Audi R8 V8 advice
Discussion
davek_964 said:
That raises an interesting point about R8s that I've never considered.
With Ferrari / Lamborghini / McLaren etc there is a decent network of specialists (McLaren is obviously fairly new but is growing).
There are Audi specialists (we own 2 Audi's) - but I would expect that Audi specialist doesn't necessarily equal R8 specialist. So how is the servicing on R8s - do you generally have to rely on Audi (who I'd also think have limited experience) or are there people who really do know these cars?
I'm lucky to have a very good indy (VAG specialist) who not only have reasonable hourly rates, but are honest, and know what they are doing. Without them, Audi would have bankrupted me ( they quoted £10k to fix an oil leak (engine out !) that's cost me, £500 at my indy - engine in!). I've taken my car to Audi who claim they use an R8 specialist - was a spotty teen who seemed to know less than me about the car.....With Ferrari / Lamborghini / McLaren etc there is a decent network of specialists (McLaren is obviously fairly new but is growing).
There are Audi specialists (we own 2 Audi's) - but I would expect that Audi specialist doesn't necessarily equal R8 specialist. So how is the servicing on R8s - do you generally have to rely on Audi (who I'd also think have limited experience) or are there people who really do know these cars?
My indy does my annual service, which in most cases is just oil and filters. I'd do it myself but its just too low to work under - all floor pans have to come off and there are 4 oil drain holes....
The biggest challenge is the mid engine layout for my indy - that and I have the soft top so the roof is in the way a lot of the time. They just replaced two oil pipes and whilst the parts were pricey - £135+vat for one, £350 plus vat for the other, the labour was painful as it was a nightmare of a job with the engine in apparently. £1435 all in. All to change these:
4 years in and I've spent, roughly
2 x £380 services (other two coincided with oil leaks, so they did the oil anyhow and did filters too )
1 x £2200 masive waste of money not fixing the below oil leak at Audi main dealer. Never again (and replacing an idler that may or may not have needed doing)
1 x £550 oil leak repair, indy (Audi quoted £10k plus parts)
1 x £1425 oil leak repair, indy
2 in warranty (indy extended warranty from car dealer) repairs FOC - door central locking mech, and also front fan wiring fault. Neither were huge jobs if I'd have had to pay
2 Front tyres in year 1 - £500
2 Rears last year - £600 (I only do about 2k miles a year)
1 x Cruise upgrade £60 parts, £222 for VCDS with 3 licenses (I use on my Yeti too so really its half that cost)
2 x front discs, and pads, self fitted, non-OEM discs, Brembo pads - £706
So all in, around £6,643, or £1,660 a year. If I'd not been foolish enough to go to Audi and pretty much throw away £2200 then it would be £1,110 a year. Not to bad for a Hurracan engined "sleeper" of sorts. The most amazing car I've ever owned, hands down. The oil leaks seem to be the achilies heel for me - I don't' use her enough, and she's 15 years old now.
I'm off to Strasbourg this summer , hence the retroi cruise control fitting! try and keep my car out of teh French coppers' hands (mind you I'll be driving across the top then down, Belgium, Lux, Germany, France)
Griffith4ever said:
4 years in and I've spent, roughly
2 x £380 services (other two coincided with oil leaks, so they did the oil anyhow and did filters too )
1 x £2200 masive waste of money not fixing the below oil leak at Audi main dealer. Never again (and replacing an idler that may or may not have needed doing)
1 x £550 oil leak repair, indy (Audi quoted £10k plus parts)
1 x £1425 oil leak repair, indy
I had a Norton Commando that was more oil tight then that 2 x £380 services (other two coincided with oil leaks, so they did the oil anyhow and did filters too )
1 x £2200 masive waste of money not fixing the below oil leak at Audi main dealer. Never again (and replacing an idler that may or may not have needed doing)
1 x £550 oil leak repair, indy (Audi quoted £10k plus parts)
1 x £1425 oil leak repair, indy
But seriously, I'd never heard about oil leaks being common until I just looked now. At least they're not too outrageous to sort if you get someone who knows what they're doing.
ex-devonpaul said:
Griffith4ever said:
4 years in and I've spent, roughly
2 x £380 services (other two coincided with oil leaks, so they did the oil anyhow and did filters too )
1 x £2200 masive waste of money not fixing the below oil leak at Audi main dealer. Never again (and replacing an idler that may or may not have needed doing)
1 x £550 oil leak repair, indy (Audi quoted £10k plus parts)
1 x £1425 oil leak repair, indy
I had a Norton Commando that was more oil tight then that 2 x £380 services (other two coincided with oil leaks, so they did the oil anyhow and did filters too )
1 x £2200 masive waste of money not fixing the below oil leak at Audi main dealer. Never again (and replacing an idler that may or may not have needed doing)
1 x £550 oil leak repair, indy (Audi quoted £10k plus parts)
1 x £1425 oil leak repair, indy
But seriously, I'd never heard about oil leaks being common until I just looked now. At least they're not too outrageous to sort if you get someone who knows what they're doing.
