what is the reality of running a gallardo ?
Discussion
Essentially I am looking for an air-conditioning unit for my wife !!
I have been perfectly happy with my 1993 series 1 mx5 , which I thoroughly and totally enjoy driving , and we have taken this car on our continental trips for the last 2 years
Each trip is about 3500 miles , and we do 2 trips a year , so a total of 7000 continental miles , plus about 1000 miles per year in the UK , making a grand total of 8000 miles
my wife has tolerated my love affair with the mx5 , but is now insisting on air conditioning , and more leg room
She is keen on a 718 or 981 boxster S , as it is comfortable and relatively non-attention grabbing
I however have some difficulty justifying the price of a 2013 , 15,000 mile boxster S , when for a significantly but not vastly , greater initial outlay , I can get my hands on an early Gallardo.
obviously , the incognito bit goes out of the window , but :
1) how would the reliability of a well maintained 2004 Gallardo compare with a 2013 boxster S ?
2) the OPC ROUTINE servicing charges probably average out to about £800 per year (over a 4 year cycle )for the boxster
Ignoring additional non-routine service work for a moment , what would be the yearly average cost for ROUTINE service work on a gallardo ?
3)what are the unexpected , large maintenance issues that the Gallardo can throw up ?
clutch replacement / e gear actuators / what else ?
4) what sort of mpg can I expect , while doing 70-80 mph , at a constant 2000 mile drone on an autorote/autostrada ?
5) please could anyone with direct experience of both a boxster and an early Gallardo (the later versions are outside the price range) detail the driving experience of one against the other.
Does the driving experience of the Gallardo justify the additional cost and presumed hassle ?
6) the luggage space in the Gallardo is minute cf the boxster , so that's a point against the Gallardo
7) how much of a problem is the ground clearance of a Gallardo-----they are keen on those kerbs in france and italy !!
surprisingly , the road tax and insurance costs are almost identical
I look forwards to hearing of your experiences
I have been perfectly happy with my 1993 series 1 mx5 , which I thoroughly and totally enjoy driving , and we have taken this car on our continental trips for the last 2 years
Each trip is about 3500 miles , and we do 2 trips a year , so a total of 7000 continental miles , plus about 1000 miles per year in the UK , making a grand total of 8000 miles
my wife has tolerated my love affair with the mx5 , but is now insisting on air conditioning , and more leg room
She is keen on a 718 or 981 boxster S , as it is comfortable and relatively non-attention grabbing
I however have some difficulty justifying the price of a 2013 , 15,000 mile boxster S , when for a significantly but not vastly , greater initial outlay , I can get my hands on an early Gallardo.
obviously , the incognito bit goes out of the window , but :
1) how would the reliability of a well maintained 2004 Gallardo compare with a 2013 boxster S ?
2) the OPC ROUTINE servicing charges probably average out to about £800 per year (over a 4 year cycle )for the boxster
Ignoring additional non-routine service work for a moment , what would be the yearly average cost for ROUTINE service work on a gallardo ?
3)what are the unexpected , large maintenance issues that the Gallardo can throw up ?
clutch replacement / e gear actuators / what else ?
4) what sort of mpg can I expect , while doing 70-80 mph , at a constant 2000 mile drone on an autorote/autostrada ?
5) please could anyone with direct experience of both a boxster and an early Gallardo (the later versions are outside the price range) detail the driving experience of one against the other.
Does the driving experience of the Gallardo justify the additional cost and presumed hassle ?
6) the luggage space in the Gallardo is minute cf the boxster , so that's a point against the Gallardo
7) how much of a problem is the ground clearance of a Gallardo-----they are keen on those kerbs in france and italy !!
surprisingly , the road tax and insurance costs are almost identical
I look forwards to hearing of your experiences
thank you again for all these responses
I would be looking at an early Gallardo coupe , mainly because of the cost , but also a little bit because I would like this to be a car that I actually use , rather than just admire while it is stationary in the garage.
the boxster and mx5 are , relatively speaking , less attention-gathering , so the thinking is that a Gallardo coupe would attract less unwanted attention than a spyder--------but I am not sure that this would actually be the case in reality
the one thing that I regretted with my old 355 gtb , was that you didn't hear the exhaust and engine music (admittedly a standard OEM exhaust )half as much in the GTB compared with the GTS or the SPYDER.
