Pre-purchase inspection garage recommedations (Audi R8)
Discussion
Cheers Shirt, afraid I'm not enough of a petrol head to put up with race harnesses in my everyday car 
Happily driving the R8 for the last week and settling in well to it. Ride is a bit firm as expected, I didn't notice the amount of speed bumps that Dubai has in the S Class. The RS V8 is a great engine and I think I'll learn to live with the gearbox although it does ask a lot of you to change your driving habit to suit the car.
In the end it was the price, helpful dealer and the stack of history with the car that sold the car for me. Who knows if I get bored in a few months I bit go back on the hunt for a manual DBS - that'll be a keeper.
Happily driving the R8 for the last week and settling in well to it. Ride is a bit firm as expected, I didn't notice the amount of speed bumps that Dubai has in the S Class. The RS V8 is a great engine and I think I'll learn to live with the gearbox although it does ask a lot of you to change your driving habit to suit the car.
In the end it was the price, helpful dealer and the stack of history with the car that sold the car for me. Who knows if I get bored in a few months I bit go back on the hunt for a manual DBS - that'll be a keeper.
velocitas said:
Cheers Shirt, afraid I'm not enough of a petrol head to put up with race harnesses in my everyday car
Happily driving the R8 for the last week and settling in well to it. Ride is a bit firm as expected, I didn't notice the amount of speed bumps that Dubai has in the S Class. The RS V8 is a great engine and I think I'll learn to live with the gearbox although it does ask a lot of you to change your driving habit to suit the car.
In the end it was the price, helpful dealer and the stack of history with the car that sold the car for me. Who knows if I get bored in a few months I bit go back on the hunt for a manual DBS - that'll be a keeper.
Congrats on the purchase!Happily driving the R8 for the last week and settling in well to it. Ride is a bit firm as expected, I didn't notice the amount of speed bumps that Dubai has in the S Class. The RS V8 is a great engine and I think I'll learn to live with the gearbox although it does ask a lot of you to change your driving habit to suit the car.
In the end it was the price, helpful dealer and the stack of history with the car that sold the car for me. Who knows if I get bored in a few months I bit go back on the hunt for a manual DBS - that'll be a keeper.
Re the S-Class, how are you finding it (coming from somewhat of a fan of these barges!)
Cheers.
The S is exactly what you think it would be like. Supremely comfortable, very well trimmed, a little hard to park and not massively engaging to drive. I "only" have the S400L so it's not the most powerful but it was meant to cruise to Abu Dhabi every day and for that it excels while returning a decent MPG.
Where the car really set's itself apart is the technology, I'm a gadget fan and it blows me away. Most of it I've experienced before in other cars but it's the driving assistance (lane keeping, distronic etc.) that are seamlessly integrated and make even driving over here relaxing. We had a previous shape 2011 S350 CDI in my family and I think they've really upped their game in the latest generation especially in the interior.
Unfortunately it's a bit of an old man's car and I'm travelling more and more away from the UAE with work so it'll be making it's way back to Gargash. A mixture of taxis and the R8 will do for now. I would definitely keep the S65 Coupe on my radar though for the future.
The S is exactly what you think it would be like. Supremely comfortable, very well trimmed, a little hard to park and not massively engaging to drive. I "only" have the S400L so it's not the most powerful but it was meant to cruise to Abu Dhabi every day and for that it excels while returning a decent MPG.
Where the car really set's itself apart is the technology, I'm a gadget fan and it blows me away. Most of it I've experienced before in other cars but it's the driving assistance (lane keeping, distronic etc.) that are seamlessly integrated and make even driving over here relaxing. We had a previous shape 2011 S350 CDI in my family and I think they've really upped their game in the latest generation especially in the interior.
Unfortunately it's a bit of an old man's car and I'm travelling more and more away from the UAE with work so it'll be making it's way back to Gargash. A mixture of taxis and the R8 will do for now. I would definitely keep the S65 Coupe on my radar though for the future.
velocitas said:
Cheers.
The S is exactly what you think it would be like. Supremely comfortable, very well trimmed, a little hard to park and not massively engaging to drive. I "only" have the S400L so it's not the most powerful but it was meant to cruise to Abu Dhabi every day and for that it excels while returning a decent MPG.
Where the car really set's itself apart is the technology, I'm a gadget fan and it blows me away. Most of it I've experienced before in other cars but it's the driving assistance (lane keeping, distronic etc.) that are seamlessly integrated and make even driving over here relaxing. We had a previous shape 2011 S350 CDI in my family and I think they've really upped their game in the latest generation especially in the interior.
Unfortunately it's a bit of an old man's car and I'm travelling more and more away from the UAE with work so it'll be making it's way back to Gargash. A mixture of taxis and the R8 will do for now. I would definitely keep the S65 Coupe on my radar though for the future.
Thanks for the comments! Interesting what you say about the interior and now improved (not yet seen inside a current model). The W220 was certainly the low point of interior quality...about just about everything else too unfortunatelyThe S is exactly what you think it would be like. Supremely comfortable, very well trimmed, a little hard to park and not massively engaging to drive. I "only" have the S400L so it's not the most powerful but it was meant to cruise to Abu Dhabi every day and for that it excels while returning a decent MPG.
Where the car really set's itself apart is the technology, I'm a gadget fan and it blows me away. Most of it I've experienced before in other cars but it's the driving assistance (lane keeping, distronic etc.) that are seamlessly integrated and make even driving over here relaxing. We had a previous shape 2011 S350 CDI in my family and I think they've really upped their game in the latest generation especially in the interior.
Unfortunately it's a bit of an old man's car and I'm travelling more and more away from the UAE with work so it'll be making it's way back to Gargash. A mixture of taxis and the R8 will do for now. I would definitely keep the S65 Coupe on my radar though for the future.
velocitas said:
Happily driving the R8 for the last week and settling in well to it. Ride is a bit firm as expected, I didn't notice the amount of speed bumps that Dubai has in the S Class. The RS V8 is a great engine and I think I'll learn to live with the gearbox although it does ask a lot of you to change your driving habit to suit the car.
In the end it was the price, helpful dealer and the stack of history with the car that sold the car for me. Who knows if I get bored in a few months I bit go back on the hunt for a manual DBS - that'll be a keeper.
Hopefully it continues to go well for you, especially now its a bit more shiny!In the end it was the price, helpful dealer and the stack of history with the car that sold the car for me. Who knows if I get bored in a few months I bit go back on the hunt for a manual DBS - that'll be a keeper.
velocitas said:
Cheers James, you should have taken some pics the car looks great although it lasted about a day before it got covered in dust on the way to Abu Dhabi for dinner!
No worries, I did manage a handful of pics but the lighting isn't great, will post them at some point. Would have been good to have done a stage by stage set of pics but the whole process took a lot longer than expected!Should still look just as good once the dust is washed off
velocitas said:
Cheers James, you should have taken some pics the car looks great although it lasted about a day before it got covered in dust on the way to Abu Dhabi for dinner!
Put what I have in this thread for you:http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
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