R8 Feedback, a year in to ownership of a used gen1

R8 Feedback, a year in to ownership of a used gen1

Author
Discussion

scoobyc

565 posts

231 months

Saturday 3rd November 2018
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luckyal said:
Thanks, very encouraging. Cannot wait to get the hunt underway properly!
I've sent you an email- might be worth keeping in touch wink

RSbandit

2,602 posts

132 months

Saturday 3rd November 2018
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I have my doubts the approved used Audi check is all that tbh...I bought a 2 yr old V10 plus in 2016 from an Audi dealer and after a month I noticed that the bonnet had been resprayed but the colour was ever so slightly different to the rest of the car...had to be under very bright lights to notice. When I raised it with them they said the car had some stone chips hence the respray, to be fair they got it sorted with another company who matched the correct shade exactly. Still I thought that it was a bit sloppy on their side in the first place. The car itself was spectacularly good and the engine is a masterpiece, properly exotic noise and performance. Changed to a V12VS over the summer which is a different proposition but needed to scratch the Aston itch...part of me still missed that howling V10 though!

RSbandit

2,602 posts

132 months

Saturday 3rd November 2018
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Attacking the Ring last yr, car was mighty round there

anonymous-user

54 months

Saturday 3rd November 2018
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Pretty sure they only care about new sales. And on finance (they make more money that way).

jakesmith

9,461 posts

171 months

Saturday 3rd November 2018
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RSbandit said:
I have my doubts the approved used Audi check is all that tbh...I bought a 2 yr old V10 plus in 2016 from an Audi dealer and after a month I noticed that the bonnet had been resprayed but the colour was ever so slightly different to the rest of the car...had to be under very bright lights to notice. When I raised it with them they said the car had some stone chips hence the respray, to be fair they got it sorted with another company who matched the correct shade exactly. Still I thought that it was a bit sloppy on their side in the first place. The car itself was spectacularly good and the engine is a masterpiece, properly exotic noise and performance. Changed to a V12VS over the summer which is a different proposition but needed to scratch the Aston itch...part of me still missed that howling V10 though!
I don’t think Audi Approved is really a structured program like the Porsche one. I seem to remember reading on here that it doesn’t include an inspection or repair program. So Audi doesn’t tell the dealers that tires under 3mm have to be replaced or more than 3 stone chips is a blow in etc.

Basically as long as it is new enough they wash their Audi PX cars and then sell them at a huge margin with a warranty and if there’s problems with the car it’s down to the warranty

This is what I read on here somewhere so I can’t vouch for it 100% but I did see it before

Nano2nd

3,426 posts

256 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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mehmehmeh said:
Pretty sure they only care about new sales. And on finance (they make more money that way).
what a business with a need to turn a profit - shocker!

NewNameNeeded

Original Poster:

2,560 posts

225 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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Nano2nd said:
mehmehmeh said:
Pretty sure they only care about new sales. And on finance (they make more money that way).
what a business with a need to turn a profit - shocker!
But not a strategy for retaining/repeat business. If I have no faith in Audi Used Approved I see no reason to pay a premium to obtain a car through that scheme, so take my money elsewhere. I may still buy an Audi, but perhaps I buy one outside of the dealer network. Perhaps I then get is serviced outside of that network too? From what I've read the Audi Used Approved scheme seems of lower value than comparible schemes from other manufacturers.

Atomic12C

5,180 posts

217 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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OP - the R8 is a great looking and performing car.
However, there was one engineering flaw with the gen1's - the issue of frame cracking. Have you had yours strengthened yet at the front?

Trev450

6,320 posts

172 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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Atomic12C said:
OP - the R8 is a great looking and performing car.
However, there was one engineering flaw with the gen1's - the issue of frame cracking. Have you had yours strengthened yet at the front?
It is an issue and certainly shouldn't be ignored, however from what I can ascertain, the number of cars this has occured on is very limited and appears to be caused by an outside influence - i.e. accident damage or a huge pothole.

NewNameNeeded

Original Poster:

2,560 posts

225 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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Atomic12C said:
However, there was one engineering flaw with the gen1's - the issue of frame cracking. Have you had yours strengthened yet at the front?
Thanks for that. In all the research and reading I did in to R8 ownership I didn't come across this issue even once. I'll go away and have another look. Mine's a 2012 car - so not sure if this was somethign Audi addressed through the life of the gen1. Thanks for raising this!

Atomic12C

5,180 posts

217 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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NewNameNeeded said:
Atomic12C said:
However, there was one engineering flaw with the gen1's - the issue of frame cracking. Have you had yours strengthened yet at the front?
Thanks for that. In all the research and reading I did in to R8 ownership I didn't come across this issue even once. I'll go away and have another look. Mine's a 2012 car - so not sure if this was somethign Audi addressed through the life of the gen1. Thanks for raising this!
2012 cars I think were addressed. I'm lead to believe it was only up to the 2011 models.

As mentioned above however, the numbers of failures are small and are likely caused by sudden suspension impacts (potholes, running over debris, or possibly even repeated weight loading - for example track driving, running over kerbs etc. - with low failure numbers its not likely that a full picture is yet achievable)

Worst case - If the frame does crack, the insurance company generally writes the car off, as the official repair requires removing the entire front frame and mating a new one to the car.

You'll be glad to know that the fix to prevent any frame cracking in the first place is quite a cheap process, only requires additional metal supports to be welded to the critical stress/shear points near where the front frame joins the bulk head.

A recent video from youtube will give an idea of what this is about - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOlvG1QbCDU


Just thought I post this to give you peace of mind. With the fix, the R8 looks pretty bullet proof.

NewNameNeeded

Original Poster:

2,560 posts

225 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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Atomic12C said:
Just thought I post this to give you peace of mind. With the fix, the R8 looks pretty bullet proof.
Really appreciated - thanks!