Cyptolambo 2 is dead.... kindai goes car shawping

[kindai]

Hey all!

So as some of you may have read last week the cryptolambo 2 went off to a new loving home.

Alas, I am no @Housey so picking up a Polo was absolutely out of the question, so in the meantime, picked up this absolute monster.

Spoiler

120000 miles, 105 rampaging horsepowers, and less to tax, insure and fill it up for a year than 1 month lambo ownership. Ha.

Anyway, now on the hunt for a new car.

Initially, was looking at a 720s, the prices of them have come down a lot, and they are next level mental. The problem is, much like now, where do you go "after" that?

Accordingly, after some discussions with @Gibbo on the drive up to drop the lambo off, it seems sensible to "drop down" a couple of levels, so can have that enjoyment again of buying bigger and better.

So, will document test drives, thoughts, impressions, etc on this thread.

For those with suggestions. I am budgetting under £100k, and ideally aiming for the £50k-£75k area. Am willing to go higher towards that 100k mark for a really special car.

Color wise, must be interesting. Aka no blacks, greys or whites.

Spyder/Roadster preferred though again for something really special, may consider a coupe.

 

[kindai]

So first up was an AMG GT-R. There was one local and a quick test drive didnt really do anything for me. There just wasnt that connection with the car itself. This was a matte black car so still kept my eye out for a green one.

Shortly after Scott Hardy had one come in, so went along with Gibbo for a few test drives.



As before, there was just no connection with the car, I got into it and it just didnt do anything for me. No rhyme or reason, it just doesnt click.

 

[kindai]

Next up was this McLaren 570GT.

In the flesh it is an absolutely stunning car. Moreso than the pictures do it justice.

Yea, it needed a bit of TLC here and there, but the spec was absolutely spot on.



The guys chucked us the keys and off we went. The brakes were a bit offputting at first, as they didnt have that absolutely brutal stopping feeling that the Aventador did, but after getting used to it and some egging on from Gibbo started to play with it a little.

It was a wet and cold day, but after getting some warmth in the tyres, it would tyre hop slightly flooring it in second but then hook up. Feeling was it is like a giant go-cart, you are right over the front end and can feel what the car is doing.

If I was going to go for the GT though I would want one with CCX brakes, it may have just been this car or it may be all 570GT cars but the steelies were not confidence inspiring.

 

[kindai]

Getting back from the GT drive they had this 570S spyder waiting for us.

A quick hop over and off we went with the roof down down the same route.



The brakes in this were a lot more immediate and confidence inspiring. And after getting some tyre temps, was having a play again more at home in the car.

The open top though is what did it for me. It was the one thing I really missed in the Aventador, so it kind of sealed the deal whatever I end up buying will 99% be a convertible of some sort.

Got back and while the exterior of the car was lovely, the interior was just too far out there.

They had an amazing higher milage 570S Spyder there also, but as I will be piling miles on, taking a 40k car and adding another 20-30k is going to put it into unsellable territory.

Id just like to thank Scott Hardy for the trust they gave us with the cars, quite literally chucking us the keys and sending us off with trade plates, as well as the amazing hospitality.

 

[kindai]

After some further thoughts and remembering how amazing Gibbos F-Type SVR is, spotted this amazing example online.



Right colors, right options, right spec.

Ding ding ding. And then a couple of days before I was off to see it, Gibbo was at Auto100 and said the car looked clean.

Rang up, and booked a drive as well as a holding deposit, I genuinely expected to go test drive it and do a deal.

However, after running some checks, the last 2 years service history is missing. Rang up Jag and they have no record of official servicing, which is weird as they are cheap even for main dealer.

Did some more followups with the dealer and they likewise cant find the last 2 years history. Ok, not a problem, proposed that they have a catch up service done, have the car inspected by Jag and then warranty the car. Seems reasonable no? Well, according to the dealer, no, they wouldnt agree to that.

So, asked for my deposit back which they did the same day and moved on.

Absolute shame.

 

[kindai]

Next up was this Audi R8 spyder.



This was on collecting cars, and the equivalent on AT is around £75k.