Griffith4ever said:
muscatdxb said:
I’m struggling a bit with maintenence on mine.
Don't know your locality but my Indy is in SomersetEdited by muscatdxb on Wednesday 19th March 09:05
I've had similar frustrations with my R8 and finding proper service. Local dealerships have been disappointing, and while REP provides good service, the distance makes it impractical. I've tried three independents nearby, but they're only OK for basic maintenance like oil changes—any additional work has led to problems.
Even as someone with average DIY skills, I find working on the R8 extremely challenging. Simple tasks like bleeding the brakes become complicated projects, requiring removal of the entire front section just to access the brake reservoir.
The car is amazing when everything works properly, but being a low-production vehicle means it tends to break down more frequently than mainstream cars. This combination of maintenance complexity and limited service options makes ownership challenging ... but every times I rev the V10 to 8500rpm, I immediately forget about it ...
Performance Driven:
https://performancedriven.co.uk/
Re. oil leaks - mine started by giving me a nice cloud of blue smoke from the engine bay once warmed up, which would then go away (burning off the exhaust). It would only really be apparent after laying up teh car for more than a few weeks - so a minor leak.
Audi Dealers "mended" it for £2200. Turned out the same leak was there after their work - they told me, "ahh, that's a different oil leak that needs doing - engine out, £10k". me, "so they £220 diagnostics I paid you (x3 for 3 issues) only picked up oil leak number 1, and not leak number 2 - the one I told you I needed sorting?" - I gave up - banging my head against a wall talking to 18 year old girls on the front desk.
Indi - located this leak and fixed it - it was indeed the rocker cover gasket that Audi eventually identified - but they did it with engine in situ. At the same time they replaced the robber o-ring on the pipes in my photos above - another oil leak, but, the oring was not enough. Came back from hols (3 months away) and found a nice (shallow) puddle of oil on the floor. Engine no longer smokes on warm up, so rocker cover leak sorted, but this is new.
Indi replaced pipes as well as O-ring - they said they assumed the pipe flanges were worn. No longer leaks (those pipes are to and fro the oil cooler I believe.
Soo......
Leak 1 wasn't even one I wanted fixing, that Audi, "fixed"
Leak 2 was the initial one I DID want fixing and is fixed, indi.
Leak 3 is one the indi prob should have done properly the first time they played with it but, with the costs involved, I guess they were trying to do me a favour with the seal 1st time around.
https://performancedriven.co.uk/
Re. oil leaks - mine started by giving me a nice cloud of blue smoke from the engine bay once warmed up, which would then go away (burning off the exhaust). It would only really be apparent after laying up teh car for more than a few weeks - so a minor leak.
Audi Dealers "mended" it for £2200. Turned out the same leak was there after their work - they told me, "ahh, that's a different oil leak that needs doing - engine out, £10k". me, "so they £220 diagnostics I paid you (x3 for 3 issues) only picked up oil leak number 1, and not leak number 2 - the one I told you I needed sorting?" - I gave up - banging my head against a wall talking to 18 year old girls on the front desk.
Indi - located this leak and fixed it - it was indeed the rocker cover gasket that Audi eventually identified - but they did it with engine in situ. At the same time they replaced the robber o-ring on the pipes in my photos above - another oil leak, but, the oring was not enough. Came back from hols (3 months away) and found a nice (shallow) puddle of oil on the floor. Engine no longer smokes on warm up, so rocker cover leak sorted, but this is new.
Indi replaced pipes as well as O-ring - they said they assumed the pipe flanges were worn. No longer leaks (those pipes are to and fro the oil cooler I believe.
Soo......
Leak 1 wasn't even one I wanted fixing, that Audi, "fixed"
Leak 2 was the initial one I DID want fixing and is fixed, indi.
Leak 3 is one the indi prob should have done properly the first time they played with it but, with the costs involved, I guess they were trying to do me a favour with the seal 1st time around.
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