Audi R8 - pre Purchase Advice

[Gregchiswell]

Hey all,

Had an audi since I started driving some 12 years ago... In the process of seruously considering the purhase - my Local Audi dealership treat me like a idiot and despite me having bought three cars, A4s and my last an A5 from there and using them for all servicing they tell me I can't afford an R8 if I need to enquire about servicing, plans and basic quotes for things... I find that really insulting - i just like to know exactly what I'm getting into when I buy a car... It doesn't put me off buying one, but i will be finding another dealer.

So anyone with any pearls of wisdom? Advise, support?

Greg...

[anonymous-user]

New, used?

[Gregchiswell]

Used... Looking at the cheaper end of the market - around 50k

[anonymous-user]

Servicing not much different to your A5. The only expense could be if things go wrong so buy a warranty.

I had one for just over a year and it cost me no more than fuel and insurance.

[KungFuPanda]

If your budget is around £50k, you're obviously looking at leggy early models which won't fall into the Audi Approved Used programme. That's probably why they weren't all that helpful with you.

Edited by KungFuPanda on Thursday 25th December 11:25

[Patrick Bateman]

garyhun said:

Servicing not much different to your A5. The only expense could be if things go wrong so buy a warranty.

I had one for just over a year and it cost me no more than fuel and insurance.

Do they tend to have much that is known to be an expensive fix or are they pretty reliable across the board?

[starmonkey]

Check the Pistonheads R8 buying guide

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...

[Nedzilla]

KungFuPanda said:

If your budget is around £50k, you're obviously looking at leggy early models which won't fall into the Audi Approved Used programme. That's probably why they weren't all that helpful with you.

Edited by KungFuPanda on Thursday 25th December 11:25

Not necessarily. I bought a 2008 R8 earlier this year for just under £50k. The car is mint with only 16k miles on on the clock. I did my homework and bought privately though whilst looking I did see many up for sale with audi main dealers.
I've put 5k miles on it so far and so far only suffered a slight air con issue probably caused by lack of use.
Servicing can be set at 12/24 months depending on how you drive it and alternate between oil and inspection service.£500-£1000. Use a good indie and it will be far cheaper.
They are pretty heavy on juice and use a bit of oil but from what I've researched they are generally very reliable and certainly in my 8 months of owning one I wouldn't say they are an expensive car to run at all.

[Patrick Bateman]

Dampers don't have the same issues at the B7 RS4 do they?

[Nedzilla]

I have heard about issues with the mag ride dampers but this seems to be hit and miss. Some fail early some don't at all or maybe as there's just not that many R8s about you just don't hear about it.

How big of a problem is it with the RS4?

[Gregchiswell]

Got a service plan quote from customer services they would charge £43 a month which would include 3 services which I think is quite reasonable.

Moving on - I'm still really annoyed with my local audi for being so snobby! I certainly wouldn't expect to be talked to like they did..

[PositronicRay]

Gregchiswell said:

Got a service plan quote from customer services they would charge £43 a month which would include 3 services which I think is quite reasonable.

Moving on - I'm still really annoyed with my local audi for being so snobby! I certainly wouldn't expect to be talked to like they did..

Could have been one individual not the dealership.

Speak to the DP if you feel strongly, I bet they'll do some work for you then to find a car.

[anonymous-user]

Gregchiswell said:

Got a service plan quote from customer services they would charge £43 a month which would include 3 services which I think is quite reasonable.

Moving on - I'm still really annoyed with my local audi for being so snobby! I certainly wouldn't expect to be talked to like they did..

Dealers can be hit or miss. When I was looking for mine I called the local Audi dealer (Poole) and told them I was in the market for an R8. By the time they got back to me, I had travelled from Poole to Warrington and purchased one.

They looked after me fantastically well for servicing and warranty work though. (Although that may be because I met the dealer principle at a BBQ and told him about the sale they had missed out on )

[GetCarter]

Cost of warranty if not new, also tyres are a pain (cost). Servicing not much different per hour... but...

[gbbird]

You don't need to waste money with warranties etc. It's an audi, and they are very reliable indeed.

I have owned one for 4 years and it has cost me no more than other more normal cars I have owned.

[Little Lofty]

gbbird said:

You don't need to waste money with warranties etc. It's an audi, and they are very reliable indeed.

I have owned one for 4 years and it has cost me no more than other more normal cars I have owned.

The diff on mine exploded after I'd owned it for less than an hour, rare but not unheard of, warranty paid out £3.5k. I extended the warranty on mine when it expired

[gbbird]

Little Lofty said:

gbbird said:

You don't need to waste money with warranties etc. It's an audi, and they are very reliable indeed.

