Recession dings R8's

[Rfong]

What do you think the recession has done to the value of R8's? No one ever really tells the truth on forums, but it looks like a car that would have been worth $150K pre/recession is now worth $120K. That's a $30K drop. Unlike real estate and even stocks, the value of cars never goes back up so that $30K drop is permanent. That means during the entire life of 2008 R8's there is a $30K dent in the price history. But as soon as the recession is over, prices will be restored for the model year after the recovery. Just the 2008 R8's have taken the big hit.

This is also happening with Ferrari and Lamborhgini. So does that make the 2008 generation of R8's an incredible bargain on the used car market?

This price drop has opened up the sales of R8's to a lower purchasing group. Soon the selling price of an used R8 will be under $100K which makes it affordable to people who would have never dreamed of buying such a car.

Does this dilute the exclusive appeal of the car?

I received offers for three, in stock, 2009 R8's at MSRP. They could be purchased for under MSRP with a little negotiation.

[R8 England]

Check out other threads, and you will see that we have the same (or bigger) problem in the UK. Not just with R8, but with Lambo and Ferrari as well........

No, it does not dilute the appeal.................

[mdc]

It is still a rare sighting to see an R8 on the freeway. I’ve seen 3 on the road, two parked on the street in past 1.5 years... Saw a bunch in and out of the dealers. My car is arriving soon, they are sticking to MSRP. I am lacking in negotiation skill, but I did try.

[gsmps]

The most I have seen off of MSRP is 5k, but most dealers are only doing MSRP. Some are still foolish enough to think they will get 10-20k over sticker

[Stewart W]

What do you think the recession has done to the value of R8's? No one ever really tells the truth on forums, but it looks like a car that would have been worth $150K pre/recession is now worth $120K. That's a $30K drop. Unlike real estate and even stocks, the value of cars never goes back up so that $30K drop is permanent. That means during the entire life of 2008 R8's there is a $30K dent in the price history. But as soon as the recession is over, prices will be restored for the model year after the recovery. Just the 2008 R8's have taken the big hit.

This is also happening with Ferrari and Lamborhgini. So does that make the 2008 generation of R8's an incredible bargain on the used car market?

This price drop has opened up the sales of R8's to a lower purchasing group. Soon the selling price of an used R8 will be under $100K which makes it affordable to people who would have never dreamed of buying such a car.

Does this dilute the exclusive appeal of the car?

I received offers for three, in stock, 2009 R8's at MSRP. They could be purchased for under MSRP with a little negotiation.

*************
Opinions on this subject will vary greatly. IMHO..the question is "why the vehicle sold for 150K in the first place"..
I have never paid over MSRP for any car..as I have posted before. The littlest effort can yield great results. My 91 NSX,06 M6,05 Ford GT,05 Elise were all purchased at MSRP or below at a time when others were willing to pay market "markups"..
Very few cars will appreciate unless bought specifically for that purpose,stored properly and sold when the vehicle spurs the attention of collectors.
Ferrari,one that has typically bucked this trend, is now available to anyone at MSRP..The R8 is a practical vehicle
( albeit a sexy,technologically advanced ,beautiful and limited production practical vehicle) and for that reason will be "driven" by most of its owners ..
Mileage will have a great deal to do with established values. For that reason, I suspect used ( excuse me ,pre-driven) r8s will be all over the market..I have seen cars with 20K miles on them in 12 months..All my above cars combined did not have that much mileage when sold..
R8s will maintain value better than most but are not immune to market conditions. Who drives the car is less an issue than how many are driven..The car is limited and will be accompanied by V10 $150K version shortly..I would not buy an R8 or any car these days with the intent of making money on it..If one can drive this car a year or two and it costs $10-15 K to do so..this would be quite acceptable to me. I have a spyder on order at MSRP..I will most probably sell my current R8 at time of delivery and depending on whether Audi maintains ltd production numbers will determine its value..If I sell it for $110K , I would be thrilled.
My .02.
Happy Holidays

[wedouglas]

Yeah, $30K off of $25K over MSRP. Depending on the mileage, I'd say you're still looking near MSRP for low miles, maybe $10-20K less for 8K miles.

[Bodhii]

But as soon as the recession is over, prices will be restored...

You think this USA/World financial crisis is a short term blimp on the chart? LOL.. This crisis is NOT like a cold, where all will return back to "normal" in a short time. The new World financial realities are fundamental, very significant, and permanent.

A HUGE portion of the old, pre-crisis, USA/World economy was created by over leveraged, speculation money that was borrowed via improperly collateralized credit. This HUGE part of the USA/World economy that was made using such practices, is NEVER going to return. Never! And that huge percent of the USA/World economy that was created and supported by such monies, will NOT be coming back anytime in the foreseeable future.

Such high levels of wealth will need to be rebuilt brick by brick, with slow, deliberate, sound financial means. It's going to take decades... And such pre-crisis wealth can only then be replaced, if, and only if, new, revolutionary technologies are discovered and implemented,... or, if the staggering World population growth, can be dramatically slowed or reduced.

Hopefully, you are someone who is, or will be, making money through this painful future financial reality. If not, I hope you are in a good enough position to withstand some significant, overall, permanent value loss in all equities,.. including the Audi R8.

In the meantime, go out and enjoy your R8. That's what it was made for!

[R8 England]

100% agree.

It means that those who could never have afforded a late used model sports car, can now do so (asuming they didn't loose their money in the crash !).

Over here, Porsche have crashed in price - many dealers have too much stock of new cars. Name your price and get a deal.

It also (probably) means that there will be fewer new sports manufactured, so more exclusivity, since there is no point in making cars if no-one can afford to buy them.

The V10 will be rare anyway - no more than 10-25% of R8 production will be the V10 model. Audi's policy is the keep V8 and V10 production limited in any event. So, if you get a V10 it will be a rare and exclusive beast.

And yes, forget about getting your money back on the car; these days are gone for the forseable future.

So buy it to enjoy, or don't buy at all !!!!!!!!!!!!

[09R8]

pricing will certainly be affected and it is showing. There are dealers with stock sitting in their showroom floor that's not selling. It's a great time to buy. Who knows, if the economy gets any worse in the next two qtrs, expect to see discounts. The V10 will be a different story as it is even more limited. No matter how you look at it, it is a depreciating asset. Buy it for the fun of the ownership. Not at how much it is worth in a yr or two.

[resonate]

The V10 will be a different story as it is even more limited.

What are the expected production numbers compared to the V8?