buying R8

[ian-163jt]

does anybody know who can inspect a private sale r8 for me ? I have looked up 2 recommended but cant find a contact , 1 was ricky elder ? the other was race developments or something ?
I just need them to go and check the car out before I pay , its quite hard to find somebody to ppi an r8 for some reason , don't want Audi ??
cheers

[Trev450]

Ricky can be contacted at RE Performance in Swindon. [e-mail]

[barriejames]

I used Audi when I purchased mine. Seemed thorough enough, Needed about 800 quid spending on a few bits which the seller paid

[ian-163jt]

thanks guys , perhaps audi are ok then ? do you get the seller to take car to them or do they go the seller , what is rough cost ? perhaps audi better as will be more local as don't know location of car yet ?
thanks for Ricky's contact will call him tomorrow .

[Trev450]

In the case of Audi you would have to take the car to them. May be worth making a list of things you want checked and compare it to the one they work to.

[johns355]

Sorry to hijack this but I was thinking of an R8 V10 next but when I read it was £8-9K for a new clutch it put a slam on the brakes for me! Holy crap! John

[ferdi p]

johns355 said:

Sorry to hijack this but I was thinking of an R8 V10 next but when I read it was £8-9K for a new clutch it put a slam on the brakes for me! Holy crap! John

They must have gone up then! I paid under 3k for a new clutch on a V10 in 2015!

[ian-163jt]

Trev450 said:

In the case of Audi you would have to take the car to them. May be worth making a list of things you want checked and compare it to the one they work to.

basically would want whole car checked to see if sound ? do you have to tell them what you want checked ?
cheers

[Trev450]

ian-163jt said:

Trev450 said:

In the case of Audi you would have to take the car to them. May be worth making a list of things you want checked and compare it to the one they work to.

basically would want whole car checked to see if sound ? do you have to tell them what you want checked ?
cheers

Sorry I should have been clearer. Audi have a set check list which I assume is quite comprehensive, but given the propensity for the mag dampers to fail for example, I would want more than a cursory glance at them. Also, if the car is pre 2010 I would insist on having the front frame checked for cracking.

[PompeyReece]

ian-163jt said:

basically would want whole car checked to see if sound ? do you have to tell them what you want checked ?
cheers

Where are you located? I had QS Tuning in Haywards Heath inspect my car and would recommend as well as Ricky.

[Raven Flyer]

ian-163jt said:

Trev450 said:

In the case of Audi you would have to take the car to them. May be worth making a list of things you want checked and compare it to the one they work to.

basically would want whole car checked to see if sound ? do you have to tell them what you want checked ?
cheers

Audi quote 3 hours labour to do a Used Car Inspection (UCI) on an R8. At R8 engineer rates, that's £450.

It includes quite a lot that you don't want/need checked (mostly because it's bleeding obvious) eg Tyres, wiper blades etc, but they will also report on drive train condition, bushes etc.

[PompeyReece]

As an alternative, the RAC will do a PPI on a R8.

Unless Audi dealerships are now providing the same, the RAC are the only company I know that provides a written PPI report too.

£500 will get you a full blown report regardless of where the car is.

[Raven Flyer]

The main points are quite easy to check yourself. I didn't get a PPI but did the following checks on most of the cars I looked at...

Suspension - does the sport mode work? Are the damper quiet over poor surfaces? Wipe them with a kitchen roll - are they dry or oily?
Air Con - does pressing the AC button activate the compressor? Is it quiet? Does cold air come out?
Drive train - are there any whines from the gearbox? Does WOT in a high gear cause clutch slip? Are gear changes smooth?
Engine - does it sound smooth on cold start? Does it idle smoothly? Any pinking at WOT? Any strange noises?
Brakes - any vibration? Are there lips of over 2mm on the edge of the discs? Does the peddle travel feel right? Does the car brake without pulling L/R?
Tyres - Is the wear even across each tyre? How much is left in them? Are they the same brand/model fitted all round? Is the wear equal across the axles?
Hood - does it all work and chime when completed? Is the fabric taught when it's closed?
Trim - Is the driver's seat showing wear on the side pad stitching? Do the seats adjust OK? Are there any scuffs/stains?
MMI - can you connect your phone? Do all speakers work? Is the screen UV damaged? Does the reverse camera work?
Lights - do they all work?
Body - is it in good condition and free of chips/scuffs/scrapes?
Wheels - are they scuff free? Does the car track straight?

Service History - get the service history from Audi using the VIN. They will email this to you. If there is Indy service history, are the company well known (eg RE Eng)?
Finance - Do an AA / HPI check for finance and write off alerts with the plate and the VIN.
MOT history - have the MOT's been done at an Audi main dealer (or a back street nobody)? You need the V5 certificate number to check the MOT locations.

It's not a comprehensive list, but this will give you answers to most of the points that a PPI will report on and these things aren't difficult to check. Take a list along with you, tick things off.

You may well find one or two things that aren't perfect, but they need not put you off buying a good car if they can be fixed quite cheaply. Dampers and AC are the things most likely to cost money, engines and gearboxes are pretty tough.

Gaps in the service history and worn seats/trim in a low mileage car reek of neglect. Walk away from those.

