Advice on buying an 04 Gallardo

[MrShabba]

Hi guys,

I'm after some advice please especially from owners of early Gallardos. After seemingly months spent trawling forums and classifieds, going back and forth between cars (I considered an R8 for a while) I've decided I NEED a manual Gallardo coupe in my life.

I've been to look at an 04 car and after spending a good amount of time examining and test driving it I was pretty happy. I noticed that 2nd was a little hard to get into from cold but that's a common thing I'd read about. Service records and receipts are all there, it's been looked after mainly by Lamborghini and more recently a specialist.

I decided before taking the plunge to get a PPI performed, following advice I read by 70proof I arranged to have it done at Lamborghini. I had the report back today and a few things concern me so I wanted to see what you guys think on whether any are potential deal breakers.

The feedback mainly covered areas of corrosion which I was told is normal for 10 year old car. However these items are more serious:

- Play evident in NSF bottom ball joint
- Oil leak evident from OS of engine, possibly from crank case area, further investigation required
- Oil leak evident from oil filter housing & feed pipe
- Creaking noise from front of vehicle when driving over uneven surface
- Knocking noise from rear of vehicle when driving
- Clutch pedal heavy & bite point slightly high

Oil leaks and knocking noise are obviously main concerns. I've been reading on another forum that small leaks are again quite common with the Gallardos and usually down to seals - is this something anyone has experience of?

The guy on the phone said they'd need to investigate the knocking further to find out the cause - anyone had experience with that?

I asked him whether I should walk away and he said he couldn't answer that! But did say he's seen cars with a lot more on the list than that and with lower miles.

What do you think? Are these things I should try and get the dealer to rectify or just walk away?

Thanks in advance!

Edited by MrShabba on Wednesday 11th February 17:15

[TISPKJ]

I guess like with all things how much is the car ? You need to potentially factor in the cost of repairs in the price.
Only other thing I would say is whilst some issues may not concern you now when you sell they will be picked up in the next ppi and you may well end up paying one way or the other anyway.
Out of interest how many miles ?

[MrShabba]

The car is mid 60s and like you say I don't want to have to spend thousands on it so I may need to knock them down further if I went for it.

It's done 30k miles, clutch was replaced 10k miles ago.

I've just been looking at what else is in my price range and manuals really are few and far between. I've decided I'm going to test drive a local E-Gear tomorrow just to see how they compare. I've only ever driven one other auto (F-Type) and I've always preferred manuals, but maybe it's time to embrace the way things are going!

[70proof]

i would discuss this report with mike pullen at Carrera sports or backdraft motorsport or bhp buckingamshire.

[pje1210]

- Play evident in NSF bottom ball joint
- Oil leak evident from OS of engine, possibly from crank case area, further investigation required
- Oil leak evident from oil filter housing & feed pipe

Oil leaks and knocking noise are obviously main concerns. I've been reading on another forum that small leaks are again quite common with the Gallardos and usually down to seals - is this something anyone has experienced

Hi,

Both oil leaks mentioned above are common issues, mine had the filter housing leak when I bought it, the seals as you mentioned are the issue, the filter housing seal is a few hours work, part is pennies, the crank casing leak could be a bit more of an issue, but again nothing major I think
Ball joints are again common, about £500 a corner to fix, I would be more concerned with the knocking noises, I don't know how much the dealer would want to spend out in the car, they normally don't like spending out!!!

Hope that helps with a few

[theRossatron]

I thought the point of a PPI was to find the problems not point out the obvious "car makes a strange noise - no idea what it is mate!"

[M8SWE]

Did you have the issues resolved with the dealer and buy the Gallardo?

[MrShabba]

Sorry for late reply - after speaking to a few specialists (thanks for the suggestions 70proof) I decided not to go for that one.

If you're spending that sort of money it has to be as near to perfect as possible I think!