What to look for with a pre-purchase inspection ?

[Stuart6587]

I have made an offer on an R8 V8 which is a private sale subject to a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) This is being undertaken by a specialist sports car garage who look after my RS6. The mechanic is an ex-Audi trained mechanic and whilst has done minor services on R8's is not an R8 specialist.

Subject to the PPI the car will then go to an approved Audi R8 Centre for a major service and outstanding recalls (oil lines and ECU)

With the PPI what specifically should I ask the garage to check ?

With the major service what will this entail; plugs, oil, oil filter, pollen filter, brake fluid, etc ? And what is this likely to cost ?

Many thanks

Stuart

[andyhofer]

Look to the owners manual re when these get done, plugs are done based on mileage, 60k miles for what I remember but could be wrong. Brake fluid is based on age. Pollen is also based on age, £99 from an independent.

There are two service types, Inspection and Oil, not sure which of the two is classed as major. Based like another car on either age or mileage.

My Inspection service cost £163
My oil service cost £263 but I took in my own oil which cost £142 from moto-oil.co.uk, Castrol Edge Professional Longlife III 5W-30. This service will include oil filter.

Hope that helps.

[bavorak]

Make sure they check the rear ball joints! That is a very expensive fix 5k in parts alone because both sides will need to be updated. Have the brakes, suspension and body checked for any signs off accidents or repairs. A thorough PPI will check the car from heel to toe and provide you with a detailed report. Also does the year, milage and condition seem to match the overall condition?

[andyhofer]

Make sure they check the rear ball joints! That is a very expensive fix 5k in parts alone because both sides will need to be updated?

Yep, mine had to have this done £3.5k, luckily third party warranty covered the faulty joint, only the one though £600, I had to pay £500, and Audi paid £2,400 as a good will gesture.

Very expensive, couldn't believe they had to do both sides, just for one ball joint. All the track rods had to be changed. Thanks Audi for helping me out even though they didn't have to.