And I suspect that this will again be true with the Gallardo coupe vs the spyder
But again , the final determining factor will be the purchase price , and I suspect that this factor alone will eliminate the possibility of a spyder
the 981/718 , is coming across as the sensible , useable , practical, relatively economical , more than adequately fast , choice ------but I really wonder if it would be a significantly better driving experience than my £2K mx5 series 1 !!
the Gallardo on the other hand is pure theatre , with a V10 engine , and I LOVE Lamborghinis , but maybe the time has come to be practical and to grow old gracefully
I would be looking at an early Gallardo coupe , mainly because of the cost , but also a little bit because I would like this to be a car that I actually use , rather than just admire while it is stationary in the garage.
the boxster and mx5 are , relatively speaking , less attention-gathering , so the thinking is that a Gallardo coupe would attract less unwanted attention than a spyder--------but I am not sure that this would actually be the case in reality
the one thing that I regretted with my old 355 gtb , was that you didn't hear the exhaust and engine music (admittedly a standard OEM exhaust )half as much in the GTB compared with the GTS or the SPYDER.
And I suspect that this will again be true with the Gallardo coupe vs the spyder
But again , the final determining factor will be the purchase price , and I suspect that this factor alone will eliminate the possibility of a spyder
the 981/718 , is coming across as the sensible , useable , practical, relatively economical , more than adequately fast , choice ------but I really wonder if it would be a significantly better driving experience than my £2K mx5 series 1 !!
the Gallardo on the other hand is pure theatre , with a V10 engine , and I LOVE Lamborghinis , but maybe the time has come to be practical and to grow old gracefully
do you know what ?
I was quite absent-mindedly looking through the remainder of this thread from where I had left off last night , when after about 40 seconds I realised that I was smiling to myself , reading all the comments in support of the Gallardo/supercars/ anything with 4 wheels
it's great the support that you get from PH , re man maths, even if ones other half wouldn't always quite agree
I was quite absent-mindedly looking through the remainder of this thread from where I had left off last night , when after about 40 seconds I realised that I was smiling to myself , reading all the comments in support of the Gallardo/supercars/ anything with 4 wheels
it's great the support that you get from PH , re man maths, even if ones other half wouldn't always quite agree
Hi Eric Twinge----i'm marshalling at the Bournemouth Festival of Wheeels , supercar section , this coming week-end
Do come in and say hello if you are around
the Gallardo idea has been obliterated by one of the last 5 unregistered Boxster 981 S 's left in the uk
my wife insisted on a new, useable , practical car ,and one from a main dealer , bearing in mind our recent Lambo purchasing experiences
we were in London , so went into the OPC in town , and were offered a substantial discount on a white 981S on the condition that the deal was completed by month end
I had already had an extensive (4hour) back to back drive in a 981S and a 718S a couple of weeks previously out in the country , but took up the offer for another test drive
this was much more limited in time and distance , but confirmed almost immediately that my heart was with the older 6 cylinder normally aspirated car , rather than the new turbo 4 cylinder cars
we both then sat on a bench in Berkeley square , and over a 2hour period rang up EVERY opc sales dept in the uk, and found 2 blacks , 1 blue and 1 grey unregisterd 981 S still available
none of these colours appealed at all , so we went back into the OPC somewhat disappointed , only to find that the sales representative had got Porsche GB to release what they had been hiding away , which is almost certainly the last uk 981 S in racing yellow (we too had rung Porsche Reading-----but were not informed of this car )
the gild on this particular Lily was that the car was essentially in GTS spec (both cosmetically and mechanically )-------and with this died the prospect of a Gallardo
the professionalism of the people within the Porsche network was a refreshing breath of fresh -air (we were driven up to Porsche GB in Reading , where the car was beautifully presented , and there was no hard-sell over a 3 hour inspection period ) -----it was good to be back with Porsche after a 22 year hiatus
we dealt with David Delgado at Porsche Mayfair , and we can certainly recommend him
Do come in and say hello if you are around
the Gallardo idea has been obliterated by one of the last 5 unregistered Boxster 981 S 's left in the uk
my wife insisted on a new, useable , practical car ,and one from a main dealer , bearing in mind our recent Lambo purchasing experiences
we were in London , so went into the OPC in town , and were offered a substantial discount on a white 981S on the condition that the deal was completed by month end
I had already had an extensive (4hour) back to back drive in a 981S and a 718S a couple of weeks previously out in the country , but took up the offer for another test drive
this was much more limited in time and distance , but confirmed almost immediately that my heart was with the older 6 cylinder normally aspirated car , rather than the new turbo 4 cylinder cars
we both then sat on a bench in Berkeley square , and over a 2hour period rang up EVERY opc sales dept in the uk, and found 2 blacks , 1 blue and 1 grey unregisterd 981 S still available
none of these colours appealed at all , so we went back into the OPC somewhat disappointed , only to find that the sales representative had got Porsche GB to release what they had been hiding away , which is almost certainly the last uk 981 S in racing yellow (we too had rung Porsche Reading-----but were not informed of this car )
the gild on this particular Lily was that the car was essentially in GTS spec (both cosmetically and mechanically )-------and with this died the prospect of a Gallardo
the professionalism of the people within the Porsche network was a refreshing breath of fresh -air (we were driven up to Porsche GB in Reading , where the car was beautifully presented , and there was no hard-sell over a 3 hour inspection period ) -----it was good to be back with Porsche after a 22 year hiatus
we dealt with David Delgado at Porsche Mayfair , and we can certainly recommend him
Hi NRG1976 ,
Is it really 7 years since I wrote asking for advice re the Gallardo ?!!
