imi Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 The trouble doesn't end with the engine unfortunately. The interior and electrics aren't great either. They require real looking after, but when they work they're fantastic motors. Good old british manufacturing Love the way a "trevor" (what a silly name for a car) looks and agree, the noise is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Overall Dad bought it for 30k had it for 7 years, cost him +40k in repairs/servicing/lost time over that period. For the last 2 years he had the car up for sale but still used it. So 70k in total and it so definately wasn't worth it. Makes a Stock Trader look like a saint.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 My dad had one for 7 years, for simplicity I will list good and bad points. Good Bought 2nd hand 3 years old for 30k (actually 20k as NA supe was traded as part ex for 10k) so had depreciated by 25k in 3 years! Sound of the engine can be heard from 2 miles away with the right exhaust. Acceleration was 3.7 secs with the red rose kit on the 4.5L version. Stupidity of the lack of safety features, no trac control airbag etc meant its a true drivers car which WILL KILL YOU if you make a mistake (this I suppose can either be a good or bad point depending on your viewpoint). Bad Every 3-4 weeks something broke, usually throttle pots even main TVR dealer in Blackpool couldn't suss one problem which had it running on 4 cylinders for a fair few months, not nice Electrics put together by blind YTS students using parts found in MAPLINS binned/out of date stock. Seriously Electrics were in ABS plastic boxes Velcroed to the inside of the boot lining! Spaceframe chassis made out of toffee and had to be completely removed and replaced at the grand old age of 5 years. Wouldn't start 20% of the time if the electrics were having an off day. Leaked in heavy rain through window rubbers Economy less than 5 miles to a gallon if driving it like you stole it Interior build quality very poor Exterior build quality poor Mechanical build quality poor Did I mention Electrics?.......... Overall Dad bought it for 30k had it for 7 years, cost him +40k in repairs/servicing/lost time over that period. For the last 2 years he had the car up for sale but still used it. So 70k in total and it so definately wasn't worth it. If you still want one I would say find a dealer pay him a grand and see if he will lease it to you for a month (HE will be praying you bin it though so he can get some money back through the insurance) Thanks a lot mate - to be honest i cant explain just how pee'd off i am to hear these stories. I've always wanted to own one of these and for the first time in my life im in a position to actually be able to get one, and now it seems they're a total crock of #!!# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieP Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 thanks Chris. Such a shame they seem so rubbish as personally the looks and sound of the cerbera is exactly to my taste! Ahh well, shame converting mine to a manual is so unaffordably expensive Off topic moment, what broke on your BL box and do you know why it broke yet? On a side topic matt lennen just went 8's on a titan box, first ever 8 with a toyota based auto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel lane Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 My brother and I have had 3 of these , 4.5 cerbera / tuscan / 400se ..you think the supra is expensive to run.. wait till you have one of these . I still have the 400se after 13 years, the old one are not bad , but the new ones leak oil in every oriphous !!.. but they are sexy ..!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 My brother and I have had 3 of these , 4.5 cerbera / tuscan / 400se ..you think the supra is expensive to run.. wait till you have one of these . I still have the 400se after 13 years, the old one are not bad , but the new ones leak oil in every oriphous !!.. but they are sexy ..!! Cant be as uneconomical as a Single when driven hard?! ...im unfamiliar with the 400se, will go have a butchers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Cant be as uneconomical as a Single when driven hard?! ...im unfamiliar with the 400se, will go have a butchers A V8 engine is a whole different beast. My single was returning 21mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Off topic moment, what broke on your BL box and do you know why it broke yet? On a side topic matt lennen just went 8's on a titan box, first ever 8 with a toyota based auto. I need to take it to get rebuilt mate but it seems the clutches burnt out inside. Would love the Titan box, much better than BL, but to be totally honest, after bombing around in my little manual MR2, i REALLY want to have a BIG power manual car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 My single was returning 21mpg Wooahh, and i've been in a car with you - thats impressive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel lane Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 The 400se and griff are old hat , they dont have the comforts of the new cars, i would suggest if you want a change , go down the 996 turbo route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 go down the 996 turbo route. Oohh didnt even realise they were around the 20-25k mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckler Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 just