First Lambo- Gallardo purchase

[ElanS]

Hello All, I am looking to purchase my first lambo in the shape of a Gallardo. I have been reading up on a lot on the web and forums. I currently have a 997.1 Turbo manual and a 996 C4. I am hoping to part ex the C4 towards the Gallardo and still keep the Turbo. I have never owned an Italian exotic and always loved the Lambo, the dream car would be the Murci but that's out of my budget. The budget is max £90K (inc £13k part ex).

I have viewed a couple of cars, first one was a blue 2008 pre LP egear car with 24k miles, which had a bit of rust. I have ruled this one out for now.

The second car is late 2008 LP egear car with 30k miles. Most of the mileage of around 12k was done over 6 months. I assume some kind of European trip? It did have service twice that year. Will this put you off buying the car?

I am hoping to buy the variant with the least depreciation so any advice on if I should buy coupe or spyder? Are there any advantage to buying a older manual v the LP egear car?

Thanks in advance and sorry for newbie questions.

[Larry5.2]

Later LP Gallardos had a lot of influence from Audi, so they are pretty much bulletproof. If an R8 is good for tens of thousands of mile or even over 100k, then why not the LP Gallardo?

Having said that. there are a couple for sale at Premier GT in Sussex right now, one quite low mileage...

[Vergis]

Definately go for the LP version.

Higher miles is not a problem.

Even 12k in 1 year as long as it has been services. Long journeys are kinder to the engine.

Parts are also easier to find as the are similiar to the R8

[ElanS]

Thanks. What do you guys think of these two cars:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[70proof]

of the two you've linked, i'd go for the grey car. both lovely cars but the interior of the grey wins hands down for me.

busy tonite, i'll comment more on whats out there some time this week....

had both a late pre-lp and lp...... been discussed loads, firstly, do looks matter to you, they are different....

late pre-lp cars are very reliable.... my old one is over 40k miles now, and hasnt missed a beat.... they sound better esp at the 3-4k rev range when they give a v8 barble, as they are not direct injection.... my old car on stock exhaust hit 128db at the exhaust tips!!

lp cars are defo more useable in town and as a daily driver.... i have 0%, yes ZERO clutch wear after 2.5k miles and ive not done any long trips and constantly downchange when i can to get the blip of throttle, entry into and out of garage is very slow too as inches to spare. having said that my first car was still on its first clutch at 35k miles too!

Edited by 70proof on Tuesday 22 May 19:49

[Superleg48]

I have a Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera and it is awesome! I drive it rather than look at it and it has never missed a beat in nearly 2 years of my ownership. It is a 2011 Car which had 10k miles on it when I drove it from the Dealer and now has nearly 17k. Ok so no inter-galactic mileage (there is a chap on here who’s G has passed 100k miles!) but regular ish use and usually longish journeys on variable roads, as opposed to pottering about.

Mileage no issue, provided serviced on schedule. I like the eGear, but top tip is to drive it like a manual. Feather throttle on upshifts, don’t ride the clutch and crawl in traffic, use paddle shift all the time and in Sport Mode to keep shifts quick and slick. Many threads on clutch preservation techniques, but I too have seen little wear over the last couple of years. Some scare stories out there I think. Not a great drive in Auto mode, but I don’t think it was ever intended to be “automatic” in the traditional sense of the word. More a semi auto/clutch-pedal-less manual. Lol

It is pure theatre and smiles per mile are huge! Sound is unreal at full chat, especially with non stock exhaust...Super Trofeo for me but others are available. Capristo, Larini, Akroporvic etc.

Hope you find one and enjoy it like I do!

[Superleg48]

ElanS said:

Thanks. What do you guys think of these two cars:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I would go grey too...

[nbot]

hi there,
I am looking to potentially sell my 2011 LP560 - 4 bicolore, if you are interested, spec wins hands down on the two you are looking at IMHO and its in immaculate condition - let me know if you are interested, it will be listed on Piston heads in the coming days.

cheers,
Nico

Edited by nbot on Wednesday 23 May 11:20

[The Selfish Gene]

beautiful cars - do you guys have an issue with the soft top version?

[ElanS]

Thanks for the advice guys, very useful. I am leaning towards LP so its "softer" to drive. The looks wise, I find the back end is prettier on the LP cars.

The blue one I went to see had a Quicksilver exhaust which I found to be too loud. I was just concerned there could have been some issues with the car and I couldn't hear it over the exhaust. Also it was 2008 (58) registered car and I thought the LP cars came in 2009? The engine size was 5l rather than 5.2 on the V5, even though it has the LP bumpers etc.

