Audi r8 Spyder

[barriejames]

Well it's your call and I guess most of us are in that phase why else would we spend so much for a car when we can buy 5 new fiestas for the same money. Good luck which ever route you decide but I will always be in the 3k per year camp preserving the car for the next custodian long after I'm gone

[PompeyReece]

interstellar said:

barriejames said:

Do not buy an R8 if you need to do 17k miles per year and you are on a budget that would would cost you a cool 10k net a year approx thats if nothing major goes wrong

Are you just talking depreciation Barriejames?

Depreciation on an early R8 won't be that much. The difference between an 18,000 and 80,000 mile gen 1 V8 can be £10,000-£15,000.

However general servicing is annual or 10,000 miles whichever comes sooner. Minor service is £500, major service £1,000 plus anything else that needs doing which, if doing 17,000 miles PA, will certainly encourage things to come along sooner. Magnetic shocks are a £1,000 each (unless you get them refurbished from Poland for £350 each), discs and brakes are £2,500, gearbox £4,000, if the AC goes on a v8 it's an engine out job (£3,000?) so costs can mount up.

Think it would be great to start a thread on your experience of an R8 doing 17,000 miles a year!

[NewNameNeeded]

interstellar said:

I think it would be interesting to have a "heres my 17k daily driver R8 thread" and all the associated costs wouldn't it?

I'll keep you posted. My R8 is intended as a daily driver. I could afford to run something alongside it, but don't see the point. Life is too short to drive a 5 grand Golf diesel, when I've a V8 sports car waiting for me. I can't see any way running an R8 as a daily would approach 10 grand a year, but I'll provide periodic updates either way!

As for the gearbox - the below is part of a review I did on my initial impressions of R8 ownership:


I love the R Tronic, which it seems fashionable to hate. But like most of the rest of the car, it has taken a little time to get the best from it and realise how great it is. And maybe that’s the real issue – all the motoring journalists have slated it having only had an hour or two to get to know it?

To be fair it’s pretty poor in auto mode. You feel every gear change, and it’s hard to gauge when the car will change gear to lift off the gas to help smooth out the shifts. My wife suffers from motion sickness and those first few journeys in the car were not very pleasant experiences for her. And the best I could say is I could tolerate that jerky gear change.

But now I’ve learnt how to properly use the R Tronic (in manual) I think it suits the car much better than a full auto. I like the fact I need to lift off the gas to change gears smoothly. It means just that little bit more driver engagement. It wouldn’t be appropriate in a lot of cars, but in the R8, in the way I want to drive a car like that, I think it’s great.

So if you’re shopping for an R8 don’t discount a good car just because it has the R Tronic.

[barriejames]

If you can't see that driving an R8 17k miles a year would likely hit 10k then consider the fuel alone at way over 5k

[interstellar]

barriejames said:

If you can't see that driving an R8 17k miles a year would likely hit 10k then consider the fuel alone at way over 5k

I agree Barrie but I will get 90% of my fuel cost back through my company. I think we all have or want one for different reasons which is totally understandable when we all have different circumstances.

I totally get why you would want to drive it 3k per year, keep it pristine etc as its all about owning it but for some like me I intend to use mine as an only car, daily driver, weekend car and brace yourselves even use it to ferry my mountain bike around for weekends away.

[NewNameNeeded]

barriejames said:

If you can't see that driving an R8 17k miles a year would likely hit 10k then consider the fuel alone at way over 5k

Fair point on fuel, but hardly any worse than the TT roadster or Evoque I was running before.

[barriejames]

This is true it's just these are net figures which means earning 20k pre tax and NI to run the r8 for me that's a big chunk of salary on the car I have 2 other everyday cars so I guess that's another reason I will use the r8 rarely

[NewNameNeeded]

barriejames said:

This is true it's just these are net figures which means earning 20k pre tax and NI to run the r8 for me that's a big chunk of salary on the car I have 2 other everyday cars so I guess that's another reason I will use the r8 rarely

When you put it like that I might sell the R8 and get a bicycle.

