Audi R8 Advice

[Tim The Tall Man Taylor]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the group, i use to be a big fan of the TV show Home Improvement for the reason my name. I am looking at buying a Audi R8, I wanted to know if anyone has owned one and if they are fairly reliable, also if there is anything I need to watch on them with the older cars. Are the 2008-2009 models worth looking into or is it better to look at new models such as a 2015, 2016. For me I am looking for a daily driver,

[mikiec]

Generally they seem to be pretty reliable, but if things do go wrong it might be punchy. If you can’t afford/stomach a big bill probably not worth getting. I’ve daily driven mine for the last 3 years and it’s basically been bulletproof but some people have had costly ones.

Get one with a solid service history and/or ppi.

Don’t think there is a huge difference between the years but a v10 plus with passive dampers would be worth paying extra for, as you avoid one of the known weak points.

[PompeyReece]

Have a look at this thread on PH :

- https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=12...

Also there are some buyers guides out there on the intranetwebthingy too:

- Auto Express - https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/audi/r8/60345/used-a...

- AA - https://www.theaa.com/car-reviews/audi/r-8/42-fsi-...

- Parkers - https://www.parkers.co.uk/audi/r8/coupe-2007/used-...

[Tim The Tall Man Taylor]

mikiec said:

Generally they seem to be pretty reliable, but if things do go wrong it might be punchy. If you can’t afford/stomach a big bill probably not worth getting. I’ve daily driven mine for the last 3 years and it’s basically been bulletproof but some people have had costly ones.

Get one with a solid service history and/or ppi.

Don’t think there is a huge difference between the years but a v10 plus with passive dampers would be worth paying extra for, as you avoid one of the known weak points.

Hi mate, I thought they would have fairly high bills when something goes wrong. It was more or less daily use and if you keep up the services are fairly reliable or just bottomless money traps. I have always admired them but I did not want to conciser purchase of one if all they are going to be is one big money pit.

[Tim The Tall Man Taylor]

PompeyReece said:

Have a look at this thread on PH :

- https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=12...

Also there are some buyers guides out there on the intranetwebthingy too:

- Auto Express - https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/audi/r8/60345/used-a...

- AA - https://www.theaa.com/car-reviews/audi/r-8/42-fsi-...

- Parkers - https://www.parkers.co.uk/audi/r8/coupe-2007/used-...

Cheers Mate will take a look, thanks

[PompeyReece]

Tim The Tall Man Taylor said:

Hi mate, I thought they would have fairly high bills when something goes wrong. It was more or less daily use and if you keep up the services are fairly reliable or just bottomless money traps. I have always admired them but I did not want to conciser purchase of one if all they are going to be is one big money pit.

Sorry if pitching in but generally they are reliable but are expensive when things go wrong (rare). Some rough costs:

- £800 set of tyres
- £2,500 set of brakes and pads
- £3,000 clutch
- £4,000 set of four magnetic ride shocks

An inspection will help you identify any pitfalls before purchase and avoid large bills - regular servicing more important than age/mileage.

[Tim The Tall Man Taylor]

PompeyReece said:

Tim The Tall Man Taylor said:

Hi mate, I thought they would have fairly high bills when something goes wrong. It was more or less daily use and if you keep up the services are fairly reliable or just bottomless money traps. I have always admired them but I did not want to conciser purchase of one if all they are going to be is one big money pit.

Sorry if pitching in but generally they are reliable but are expensive when things go wrong (rare). Some rough costs:

- £800 set of tyres
- £2,500 set of brakes and pads
- £3,000 clutch
- £4,000 set of four magnetic ride shocks

An inspection will help you identify any pitfalls before purchase and avoid large bills - regular servicing more important than age/mileage.

No not at all appreciate the information. I am really just looking around at the moment trying to decide what to get. I am after something a bit different I can drive every day. For sure agree its worth paying for a inspection. If you have any suggestions on other cars feel free to comment, I am really just on the car hunt as a sports/ super car daily driver. I drove a Tesla a year ago, so much happening with them, has to say I prefer the roar and pops from internal combustion.

