Gallardo Spyder - help?

[Blues]

Hi Chaps. New to this forum, but been around PH with TVRs for a while now.
I'm seriously interested in moving to a Gallardo Spyder, so have been wondering about a few things.
I know that running costs "are what they are", and having had TVRs, i budget for the unexpected, but what sort of numbers should i be looking at for:
Servicing (assume 5k miles per year)
Tyres
Clutch
... what else should i consider as a likely cost on these?
Will i be able to live with it as a car to pop down to the supermarket in, just because it is sunny and i can? (not as a daily drive btw)

E Gear vs Manual. Can anyone who has experience of both provide an insight here? I will try to get test drives in both, but am interested from the perspctive of an "enthusiastic" driver.

Spec? - what are "must haves" options. Heated seats (because i drive year round and almost always drive sans roof) and lifting for the speed bumps, but what else?

Finance - what method have you found to be the best way to finance a £100k car? (no 560 yet!)

What else should i be thinking about?

Is there an owner out there near me (Crowthorne Berks) who would be happy to chat about their experiences over a pint?

Thanks in advance for your help/advice
David

[Sarnie]

Blues said:

Hi Chaps. New to this forum, but been around PH with TVRs for a while now.
I'm seriously interested in moving to a Gallardo Spyder, so have been wondering about a few things.
I know that running costs "are what they are", and having had TVRs, i budget for the unexpected, but what sort of numbers should i be looking at for:
Servicing (assume 5k miles per year)
Tyres
Clutch
... what else should i consider as a likely cost on these?
Will i be able to live with it as a car to pop down to the supermarket in, just because it is sunny and i can? (not as a daily drive btw)

E Gear vs Manual. Can anyone who has experience of both provide an insight here? I will try to get test drives in both, but am interested from the perspctive of an "enthusiastic" driver.

Spec? - what are "must haves" options. Heated seats (because i drive year round and almost always drive sans roof) and lifting for the speed bumps, but what else?

Finance - what method have you found to be the best way to finance a £100k car? (no 560 yet!)

What else should i be thinking about?

Is there an owner out there near me (Crowthorne Berks) who would be happy to chat about their experiences over a pint?

Thanks in advance for your help/advice
David

Figures will vary from person to person and whether you use an indy or a lambo dealership but these figures won't be a million miles out;

Servicing: minor £1k, major £2k
Tyres: £300 a corner
Clutch: £4k

car is perfectly fine for going to the supermarket etc just park right in the corner and don't expect to get much shopping in it!

E-gear Vs Manual is a personal choice. I love the manual but then the blips on downshifts on E-gears are awesome.

Must have's for me are:

Callisto's
Sat Nav
Tubi
De-cat pipes

finance will, again, be personal to your circumstances.


Hope that helps

[lambo_xx]

Blues said:

Hi Chaps. New to this forum, but been around PH with TVRs for a while now.
I'm seriously interested in moving to a Gallardo Spyder, so have been wondering about a few things.
I know that running costs "are what they are", and having had TVRs, i budget for the unexpected, but what sort of numbers should i be looking at for:
Servicing (assume 5k miles per year)
Tyres
Clutch
... what else should i consider as a likely cost on these?
Will i be able to live with it as a car to pop down to the supermarket in, just because it is sunny and i can? (not as a daily drive btw)

E Gear vs Manual. Can anyone who has experience of both provide an insight here? I will try to get test drives in both, but am interested from the perspctive of an "enthusiastic" driver.

Spec? - what are "must haves" options. Heated seats (because i drive year round and almost always drive sans roof) and lifting for the speed bumps, but what else?

Finance - what method have you found to be the best way to finance a £100k car? (no 560 yet!)

What else should i be thinking about?

Is there an owner out there near me (Crowthorne Berks) who would be happy to chat about their experiences over a pint?

Thanks in advance for your help/advice
David

I would budget £2-3k a year for running it, hopefully it'll be less but always better to play safe.

In regards to living with it, I think you could live with it pretty easily. To be honest all supercars are a compromise to live with but personally I can't see any reason why you wouldn't use it to nip down to Sainsburys etc. I do and although the boot is almost comically small you've got the passenger foot well and seat to chuck your shopping in.

E-gear Vs manual? Well, there isn't a correct answer to be honest, it's all down to opinion. Early E-gear Gallardos were slower and a bit jerky but since you're looking at a spyder then that doesn't really matter as they got all the 2006 upgrades. If you are just driving in the city then you'll probably go through a E-gear clutch quicker than a manual but to be honest if they're driven properly they are more or less the same. My advice would be to go drive both.

Options, Sat Nav is a must because otherwise the crappy stereo they put in instead just makes the car look a bit cheap and dated in my opinion. Heated seats would be good and either parking sensors (don't know if they were an option, but most bodyshops would fit them for you) or a reversing camera because visibility isn't great. Lifting system would be handy but I guess it depends where you live. You can get used to how low the car is and just adapt to it.

Hope that helps.

[UVB]

If I was doing it over again, I'd get heated seats and the full electric seat option as it gives better adjustability on the seat base.

[ade/lou]

You're going to spend £100k ? Then can i suggest that you spend a meer £72, and join www.Lamborghiniclub.co.uk

For that you would get, but not limited to-
all the help and answers that you ever want,
meet like minded people,
free techincal/buying advice,
organised road trips/events-home and abroad,
cheap car insurance (easy make back the joining fee)
as of 2011 six magazines a year,
exclusive merchandise,
calendar,
LCUK Web forum,





In fact we should put up our prices !

Edited by ade/lou on Sunday 5th December 19:27

[Basher]

I would agree with the budgets above - I have had a Gallardo for 4 and a bit years in 2 different guises - one SE adn one spyder) and I think the worst bill I had was £5.5k and that was the service and clutch replacement all at once. Since then the cost has been around 3k per year including service and tyres....

