R8...owner experiences please!
Discussion
Forgive me in advance if this has been done many times before, but Im lazy and like to get current opinions rather than use the search facility(before someone helpfully suggests that)
Im looking at getting an Audi R8. They seem to be well liked by owners, look good, seem to go well enough and have a certain amount of X factor which means residuals are strong, and hopefully they wont costs the earth to run.
Im looking at the earlier cars, probably an 08 manual. I’m aware that they vary a lot in terms of spec, but I assume that the ‘must haves’ are satnav, B&O, reverse camera etc.
Is lack of mag ride a deal breaker?
Ive also noticed that most have a fair few pervious owners, which I guess is part of the junior supercar experience.
As a bit of background Ive been fortunate enoiught to own a long string of performance cars such as 5 x M3s, M5, GTR, 997, C63, 535d x2, cayenne V8, etc etc, so I am well accustomed to high running costs etc
So Id be most grateful to hear your thoughts on an early R8 folks.
Im looking at getting an Audi R8. They seem to be well liked by owners, look good, seem to go well enough and have a certain amount of X factor which means residuals are strong, and hopefully they wont costs the earth to run.
Im looking at the earlier cars, probably an 08 manual. I’m aware that they vary a lot in terms of spec, but I assume that the ‘must haves’ are satnav, B&O, reverse camera etc.
Is lack of mag ride a deal breaker?
Ive also noticed that most have a fair few pervious owners, which I guess is part of the junior supercar experience.
As a bit of background Ive been fortunate enoiught to own a long string of performance cars such as 5 x M3s, M5, GTR, 997, C63, 535d x2, cayenne V8, etc etc, so I am well accustomed to high running costs etc
So Id be most grateful to hear your thoughts on an early R8 folks.
turboman786 said:
Forgive me in advance if this has been done many times before, but Im lazy and like to get current opinions rather than use the search facility(before someone helpfully suggests that)
Im looking at getting an Audi R8. They seem to be well liked by owners, look good, seem to go well enough and have a certain amount of X factor which means residuals are strong, and hopefully they wont costs the earth to run.
Im looking at the earlier cars, probably an 08 manual. I’m aware that they vary a lot in terms of spec, but I assume that the ‘must haves’ are satnav, B&O, reverse camera etc.
Is lack of mag ride a deal breaker?
Ive also noticed that most have a fair few pervious owners, which I guess is part of the junior supercar experience.
As a bit of background Ive been fortunate enoiught to own a long string of performance cars such as 5 x M3s, M5, GTR, 997, C63, 535d x2, cayenne V8, etc etc, so I am well accustomed to high running costs etc
So Id be most grateful to hear your thoughts on an early R8 folks.
I've had a 2008 manual for a year now having come from a GTR and despite not being in the same league in terms of performance I am very happy with it. Mine is a very well specced car and I suppose the more options you have the better come resale time though that would be up to yourself what options you require and what you would be happy with.Im looking at getting an Audi R8. They seem to be well liked by owners, look good, seem to go well enough and have a certain amount of X factor which means residuals are strong, and hopefully they wont costs the earth to run.
Im looking at the earlier cars, probably an 08 manual. I’m aware that they vary a lot in terms of spec, but I assume that the ‘must haves’ are satnav, B&O, reverse camera etc.
Is lack of mag ride a deal breaker?
Ive also noticed that most have a fair few pervious owners, which I guess is part of the junior supercar experience.
As a bit of background Ive been fortunate enoiught to own a long string of performance cars such as 5 x M3s, M5, GTR, 997, C63, 535d x2, cayenne V8, etc etc, so I am well accustomed to high running costs etc
So Id be most grateful to hear your thoughts on an early R8 folks.
Regarding the mag ride,mine has it and it is very good and I've also read on many occasions that it is 'the' must have option but what a lot of people dot know is that the dampers are very prone to leaking in some cases in less than 10k miles and cost £830 each for the part alone!
My car has covered 23k miles and my OS front is now knocking and has been for a while now so beware! It is a bit hit and miss as to when they go,I've read a lot about it on R8 talk and it's very obviously an issue so check MOTs as leaking shocks is usually a failure or advisory at the very least.
Mines going in for a service soon so I'm going to see what Audi have to say about it. Not really on as the car hasn't even gone through a set of brake pads from the factory yet!
Other than that,no problems. Servicing alternates between oil service and inspection and can be put on ether 12 or 24 months longlife servicing depending how your drive/miles etc. Personally I'm sticking to 12 month/10k miles servicing as I only do mainly short journeys. Expect 15-20 mpg and tyres,brakes etc should be similar in cost to the other cars you've owned.
