buying R8

[ian-163jt]

does anybody know who can inspect a private sale r8 for me ? I have looked up 2 recommended but cant find a contact , 1 was ricky elder ? the other was race developments or something ?
I just need them to go and check the car out before I pay , its quite hard to find somebody to ppi an r8 for some reason , don't want Audi ??
cheers

[ian-163jt]

thanks guys , perhaps audi are ok then ? do you get the seller to take car to them or do they go the seller , what is rough cost ? perhaps audi better as will be more local as don't know location of car yet ?
thanks for Ricky's contact will call him tomorrow .

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

In the case of Audi you would have to take the car to them. May be worth making a list of things you want checked and compare it to the one they work to.

basically would want whole car checked to see if sound ? do you have to tell them what you want checked ?
cheers

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

Where are you located? I had QS Tuning in Haywards Heath inspect my car and would recommend as well as Ricky.

thanks I am Portsmouth (see you are Portsmouth reece ) are you local to me then ?
I am not sure where the car is , will ricky travel ? what is cost roughly ?
cheers

[ian-163jt]

Raven Flyer said:

The main points are quite easy to check yourself. I didn't get a PPI but did the following checks on most of the cars I looked at...

Suspension - does the sport mode work? Are the damper quiet over poor surfaces? Wipe them with a kitchen roll - are they dry or oily?
Air Con - does pressing the AC button activate the compressor? Is it quiet? Does cold air come out?
Drive train - are there any whines from the gearbox? Does WOT in a high gear cause clutch slip? Are gear changes smooth?
Engine - does it sound smooth on cold start? Does it idle smoothly? Any pinking at WOT? Any strange noises?
Brakes - any vibration? Are there lips of over 2mm on the edge of the discs? Does the peddle travel feel right? Does the car brake without pulling L/R?
Tyres - Is the wear even across each tyre? How much is left in them? Are they the same brand/model fitted all round? Is the wear equal across the axles?
Hood - does it all work and chime when completed? Is the fabric taught when it's closed?
Trim - Is the driver's seat showing wear on the side pad stitching? Do the seats adjust OK? Are there any scuffs/stains?
MMI - can you connect your phone? Do all speakers work? Is the screen UV damaged? Does the reverse camera work?
Lights - do they all work?
Body - is it in good condition and free of chips/scuffs/scrapes?
Wheels - are they scuff free? Does the car track straight?

Service History - get the service history from Audi using the VIN. They will email this to you. If there is Indy service history, are the company well known (eg RE Eng)?
Finance - Do an AA / HPI check for finance and write off alerts with the plate and the VIN.
MOT history - have the MOT's been done at an Audi main dealer (or a back street nobody)? You need the V5 certificate number to check the MOT locations.

It's not a comprehensive list, but this will give you answers to most of the points that a PPI will report on and these things aren't difficult to check. Take a list along with you, tick things off.

You may well find one or two things that aren't perfect, but they need not put you off buying a good car if they can be fixed quite cheaply. Dampers and AC are the things most likely to cost money, engines and gearboxes are pretty tough.

Gaps in the service history and worn seats/trim in a low mileage car reek of neglect. Walk away from those.

Edited by Raven Flyer on Tuesday 26th November 13:22

Christ you know your stuff !!!!!
do you want to do it ?
I am not after any insurance backed / guarantee stuff , I just want the common major faults check , the car is 2007 with 40k , , 10 owners though .
cheers

[ian-163jt]

ian-163jt said:

thanks I am Portsmouth (see you are Portsmouth reece ) are you local to me then ?
I am not sure where the car is , will ricky travel ? what is cost roughly ?
cheers

oh so ricky is one place & q.s tuning another , so q.s. do it as well ?

[ian-163jt]

ian-163jt said:

Christ you know your stuff !!!!!
do you want to do it ?
I am not after any insurance backed / guarantee stuff , I just want the common major faults check , the car is 2007 with 40k , , 10 owners though .
cheers

have you got r8 or something different ?
I may wait and see if somebody sells one on here that people know is a good one as don't want to buy a dog ..

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

Yes, I am just outside Portsmouth.

Ricky will travel but you'll need to pay for his time although no idea of costs as I didn't use him. My PPI was with QS Tuning and they charged me two hours for an inspection with a verbal report which was roughly £160/£200. However the car was driven to them as opposed to them travelling to the car but the report was sound - no major issues, touch wood, in just under 3 years of ownership.

If not, RAC will do a detailed inspection anywhere or you could try JKM on the Hilsea Industrial estate? No idea if they do inspections but they've done some remedial work (battery swap, sensor change) on my R8 without issues.

Whatever you do get a PPI - I had a close shave and the PPI saved me!

thanks for heads up , I suppose it depends on area , I would fully pay for somebody's time like Ricky, maybe I will see area of car first then make decision , rac are they any good as at least they are all over the country ...

