Discussion
What started as wanting a step up from my 135i ended with me buying this beast from the other side of the world (U.K. to Nz). Initially I was after a 1M or a lotus. Liked the 1M a lot, the lotus elise not so much. While focusing in on a couple of 1Ms a local dealer listed a R8 V8 manual which is a car I've always liked. Told the other half I was going to test drive it, went down like a turd in a swimming pool as it meant a 50% jump in budget.
Initially thought it would simply scratch an itch, car wouldn't be exciting enough for everyday driving to justify it and I could then return back to the 1Ms. Was very wrong, loved the car as did the missus, put in a offer but we werea little bit away so left to work on the maths. 2 days later dealer let me know car had sold.
No other manuals were for sale, and this had been the only one I'd seen listed for the last year. So the NZ market not really being an option I started looking overseas. The U.K. seemed the best option and I started getting familiar with autotrader and pistonheads. Brexit had recently happened so the Nz dollar to the pound was at its strongest. To ship a car over if I stuck with a V8 it would end up costing similar to what they sell for here, but I would be able to get a 6MT.
However a V10 would present a bit of a bargain, being able to get one for 15-20% cheaper then a similar NZ car. Man maths kicked in hard, more silence from the missus, finally overcome with a promise of a European holiday. I spent around 3 months watching and just after Christmas got in touch with 2 private sellers and 1 dealer about their R8s. I was pretty aggressive with my offers and didn't get far with 2 but 1 PS was happy to engage in a bit of banter and a price was agreed. Then was the issue of shipping, funds transfers and clearing the car through to NZ, plus I was buying privately so had to put a bit of faith in the seller. Fortunately the webz meant I could stalk him and seemed pretty similar to me, a self employed business professional where screwing someone on a car wouldn't be worth the hassle.
So Admin got done and car was on a ship. 2 months later I finally was in possession of a 2009 V10 R8 6MT in Lava Gray with 28k miles. Car's condition and spec were both better then expected so I was pretty stoked. First week was interesting getting used to the car, some days a little underwhelming, a coupe of days when I stretched its legs it was pretty intimidating . Previously I've driven M2s M3s 911 Rs4 and the R8 V8, all pretty quick. This was something else, I was stunned the first time I really put it through the gears.
After the first week it's been a match made in heaven, I love this car. The ease of just being able to drive it around town but the thrill it gives when a corner or straight present themselves. Starting it on a cold morning always brings a smile and knowing I own one of the last big engined NA manuals is pretty special. Only replacement I'd consider is a newer plus model of the same shape.
Lava gray is a colour I haven't seen befor but a big fan now, has a pearl effect so goes from charcoal to much lighter grey depending on light and cleanliness.
Next to the wife's TT
Edited by mikiec on Saturday 19th August 10:32
lee_fr200 said:
Nice story, out of interest how much did it cost to ship?
My mate is moving to oz and wants to take his beloved 80s mini with him
Think shipping was around £2500. Apparently lots of NZers buy caravans from the U.K. So I used one of the companies that do that, they pick it up and chuck it in a container.My mate is moving to oz and wants to take his beloved 80s mini with him
Glad it worked out well; I've no doubt most people are honest but you just hope you don't deal with the 1% who are not. I imported my car from the UK but I could at least to see it and pick it up personally, and drive back to Germany, so didn't need too many brave pills :-)
I'd love an R8 V10, yours being a manual is surely the Creme de la Creme.
I'd love an R8 V10, yours being a manual is surely the Creme de la Creme.
Pretty cool, I love the way you started out looking for a step up from a 135i ! Also glad to see someone benefiting from Brexit.
ISTR shipping a car from Japan to UK was only of the order of £500, but that was ro-ro, this may have been better protected in a container. Interesting that caravan shipping UK to NZ is a common thing, never imagined that!
Hope you have lots of fun with it.
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