Each and every time I see a Gallardo or hear one fire up , I certainly feel more than the odd pang of regret
Especially as they appear to be much more useable than the V12 monsters .
But I wanted a car for long transcontinental trips …. And the 981S has enough boot capacity for a month,s holiday . It is also very good in terms of petrol consumption , servicing costs , comfort , ride height , and not attracting the wrong sort of attention .
But it is not a V10 Lambo , so yes , definitely some regrets too .
Is it really 7 years since I wrote asking for advice re the Gallardo ?!!
Each and every time I see a Gallardo or hear one fire up , I certainly feel more than the odd pang of regret
Especially as they appear to be much more useable than the V12 monsters .
But I wanted a car for long transcontinental trips …. And the 981S has enough boot capacity for a month,s holiday . It is also very good in terms of petrol consumption , servicing costs , comfort , ride height , and not attracting the wrong sort of attention .
But it is not a V10 Lambo , so yes , definitely some regrets too .
Hi again NRG1976 ,
I have an almost unhealthy interest in cars , so spend too much time thinking about what I would like next .
And the G has long been high up in the dream stakes .
But capital outlay , servicing costs and garage space are all very real constraining factors for me .
The Gallardo constantly flicks across my radar , but I haven’t felt able to commit hard currency to it for each of the 3 reasons above .
The scissor doors and the Bizzarrini engines of the V12s are too compelling to chop either of them in for a Gallardo .
Although I know that I would use a G much more ….. in the old days I used the Countach a lot … and it was relatively easy to take it across the Channel primarily because people were more respectful of an old car and the roads were less crowded .
In comparison, the Murcie Roadster I have used embarrassingly little …. It barely sees the morning sun but it is phenomenal on those few occasions when going for it ….. and don’t believe all the journo stuff about the single clutch robotised manual E gear being crap … it is most definitely not , and is in keeping with its period …. I couldn’t even begin to change gear as fast in the Countach or in any of my other manual cars as the Murcie,s E gear ( either in normal or sports mode ) and it has a huge amount more character than the dual clutch PDK gearbox in the 981 .
Also the Murcie will also not actively try and kill you !
A G would be much more useable …. Width , sight lines , petrol consumption , servicing costs …… so to anyone who can afford it , I would say don’t follow my dubious thinking and allow form to take precedence over function !
I have an almost unhealthy interest in cars , so spend too much time thinking about what I would like next .
And the G has long been high up in the dream stakes .
But capital outlay , servicing costs and garage space are all very real constraining factors for me .
The Gallardo constantly flicks across my radar , but I haven’t felt able to commit hard currency to it for each of the 3 reasons above .
The scissor doors and the Bizzarrini engines of the V12s are too compelling to chop either of them in for a Gallardo .
Although I know that I would use a G much more ….. in the old days I used the Countach a lot … and it was relatively easy to take it across the Channel primarily because people were more respectful of an old car and the roads were less crowded .
In comparison, the Murcie Roadster I have used embarrassingly little …. It barely sees the morning sun but it is phenomenal on those few occasions when going for it ….. and don’t believe all the journo stuff about the single clutch robotised manual E gear being crap … it is most definitely not , and is in keeping with its period …. I couldn’t even begin to change gear as fast in the Countach or in any of my other manual cars as the Murcie,s E gear ( either in normal or sports mode ) and it has a huge amount more character than the dual clutch PDK gearbox in the 981 .
Also the Murcie will also not actively try and kill you !
A G would be much more useable …. Width , sight lines , petrol consumption , servicing costs …… so to anyone who can afford it , I would say don’t follow my dubious thinking and allow form to take precedence over function !
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