2013 New Year's Resolution(s) for your Audi R8

[SebringSilver]

Happy New Year, everyone!

I was just wondering what other people have decided to do with their R8s this year. Are you going to make it go faster, look more menacing, handle better, and how?

Or are you going to drive it more, drive it less, keep it, sell it, replace it?

Those of you who've been lurking and contemplating, are you going to finally take the plunge in 2013 and get yourself one of the sweetest rides in the world?

Myself, I'm going to enjoy the car as it was meant to be enjoyed: as a daily driver, albeit one that looks just amazing and sounds amazing and drives incredibly smoothly. The only thing I might do is to repaint the hood as there are quite a few rock chips there already.

[omgbananas]

"don't wreck it" is my main goal (regardless of fault)

[omeletpants]

I'm considering buying one but worry about where I will be able to drive it. How cautious is everyone about where they park it or how much they leave it out of their view? It draws a lot of attention and wonder how often strangers are pawing at it or if you get keyed from jealous people. Do these issues become considerations on how you enjoy and use your R8?

[SebringSilver]

I'm considering buying one but worry about where I will be able to drive it. How cautious is everyone about where they park it or how much they leave it out of their view? It draws a lot of attention and wonder how often strangers are pawing at it or if you get keyed from jealous people. Do these issues become considerations on how you enjoy and use your R8?

I wouldn't let that be the reason for not getting one. Unless you live in a ghetto somewhere, the risks you run with ownership of this car wouldn't be much different than with any other relatively high-end car. In fact, I'd venture to say the R8 tends to get a disproportionately higher amount of positive attention than most other exotics. Part of that has to do with the fact that it isn't *super* expensive, and most people see it as a car that they can possibly attain "in a few years" perhaps by buying a pre-owned car.

There's a lot less "hate", per se, on the R8 than there is on Lambos and Ferraris as the perception out there is that most people will never be able to buy a Lambo or a Ferrari and there's just much more envy (the evil sort) of the owners of those cars. That's just my take on it, of course.

As for parking, as long as you have a garage to park it in at night, you're fine. When out and about, the only thing you need to worry about is parking the car in a space that allows you sufficient clearance for the long-ish doors to swing open enough so that you and/or your passenger can ingress/egress in relative comfort.

Get one! You'll regret it if you don't.

[omeletpants]

Thanks Sebring, I currently have an S5 and have owned Jaguars and BMWs in the past. To be honest, none have really stirred my passion and i looked at them as nice cars, but that's all. Since owing an Audi I doubt I would ever have any other brand. I have friends that have Maybachs, Bentley and Ferraris and they do nothing for me. When I look at a picture of a Lambo I think "that guy is showing off and the car is impractical". They do nothing for me.

That said, I lust after the R8.....I dream about them. It's the only high end car I feel that way about. I'm kinda holding out for the 2013 and also am concerned with a bad stock market this year.

[Moggy]

I plan on adding a 4-point harness this year.

[omgbananas]

A friend of mine has several exotics, and he says that the interactions in his R8 are > 90% positive, and when out in a Ferrari it is 50/50. He's a numbers nerd, and knowing him he legitimately tracks these stats vs just guessing by feel.

I'd also say that the bigger your relative wealth to that of the cost/value of the car, the less you care - beyond just the emotional attachment.

Finance it so that it takes up your whole paycheck to pay for it and insurance, then you are constantly scared of what happens to it.
Pay cash and have plenty to cover it, then it is just the annoyance of the time.

My current feelings are more just looking like an idiot having such a nice car and then doing something stupid with it. Everyone loves their schadenfreude.

[LAT]

I'm going to have the Capristo valve and hope it will address the poor performance on the dyno.

Otherwise it's a great car


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[SebringSilver]

That said, I lust after the R8.....I dream about them. It's the only high end car I feel that way about. I'm kinda holding out for the 2013 and also am concerned with a bad stock market this year.

You know why you feel that way about the R8? It's because you're intelligent and the R8 is a thinking man's kind of car. It's a no-brainer to go out and buy the most expensive and showy car you can, when money's not an issue. But it's a very different situation when you can have a lot of great things to choose from, but you study your options closely and actually make a choice based on things other than "what will impress my friends the most". A new R8 V10 is going to cost you around $210,000 (in Canada anyway), and at that price, there are a lot of cars that you can choose from. But I suspect many of us bought the car not because it was the one they could afford, but because it was the one they wanted after careful consideration of all factors involved.

[SebringSilver]

A friend of mine has several exotics, and he says that the interactions in his R8 are > 90% positive, and when out in a Ferrari it is 50/50. He's a numbers nerd, and knowing him he legitimately tracks these stats vs just guessing by feel.

I'd also say that the bigger your relative wealth to that of the cost/value of the car, the less you care - beyond just the emotional attachment.

Finance it so that it takes up your whole paycheck to pay for it and insurance, then you are constantly scared of what happens to it.
Pay cash and have plenty to cover it, then it is just the annoyance of the time.

My current feelings are more just looking like an idiot having such a nice car and then doing something stupid with it. Everyone loves their schadenfreude.

LOL...Will you quit it with the paranoia?? (Just kidding.)

Seriously though, if you keep worrying that something bad is going to happen, I'll bet that something bad REALLY WILL happen. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that...