Nico, I would be interested in the car but not sure if its within my budget. Thanks

[nbot]

Just tried to private message you, but i think your settings are switched off, it didn't allow me to send you a message - if you send me a message through the system we can have a chat.

cheers,
Nico

[ElanS]

The grey one has a better service record with annual service and lower mileage. The dark blue one did look great in the flesh. Is cream interior undesirable?

Nico, I have updated my PM settings.

[nbot]

Awesome, just dropped you a private message.

cheers.

[70proof]

ElanS said:

Thanks for the advice guys, very useful. I am leaning towards LP so its "softer" to drive. The looks wise, I find the back end is prettier on the LP cars.

The blue one I went to see had a Quicksilver exhaust which I found to be too loud. I was just concerned there could have been some issues with the car and I couldn't hear it over the exhaust. Also it was 2008 (58) registered car and I thought the LP cars came in 2009? The engine size was 5l rather than 5.2 on the V5, even though it has the LP bumpers etc.

Nico, I would be interested in the car but not sure if its within my budget. Thanks

wouldnt say the LP is softer to drive, it just copes with town a lot better... the pre-lp car is like a caged tiger in town! perfectly doable but LP much better in traffic...

looks are subjective, i prefer the LP too...

if its got corsa mode on the auto gearbox buttons, then its an lp car..... the v5 probably reflects the dvla's data being incorrect... preLP cars did not have a corsa button/mode

lp was released 2008, would have been one of earliest LP cars....

issue would be not so much the cream leather, but the contrasting blue interior... just too light a blue for me.... imho.

[70proof]

read this.... note what coyft says....

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

good luck

[Never you mind]

70proof said:

of the two you've linked, i'd go for the grey car. both lovely cars but the interior of the grey wins hands down for me.

busy tonite, i'll comment more on whats out there some time this week....

had both a late pre-lp and lp...... been discussed loads, firstly, do looks matter to you, they are different....

late pre-lp cars are very reliable.... my old one is over 40k miles now, and hasnt missed a beat.... they sound better esp at the 3-4k rev range when they give a v8 barble, as they are not direct injection.... my old car on stock exhaust hit 128db at the exhaust tips!!

lp cars are defo more useable in town and as a daily driver.... i have 0%, yes ZERO clutch wear after 2.5k miles and ive not done any long trips and constantly downchange when i can to get the blip of throttle, entry into and out of garage is very slow too as inches to spare. having said that my first car was still on its first clutch at 35k miles too!

Edited by 70proof on Tuesday 22 May 19:49

You still got your green mistress?

ZERO clutch wear? Really? I have .5% but then again mine is a proper pain in the arris to get it in and out of the garage.

OP, out of the 2 you have linked I would go for the grey one. Better service history and better interior.

IF you do get one just wait till you start it up when it's cold. Very loud, sounds awesome though my piss taking friendly neighbour says it sounds like a tractor.

[ElanS]

70proof, thanks for the advice and links which are very useful.

never you mind, we cant chose our neighbors Fortunately my neighbor's kids love cars.

Are there any variant of Gallardos within my budget that will depreciate less? I am hoping its a long term purchase.

Quite enjoying the search process!

[Never you mind]

ElanS said:

70proof, thanks for the advice and links which are very useful.

never you mind, we cant chose our neighbors Fortunately my neighbor's kids love cars.

Are there any variant of Gallardos within my budget that will depreciate less? I am hoping its a long term purchase.

Quite enjoying the search process!

Best advice I can give you is get the best one you can afford with a good service history. Might be worth speaking to Craig a Lamborghini Pangbourne and see if he has anything or knows of anything that is in your price range. Great people to deal with.

[Larry5.2]

The special editions will hold their value better and probably increase, e.g. Superleggeras, LP560-2, and LP550-2 especially in manual.

[70proof]

okay, what will depreciate less.....

currently appreciating are the manual cars, balboni cars
holding steady are the superleggera/performante
falling fastest, the 2013 facelift lp560-4 cars


some numbers for ya, factual..... in 2014 i sold a late 2007 MY08 coupe for 80k privately, a 2011 auto 550-2 could be had for 100k, a 2012 gen II superleggera was 130-135k

for your budget, would i get a early manual as they are appreciating..... no, there were year on year improvements which improved reliablity, preMY06 were 500bhp, post MY06 cars were 520bhp.... if you can get a manual post 06 within budget, this is the way to go, assuming manuals remain desired...
but, then you need to ask yourself would you enjoy driving a manual.