Help / Advice on Buying a Used R8 from an Owner

[mccltd]

Hi,

I have found an R8 which meets my specs exactly. Price is not to bad either.
The car is up for sale by a Broker and I have never bought from a Broker before only dealers.

My first issue is re dress. Obviously there wont be any as i'm potentially buying it from the Old Owner.

What Should I look out for when viewing the car and what advise can you give me.
The car has 2 years warranty left.

regards,

Dave.

[mngolfer]

IMHO...You seem to need a great deal of information before making a decision. Many people are like that (my wife). If you like the car buy it. If you don't like it don't buy it. This is not the last vehicle you will ever purchase. Make a decision and move on.

Maybe you could have the local R8 mechanic examine the car for you for a fee to make sure the car is sound.

I hope you buy it and participate in the forum. )

[Stewart W]

IMHO...You seem to need a great deal of information before making a decision. Many people are like that (my wife). If you like the car buy it. If you don't like it don't buy it. This is not the last vehicle you will ever purchase. Make a decision and move on.

Maybe you could have the local R8 mechanic examine the car for you for a fee to make sure the car is sound.

I hope you buy it and participate in the forum. )

**********
If you are not comfortable in making the final decision but love the car then the pre purchase inspection should be done. You do not want just anybody that will sell their signature..Call the best local dealer and pay to have it done if they will provide the time by their R8 tech..or check out other car forums for some references of PPI specialists in your area
A thorough inspection can cost $1000-1500.00 ( 8-10 hours of work)..If the car is perfect it just became slightly more expensive..If it is not,you may have spent $1000 to save 10s of thousands..No other solutions!

[mccltd]

Thanks guys,

I was all for going to buy it by my wife did say about the re dress problem.
Started making me worry about things.
You hear all the horror stories of people buying 2nd hand cars, not the genuine owner, repairs etc.

The car has done 6000 miles in 11 months when will the next service be due do you think? (owner is on holiday at the moment)

Also what do you think will happen with the V8 R8 when the new V10 comes out. Will the prices on the V8 drop a lot?

[russman]

R8 service in the states is the first at 6 months or 600 miles. Following that, its every 10k miles or 1 year, whatever happens first. I dont think the V8 is going to take much of a hit. The differential in performance between the two doesn't seem to warrant the price difference.

Like mngolfer says, if you like it, buy it. Resale... schmeesale. Every car takes a hit when sold preowned and the R8 wont be any different. If you like it and can afford it, buy it. If the thought of horrible resale concerns you or the existence of a V10 makes you think... maybe it wasn't meant to be.

You live only one but once you're dead, its forever. Hate to be morbid but having lost someone close to me this week, it drives that point home even more. Plan for tomorrow, but live for today

[randombloke]

Pay for a full inspection and hpi check and if you're uncomfortable about any aspect then get written confirmation as although you're buying private you would still have legal redress for any mis-representation made to you. the balance of manufacturer warranty should give a cushion too.

the main things I'd check are whether the car has had any accident repairs, check the service history and also check if it was a press car at any stage.

[R84ME]

R8 service in the states is the first at 6 months or 600 miles. Following that, its every 10k miles or 1 year, whatever happens first.

Actually, the first service in the 2009 US Warranty & Maintenance booklet is a minor service at 5,000 miles or 1 year with subsequent services at 10,000 mile intervals (15,000, 25,000, etc.).

"Best practice" for any new engine is to change the oil & filter well before the first scheduled service, <1,000 miles to be sure. This is when new engines shed the most amount of metallic scraps.

[randombloke]

Actually, the first service in the 2009 US Warranty & Maintenance booklet is a minor service at 5,000 miles or 1 year with subsequent services at 10,000 mile intervals (15,000, 25,000, etc.).

We don't have that 5k first service in the UK. There are 2 service types here:

Inspection service:
for cars driven <10k miles pa, mainly city/town short journey type driving
oil change - every 10k miles/1yr
interval service - every 20k miles/2yrs
interval service inspection - every 40k miles/4yrs

or

LongLife Service
for cars driven more than 30 miles per day
motorway/main road constant speed type driving
Interval service - flexible to max of 20k miles/2 yrs
Interval Inspection Service - 40k miles/4 yrs

[richcliffe]

Sounds to me like you have too many worries to comfortably buy this car. My advice would be to find another one from an Audi dealer. I had the same worries when I was looking to buy, but a few weeks wait and I found the perfect car at the perfect price from Audi Leeds - EVERY option except reversing camera, perfect colour combination, and best of all £25k below list, with only 4k on the clock. So glad I waited, as the peace of mind was certainly worth it. Should it go wrong I have full Audi dealer back up.

[mccltd]

what do you think will happen to the V8 price when the V10 comes out?

for example in a year will the V10 100k new be 70K second hand.
Just that the V8 i'm looking at is a year old 70k 2nd hand and was 100k new.
Will it cause the V8 to drop some 20k a year?