[PompeyReece]

Tim The Tall Man Taylor said:

No not at all appreciate the information. I am really just looking around at the moment trying to decide what to get. I am after something a bit different I can drive every day. For sure agree its worth paying for a inspection. If you have any suggestions on other cars feel free to comment, I am really just on the car hunt as a sports/ super car daily driver. I drove a Tesla a year ago, so much happening with them, has to say I prefer the roar and pops from internal combustion.

Only alternative that springs to mind is a 911 Turbo however a) how different/exciting it is for you I don't know and b) you won't get as much bang for your buck vs an R8.

Some GT's (Aston Martin, Maserati etc.) might fulfill the daily driver requirement but aren't a sporty/supercar. There are more exotic models out there like a McLaren 570s that'll do the daily drive but expect more overheads/attention.

[mikiec]

Tim The Tall Man Taylor said:

Hi mate, I thought they would have fairly high bills when something goes wrong. It was more or less daily use and if you keep up the services are fairly reliable or just bottomless money traps. I have always admired them but I did not want to conciser purchase of one if all they are going to be is one big money pit.

For what an r8 offers and compared to the alternatives they are a safe bet. I got mine with a 3 year warranty which just ran out and I haven’t bothered to renew, although it won’t be my daily going forward.
Fabulous cars, the sound is intoxicating and it don’t think there is anything close for the money.

[NewNameNeeded]

Great car to be shopping for! I wrote the below after a years R8 ownership, and it might be of interest.

I kept the car for 2.5 years and 30,000 miles and loved every minute, and the below held true for it all.

Only thing I'd add is that the peddles are heavily offset to centre of car to accommodate front wheel arch. Never seen anyone mention or complain about it, but it did my knee no favours.

Anyway, here's what I wrote back then.

Show me the money
Let’s start with the costs. One year of ownership and about 6,000 miles has cost £2,250 (a health check, 4 new tyres, replacement rear brake light and a £875 service) plus road tax and insurance costing £1,100 combined, plus fuel which I’d estimate has cost an eye-watering £2,300. So £5,650 all in. I’m clutching to the fact that’s less than £1 a mile, but it’s obviously a lot of money. And that’s without anything major needing replacing. The tyres I actually couldn’t find cheaper than the price Audi quoted. The rear brake light replacement was something like £230 and I felt Audi weaselled their way out of this being covered under the used approved warranty.

High running and maintenance costs are thankfully offset by very little depreciation over the last year. So overall, it’s probably been cheaper to run than if I’d picked up a brand new A3, which would lose a lot of value over the first few years.

No problems as a daily driver
For a wide, low supercar/sports car it remains an easy daily driver. Visibility is good, there is no scraping over bumps/ramps/inclines if taken at sensible speeds. I had more issues getting a MK1 TTR over bumps than I have had with the R8 – the front splitter gives great clearance for this type of car, and none of the horror stories I’ve heard around Gallardos and the need for front-lift for speed bumps, car parks and driveways. Manoeuvrable at low speeds, and easy to place when parking. Rear parking camera superb. Go easy on the peddle and it feels more like 200BHP than 430BHP, and power delivery is smooth however heavy you are on the peddle, making it a civilised car to drive when you need it to be. It’s wide, and the doors are wide, and I’m pretty wide too – so you do have to think a little about parking spaces, but it has never stopped me from going somewhere or being able to park once I got there.

It is thirsty though. Especially if you keep it a gear or two lower than it needs to be, to keep it in its peak power range and to get a howl from the engine. I’ve maybe averaged mid-teens. So get used to filling it up.

Sense of occasion
Time and familiarity with the car obviously means it doesn't feel quite as special as it did. But I still get exciting at the thought of taking it for a drive, I still take the long/fun route from A to B, it still makes me look back everytime I’m walking away from it. Dropping down low in to the seat feels great. The sound of the V8 remains something wonderful. More subtle, but (for me) far more special than trick exhausts on smaller engines. I love the ‘stealth’ look, in black – but admit that pretty much any colour makes the car look more special (and better to photograph!).


Dealership experience
The car was bought from the Audi used approved network and so has been looked after by Audi dealerships. They’ve been ok, but no stand out service. No more special than I experienced owning Toyotas or Peugeots.

