Audi R8 Advice
Discussion
MrReg said:
Sounds like I had a bad one after reading all these posts.
Had mine for about 2.5years, did about 25k miles I think.
2012 V8 Manual Spyder.
Oil cooler and front shocks fixed under warranty. Took about 3wks to get the parts in so was off the road.
1000miles later OSF shock went. Audi wouldn't cover as was now out of warranty.
Both rear shocks went.
NSF Front shock went again.
Roof failed when down. Audi Camberley wanted £600 to look at it, not to fix.
Needed a new roof motor.
OSF shock went again.
Rear shocks were starting to mist again...so I got rid.
Would I have another Audi - No.
If you do a lot of miles (>5k miles a year), these cars are not as reliable as a standard car. The adaptive dampers are an absolute joke! Had mine for about 2.5years, did about 25k miles I think.
2012 V8 Manual Spyder.
Oil cooler and front shocks fixed under warranty. Took about 3wks to get the parts in so was off the road.
1000miles later OSF shock went. Audi wouldn't cover as was now out of warranty.
Both rear shocks went.
NSF Front shock went again.
Roof failed when down. Audi Camberley wanted £600 to look at it, not to fix.
Needed a new roof motor.
OSF shock went again.
Rear shocks were starting to mist again...so I got rid.
Would I have another Audi - No.
When I had my first V10 R8, I was doing over 12k miles per year and had quite a few issues with it (including failed dampers! despite buying a low mileage example). When I bought my second r8 V10, I went for the plus model with the fixed damper. But again, I was using it to commute to work and had some issues doing over 10k miles a year. For the last couple of years, I only used it for the weekend and the occasional business trip (<3k miles a year) and bingo...no problems.
I might have been unlucky twice but I think the R8 is a bit fragile...but the NA V10 howling @ 8000+ rpm makes up for every issue you may have.
Another very positive experience here.
I've had my 2013 V10 Spyder S Tromic since November. FASH and covered 21k. In it's life, nothing has gone wrong with it and nothing is wrong with it now, but I do have the Audi extended warranty (approx £1k pa, no claim limit) on it.
When I was looking, I wanted a Facelift V10 and ideally a Spyder. The Facelift has quite a few mechanical changes, such as stainless oil pipes and radiators (an eventual replacement is required on pre 2012 cars) and the all important S Tronic gearbox. The gearbox is superb and suits the car perfectly. In Sport mose or when using the paddles it is an animal, barking on every downchange and holding on right up to 8700rpm. Changes are lightning quick and always smooth. Sport also changes the exhaust to a deeper, louder note. This turns into an F1 howl as the rpm climb over 5k. In non Sport mode it is quiet, super smooth and your mother would be happy driving to the High St in it.
At first the car feels big wide, but it seems to shrink the more you press on and you really do feel part of it when 'enjoying' your favourite roads. You can be very aggressive before the stability management starts to intrude and mild oversteer on power is easy to generate in the lower gears. People have had problems with Magrides but it is an amazing suspension system. Why you would ditch it for £1200 of cheap coilovers is beyond me.
As others have said, the reactions it generates have all been positive. From kids pointing (I always wave back) to people lowering their windows on the motorway in order to listen as you pass. Even with the roof down, it is comfortable on a motorway at typical UK speeds. I don't use it every day (I have another fast Audi for that) but typical do one commute and one weekend fun drive each week. Because of this, every drive still feels special.
Mine has just had it's 7th service and it's latest MOT. No faults and no advisories. My local dealer is an R8 centre and the technician showed he knew the cars well, in the video report.
If it's a pre 2013 car, check the oil cooler and feed pipes have been changed (this is a £1k job). Other than that, an inspection will throw up any maintenance required. Walk away from neglected cars, especially cars with big holes in the history. This, for me, suggests the owners thought maintenance was the next person's problem. High owner count cars seem to be the worst for this. The internet is full of US owners retelling stories of failed AC pumps but RE Performance say they have never seen an AC pump fail on a UK R8. Ricky Elder is probably the most knowledgeable UK technician on these cars, so he should know.
Mine is the best car I've ever owned and it is everything I hoped it would be. If you are lucky enough to be able to buy one... then do so. Look at a few. Look for a car that has a full history, ideally with an R8 Centre or with someone like RE Performance.
I've had my 2013 V10 Spyder S Tromic since November. FASH and covered 21k. In it's life, nothing has gone wrong with it and nothing is wrong with it now, but I do have the Audi extended warranty (approx £1k pa, no claim limit) on it.
