Does anyone know this Gallardo?
Discussion
Hi, so the right car with the right spec and colour has come up, maybe not exactly the right time for me, but I am debating whether to just go for it. It’s 2004, manual and in blue Caleum, from Hamilton Grays near Loughborough. What are the major pitfalls when buying a Gallardo, what should I be looking for? Should I get a main Lamborghini dealer to inspect it prior to agreeing to purchase? So I know that clutches are a problem, but believe it has had a new clutch in 2015, cost of over £7k. I read there are engine issues with the pre LP cars, anyway to know if this car suffers with that, or will? That’s potential engine exploding isn’t it? Any advice appreciated. Also it doesn’t have nose lift, so would I be buying a car I couldn’t use on many roads etc etc
Thanks
Thanks
Owned a 2004 Gallardo in the same colour years ago. When I was looking then there were issues with going from 3rd to 2nd gear. Check that. Also, find out who did the clutch and talk to them direct. Did they use genuine parts? Clutches can burn out in less than 5k miles if driven hard and if you idle with the clutch pedal depressed (always drop to neutral when idle and release completely). So see how many miles since the last clutch or it'll need doing again!. It can't be remotely inspected either apparently (could be wrong). E-gears have a measurement available in diagnostics on clutch wear. Manuals have to be dismantled and visually inspected. A number of recalls were done on 2004/5 Gallardos. One on the steering pipes. I'd find out if it was recalled (happened about 2012/3 I think). If not, I'd find out more about the potential issue. There were a couple of other ones in 2005 too relating to fuel sensors I think but can't recall exactly.
Prices of Gallardos are interesting. There's a 47k miler for sub £60k for sale. It's a late 2003. Yours is 44k miles, but 18 months newer. I'd say there must be plenty of wriggle room in the price.
Anyway, that's all I know. Others may be able to add some stuff.
Prices of Gallardos are interesting. There's a 47k miler for sub £60k for sale. It's a late 2003. Yours is 44k miles, but 18 months newer. I'd say there must be plenty of wriggle room in the price.
Anyway, that's all I know. Others may be able to add some stuff.
Hell! Sorry Dank. Seeing this thread has just reminded me of your recent PM to me.
Yes, the interior is rather “individual”. But the Gallardo interior is rather heavily influenced by Audis of the same era and so can seem a little “Germanic” in black or grey. Not that you notice much when your driving. But I think that I could live with that for the slight “lift” that it gives the cabin.
Yes, have the car thoroughly inspected by either a main dealer or trusted independent. It’ll cost you a few hundred pounds, but COULD save you several thousand.
Clutch life depends on your driving style. I cover ground rapidly where I can, but made my last clutch last for over 50,000 miles. I double de-clutch both down AND up the ‘box. Sadly, unlike the E-gear clutch, there is no way to interrogate a manual car to ascertain clutch wear.
Watch the exhaust as the car starts from absolute cold. First start of the day. It’ll probably smoke. The cats, if they’re still there, will be 16 years old and WILL be degrading. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll need to rebuild. I bought mine at 42,000 miles and 7 years old and it was already burning about 3 litres per 1000 miles. But I just kept the oil topped up regularly. I de-catted at circa 95,000 miles and bit the bullet on the re-build at 106,000. Even then, had I continued to add 4 litres every 1000 miles (or a litre every 100 when “pressing on”!!!) the engine would probably have been fine. Apart from the bore wear, there was VERY little engine wear at 106k! But you couldn’t have known that without taking it apart, and I REALLY didn’t want it to go bang.
So..... if the smoke isn’t excessive you should be ok. But DO de-cat any pre-LP, 5.0 litre engine IMMEDIATELY. I was lucky that in the 95,0000 miles that the car ran with cats, they only disintegrated into tiny pieces. It seems that several have been destroyed now when the engines have ingested larger pieces.
To reiterate, it WILL have gouging to the bores, and will probably smoke a little. But remove the source of the failure (the cats), keep an eye on the oil level and the engines seem bulletproof. But I can’t say the same for the cam variometer solenoids (cheap and a two minute job to swap yourself) and oxygen sensors.
Mine doesn’t have lift. And in my 64,000 miles it’s never stopped me taking it ANYWHERE.
I’ll try to briefly answer any other queries that you may have.
But DO have it independently inspected. Remember, it’s a £65,000 car now, but you’ll be buying parts for a car that cost c£170,000 when it went out of production. That’s what costs the money.......
Yes, the interior is rather “individual”. But the Gallardo interior is rather heavily influenced by Audis of the same era and so can seem a little “Germanic” in black or grey. Not that you notice much when your driving. But I think that I could live with that for the slight “lift” that it gives the cabin.
Yes, have the car thoroughly inspected by either a main dealer or trusted independent. It’ll cost you a few hundred pounds, but COULD save you several thousand.
Clutch life depends on your driving style. I cover ground rapidly where I can, but made my last clutch last for over 50,000 miles. I double de-clutch both down AND up the ‘box. Sadly, unlike the E-gear clutch, there is no way to interrogate a manual car to ascertain clutch wear.
Watch the exhaust as the car starts from absolute cold. First start of the day. It’ll probably smoke. The cats, if they’re still there, will be 16 years old and WILL be degrading. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll need to rebuild. I bought mine at 42,000 miles and 7 years old and it was already burning about 3 litres per 1000 miles. But I just kept the oil topped up regularly. I de-catted at circa 95,000 miles and bit the bullet on the re-build at 106,000. Even then, had I continued to add 4 litres every 1000 miles (or a litre every 100 when “pressing on”!!!) the engine would probably have been fine. Apart from the bore wear, there was VERY little engine wear at 106k! But you couldn’t have known that without taking it apart, and I REALLY didn’t want it to go bang.
So..... if the smoke isn’t excessive you should be ok. But DO de-cat any pre-LP, 5.0 litre engine IMMEDIATELY. I was lucky that in the 95,0000 miles that the car ran with cats, they only disintegrated into tiny pieces. It seems that several have been destroyed now when the engines have ingested larger pieces.
To reiterate, it WILL have gouging to the bores, and will probably smoke a little. But remove the source of the failure (the cats), keep an eye on the oil level and the engines seem bulletproof. But I can’t say the same for the cam variometer solenoids (cheap and a two minute job to swap yourself) and oxygen sensors.
Mine doesn’t have lift. And in my 64,000 miles it’s never stopped me taking it ANYWHERE.
I’ll try to briefly answer any other queries that you may have.
But DO have it independently inspected. Remember, it’s a £65,000 car now, but you’ll be buying parts for a car that cost c£170,000 when it went out of production. That’s what costs the money.......
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