for the later car, however many earlier cars may now have had the upgrades performed to make them a 98 spec car!
My first engine wore its cams out in 11K miles and they broke up and destroyed the engine, it leaked like a sieve, the suspension collapsed, the doors dropped and rubbed on the bodywork, the cat popped, the bonnet bounced up and down at any speed above crawling pace, the paint peeled off the body...etc.
The 98 car had not one of these problems! Price differential may only be 2-3K but if you can get an earlier car with all of the above bits sorted then no reason to think it would be any worse.
Ben
Dealers are talking the truth when they advise you to go for the later car, however many earlier cars may now have had the upgrades performed to make them a 98 spec car!
My first engine wore its cams out in 11K miles and they broke up and destroyed the engine, it leaked like a sieve, the suspension collapsed, the doors dropped and rubbed on the bodywork, the cat popped, the bonnet bounced up and down at any speed above crawling pace, the paint peeled off the body...etc.
The 98 car had not one of these problems! Price differential may only be 2-3K but if you can get an earlier car with all of the above bits sorted then no reason to think it would be any worse.
Ben
I have an 96 Cerbera 4.2 for over 18months and have had no problems, the car was purchased from a dealer (over priced I know) but only had one owner since new and that was the dealer so all the problems and mods have been sorted. As far as the handling goes I've had mine at a track day and it handles as go as anything else Griffs and Chims however had a bit trouble keeping up with the Tuscans that may have just been me as I am no expert.
I would recommend a Cerbera to anyone just make sure you drive before you buy.
Good luck
I would recommend a Cerbera to anyone just make sure you drive before you buy.
Good luck
Might be worth speaking to another dealer to get a 2nd opinion. We bought ours from Walldonway, who regularly have 97/98 Cerbera's. OK, maybe orignally they (pre 98 cars) had problems, but these will have been fixed under warranty by the facrory or by the owner. Thats also the plus point of buying from a dealer. If you do get problems, you can take it back & get the to sort them.
I bought it from a dealer and use them for servicing.Its got nothing to do with handling. My 97 4.2 handled just fine. It's because they were built very badly, underengineered all over the place and were dreadfully unreliable. I couldn't even begin to list the problems I and many others had. '98-on is much, much better but if you see my post on my 98 4.5 reliability today you'll begin to get an idea of what you could be letting yourself in for Don't even think of buying a pre-98. It will be your biggest regret ever.
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