I have owned one for 4 years and it has cost me no more than other more normal cars I have owned.

The diff on mine exploded after I'd owned it for less than an hour, rare but not unheard of, warranty paid out £3.5k. I extended the warranty on mine when it expired

Bad luck sir, but that is definitely not the norm. An Audi will, 9.5 times out of 10 not suffer a serious malfunction such as that. Most modern cars will not.

We live in a society where people are encouraged to insure themselves against any possible risk, no matter how small that risk may be. The insurers must be laughing all the way to the bank

[GetCarter]

gbbird said:

Little Lofty said:

gbbird said:

You don't need to waste money with warranties etc. It's an audi, and they are very reliable indeed.

I have owned one for 4 years and it has cost me no more than other more normal cars I have owned.

The diff on mine exploded after I'd owned it for less than an hour, rare but not unheard of, warranty paid out £3.5k. I extended the warranty on mine when it expired

Bad luck sir, but that is definitely not the norm. An Audi will, 9.5 times out of 10 not suffer a serious malfunction such as that. Most modern cars will not.

We live in a society where people are encouraged to insure themselves against any possible risk, no matter how small that risk may be. The insurers must be laughing all the way to the bank

Having had an M3 gearbox lunch itself damaging lots of bits, costing £6,500 and the cost of a 911 tt X50 engine quoted at over £20,000, I wouldn't have dreamed of not insuring the R8, if beyond manufacturers own.

I never ever insure TVs, computers, washing machines etc... as the cost is disproportionate to the possible gain, but I wouldn't own a £50,000 - £80,000 sports car without warranty. The cost of insurance, though high, is nothing to the monumental cost of new engines.

Having said that, I've had lots of 'normal' Audis without any problem. But then I keep them under 150mph (just), and don't track them.

Still, you say you've had your R8 with no more cost than a normal car... what tyres do you use!? (Or do you not z rate?) These cost a LOT more than 'normal' tyres.

O/P hope that helps.

Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 27th December 15:34

[Gregchiswell]

I own a 38ft race yacht, I'm pretty hardened to catastrophic failures and personally don't insure for all risks - when you race a yacht that size you have upto £10/11k of sails up at any one time and a major cock up could see them in tatters within a few minutes! £150 bits of equipment going over the side etc etc And in any event sails are only ok for a couple of years at best so you get used to spending out on consumables and You can't insure against those things so tend to always try and think ahead and plan to reduce risks Hence why I am On the info gathering phase At the moment.

Thanks for your help so far!

[gbbird]

GetCarter said:

gbbird said:

Little Lofty said:

gbbird said:

You don't need to waste money with warranties etc. It's an audi, and they are very reliable indeed.

I have owned one for 4 years and it has cost me no more than other more normal cars I have owned.

The diff on mine exploded after I'd owned it for less than an hour, rare but not unheard of, warranty paid out £3.5k. I extended the warranty on mine when it expired

Bad luck sir, but that is definitely not the norm. An Audi will, 9.5 times out of 10 not suffer a serious malfunction such as that. Most modern cars will not.

We live in a society where people are encouraged to insure themselves against any possible risk, no matter how small that risk may be. The insurers must be laughing all the way to the bank

Having had an M3 gearbox lunch itself damaging lots of bits, costing £6,500 and the cost of a 911 tt X50 engine quoted at over £20,000, I wouldn't have dreamed of not insuring the R8, if beyond manufacturers own.

I never ever insure TVs, computers, washing machines etc... as the cost is disproportionate to the possible gain, but I wouldn't own a £50,000 - £80,000 sports car without warranty. The cost of insurance, though high, is nothing to the monumental cost of new engines.

Having said that, I've had lots of 'normal' Audis without any problem. But then I keep them under 150mph (just), and don't track them.

Still, you say you've had your R8 with no more cost than a normal car... what tyres do you use!? (Or do you not z rate?) These cost a LOT more than 'normal' tyres.

O/P hope that helps.

Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 27th December 15:34

I have gone through one change of tyres and yes they did cost more than average, but they are a consumable and I knew the cost of them when buying. Admittedly, I do not race or push my car to the limit, and maybe if I did I might consider a warranty. But for me one of the key points in my decision to buy a R8 was the audi badge and reputation for reliability. No matter how many horror stories one reads on Internet forums, catastrophic failures in modern German cars are very few and far between, perhaps exacerbated if used for racing, modded etc. Online we never hear of problem free cars, only the major issues, and so it is all rather disproportionate and misleading.

Yes there will be always those who have benefitted from a warranty,, but the majority of us will never need to call upon them. I don't know how much a decent warranty costs nowadays, but if we say £700 a year I have saved nearly £3k during my R8 ownership.