R8 V10 Plus Questions (Gen2)

[Chrisatronic]

So I'm deep into R8 research and have a few questions I hope someone can help with. Hopefully I don't get thrown out for it not being a supercar...

I'm interested in early Gen2 V10+, 2015-2017 £70-80k budget - looking to purchase by end of 2021.

- Is there any way to determine life left in the Ceramic discs? If a car hasn't been tracked, how much life will 1-2 track days a year take off?
- Is there a steel swap option if I want to track more? Mega bucks?
- The early cars (up to June 2016?) with bouncy magride at low-speed. Is there a TSB for the fix or is it a warranty fight? I have read of owners getting them replaced with 2017 units by Audi under warranty, but how likely is that? Would it be done out of warranty?
- Is magride still a liability like Gen1?
- Are there any third party warranties worth having, or Audi only?
- Can anyone share their renewal prices for Audi warranty? £1850 with £250 excess seems reasonable for year 1, but interested what year 2 comes in at.
- Very few cars seem to have PPF, does this mean the paint is decent or are they all going to be peppered? Similarly is the paint an easy match for non Audi bodyshops (Vegas Yellow / Ara Blue top of the list)
- Is there a way to see clutch life & launch control count over OBD? Worth worrying about?
- Is there a VIN decoder somewhere?

Thanks for any help,
Chris

[R8Reece]

I'm in a similar position, don't have all the answers but:

- Surely the life question surely depends on how hard they've been driven. However 1-2 days a year I don't think will take much off. I think there are refurb options too instead of replacing the whole disc
- Normal V10 had steel brakes so a possible option but unsure it they can be retrofitted to a plus - don't think they were an option on the plus
- Mag ride bouncing - can't help with that one
- I have a Gen 1 and don't believe the mag ride is a liability - they will fail but generally only after 15,000/20,000 miles unless you drive hard. Can't comment if the Gen 2's are more reliable or not.
- NA, not looked at this, I run my Gen 1 without one but did look at a warranty (see below)
- My Gen 1 was quoted at £1,800 - I've heard stories of following year renewals being cheaper though and £1,800 seems fair. I looked at WarrantyWise and think they quoted £600!
- I think the lack of PPF is because they are cheaper to maintain/repair than other similar Ferrari's, Lambo's, McLarens etc. I am looking at having work done on my Gen 1 which is black, no paint matching issues. I wouldn't necessarily look for PPF.
- Clutch life I think can be viewed from diagnostics. Can't help with the launch control question
- No idea

[Chrisatronic]

R8Reece said:

I'm in a similar position, don't have all the answers but:

- Surely the life question surely depends on how hard they've been driven. However 1-2 days a year I don't think will take much off. I think there are refurb options too instead of replacing the whole disc
- Normal V10 had steel brakes so a possible option but unsure it they can be retrofitted to a plus - don't think they were an option on the plus
- Mag ride bouncing - can't help with that one
- I have a Gen 1 and don't believe the mag ride is a liability - they will fail but generally only after 15,000/20,000 miles unless you drive hard. Can't comment if the Gen 2's are more reliable or not.
- NA, not looked at this, I run my Gen 1 without one but did look at a warranty (see below)
- My Gen 1 was quoted at £1,800 - I've heard stories of following year renewals being cheaper though and £1,800 seems fair. I looked at WarrantyWise and think they quoted £600!
- I think the lack of PPF is because they are cheaper to maintain/repair than other similar Ferrari's, Lambo's, McLarens etc. I am looking at having work done on my Gen 1 which is black, no paint matching issues. I wouldn't necessarily look for PPF.
- Clutch life I think can be viewed from diagnostics. Can't help with the launch control question
- No idea

RE: The brakes question was more a question of can a PPI help determine the life, are they measurable like steels? If it's already been tracked (which obviously I don't know) then they might be near end of life on purchase which would be bad news for me. Likewise the magride, shocks that last 15-20k sound like a liability to me?

Good news on the paint, I guess there's no fancy triple layers to match etc. so normal competent shops can blend ok.

[Trev450]

I could be mistaken but I have been led to believe that the only method of gauging wear to CC brake discs is to weigh them.

[davek_964]

Trev450 said:

I could be mistaken but I have been led to believe that the only method of gauging wear to CC brake discs is to weigh them.

I also thought this

[Chrisatronic]

Trev450 said:

I could be mistaken but I have been led to believe that the only method of gauging wear to CC brake discs is to weigh them.

davek_964 said:

I also thought this

Thanks, I have read that aswell. Probably not going to be covered by a PPI, so I need to be quite sure of the cars history. Bit more googling suggests they will last the 'lifetime' of the car with road use, about 2k miles with track use. I don't imagine there are many V10+ being used regularly on track so maybe I'm worrying over nothing, it's just a massive bill if it does happen so would like to mitigate it if I can.

[davek_964]

Chrisatronic said:

it's just a massive bill if it does happen so would like to mitigate it if I can.

Don't blame you - it's one of the things that scares me about my car!

[Raven Flyer]

With regard to warranties, the Audi warranty is approx 60% of the first year price on renewal. It is effectively a factory warranty (dealers sort out claims/repairs, you don't pay upfront and hope to claim it back, not charge for diagnostics) so can't be compared to third party warranty companies. I'm now paying approx £900pa for full component cover, £100 excess on a 2013 V10 Spyder.

I haven't needed to make any claims, but it is good peace of mind.