Who has experience owning an R8? Any thoughts?

[NicolasB]

I have loved the R8 for years, and everytime I see one I think they still are an iconic/classic design. I have always believed the V10 to be the best sounding engine, and sound is very big for me. The earlier models with the manual transmission is enticing, but they are getting up there in age and fetch a premium. The 2017's (facelift) with the S-tronic transmission/V10 is a solid car and great all-around "supercar".

I am wondering if there are maintenance nightmares or issues on the newer cars to be aware of? I am only interested in weekend driving and small roadtrips, so it's not like I would put 10k miles on it a year. Where I live seeing a C8 is rare, and a 911 is very rare (I know the only 2 guys in the area with them). Mustangs are basically an exotic around here

I am having a hard time with the current Lotus treatment of former and future customers, so been looking at R8's for a while and starting to consider them more. Budget jumps up about $40k US unfortunately, but you get a lot more car.

 

[BeHappy]

I know we discussed but I’ll start thread off again lol. I totally LOVED my R8 she was the 2017 V10 Plus with the sports plus pack, I got her when she was a toddler ( 1 year) and kept her till last year. I literally would wander into the garage just to admire her. Sound is addictive kept her on loud exhaust ALL the time. I regret selling her but didn’t want to keep a car like out of warranty. For a car of such performance I didn’t think the running costs were excessive ( well obviously eats petrol ) and set of tyres will last circa 8k miles depending on driving style. Servicing was about £500 - £600 . The only issue I had was that 2 shock absorber dust covers broke ( would not replace under warranty) and it is not a separate part so you have to buy the whole strut circa 1.5k each. I never replaced them as thought they will just break again - poor design. Fabulous car, with blistering acceleration, traction , only trouble you can’t really drive it to its max as you wouldn’t have a licence - but car totally comfortable & useable to be tootling around town also. Prices have gone silly if you were to buy a 17 plate now with low mileage your looking at £93-£94 which is ridiculous considering I paid £107k in 2018 !
The current ones don’t sound as good as this model due to regs

 

[eriegz]

So it begins...

 

[NicolasB]

I know we discussed but I’ll start thread off again lol. I totally LOVED my R8 she was the 2017 V10 Plus with the sports plus pack, I got her when she was a toddler ( 1 year) and kept her till last year. I literally would wander into the garage just to admire her. Sound is addictive kept her on loud exhaust ALL the time. I regret selling her but didn’t want to keep a car like out of warranty. For a car of such performance I didn’t think the running costs were excessive ( well obviously eats petrol ) and set of tyres will last circa 8k miles depending on driving style. Servicing was about £500 - £600 . The only issue I had was that 2 shock absorber dust covers broke ( would not replace under warranty) and it is not a separate part so you have to buy the whole strut circa 1.5k each. I never replaced them as thought they will just break again - poor design. Fabulous car, with blistering acceleration, traction , only trouble you can’t really drive it to its max as you wouldn’t have a licence - but car totally comfortable & useable to be tootling around town also. Prices have gone silly if you were to buy a 17 plate now with low mileage your looking at £93-£94 which is ridiculous considering I paid £107k in 2018 !
The current ones don’t sound as good as this model due to regs

I knew you would chime in That thing is a beauty! Love Daytona Gray on any model Audi. I am guessing prices will drop some in the coming months with everything happening in the financial world, I will keep an eye on them. I think overall the servicing costs aren't terrible, and I think a recurring thing in either generation of them involves the shock absorbers. I wish they had continued to offer it in the manual trans for longer; I wonder if you can swap in a Lambo trans?

It seems like a practical supercar, vs. the Aerial Atom being an impractical, crazy-fun car. Wish I had more opportunities to test-drive these cars, but there are none within 5 hours of me available to do that. I wonder how many years a car like this will be able to be serviced and driven? At what year will we no longer have factory-trained techs still in the business that know what they are doing?

 

[NicolasB]

So it begins...

My Autotrader hunting has never stopped unfortunately.

 

[Green]

I love my 2010 v10 gated manual. The Emira will have It’s hands full trying to takes its place in the garage. Low mileage manuals are selling up to 160,000. You can get the auto much cheaper. I had to replace the clutch and head gaskets. Clutch $10,000. Head gaskets $2,300. The v10 sounds glorious. The handling is great and it corners like it’s on rails.No that’s not me in the picture.

 

[grahamgreen]

I’ve had two of the first gen R8’s

First V8 manual
Second V8 S-Tronic

Both great GTs, brilliant road trippers with a glorious sound, road presence and ride quality. Still love them to be honest and with good gen 1 cars circa 40k a bargain beautiful thing

 

[VL3X]

Wasn't there some frame flaw with certain year R8s? I remember my buddy saying something about them easily being totalled out by insurance due to a crack in the frame. People were scooping them up for $20-30k and simply welding the frame and having a perfectly good R8.

 

[VL3X]

That being said I got to spend some time with a V10 R8 and it was amazing! Sounded great and the AWD was pretty sweet. Basically felt like a Gallardo with Audi interior.

 

[NicolasB]

I love my 2010 v10 gated manual. The Emira will have It’s hands full trying to takes its place in the garage. Low mileage manuals are selling up to 160,000. You can get the auto much cheaper. I had to replace the clutch and head gaskets. Clutch $10,000. Head gaskets $2,300. The v10 sounds glorious. The handling is great and it corners like it’s on rails.No that’s not me in the picture.

Beautiful ride! $10k for a clutch=ouch! Whole engine have to be removed for that? That's a car worth keeping for sure.

 

[DaaS]

Drove a V10 version once. Loved the car, but was disappointed overall because it was closer to a GT. I had different expectations.

 

[Green]

Drove a V10 version once. Loved the car, but was disappointed overall because it was closer to a GT. I had different expectations.

That might be true with the stock suspension. Install a set of coilovers and aftermarket exhaust if you want less of a GT car. I suspect the Emira will be more of a GT car than the R8. I will definitely provide feedback after I take delivery.

 

[Green]

Beautiful ride! $10k for a clutch=ouch! Whole engine have to be removed for that? That's a car worth keeping for sure.

Yes they basically take the back of the car off.

 

[digilotus]

Yes they basically take the back of the car off.

No, the rear bumper, drive shafts and transmission need to be removed to access the clutch. Engine stays in place.

 

[Green]

No, the rear bumper, drive shafts and transmission need to be removed to access the clutch. Engine stays in place.

Correct that is what I meant by the back of the car.