[barriejames]

Ha ha ignore my rantings it was a long road to make the money to buy one I guess not easily forgotten

[Am43]

interstellar said:

I agree Barrie but I will get 90% of my fuel cost back through my company. I think we all have or want one for different reasons which is totally understandable when we all have different circumstances.

I totally get why you would want to drive it 3k per year, keep it pristine etc as its all about owning it but for some like me I intend to use mine as an only car, daily driver, weekend car and brace yourselves even use it to ferry my mountain bike around for weekends away.

Oh I like that, is that rs6 wheels ?

[Am43]

Damn. Just realised that’s a gem 2 car

[200Plus Club]

I'd like to do a few more miles in mine than 3k pa but it keeps insurance low and I also do 2k on my triumph thruxton. My daily driver gets about 10k pa (shed) and my mr2 Trackday car about 2-3k pa.
Is also love to read about a daily driver R8. Lots of em out there now at 60-90k miles

[Durzel]

interstellar said:

I'm in the "you only live once" phase at the moment. I do 17k a year and cant change that but these cars will disappear soon. I cant have it sat in the garage and run two cars so might as well drive the thing.



I think it would be interesting to have a "heres my 17k daily driver R8 thread" and all the associated costs wouldn't it?

I admire your spirit but the problem with driving it everyday, on mundane journeys, is that you could easily lose some of the magic of it. That would be a terrible shame on a car of this ilk.

[200Plus Club]

If you could drive daily on some country lanes to work how good would that be! Generally tho my commuting in Sheffield means anything from 6-15mph max average speed. Just frustration. I don't think personally I'd like to sit on motorways in an R8 daily either purely on cost. Good luck to the chap though it's certainly better than driving a Skoda diesel or vw golf to work.

[Durzel]

200Plus Club said:

If you could drive daily on some country lanes to work how good would that be! Generally tho my commuting in Sheffield means anything from 6-15mph max average speed. Just frustration. I don't think personally I'd like to sit on motorways in an R8 daily either purely on cost. Good luck to the chap though it's certainly better than driving a Skoda diesel or vw golf to work.

Driving down country roads used to lead to seriously sweaty back and puckered bum moments in the 458. Can only imagine R8 would be similar. Frankly it doesn't strike me as a country road kind of car but different strokes for different folks I suppose.

[200Plus Club]

Durzel said:

200Plus Club said:

If you could drive daily on some country lanes to work how good would that be! Generally tho my commuting in Sheffield means anything from 6-15mph max average speed. Just frustration. I don't think personally I'd like to sit on motorways in an R8 daily either purely on cost. Good luck to the chap though it's certainly better than driving a Skoda diesel or vw golf to work.

Driving down country roads used to lead to seriously sweaty back and puckered bum moments in the 458. Can only imagine R8 would be similar. Frankly it doesn't strike me as a country road kind of car but different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Fair point, probably Fast A roads etc rather than tight country lanes. last season i had some cracking drives over Saddleworth moor, to Huddersfield and back, and in that area. the R8 loved it.

[NewNameNeeded]

Durzel said:

Driving down country roads used to lead to seriously sweaty back and puckered bum moments in the 458. Can only imagine R8 would be similar. Frankly it doesn't strike me as a country road kind of car but different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Perhaps depends on the country roads. I wouldn't fancy pushing it down narrow dry stone wall lined lanes in Devon/the Lakes. But I find it plenty fine for the North Essex countryside. No fighting with it. And it's not a particularly wide car.

[interstellar]

This is the first sub 30k R8 I have seen or am I wrong?

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

[supercommuter]

interstellar said:

This is the first sub 30k R8 I have seen or am I wrong?

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

Think they will be sat with that for a while!

I will guess they maybe paid £20K trade for that. For 6-8k more on top of ask you can get one with 40 percent less mileage!

[Shnozz]

interstellar said:

I agree Barrie but I will get 90% of my fuel cost back through my company. I think we all have or want one for different reasons which is totally understandable when we all have different circumstances.

I totally get why you would want to drive it 3k per year, keep it pristine etc as its all about owning it but for some like me I intend to use mine as an only car, daily driver, weekend car and brace yourselves even use it to ferry my mountain bike around for weekends away.

Brilliant! Love that.