R8 - would you... opinions

[burwoodman]

Dr G said:

We sold in January a 4 owner 07 manual coupe with 34,000 miles, fresh tyres and good discs. GOod colour and spec too.

It as 45 retail with a year's warranty. 42 for the car you describe doesn't sound cheap.

This.

[jakesmith]

High number of owners (7 in 5 years) puts people off because it looks like people didn't want to keep it for long. Why would someone buy it and lose all that money on depreciation to only keep it for 6 months? It looks like the car is a lemon. I know it's considered more normal on performance cars but really would you want to marry a woman who had slept with 100 men? haha

Considering the good trade in value & cost to change offered the car would effectively cost £41k. Discs & pads for front plus tires is looking at £2.5k, upgrading the stereo in absence of B&O would be c. £1500 so it's not good value vs. a £45k well specified car given the hammering I'll get at trade in in 18 months time...

[wongthecorrupter]

jakesmith said:

Thanks for the advice... personally I wouldn't touch a TVR, if I wanted grunt I'd go for an XKR or 997tt. I want supercar looks & soundtrack + reliability. Maseratti GT is the other one I'd consider...

Maserati ,reliable?

[johnnyBv8]

Mark. said:

Seriously though, don't write off the TVR until you've tried it - I mean owning.

Mark. said:

You say you want reliability and then next mention you'd want a Maserati - good luck with that!

Good advice on the TVR (I've owned several), but have you taken your own advice before passing comment on the Maserati?

OP (on the basis that you're not after an old TVR!), I'd say that 7 owners on the R8 will become a bit of a pain again when you come to try to sell or trade in the car in a couple of years, and for this reason I'd leave it and keep your eye out for a different one. A Maserati GT 4.7 would be another great choice...worth a test drive at least. Not tempted by an Aston?!

Edited by johnnyBv8 on Wednesday 22 May 07:45

[prg123]

Mines a 2 owner car with around 26k miles I might be interested in selling ( for the right price )

BTW - I have had a Maserati Gransport - had a few niggly faults, but other than that fine.... Was a fantastic car and one of only a few cars I really miss ( the list includes lotus Elise, lancia delta HF turbo martini)

- Pete

[gbbird]

jakesmith said:

High number of owners (7 in 5 years) puts people off because it looks like people didn't want to keep it for long. Why would someone buy it and lose all that money on depreciation to only keep it for 6 months? It looks like the car is a lemon. I know it's considered more normal on performance cars but really would you want to marry a woman who had slept with 100 men? haha

Considering the good trade in value & cost to change offered the car would effectively cost £41k. Discs & pads for front plus tires is looking at £2.5k, upgrading the stereo in absence of B&O would be c. £1500 so it's not good value vs. a £45k well specified car given the hammering I'll get at trade in in 18 months time...

I disagree. Could easily mean people buy it thinking they can afford it, then sell it when they realise they cannot or circumstances change.

Also, in contradiction to your point, a car often sold will have gone through plenty of checks/inspections.

[Mark.]

Mark. said:

You say you want reliability and then next mention you'd want a Maserati - good luck with that!

johnnyBv8 said:

Good advice on the TVR (I've owned several), but have you taken your own advice before passing comment on the Maserati?

Not yet, but a Quattroporte is also on the must scratch list - Having been in TVR's for 12 years I can take the reliability risk

[jakesmith]

How can a TVW owner get all defensive about their reputation for poor reliability in one breath & then trot out a cliche about Maserati in another - I know which I'd pick, at least Masserati has a well financed parent company that has QC in process, a dealer network, parts in production, body parts available etc. Residuals of the GT reflect the reliability of the new cars & are the opposite of the 3200 which dropped like a stone to £15k within 5 years. 5 year old GTs are still £40k.

The TVR is not a car to be hammered up & down motorways every day unless you're a masochist, I find my 997 C4S tedious for these types of driving so a kit car made out of old nails and tin foil is hardly going to suit my needs. Plenty of faster cars out there these days too, ones that can actually be used in the rain, like GTRs etc

[Mark.]

jakesmith said:

How can a TVW owner get all defensive about their reputation for poor reliability in one breath & then trot out a cliche about Maserati in another - I know which I'd pick, at least Masserati has a well financed parent company that has QC in process, a dealer network, parts in production, body parts available etc. Residuals of the GT reflect the reliability of the new cars & are the opposite of the 3200 which dropped like a stone to £15k within 5 years. 5 year old GTs are still £40k.

The TVR is not a car to be hammered up & down motorways every day unless you're a masochist, I find my 997 C4S tedious for these types of driving so a kit car made out of old nails and tin foil is hardly going to suit my needs. Plenty of faster cars out there these days too, ones that can actually be used in the rain, like GTRs etc

I'm out.

[ukwill]

jakesmith said:

High number of owners (7 in 5 years) puts people off because it looks like people didn't want to keep it for long. Why would someone buy it and lose all that money on depreciation to only keep it for 6 months? It looks like the car is a lemon. I know it's considered more normal on performance cars but really would you want to marry a woman who had slept with 100 men? haha

Considering the good trade in value & cost to change offered the car would effectively cost £41k. Discs & pads for front plus tires is looking at £2.5k, upgrading the stereo in absence of B&O would be c. £1500 so it's not good value vs. a £45k well specified car given the hammering I'll get at trade in in 18 months time...

Plenty of exotic tin changes hands on a frequent basis. At the high end this is common. Quite a lot of people want to be able to tick "owned reassuringly expensive exotica" off their bucket list. Provenance is far more of a concern than no. of owners up in the high end sector.

[Fast Eddie]

I just love reading this stuff. How did TVR suddenly get compared with Audi?
I have an R8 V8 manual which is a fantastic drive - but so was my Tuscan 1 and then my Sagaris. Actually I also had an old Caterham with a Xflow Ford engine.
All of them fantastic drives but mostly for different reasons.
Behave everybody

[gbbird]

I too have owned both a TVR and an R8. Both excellent in their own right, yet to compare is not really apples for apples. Lets move on now