[ian-163jt]

ian-163jt said:

thanks for heads up , I suppose it depends on area , I would fully pay for somebody's time like Ricky, maybe I will see area of car first then make decision , rac are they any good as at least they are all over the country ...

I cant expect the buyer to drive to somebody really as don't think I would want to it if I was seller ?

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

Ricky can be contacted at RE Performance in Swindon. [e-mail]

many thanks , shame there is no telephone no on web site , just bloody facebook contact.....

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

Private sale probably not but a dealer may if it's not too far.

I may just wait until somebody on here sells one that I know is good, not in no rush …
I am bit impulsive & don't want to look as I just buy …. went to look at m6 few years ago , got it and was told these cars are time bombs with major bills to come , lucky didn't have a thing go wrong , but worried me a bit ..
thanks

[ian-163jt]

ian-163jt said:

many thanks , shame there is no telephone no on web site , just bloody facebook contact.....

found it thanks , telephone no as well , can actually talk to somebody ……..

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

Was £500 but that was for the full blown, top whack detailed report:

https://www.rac.co.uk/buying-a-car/vehicle-inspect...

But well worth it.

yes £500 when you are paying £30k is worth it .
I will have a look on the link you sent , just didn't know if rac would be familiar with r 8 problems , normally most cars get same problems , you don't mind the odd thing wrong ,its just the big bills you any checked ...

[ian-163jt]

jakesmith said:

You need to check the front frame it isn't economically repairable and can't be seen without taking a few large trim pieces off on the front of the car including wiper arms

is that something common then ? will they do that in ppi check , doubt they will remove body parts ? is there any other way to check this ?
thanks

[ian-163jt]

jakesmith said:

It's not common at all but is absolutely catastrophic if it has, if the frame is cracked that's it really for the car.
It isn't body parts that need removal, it's the wiper arms, and then some trim pieces that come off with quarter turn fastners
Likely only a specialist garage that the car was taken to for an inspection would know to look. I may be wrong but I can't see the RAC doing this. Not sure if Audi do it as part of an inspection.

yes and would the owner be very happy with removing bits of his car ? is this from crash damage or corrsion ?
thanks

[ian-163jt]

Drclarke said:

My jokes about the R8 being a supercar aside, why not buy one from a trusted dealer?

Buying privately or from some other seller sounds like a Vipers nest of trouble?

the trouble is getting the right colour/ spec / price is hard , just because its from a dealer don't make it good , just because its private don't make it bad , its just a matter of trying to get best car you can .

[ian-163jt]

Raven Flyer said:

For £500 I would get your local Audi R8 centre to do it. They will know R8s much better than an RAC Franchise holder and will know exactly what to look for.

so are there audi R8 centres ? what are they in a local branch just have a guy who knows r8 ?

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

No it's not corrosion.

Essentially there have been several reports, all as far as I can tell unverified or fact checked, where frames have cracked under normal driving conditions writing off the car.

Worse case buyers have walked away, others (like me) don't believe it's a common enough issue to be concerned about.

I believe I saw Ricky of REPerformance in Swindon say he's seen the frame cracking issue three times in his career and in all three cases it involved cars which had been in a collision.

Really it's down to your attitude towards risk - I'm not bothered, others would be. However the frame was strengthened in models after 2010 I believe so again, make of that what you will.

Edited by PompeyReece on Wednesday 27th November 14:42

yes I know that the odd thing can happen but I don't mind risk , its a 2nd hand car after all , you just have to try to get as much right as you can , if you worry about everything you have to buy a new car ….. not got £100 k sitting about for an ornament up my drive

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

Also another point - if you're going for a £30k car, be careful. These sit at the lowest end of the R8 price spectrum and are likely to be priced at that for good reason.

A decent lowish V8 will be £35k-£40k, V10 £50k upwards.

normally I always buy my spare car this time of year , most people let them go a bit cheaper & seen some nice ones about for £32 with 40 on clock , just trying to get a decent one , I am not in rush..if I cant get one I may get a gtr as they are same money & lovely drive ….

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

Yes post September 2010 after the reinforcing plates were fitted during production should be safe. Just to be clear, its the point where the front suspension towers are welded to the bulkhead that can crack and this is fairly easy to examine once the front trim under the windcreen has been removed.

I've owned mine for just over 3 years and it still puts a smile on my face which I don't remember any other car I've owned doing after that period of ownership. I can honestly say that I have no plans to change it as I can't think of anything else that would give me the same level of pleasure for similar money.
They are generally quite reliable but when things go wrong it can be costly. I would advise keeping an emergency fund just in case, or alternatively taking out an Audi warranty.

yes wish I could afford 2010 on but not got the dosh , so pay my money and take my chances …
I have a Carrera 997 and they I reputation for bore scoring (so new engine ) but there are loads that don't , you never know true % so you just have to see , I know I looked at getting an rs4 a while ago , they have coke problem (not the powered stuff !!) so I dint get one ,, then my mate laughed & said the r8 is the same engine …..
be safer to stick with a golf , ha ha