Pre-purchase inspection garage recommedations (Audi R8)
Discussion
Ended up with a deposit on an R8 yesterday, not the car I was planning on buying but I got a good deal. Unfortunately it's from one of the many un-franchised "high end" car dealers on Sheik Zayed Road and to be honest I wouldn't trust anyone of them as far as I could throw them.
Does anyone know of a specialist independent with VAG COM, Paint Depth Laser etc. who could look over the car and tell me about any crash damage, clutch wear indicator and a typical health check.
Much appreciated.
Does anyone know of a specialist independent with VAG COM, Paint Depth Laser etc. who could look over the car and tell me about any crash damage, clutch wear indicator and a typical health check.
Much appreciated.
shirt said:
please excuse jason's sausage fingers:
http://www.dascenter.ae/
i used them for the PPI on my elise, its a 2hr check plus whatever else you specifically ask for. they have all the VAG gubbins. specify that you want sander or heiki to do it.
PS if its from xconcepts they are supposed to be one of the better dealers. adnan [sales guy] is a decent bloke, petrolhead and bloody good driver.
Cheers guys, that's exactly what i needed. I actually think the car was in with them before, I remember seeing their logo in the pile of paperwork in the glovebox.http://www.dascenter.ae/
i used them for the PPI on my elise, its a 2hr check plus whatever else you specifically ask for. they have all the VAG gubbins. specify that you want sander or heiki to do it.
PS if its from xconcepts they are supposed to be one of the better dealers. adnan [sales guy] is a decent bloke, petrolhead and bloody good driver.
Edited by shirt on Friday 27th March 11:19
@Shirt, you're either a stalker or a telepath but you're right on the money
what are your thoughts on the car? Bit worried about the jerky R-Tronic and the fact the clutch will be due to be replaced soon 40,000km but as you say Adnan is a decent guy compared with the others Ive met.Edited by velocitas on Friday 27th March 22:39
In true PH form, I already have a thread on various options: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
In the end I couldn't find a nice Granturismo, F430s & Gallardos were too expensive so I ended up with either a 2010 White 911S in Al Alweer or the R8. I drove a 2010 V10 with Brett from Reem Automotive but unless you drive everywhere with your pants on fire (past 6k RPM) there wasn't enough difference to warrant the extra 50k for me.
In the end I couldn't find a nice Granturismo, F430s & Gallardos were too expensive so I ended up with either a 2010 White 911S in Al Alweer or the R8. I drove a 2010 V10 with Brett from Reem Automotive but unless you drive everywhere with your pants on fire (past 6k RPM) there wasn't enough difference to warrant the extra 50k for me.
shirt said:
"I went out yesterday to buy a 911S PDK, ended up nearly buying a Range Rover Supercharged, got distracted by an Aston Martin V12 Vantage which seems to good to be true and in the end bought an Audi R8 V8 R-Tronic without knowing anything about it."
good work!
True story. Glad to hear that the car / dealer might be as genuine as they look too. good work!
Paracetamol said:
Velocitas- I owned a grey 2009 R8 and it was nothing but trouble. Gearboxes are particulalry unreliable. In 2k kms mine had new gearbox, 2 shocks, front diff, steering rack, steering pump...all under warranty thank god. Its the only car that ever left me stranded..be afraid...very afraid..
My first thought as I read that was ignorance is bliss.But in all honesty the manual would be a millions times more favourable the realty is that there are none on the market. I had a friend in Audi pull the history of the car and it had its gearbox replaced in 2010 presumably around the same mileage as yours so hopefully I'll be lucky there. I've also taken out a fairly comprehensive warranty so fingers crossed.
With all its faults laid bare I still think it's a potentially a less ruinous car than say a Range Rover, Maserati or Aston. We'll see i guess.....
K50 DEL said:
Not sure if you're already committed but I have a colleague looking to sell his R8 (V8 one, in white) she's a good-un and there's a deal to be had for sure so happy to get you details if you're interested?
Cheers mate, I've a deposit down and the car is being checked over by Audi at the moment so it want to be an awesome deal. PM sent
Cheers Shirt, that was just uploaded or I would have gone to view it. Shame there's no interior pics and it's still an R-Tronic according to the detailed description.
Would you believe nearly 10 days after paying the deposit I still don't have the car. It's my own fault really, I've never bought a car with finance still owing but I thought it must be the way in Dubai when I heard of how it must be cleared during the registration transfer process. Alas I had to start making threats today to pull the deal when I was told that the sellers bank are playing silly buggers and will need another 3-4 days before we can even talk to the RTA.
Factor in the 30k worth of leaky shocks (common issue with low mileage R8s) that Al Nabooda picked up in the PPI and I'm not sure I'm arsed any more.
Would you believe nearly 10 days after paying the deposit I still don't have the car. It's my own fault really, I've never bought a car with finance still owing but I thought it must be the way in Dubai when I heard of how it must be cleared during the registration transfer process. Alas I had to start making threats today to pull the deal when I was told that the sellers bank are playing silly buggers and will need another 3-4 days before we can even talk to the RTA.
Factor in the 30k worth of leaky shocks (common issue with low mileage R8s) that Al Nabooda picked up in the PPI and I'm not sure I'm arsed any more.
Edited by velocitas on Sunday 5th April 17:46
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.
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.
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