Edited by Raven Flyer on Tuesday 26th November 13:22

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

Where are you located? I had QS Tuning in Haywards Heath inspect my car and would recommend as well as Ricky.

thanks I am Portsmouth (see you are Portsmouth reece ) are you local to me then ?
I am not sure where the car is , will ricky travel ? what is cost roughly ?
cheers

[ian-163jt]

Raven Flyer said:

The main points are quite easy to check yourself. I didn't get a PPI but did the following checks on most of the cars I looked at...

Suspension - does the sport mode work? Are the damper quiet over poor surfaces? Wipe them with a kitchen roll - are they dry or oily?
Air Con - does pressing the AC button activate the compressor? Is it quiet? Does cold air come out?
Drive train - are there any whines from the gearbox? Does WOT in a high gear cause clutch slip? Are gear changes smooth?
Engine - does it sound smooth on cold start? Does it idle smoothly? Any pinking at WOT? Any strange noises?
Brakes - any vibration? Are there lips of over 2mm on the edge of the discs? Does the peddle travel feel right? Does the car brake without pulling L/R?
Tyres - Is the wear even across each tyre? How much is left in them? Are they the same brand/model fitted all round? Is the wear equal across the axles?
Hood - does it all work and chime when completed? Is the fabric taught when it's closed?
Trim - Is the driver's seat showing wear on the side pad stitching? Do the seats adjust OK? Are there any scuffs/stains?
MMI - can you connect your phone? Do all speakers work? Is the screen UV damaged? Does the reverse camera work?
Lights - do they all work?
Body - is it in good condition and free of chips/scuffs/scrapes?
Wheels - are they scuff free? Does the car track straight?

Service History - get the service history from Audi using the VIN. They will email this to you. If there is Indy service history, are the company well known (eg RE Eng)?
Finance - Do an AA / HPI check for finance and write off alerts with the plate and the VIN.
MOT history - have the MOT's been done at an Audi main dealer (or a back street nobody)? You need the V5 certificate number to check the MOT locations.

It's not a comprehensive list, but this will give you answers to most of the points that a PPI will report on and these things aren't difficult to check. Take a list along with you, tick things off.

You may well find one or two things that aren't perfect, but they need not put you off buying a good car if they can be fixed quite cheaply. Dampers and AC are the things most likely to cost money, engines and gearboxes are pretty tough.

Gaps in the service history and worn seats/trim in a low mileage car reek of neglect. Walk away from those.

Edited by Raven Flyer on Tuesday 26th November 13:22

Christ you know your stuff !!!!!
do you want to do it ?
I am not after any insurance backed / guarantee stuff , I just want the common major faults check , the car is 2007 with 40k , , 10 owners though .
cheers

[ian-163jt]

ian-163jt said:

thanks I am Portsmouth (see you are Portsmouth reece ) are you local to me then ?
I am not sure where the car is , will ricky travel ? what is cost roughly ?
cheers

oh so ricky is one place & q.s tuning another , so q.s. do it as well ?

[ian-163jt]

ian-163jt said:

Christ you know your stuff !!!!!
do you want to do it ?
I am not after any insurance backed / guarantee stuff , I just want the common major faults check , the car is 2007 with 40k , , 10 owners though .
cheers

have you got r8 or something different ?
I may wait and see if somebody sells one on here that people know is a good one as don't want to buy a dog ..

[PompeyReece]

ian-163jt said:

PompeyReece said:

Where are you located? I had QS Tuning in Haywards Heath inspect my car and would recommend as well as Ricky.

Thanks I am Portsmouth (see you are Portsmouth reece ) are you local to me then ?
I am not sure where the car is , will ricky travel ? what is cost roughly ?
cheers

Yes, I am just outside Portsmouth.

Ricky will travel but you'll need to pay for his time although no idea of costs as I didn't use him. My PPI was with QS Tuning and they charged me two hours for an inspection with a verbal report which was roughly £160/£200. However the car was driven to them as opposed to them travelling to the car but the report was sound - no major issues, touch wood, in just under 3 years of ownership.

If not, RAC will do a detailed inspection anywhere or you could try JKM on the Hilsea Industrial estate? No idea if they do inspections but they've done some remedial work (battery swap, sensor change) on my R8 without issues.

Whatever you do get a PPI - I had a close shave and the PPI saved me!

[ian-163jt]

PompeyReece said:

Yes, I am just outside Portsmouth.

Ricky will travel but you'll need to pay for his time although no idea of costs as I didn't use him. My PPI was with QS Tuning and they charged me two hours for an inspection with a verbal report which was roughly £160/£200. However the car was driven to them as opposed to them travelling to the car but the report was sound - no major issues, touch wood, in just under 3 years of ownership.

If not, RAC will do a detailed inspection anywhere or you could try JKM on the Hilsea Industrial estate? No idea if they do inspections but they've done some remedial work (battery swap, sensor change) on my R8 without issues.

Whatever you do get a PPI - I had a close shave and the PPI saved me!

thanks for heads up , I suppose it depends on area , I would fully pay for somebody's time like Ricky, maybe I will see area of car first then make decision , rac are they any good as at least they are all over the country ...

[ian-163jt]

ian-163jt said:

thanks for heads up , I suppose it depends on area , I would fully pay for somebody's time like Ricky, maybe I will see area of car first then make decision , rac are they any good as at least they are all over the country ...

I cant expect the buyer to drive to somebody really as don't think I would want to it if I was seller ?