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The road to : Audi R8 V10 Plus

pioneer2000

pioneer2000

pioneer2000

Soldato
Joined
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Essex
Teetering on the verge of buying one, comes out new via Carwow at £130K (circa 9% discount) with a 3/4 month build time.

Second hand examples seem to be around the £115 mark judging by the usual places.

I have never purchased such an expensive car before, however now that I have the opportunity to I want to ensure I do so in the least insane way possible.

Saying I buy new, am I best to finance it with a large deposit (as I normally would lean towards)? Just looking for some wisdom from people who have made such a purchase.

Please don't just give replies of "only mugs buy new", "why such a boring Audi" etc, as genuinely would like some guidance concerning the purchase process moreso than anything.

Thanks all!
 
Without wanting to be a dick "only mugs buy new" is a valid comment.

You're buying into a supercar, buying new means you are going to take a horrendous hit in depreciation, for £50k less you can buy 15 plate with <10k miles on the clock.

Out of that 50k saved, spend a couple of K to have it done by a quality detailer to bring to paint to new, have it ceramic coated and filmed if you so desire.

Finance comes down to you, various PCP may be an option if youd prefer lower payments, obviously the more finance you take the more it will cost you.
 
It's definitely not a boring Audi!

Definitely some merit in what kindai is saying though, a very nearly new one would save you some of the depreciation hit if you aren't bothered about hand picking the spec yourself.
 
R8 doesn't seem to hold it's value well at all, I wouldn't buy a brand new one either (if I had the cash laying around :P)
 
Sure, I appreciate that. However from my initial research it seems most examples to the spec I am after are listed at around £115-120k, making the £130k carwow quote not so horrendous?
 
pioneer2000;30486819 said:
Should probably clarify, I'm only looking at the new shape R8.

So your £50k less won't be a new shape Plus...?
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I would say wait a little then, and pick one up "nearly new" or a showroom model. Can make some big savings doing that.

However you look at it, or want to justify it, you are going to be throwing away tens of thousands having one specced and delivered new. If you are in a financial position to do that then good for you, go for it :)

So my advice on getting the best deal on one new, go into the showroom (booked appointment ideally) with your specs and options already chosen, id suggest organizing your finance independently.

Ask them for X discount, anywhere for 5-10% off list price is easily doable, it just depends how much they like you.
 
kindai;30486873 said:
Ask them for X discount, anywhere for 5-10% off list price is easily doable, it just depends how much they like you.
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Brokers are only offering around 5%, so I'd think 10% at a dealer would be quite a push?
 
I looked at buying one before my i8. I was offered a very nice one for 110k with lots of carbon.

I decided it would be worth 85k in a year to 18 months so did not want to take such a large hit.

Take a 991.1 C4 GTS on a test drive. 85 to 90k will get you one. Also borrow a i8 for the weekend you may be surprised.
 
Dr House;30487386 said:
I looked at buying one before my i8. I was offered a very nice one for 110k with lots of carbon.

I decided it would be worth 85k in a year to 18 months so did not want to take such a large hit.

Take a 991.1 C4 GTS on a test drive. 85 to 90k will get you one. Also borrow a i8 for the weekend you may be surprised.
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911's I have no love for I'm afraid. The i8 is a gimmicky mess, over priced for what it is.

I can see no better car for the money than an R8 (not to be too stubborn). :p

The only car that came close on my shortlist was a 540C, but I think the R8 ticks more boxes for me personally (nicer interior, better engine).
 
pioneer2000;30487624 said:
The only car that came close on my shortlist was a 540C, but I think the R8 ticks more boxes for me personally (nicer interior, better engine).
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The 540C's a much more challenging and visceral car to drive; personally, I'd have one over the R8 - every trip was far more of an experience in the McLaren. Possibly worth trying, if you've the time :)

Feels much more of a supercar, for one thing. The R8 Spyder is the only variant that really gets my blood pumping, otherwise, as you're far more involved with what's going on - with the roof down, at least...
 
Lashout_UK;30487653 said:
The 540C's a much more challenging and visceral car to drive; personally, I'd have one over the R8 - every trip was far more of an experience in the McLaren. Possibly worth trying, if you've the time :)

Feels much more of a supercar, for one thing. The R8 Spyder is the only variant that really gets my blood pumping, otherwise, as you're far more involved with what's going on - with the roof down, at least...
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My local Audi has a new Spyder as their demo this weekend, so I shall definitely drop in to take a look. Much prefer the look of the plus mind and not sure I'd find enough use for a drop top!
 
MadMossy;30487740 said:
If I had a 130k to spend on a car i'd be after the tesla with ludicrous speed extra :)
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I did consider the model S, however it's a massive saloon as opposed to a V10 mid engined super car :confused:

I've got an A45 for the workhorse type journeys!
 
First bit of advice?
Stop worrying or comparing performance figures on cars like this, it really doesn't matter and becomes an irrelevance when you've got one I assure you. Those figures are what the people who comment on YouTube a lot use to have an argument. Any supercar is fast enough, even more so if you have no experience of such cars.

Second bit of advice?
Go and drive other cars too. The McLaren 540C is going to be more dynamic and more special, but the R8 is a vastly underrated car, again usually by people who are not in the market when they are down the pub. Even though you might not like the 911 thing if you have not done so go drive a GT3, at this price point you would be utterly crazy not to and if you don't understand what all the fuss is about....buy something like a 520D as these cars are REALLY not for you :) Also NONE of them have an engine as good as the Audi, it is a masterpiece and one of the worlds great engines.

Third bit of advice?
If you are going to get an R8 spec it without Dynamic Drive! You can still add Sports Exhaust and Active Dampers, but you will need to order them separate. I tweeted Harris today to ask his view and his view was it's better, but still not GT3 good. Steering for me is shocking on the new car with Dynamic on.

If you plan to finance then chuck a big chunk in is my advice and stick the rest on finance. If the dealer is coming back with anything that doesn't start with a 4, perhaps low 5 then walk or find another finance option. Audi probably won't get close, they never do, but they can use non Audi finance. Also I would urge you not to do a fixed mileage thing as cars like this will bum you dead with mileage charges, buy it and finance it if you can't buy it outright. Also don't listen to those who say it's madness to have finance. Most people do and you can either having nothing or spend some money on money and have what you want before you die dead. Just make sure you protect yourself from negative equity.
 
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