When I was looking, I wanted a Facelift V10 and ideally a Spyder. The Facelift has quite a few mechanical changes, such as stainless oil pipes and radiators (an eventual replacement is required on pre 2012 cars) and the all important S Tronic gearbox. The gearbox is superb and suits the car perfectly. In Sport mose or when using the paddles it is an animal, barking on every downchange and holding on right up to 8700rpm. Changes are lightning quick and always smooth. Sport also changes the exhaust to a deeper, louder note. This turns into an F1 howl as the rpm climb over 5k. In non Sport mode it is quiet, super smooth and your mother would be happy driving to the High St in it.
At first the car feels big wide, but it seems to shrink the more you press on and you really do feel part of it when 'enjoying' your favourite roads. You can be very aggressive before the stability management starts to intrude and mild oversteer on power is easy to generate in the lower gears. People have had problems with Magrides but it is an amazing suspension system. Why you would ditch it for £1200 of cheap coilovers is beyond me.
As others have said, the reactions it generates have all been positive. From kids pointing (I always wave back) to people lowering their windows on the motorway in order to listen as you pass. Even with the roof down, it is comfortable on a motorway at typical UK speeds. I don't use it every day (I have another fast Audi for that) but typical do one commute and one weekend fun drive each week. Because of this, every drive still feels special.
Mine has just had it's 7th service and it's latest MOT. No faults and no advisories. My local dealer is an R8 centre and the technician showed he knew the cars well, in the video report.
If it's a pre 2013 car, check the oil cooler and feed pipes have been changed (this is a £1k job). Other than that, an inspection will throw up any maintenance required. Walk away from neglected cars, especially cars with big holes in the history. This, for me, suggests the owners thought maintenance was the next person's problem. High owner count cars seem to be the worst for this. The internet is full of US owners retelling stories of failed AC pumps but RE Performance say they have never seen an AC pump fail on a UK R8. Ricky Elder is probably the most knowledgeable UK technician on these cars, so he should know.
Mine is the best car I've ever owned and it is everything I hoped it would be. If you are lucky enough to be able to buy one... then do so. Look at a few. Look for a car that has a full history, ideally with an R8 Centre or with someone like RE Performance.
The throttle response is a bit soft / delayed / crap so I just bought a sprint booster for £175 as I remembered on my 997 the ‘sport’ mode that massively sharpens throttle response made it much nicer to drive especially if you heel and toe or blip on downshifts.
It is a dramatic improvement to the car.
I know there are always people who get a car that is very reliable and cheap to run and those who don’t. Mine is the latter and has cost me an absolute fortune in 2 years. Get a very detailed inspection is my recommendation, I wish I had I’d have saved thousands.
It is a dramatic improvement to the car.
I know there are always people who get a car that is very reliable and cheap to run and those who don’t. Mine is the latter and has cost me an absolute fortune in 2 years. Get a very detailed inspection is my recommendation, I wish I had I’d have saved thousands.
Denno B said:
Anyone have experience of the gen 2 cars, have the known issues from previous generation cars been rectified?
The main issues affecting R8 are:Subframe cracks (extremely rare and fixed prior to the gen 1 facelift)
Air con compressor failure (extremely rare and only a problem that was an issue on the V8 as it was almost impossible to change without removing the engine)
Oil pipe corrosion (fixed within gen 1)
Engine coking (requires a £400 clean every 30,000ish miles so no big deal and I believe still affects Gen 2)
Mag ride shock failure - don’t know the status of this on gen 2. I bought a gen 1 car and went for one without this system to avoid the issue.
Edge corrosion on bonnet (I believe was an issue on the v early 2008 cars)
jakesmith said:
The main issues affecting R8 are:
Subframe cracks (extremely rare and fixed prior to the gen 1 facelift)
Air con compressor failure (extremely rare and only a problem that was an issue on the V8 as it was almost impossible to change without removing the engine)
Oil pipe corrosion (fixed within gen 1)
Engine coking (requires a £400 clean every 30,000ish miles so no big deal and I believe still affects Gen 2)
Mag ride shock failure - don’t know the status of this on gen 2. I bought a gen 1 car and went for one without this system to avoid the issue.
Edge corrosion on bonnet (I believe was an issue on the v early 2008 cars)
Thanks for the response, would be interesting to know if the mag ride has been sorted on gen 2 cars.Subframe cracks (extremely rare and fixed prior to the gen 1 facelift)
Air con compressor failure (extremely rare and only a problem that was an issue on the V8 as it was almost impossible to change without removing the engine)
Oil pipe corrosion (fixed within gen 1)
Engine coking (requires a £400 clean every 30,000ish miles so no big deal and I believe still affects Gen 2)
Mag ride shock failure - don’t know the status of this on gen 2. I bought a gen 1 car and went for one without this system to avoid the issue.
Edge corrosion on bonnet (I believe was an issue on the v early 2008 cars)
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