Reminders you’re driving something a bit different
Struggling to source a tyre and find anywhere local outside of the dealer network able to change a tyre reminds you the car is relatively low volume and relatively unique. Halfords, Kwik-Fit, Black Circles, F1 Autocentres were all unable to help. And as far as I am aware not all Audi dealerships are set up to service the R8 (they need to be Audi Sport centres), and I struggled to find good independents familiar with the R8.

Community
Great online community via both r8talk.com and R8 owners club on Facebook, but a shame that there is very little in the way of R8 owners meets. I’m jealous of friends with Porsches and the incredibly active clubs, but obviously there are a few more 911s on the road than there are R8s. And just a little bit more history! But Audi forums like this are great.

Public reaction
I don’t like standing out. So I’d no desire to own this car to say “look at me, look at me”. It nearly put me off. The car does get noticed, but only in a positive way. I’m surprised by how many non-petrolheads know what it is, when they wouldn’t have a clue what model of Ferrari had just driven past. Public reaction has only been positive – I’ve had countless conversations at petrol stations with folk wanting to know a bit about the car, and no issues in traffic or being let out at junctions. Kids pointing and shouting "that's an R8" is lovely.

Interestingly the car gets very little interest or enthusiasm at car meets, which I don’t mind – I’d rather spend the time looking around everyone elses cars than talking about my own - but whilst the general public seem quite interested in it (and know what it is) the car community seems less interested.

What next
And here's the biggest quandary. I've no immediate desire to move on, but I've absolutely no idea what I'd move to. I've no interest in a Ferrari or Lambo, don't want the V10, don't want a 'sensible' hatchback/saloon/estate, no matter how quick, have no desire to lose a load of cash through depreciation. So for now, I'm "stuck" with the R8. Not a bad place to be and something I'd wholeheartedly recommend for your own midlife crisis 😁

[AstonExige]

I've recently purchased a 2011 V10 Manual, great cars I'm sure you won't regret it. If you read the internet a lot, you'll want to avoid Magride, I was the opposite, bit of research and I leanrt they seem to last between 20k and 60k miles, bit of a lottery when they can go, but can be replaced individually and it turns out there is a reputable company that provides refurbs for £500 a corner. So for me being able to switch between comfort for bumpy roads and sport for elsewhere was on my must have list. And if in 3 yrs and 12k miles I have to replace a couple, so be it, a £1000 isn't going to break the bank.

[PompeyReece]

AstonExige said:

I've recently purchased a 2011 V10 Manual, great cars I'm sure you won't regret it. If you read the internet a lot, you'll want to avoid Magride, I was the opposite, bit of research and I leanrt they seem to last between 20k and 60k miles, bit of a lottery when they can go, but can be replaced individually and it turns out there is a reputable company that provides refurbs for £500 a corner. So for me being able to switch between comfort for bumpy roads and sport for elsewhere was on my must have list. And if in 3 yrs and 12k miles I have to replace a couple, so be it, a £1000 isn't going to break the bank.

I've had it suggested to me that because the mag rides have to be cut in half to be refurbished (as they are a sealed unit not designed to be re-furbished or taken apart), the refurbed ones are less than reliable.

Anyone else heard this?

[Cosworth4388]

PompeyReece said:

I've had it suggested to me that because the mag rides have to be cut in half to be refurbished (as they are a sealed unit not designed to be re-furbished or taken apart), the refurbed ones are less than reliable.

Anyone else heard this?

Yes heard of a few refurbed ones failing as they do require cutting in half to refurb.

I bought a 2014 V10 plus in late December , I’m running it with no warranty and it’s been faultless in the last 6 months , so far so good

[Trev450]

PompeyReece said:

I've had it suggested to me that because the mag rides have to be cut in half to be refurbished (as they are a sealed unit not designed to be re-furbished or taken apart), the refurbed ones are less than reliable.

Anyone else heard this?

Yes I've heard this too Reece. It's another reason why I swapped mine to passives when they failed.

[carash]

there are a lot of info on r8talk forum on this....u can prob find out a bit more there
the most common are the magnetic shocks leaking and AC...for the v8 models the AC requires an engine out (a friend of mine has this issue is wondering if he should sell the car...it's a 7k expense here in the US). My r8 has not left me stranded for the past 6 years, but it did get a decent amount of repairs. Fortunately in the US we are able to get very inexpensive extended warranties, which took care of all the issues so ownership has been surprisingly low in cost (i still have an warranty till 2027, which is simply amazing). My car has the oil/water pump, 4 magnetic shocks, AC compressor and pressure sensor, front and rear sway bar links, HVAC motherboard, seat controls, o2 sensors replaced..yeah so about 25-30k worth of warranty work for 15k miles that I put on it in the past 6 years.