I've just bought on 11 plate V10 Spyder.
Love it.
I bought one with all the options inc:
Mag
B&O
Carbon pack
Reverse cam
F&R Sensors
and unusually Cruise which was an option at new.
It was a tad more expensive, and took a while longer to find one in the spec and colour i liked (Suzuka Grey) but IMHO its worth it.
I know your looking at an 08 but if you buy right, it'll be worth it.
Interesting note above re the shocks, mines just had a major service and an MOT but the front right still feels like the anti roll bar or a bush is worn so was going to get that checked out.
High number of owners isnt unusual (especially for Spyders) as people tend to buy and run for a season then get rid - I'm the 4th owner of mine.
Love it.
I bought one with all the options inc:
Mag
B&O
Carbon pack
Reverse cam
F&R Sensors
and unusually Cruise which was an option at new.
It was a tad more expensive, and took a while longer to find one in the spec and colour i liked (Suzuka Grey) but IMHO its worth it.
I know your looking at an 08 but if you buy right, it'll be worth it.
Interesting note above re the shocks, mines just had a major service and an MOT but the front right still feels like the anti roll bar or a bush is worn so was going to get that checked out.
High number of owners isnt unusual (especially for Spyders) as people tend to buy and run for a season then get rid - I'm the 4th owner of mine.
I haven't had my V10 Coupe for long but overall they seem a well put together car with a few well known issues. Mag shocks as mentioned above and from my pre-buying research it's not unheard of to have air-con issues and a few squeaks and rattles (high level brake light and heat shields coming loose). I believe these are covered by warranty.
I specifically looked for a car with the extended leather as I thought the plastic dash didn't do the interior any favours, full leather with contrast stitching really makes the interior IMO. Rear visibility when parking isn't great and I rely on the rear view camera quite a bit. The B&O stereo is pretty good and I've read on R8Talk a few people say the standard one is poor.
I bought from Audi and it didn't take a lot of negotiation to get 2 years warranty which puts my mind at rest.
I found R8 Talk had a load of information and is well worth spending some time on.
I haven't had a chance to really push the car too much yet but it is a good drive and I'm surprised how much positive attention it gets, you can rarely fill up without someone coming over and commenting on the car!
I specifically looked for a car with the extended leather as I thought the plastic dash didn't do the interior any favours, full leather with contrast stitching really makes the interior IMO. Rear visibility when parking isn't great and I rely on the rear view camera quite a bit. The B&O stereo is pretty good and I've read on R8Talk a few people say the standard one is poor.
I bought from Audi and it didn't take a lot of negotiation to get 2 years warranty which puts my mind at rest.
I found R8 Talk had a load of information and is well worth spending some time on.
I haven't had a chance to really push the car too much yet but it is a good drive and I'm surprised how much positive attention it gets, you can rarely fill up without someone coming over and commenting on the car!
This recent thread which I started has some very helpful tips from owners:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... - single garage advice and buying tips please....
As mentioned in that thread, I've just bought an 08 manual car and so far I'm very pleased.
Spec will be entirely down to your preferences. For me, the must-haves were B&O (which I think sounds really good), nav, mag ride and parking sensors (due to restricted visibility). "Nice to haves" for me were cruise control, heated seats and the lighting pack (engine bay lighting). You'll find that most cars were quite well spec'd from new.
My research suggests that a non-mag ride car is still terrific, but needs to be priced accordingly (as it will need to be cheaper on re-sale).
Residuals seem to be strong, with early cars selling quickly at good prices at the moment (indeed, I think, a touch higher than last year).
R8 talk appears to be a very extensive source of information, albeit largely US based.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... - single garage advice and buying tips please....
As mentioned in that thread, I've just bought an 08 manual car and so far I'm very pleased.
Spec will be entirely down to your preferences. For me, the must-haves were B&O (which I think sounds really good), nav, mag ride and parking sensors (due to restricted visibility). "Nice to haves" for me were cruise control, heated seats and the lighting pack (engine bay lighting). You'll find that most cars were quite well spec'd from new.
My research suggests that a non-mag ride car is still terrific, but needs to be priced accordingly (as it will need to be cheaper on re-sale).
Residuals seem to be strong, with early cars selling quickly at good prices at the moment (indeed, I think, a touch higher than last year).
R8 talk appears to be a very extensive source of information, albeit largely US based.
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