Cerb Reliability
Discussion
I'm currently looking at getting a new car in about 6 months and one of the cars on my list that i've always wanted is a Cerbera. My budget will be up to £30k
The only worries i have with a cerb are:
Are they reliable enough to be able to do 25k a year all year round, i can do a small amount of maintenance but i don't have access to a pit or a lift so i'm limited in what i can do.
Bear in mind also on this list is a Mitsubishi Evo 9 MR FQ-360 and a Morgan Aero 8 so i've got a bit of a skewed view of reliability and servicing schedules.
Also i keep hearing/seeing threads about outriggers is this a horror story or is it like the RMS issue on a porsche, don't worry until it happens?
Is there anything else that needs to be checked or any work that should have been done?
I couldn't decide between here and the cerb forum but i reckon it'll get more traffic here
The only worries i have with a cerb are:
Are they reliable enough to be able to do 25k a year all year round, i can do a small amount of maintenance but i don't have access to a pit or a lift so i'm limited in what i can do.
Bear in mind also on this list is a Mitsubishi Evo 9 MR FQ-360 and a Morgan Aero 8 so i've got a bit of a skewed view of reliability and servicing schedules.
Also i keep hearing/seeing threads about outriggers is this a horror story or is it like the RMS issue on a porsche, don't worry until it happens?
Is there anything else that needs to be checked or any work that should have been done?
I couldn't decide between here and the cerb forum but i reckon it'll get more traffic here
Have not done 25K in one year, but have done 25K in two years in a 4.5 cerb.
I use a good indie, Torque RVT at Middlewich so this helps to keep the costs down on servicing. However, to date the servicing costs have not been that high, so I've been lucky in that regard.
I use mine as my main car, and not as a 2nd car, so I believe it can be done. 25K a year would be high mileage, but providing you get a good indie and are prepared for higher than normal maintenance costs, (as you are doing by researching on here) then it would be one hell of a year !
Mine is currently in with a suspected blown head gasket, whether this is the consequence of higher mileage I'm not qualified to say, but even so, I still wouldn't swap it for the world and will continue to run it for the next 25K and two years as well.
My opinion is go for it, even if only for a year !
I use a good indie, Torque RVT at Middlewich so this helps to keep the costs down on servicing. However, to date the servicing costs have not been that high, so I've been lucky in that regard.
I use mine as my main car, and not as a 2nd car, so I believe it can be done. 25K a year would be high mileage, but providing you get a good indie and are prepared for higher than normal maintenance costs, (as you are doing by researching on here) then it would be one hell of a year !
Mine is currently in with a suspected blown head gasket, whether this is the consequence of higher mileage I'm not qualified to say, but even so, I still wouldn't swap it for the world and will continue to run it for the next 25K and two years as well.
My opinion is go for it, even if only for a year !
What kind of comute is it.. if its in heavy traffic,, driving a 4.5 cerb is not fun, i used to get one hell of a leg workout and was always paranoid the clutch was going to pack in or it was going to overheat
you may have even lower service intervals in an evo (4k) but you are getting reliability with that and more often than not it wont go wrong and the service is all youa re paying for.
When the cerb goes in for a service there is usually a list of problems both big and small which is about 2 A4 sheets of paper long--so you are not just paying the price of the service but for all those things aswell, along with the fact that parts are getting very hard to get hold of in some cases..can you afford for your car to be off the road with awaiting parts or with nigling problems?
The cerb is an awesome car and makes toast of everything on the road...but i would never dream of it being my only car and doing that kind of mileage in one.
just my 10 cents
you may have even lower service intervals in an evo (4k) but you are getting reliability with that and more often than not it wont go wrong and the service is all youa re paying for.
When the cerb goes in for a service there is usually a list of problems both big and small which is about 2 A4 sheets of paper long--so you are not just paying the price of the service but for all those things aswell, along with the fact that parts are getting very hard to get hold of in some cases..can you afford for your car to be off the road with awaiting parts or with nigling problems?
The cerb is an awesome car and makes toast of everything on the road...but i would never dream of it being my only car and doing that kind of mileage in one.
just my 10 cents
I’ve just come across your post and thought I would share my experiences of Cerbera ownership.
I’ve had 3, two from new 97 / 4.2 and a 99 / 4.5 and currently have another 99 / 4.5 which I purchased second hand just before Christmas 06.
The first two were used for business and I commuted in the car every day from the south coast to London or elsewhere in the country depending on meetings etc.
I was probably doing about 40,000 miles per year.
The 4.2 let me down twice, once was the starter and once with something else electrical when it just died on me, the 4.5 never let me down, Strangely they seemed to get better as they got older and the 4.2 was the better car to drive. Both did the occasional track day and were also used for kids trips out and the weekly Sainsbury’s run.