[davejones]

I took the plunge a couple of years ago and bought a 2011 V10 Manual Spyder - sourced it from an Audi main dealer and came with the Audi Approved Warranty which I didn't need to claim on - my experience has been very positive, the car does not get used everyday but I'm confident it could fulfil that purpose and not break the bank - Ricky at REPerformance gets very good press for providing great service and knowledge of these cars and as someone mentioned finding an Audi Dealer who has R8 trained technicians available is not easy - I've had experience of cancelled routine service bookings because one tech was on vacation and the other phoned in sick... Good job I've selected the variable service option...all in all I've been happy with the purchase and again as others have mentioned they seem to get positive reactions, I wanted a V10 Manual so didn't look at any gen 2 models so can't comment on any differences.

[AstonExige]

PompeyReece said:

I've had it suggested to me that because the mag rides have to be cut in half to be refurbished (as they are a sealed unit not designed to be re-furbished or taken apart), the refurbed ones are less than reliable.

Anyone else heard this?

As part of my research, all I could find was people suggesting the refurbed ones could fail, not that there is evidence they do fail. To be honest, if they are cut then rewelded, I'm not sure why that means they are any more susceptible to failure. Most of the car is held together with welds!

When looking into what car to buy, with or without magride, I tried to do my research with an open mind. There are a lot of people talking negatively about magride. The perception I got was this was sometimes down to the common, you'll always defend your own choice approach, and sometimes because they are justifying the move to passive suspension / protecting the future value of their car now they've made such a fundamental change. But don't get me wrong, I'd be seething if I'd just had to spend £1000 per corner resolving a design fault on the car! But now there is a viable alternative for half that, its not a given anymore that you should change to aftermarket coilovers at the first sign one is failing. So for me, Magride was a must have and I'll swallow the £500 bill if and when it arises over the coming years. If all mine go in the space of 6 months I might change my mind

[Kananga]

davejones said:

I took the plunge a couple of years ago and bought a 2011 V10 Manual Spyder - sourced it from an Audi main dealer and came with the Audi Approved Warranty which I didn't need to claim on - my experience has been very positive, the car does not get used everyday but I'm confident it could fulfil that purpose and not break the bank - Ricky at REPerformance gets very good press for providing great service and knowledge of these cars and as someone mentioned finding an Audi Dealer who has R8 trained technicians available is not easy - I've had experience of cancelled routine service bookings because one tech was on vacation and the other phoned in sick... Good job I've selected the variable service option...all in all I've been happy with the purchase and again as others have mentioned they seem to get positive reactions, I wanted a V10 Manual so didn't look at any gen 2 models so can't comment on any differences.

My experience has similarly been very positive. Just about to sell my R8 V10 Manual spyder but it has been one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Mine had a full Audi service history but sent it to RE Performance as Ricky is meant to be the best in the business. Spent about £7k getting everything perfect, including swapping the magrides for V10 Plus dampers (at Ricky’s recommendation). The ride is superb and no more worries about misting.

OP: drop me a line if you need any advice.

[Kevin-sz0nv]

Same here a late 2010 V10 manual spider, not my everyday car either had it 2 years not a thing gone wrong best car I've had for reliability, looks, engine and sound. Love it to bits it's a keeper.

[MrReg]

Sounds like I had a bad one after reading all these posts.
Had mine for about 2.5years, did about 25k miles I think.
2012 V8 Manual Spyder.

Oil cooler and front shocks fixed under warranty. Took about 3wks to get the parts in so was off the road.

1000miles later OSF shock went. Audi wouldn't cover as was now out of warranty.
Both rear shocks went.
NSF Front shock went again.

Roof failed when down. Audi Camberley wanted £600 to look at it, not to fix.
Needed a new roof motor.

OSF shock went again.
Rear shocks were starting to mist again...so I got rid.

Would I have another Audi - No.