my little input, ok, its not a sagris/cerbera etc.. I drove a Chimera 450 for 3 years, appart from the yearly servicing, the only thing that went wrong with it was the brake pedal switch! But when you look at the list of where they get there parts from, its quite shocking. The engine was rover based, the intake was from a landrover, switch gear ford/vauxhall, early rear lights off a fiesta, wing mirrors from citeron, brakes ford. At least spares were available! - and the sound... I almost bought one for myself. As I understand (i'm sure i'll be corrected) the griffs had quite a few electrical problems but they were ironed out on the chimeras. Oooh, on the chim's the battery was shoved at the end of the passengers foot well, with the ECU just sat on top of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan294 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 My Boss has a 2000 Speed 6 4.0 Tuscan, done about 35000 miles, think it's now on its third engine rebuild. Second clutch, second pair of cats, seems to eat shock absorbers for fun, and doesn't seem to like starting! Having driven it, it's an awesome car, but a huge money pit! I'd always wanted a Tuscan or a Sagaris, but have been put off after working with someone for 5+ years that has owned one and seeing all the problems he has had, and the £20,000+ at least that he has ploughed into it, just to keep it on the road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Jamesy, seriously mate a Cerbera is not for you, trust me on this one, both Tommy and Simon are TVR trained mechanics and I would think twice about owning one even with those 2 to try and keep it running, change the motor to a LS as JP says and rewire it and fit a syvecs and your good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supracars Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Ive owned a cerb for a few years. The things i had to do to it were Starter relay Alternator Clutch and bell housing Repaint front end (nightmare to match and only available in waterbase paint) Wax oil the chassis Broken strut replace Other issues, Been locked out a few times as central locking has a mind of its own (but very easy to get in through the boot) Electric windows need adjusting as sometimes they dont go high enough The battery drain is quite high (best to leave it on trickle charge) As with every car things can go wrong, if you strut of to the mechanic every time you will get raped, but if you have a bit of common sense and dont mind tinkering around yourself then you be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Jamesy, seriously mate a Cerbera is not for you, trust me on this one, both Tommy and Simon are TVR trained mechanics and I would think twice about owning one even with those 2 to try and keep it running, change the motor to a LS as JP says and rewire it and fit a syvecs and your good to go. Cheers John, seems like that TVR dream aint gonna happen!! New thread to follow for serious car suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky49 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Oohh didnt even realise they were around the 20-25k mark Your prepared to shell out that on a daily driver but you wont get your auto box rebuilt,mmmmmmmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Your prepared to shell out that on a daily driver but you wont get your auto box rebuilt,mmmmmmmmmmm Seems like he has lost the love for the Supra and looking for excuses to justify the change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky49 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Seems like he has lost the love for the Supra and looking for excuses to justify the change I read that its going to be a summer weekend car now, what ever you choose Jamesy hope you have better luck than you have had with the supe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Dont get me wrong guys im not throwing in the towel just yet. I love my supra more than any car ive ever owned, by a long way. Im just curious as to what else i could get for my money. I know nothing will touch it in terms of power. My supra has now turned into a weekend and sunny weekday car only so i just wondered what else is out there. To be honest i really want a manual car but cannot spend £3-4k to convert mine unfortunatley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Your prepared to shell out that on a daily driver but you wont get your auto box rebuilt,mmmmmmmmmmm I was never getting my BL box rebuilt til next summer anyway mate, its fine to drive as it is now all thro winter. (its actually fine all the time like this but not for drag racing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Why dont you drop your budget on your daily a few £k and spend that on a manual box for your supra There must be plenty of nice powerfull cars out there in the £15k - £20k bracket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Im just curious as to what else i could get for my money. M3 CSL would be nice. Not manual, but still... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Lol i need to sell the supra to get te next one dude im not loaded !!!! My daily is an mr2 atm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 M3 CSL would be nice. Not manual, but still... Was thinking the same Gaz. Saw a lovely silver one on PH 2wks ago for less than 14k amd nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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