I observed two rules when driving the cars, let them warm up properly before driving them briskly and stress the cars as little as possible when in traffic in order to keep the temperature under control [no blipping the throttle of traffic light drag racing etc]
The 4.5 that I currently have has had a few minor modifications done to it by Austec and drives better than I recall the 4.2 did. Very pleased with this car and it is an exceptionally smooth drive and goes as fast as you like.
Austec fitted an economy switch to this car which works a treat. I use it for long business journeys, for the mornings when I’ve to be on the road very early and can’t usually face it.
Since the modifications were completed in mid January I’ve done about 6000 miles and the only problem I’ve had since was probably related to the car not being used much in the years leading up to my ownership, temperature sensor wires needed the terminals reconnecting.
The longest single journey I’ve done since mid January was a flying visit to Prague, left the UK midday on a Friday and was back by the evening of the Monday, travelling through rain and snow etc. I got 28mpg out of the car and did about 1700 miles over the weekend, again no problems at all and a real hoot.
I’m actually trying to cut down on the amount of miles I do in the car but it’s quite difficult.
I think that some people expect too much out of a TVR. If a Cerbera is to be driven flat out all the time, and as if it were and F1 type car then one can reasonably only expect to get equivalent durability and reliability. Any car regularly driven that hard would be beset with difficulties.
The car is affectionately called Trevor, perhaps that’s the secret to successful cerb ownership.
It is a very nice car.
K
I’ve had 3, two from new 97 / 4.2 and a 99 / 4.5 and currently have another 99 / 4.5 which I purchased second hand just before Christmas 06.
The first two were used for business and I commuted in the car every day from the south coast to London or elsewhere in the country depending on meetings etc.
I was probably doing about 40,000 miles per year.
The 4.2 let me down twice, once was the starter and once with something else electrical when it just died on me, the 4.5 never let me down, Strangely they seemed to get better as they got older and the 4.2 was the better car to drive. Both did the occasional track day and were also used for kids trips out and the weekly Sainsbury’s run.
I observed two rules when driving the cars, let them warm up properly before driving them briskly and stress the cars as little as possible when in traffic in order to keep the temperature under control [no blipping the throttle of traffic light drag racing etc]
The 4.5 that I currently have has had a few minor modifications done to it by Austec and drives better than I recall the 4.2 did. Very pleased with this car and it is an exceptionally smooth drive and goes as fast as you like.
Austec fitted an economy switch to this car which works a treat. I use it for long business journeys, for the mornings when I’ve to be on the road very early and can’t usually face it.
Since the modifications were completed in mid January I’ve done about 6000 miles and the only problem I’ve had since was probably related to the car not being used much in the years leading up to my ownership, temperature sensor wires needed the terminals reconnecting.
The longest single journey I’ve done since mid January was a flying visit to Prague, left the UK midday on a Friday and was back by the evening of the Monday, travelling through rain and snow etc. I got 28mpg out of the car and did about 1700 miles over the weekend, again no problems at all and a real hoot.
I’m actually trying to cut down on the amount of miles I do in the car but it’s quite difficult.
I think that some people expect too much out of a TVR. If a Cerbera is to be driven flat out all the time, and as if it were and F1 type car then one can reasonably only expect to get equivalent durability and reliability. Any car regularly driven that hard would be beset with difficulties.
The car is affectionately called Trevor, perhaps that’s the secret to successful cerb ownership.
It is a very nice car.
K
I've gad 2 cerbs - both 4.5s. Got the first one at about 9000 and traded it at 57,000, got the second at 7,000 and traded it last month at about 48,000 because I couldn't resist a Sagaris. The first had two new starter motors, both had to have a clutch replacement and there were some problems on both with seals failing, although it was usually picked up at service and I only had one catastrophic failure in 6 years. The cars were both used for business and serviced by an excellent Indie - Central TVR in Stourbridge.
I'd agree with others - Cerb 4.5's seem to get into their stride at about 40,000 miles and seem to go a lot better after, I also think a sports exhaust makes a big difference. If you're planning a lot of time in town I'd have a long test drive first - there's quite a lot of transmission shunt with 4.5's and I don't miss it now I've got a Sagaris. If, on the other hand, most of your time will be spent on the open road you'd be hard pressed to find a better car
I'd agree with others - Cerb 4.5's seem to get into their stride at about 40,000 miles and seem to go a lot better after, I also think a sports exhaust makes a big difference. If you're planning a lot of time in town I'd have a long test drive first - there's quite a lot of transmission shunt with 4.5's and I don't miss it now I've got a Sagaris. If, on the other hand, most of your time will be spent on the open road you'd be hard pressed to find a better car
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