Pros
Already has broken main dealer history, so can take it to Litchos
Amazing color
Well specced
Already modded
Spyder

Cons
No ability to inspect the car prior to bidding
Unknown quality of mods
Has been re-upholstered
No front lift


Regardless I set myself an upper limit of 60k. Annoyingly I had initially thought 65K which would have snagged this car, but nevermind.

The R8 market right now is in freefall. The last 5 days, 15 cars have come on the market.

R-tronics cant be given away, and everything else is dropping price quickly. I have put some lowball offers out there knowing full well they are lowball offers, but buying any R8 at asking or premium prices right now is just stupid.

I have a test drive in a Gen 2 pre facelift spyder next week. So that should be fun.

 

[kindai]

’ve heard from lots of sources that the tyres and brakes take a lot to warm up and that the brakes are tricky when cold

I was a bit wary at first, but after Gibbo poked me a bit got into it quite well, personally felt once id adjusted to going from the Aventador to the steel brakes that it was a fantastic car and could be quite playful.

 

[kindai]

Why are R8s falling?

If I had to guess a lot of covid financed cars flooding the market now theyve come to the end of their term or close to it.

 

[kindai]

This 570GT popped up today,

Exterior, absolutely stunning. MSO paint, all the carbon, ceramic brakes. Specced really well as well.



However, the interior has a 2 tone cream which is just YUK in my opinion. If it was an easy replacement then id of sorted it out, the seats and the door cards are simple enough. Unfortunately they also have it on the dash so, bleh.

On top of that, not a spyder. So that + meh inside means its not a contender.

 

[kindai]

As Gibbo Said, DB11 was also on the list. Kind of still is potentially.

This one at Baytree caught my eye, but will try one locally first.

 

[kindai]

Sagaris is worth a try and 991 GT3

Neither do it for me, not to mention how Porsche market at the moment is in total freefall.

Surprised you didn't try a Ferrari,

Dropping down sub 100k puts me into 360/430 money only. Realistically I want something a bit more upto date, a 458 is on my future ownership list but good ones are 120+ atm.

I think you should at least have a look at / test drive one

Have you thought about a Mondeo?

I did, but decided on the Quashqi instead

 

[kindai]

Gorgeous 720

The volcano red one?

 

[kindai]

This popped up on AT a stones throw away so went for a test drive.




Insanely comfortable and putting a heavy foot down it absolutely hooks up and flies.

Could quite easily see myself getting one of these.

 

[kindai]

You sure this is a good strategy? You're young, can afford it, why not do it now? Who knows what will happen tomorrow?

Well on the other side the money I can pull out by going cheaper means I can pick up a few more buy to let flats.

 

[kindai]

Great value cars, every bit as dynamically strong as the Lambo versions with arguably better ergonomics too. Right now they represent incredible value but I would go hard top over soft top due to the small insides of the soft top.

Compared to the AV the R8 spyder is cavernous in comparison

 

[kindai]

At that price it’s a steal too, don’t tempt me

I offered £70k which was turned down.

All the cars that age/mileage spec are around that, but for the same money I can get an Audi approved one which will come with a full Audi warranty and the slightly nicer diamond stitched interior.

Dont get me wrong, its a lovely car and priced in line with the market, but with another 5 coming onto the market today alone, I am happy to wait. Have to think as well it was chopped in, so he probably paid ~60-65 for it.

 

[kindai]

And just to put it into perspective. Got offered one a year newer and under 10k miles otherwise the same spec for £80k. For that kind of difference may as well pay the 5k and get a year newer car with 25k less miles.

 

[kindai]

718 Spyder with some spare change for an exhaust.

Not bad at all.

 

[kindai]

Or a 570 spider. Private sales trending to 90k now

Yep, theyve been trying to peg at the 100k mark, but have started slipping. Dealer cars are circa 100-105k, private have been trying to hold 100k.

Gibbo and I are in disagreement on this point but I am of the feeling 570's are due a decent correction which is why I'm trending towards something else in the meantime.

 

[kindai]

It also fits the dog in for trips out and can swallow our luggage for a week away, something that an R8 cannot do.

I mean, it can, if you leave the wife at home