I would ensure that you get the brake discs checked out too as over 20k miles these can start to wear a little and are pretty expensive to replace along with the pads... check the clutch too (easy on egear as computer can read it)

As for manual or E gear I agree with above comments - waht suited me wont necessarily suit you.Manual was great fun on the SE but for me I preferred the Egear of the spyder...partly to do with ease of changing , partly to do with the noise and a lot to do with sport mode where chages are so violent at pace that you think you are going to wear the gearbox as a necklace. E gear good in town as you can jsut select automatic to take the pain out of stop start driving.

Must haves ?
Sat Nav , Rear view camera very useful (once you get used to the scale !), Calistos without a doubt, and i agree with the electric seats - heated is good for those cold mornings or soothing your piles (delte as apporpriate lol) Other things that amde the difference for me were embossed headrests and two tone interior with contrasting stitching - interior is not exactly 'exciting' so good to have a few options in tere to liven it up a bit.. As for lifting pack I didnt bother on either car as I ahve never found it necessary to be honest....IPOD connectivity also a tick in the box if its available....bluetooth phone was useless as wouldnt sync with my iphone at all (apparneetly a known problem) ....

Think that summarises it ... have a good look around and drive both types of transmission to get a feel for both...also note that a lot of cars are up for silly money right now (including my old one tbh)..winters coming (well its here) adn I think you can prob get a good abrgain come jan if these cars still sitting around in showrooms ....

Good luck...great cars and if money was not a concern id still ahve the spyder in the garage for summer

[Blues]

Thanks to all for taking time out to reply.
There is some interesting and valuable information above, which i shall use wisely, it is all exremely helpful. I hadn't thought about the owners club, so thanks again for that suggestion. I did join the TVR CC whe i was first looking, so not such a daft idea. Right, now to go and find my self a couple of cars to play with. I'm not in a rush to get one, as i have limited ability to drive for a few weeks yet, but i'll be sure to let you know how i get on.
Thanks again

[UH-Matt]

I agree with all the above.

For me Egear is immense. I went out not caring about it, but having had Egear I would never go back now.

Also heated seats is a definite plus in the Spyder if you intend to use the car in cold weather, nice to have a warm bum!

Also as Basher says, the two tone interior definitely brings the car to life inside..

Edited by UH-Matt on Monday 6th December 11:03

[polar8]

A couple of negatives to consider alongside the positives: Don't forget they have the turning circle of an oil tanker, so get used to reversing backwards up ramps after discovering you can't turn it around. Also, forget taking anyone anywhere in it - passenger leg space fit for a 5 footer and no luggage space. Oh, and everyone hates you on the road.

Great engine though.

[Basher]

everyone in THIS country yes ,,, in Europe they love it but alas we live here - was part of the reason i sold mine to be honest ....

[andrew]

the servicing costs are not that crazy ( 1k for a minor, 2k for a medium )
my clutch is on course to last 100k
nobody hates me because of the car ( it's strictly personal )
lcuk was a complete waste of time and only do insurance deals on classics
i risked an e-gear, and frankly won't be going back to manual anymore than i'll be going back to drum brakes and carbs
just my 2p

op, get a test drive, then jfdi !

[UH-Matt]

ONLY ever had positive'ness towards the car by both pedestrians and other drivers, I agree with andrew it must be personal, not the car

[Haliatus]

polar8 said:

A couple of negatives to consider alongside the positives: Don't forget they have the turning circle of an oil tanker, so get used to reversing backwards up ramps after discovering you can't turn it around. Also, forget taking anyone anywhere in it - passenger leg space fit for a 5 footer and no luggage space. Oh, and everyone hates you on the road.

Great engine though.

I don't own one of course but been in Matt's and i don't think i'm a midget and was fine as a passenger to be honest. Maybe Peter Crouch might find it uncomfortable but he is a rare species

[polar8]

UH-Matt said:

ONLY ever had positive'ness towards the car by both pedestrians and other drivers, I agree with andrew it must be personal, not the car

Nope, its the car. Even in west London where every second car is a Conti GT, I was subject to verbal assualt for no reason other than sitting at a junction in my black Gallardo Spyder. It was one of the reasons for me selling it after only three weeks of ownership. I haven't encountered that in any Aston, or even my current 997TT. There's still something attached to Lambo and Fezza ownership in this country. Very sad but true. Great engine though.

[UH-Matt]

Perhaps you need to try one in a bright colour

[Shmee]

polar8 said:

I haven't encountered that in any Aston, or even my current 997TT. There's still something attached to Lambo and Fezza ownership in this country. Very sad but true. Great engine though.

I've had one or two bits of abuse hurled at me in my Aston in London; plenty of positives and thumbs up etc, but a cyclist had a flip out and I've heard the odd rude shout.

Although I imagine it happens less than an F or L. The more extreme the car, the more extreme the reactions to both extremes.

[TonyF]

It is a bit nerve racking when people shout comments but I have to say, all comments about mine have always been positive so far... ( balloon white G Spider )

[bertie]

I must admit in all my years I have never ever had anything but positive comments and encounters in Ferraris of Lambos.

Only shocker I had was the other week when the DVLA gave out my name and address to a finance company for someone who had defaulted payment!

Wrong Ballon White Gallardo Spyder!!

[iandc]

At the risk of this becoming a posting regarding impact of driving a Syder rather than the actual driving experience, I too have only experienced positive attitude by everyone including White Van Man, Chavs and "normal" people. BTW it is great to drive too! Just do it- you wont regret it trust me!!

[Beefmeister]

My thoughts on the G Spyder here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=47&i=1913...

FWIW, I still prefer the manual, but would consider the eGear in an LP560 Spyder, it's much better.