R8 V10+ - 1 year (and a bit) on!

Some of the dealers are shocking considering the prices Audi demand. I've had a much better time with Toyota, Lexus and Ford dealers.
 
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I am aware of several issues with said dealer which I won't go into as they were shared in confidence, but I am not alone with my R8.....actually I have got lucky.

Anyway I have her back tonight singing like Pavarotti and it has helped me form a more objective view on the McLaren test drive today too. One thing is clear, McLaren's engines, all of them, don't get close to the charisma of the V10 in my R8. V8's with a flat plane crank and 2 big turbos are never going to, removing the turbos would not do that either I suspect. Sure, epic performance, epic torques but lacking the sheer noise and event of my V10.

It really is the finest engine I have driven in a car, not the finest ever I am sure, but really very very special.
 
Housey said:
I am aware of several issues with said dealer which I won't go into as they were shared in confidence, but I am not alone with my R8.....actually I have got lucky.

Anyway I have her back tonight singing like Pavarotti and it has helped me form a more objective view on the McLaren test drive today too. One thing is clear, McLaren's engines, all of them, don't get close to the charisma of the V10 in my R8. V8's with a flat plane crank and 2 big turbos are never going to, removing the turbos would not do that either I suspect. Sure, epic performance, epic torques but lacking the sheer noise and event of my V10.

It really is the finest engine I have driven in a car, not the finest ever I am sure, but really very very special.
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All I can truly hope for you now buddy is the car is well behaved for whilst it remains in your hands, because to me it sounds like any issue becomes a nightmare to fix, but good work on finding a specialist.

I think most people know of the utter poor service and warranty work I got with Bristol Street Ford, you felt like a number and they did not give a toss about you or the car. :(
I've since changed dealers, luckily even closer to me in Congleton, a family owned dealership and wow they really are a 10/10 garage.
When my rear caliper seized they had it booked it, pair disc, pair of pads and new caliper on order and I dropped it off and within a couple of hours I was called to be told car is ready.
They even let me use their alignment ramp and alignment sensors/computer to align and setup the car as I wished, must have being on it for 2-3hr, they charged me £60

My recent warranty claim was for right hand side catalyst. I noticed the car felt slow, so plugged in my gauge which monitors knock and low and behold the knock sensor was going positive on gear changes but it was false knock as the timing was way too low and if it was knocking the amount the gauge was reading (+6.00) I'd hear it. So I had the car jacked up at home and right hand side exhaust sounded full of metal. :(

Went to local dealership, they agreed to get it on ramp there and then, rubber hammer and yep noise seems most present on right hand catalyst at flexi joint, so they agreed to order parts in. Next day they call to say gaskets/bolts arrive but Ford Germany cannot even provide an ETA for the catalyst. I said I have one from my mate who fitted headers, as such can you fit me his and when the brand new one arrives call me and I will get it? They said yep, they did same with rear brake disc when they fixed my seized caliper, hence I have to brand new brake disc in my garage. So they got my friends none rattling cat fitted, this time I requested a car, they obliged. Three hours later they call me, all done and the exhaust is confirmed as not rattling.

Collect the car, knock sensor is back to only reading negative and car running the full 30+ timing it should. I've found a good dealer and in short it makes the whole ownership experience vastly better!

Onto best engines, I will agree, the R8 V10 and the 7.0l from GM are the two best engines I have ever experienced, thats not to say others are bad, but those two were extremely special.
 
A great write up of your ownership experience so far; it's a real shame that your enjoyment of having a car like this has been tarnished by the various issues and the local dealers lack of ability to resolve them.

Who is the specialist that you refer too?

Reading around on the forums, it seems that all supercars have issues, so your not alone and it's down to the manufacturers service infrastructure and quality of staff as to how well they get resolved. You have hinted that the Audi bonus structure is lowering staff moral?
I've been told that an R8 only gets worked on by the Audi trained R8 specialist head tech, so not your usual grease monkey. If this is the case it's strange that Audi struggle to resolve the issues that you've had.

Your Scottish road trip looks epic and you have shared some great pics of your car on this thread.

I have a new one on the way and I'm just crossing my fingers and praying that I get a good one.
 
Great write up Housey. Meir tunnel never fails to raise a smile, used to spend far too much time waking the locals up when I was a lot younger haha! :)
 
I'll add some more insights when I get a moment. Currently sitting in Dutch office waiting for a meeting to start but I am (honest) a bit tight on time this week. Glad people are enjoying the read, often these things can fall on deaf ears, trying to keep it light.
 
Nice write up, shame that even owning a R8 doesn't get you any better service with Audi, you'd think with the more prestige cars they'd go above and beyond.
 
Housey said:
I'll add some more insights when I get a moment. Currently sitting in Dutch office waiting for a meeting to start but I am (honest) a bit tight on time this week. Glad people are enjoying the read, often these things can fall on deaf ears, trying to keep it light.
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As a fellow genuinely sporty elite crew veteran I can assure you your thoughts are often appreciated.
 
Housey said:
Bodywork and grills....
FIVE grand lighter mind! The grills were 1.8K alone!!!
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Ouch! Presume getting grills off someone who had fitted carbon versions wasn't an option?

Always wrote off R8's in my mind as being too sensible for what they are but really finding them starting to appeal to me. Maybe if the Noble goes up in value a bit more whilst R8's remain still it might happen :)

Lovely in red as well, don't think much of them in black/grey which is mostly what I seem to see about :)
 
You definitely don't buy any high end audi and seek or expect decent fuel economy :p

I did post this elsewhere but this was the result of me thrashing it, it was almost bordering on gallons per mile!

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However, the engine in mine can shut down at least a bank of its cylinders, which when stuck in average speed check zones can return 30+ mpg, if that's your thing.
 
Will Gill said:
However, the engine in mine can shut down at least a bank of its cylinders, which when stuck in average speed check zones can return 30+ mpg, if that's your thing.
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I dont pay 500 odd quid tax a year to not decimate the lungs of a young child on my trip to tesco and back.
 
Glanza said:
Nice write up, shame that even owning a R8 doesn't get you any better service with Audi, you'd think with the more prestige cars they'd go above and beyond.
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You would think that if you owned a R8 or A8 Audi would role out the red carpet and treat you with some respect, but does it happen, does it heck.
 
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