new to this forum, R8 as a daily drive questions

[medtner]

Considering trading my Carrera Targa 4 w R8 V8, I have some questions
Hope to get good advice from current owners.
I already have Lamborghini LP 560 and Lotus Elise, both not very practical for daily use
1- Is the car practical for daily use including, low ground clearance, visibility, parking , underground parking and door opening when parked close to another car?
2- Can you leave the car alone in parking areas? does it get scratched or vandalized?
Does it get recognized as an exotic car or do people leave it alone thinking that it is a TT on steroids?
3- Got 4-8 k discounts on new 2010, V8, MT,should I expect better discount in the light of the fact that most of the people are trading in their V8 to get V10?
4- Coming from Lambo experience where color plays a major role in resale value, is this issue valid w R8? I prefer red color!
Thank you so much for your kind help

[Jeff]

I would never leave my R8 alone in a parking garage, but I do leave it on street parking in an outdoor shopping area near my home. Parking is lengthwise on the street so no one can ding it.

The R8 is absolutely recognized as something special. Expect attention everywhere -- on the road, when parked, everywhere. (There is ample discussion about this here.)

The ground clearance is low. I had to redo the entrance of my driveway to ensure that the front didn't hit.

There are people here who use an R8 as their daily driver -- it's all about what car you like.

[AnOutsider]

Daily for me, attention is manageable, doors swing a bit wide and the only time I notice clearance issues is when I pull into my steep driveway

[cavaret]

1. The car is practical for daily use, but there is low clearance issues mainly when going down slopes, so you just need to figure out the can and can'ts.
2. I leave the car alone all the time in parking garages and it has been fine. Usually you come out to people taking pictures of it.
3. I have no idea about the discounting. It seems like it is still limitedly available, so I would not expect much.
4. I think the red looks great...especially with the oxygen silver sideblade
The door does swing very wide so you have to be careful on opening....but it actually has good curb clearance.

[medtner]

Thank you so much to everyone, very helpful

[toecutter]

Welcome to the forum. I'm taking very good care of the SL.

R8 is a great daily driver car. I have found clearance issues to be minimal even in my frontier state will poor roads.

I leave my car everywhere. Just park it away or in corner stalls with some common sense. No trouble yet.

Nothing like the lambo, you can drive this car to work and leave it in the garage. Having both seems to be the best of both worlds because they are so similar and also so different.

If you order in my area it is no discount. I'm sure more saturated areas are different.

I like the R8 in red, black or blue. My V10 will be sepang blue.

[OEMplus.com]

Ahh, Sepang Blue.... mmmmm!

1 - The majority of our customers daily-drive their cars, especially in our warmer climate. Compared to the LP or a Lotus, the R8 is like driving a Cadillac. The doors are big, but it's usually easy enough to manage once you get a 'feel' for the size of them. I like the 'be careful' approach when parking in garages and we are always very careful with driveways to avoid dragging the nose, but it's nothing like the Gallardo. The impromptu photoshoot is certainly something we see very often, particularly when we have 2-3 of them in front of the shop...

2 - Aside from the recent thread on here, I have not heard of anyone having their car vandalized. We find that the recognition this car gets are better than an exotic, as they are rare enough (even here in SoCal) that most folks haven't seen them before. NOBODY has ever suggested it is anything but an R8 and the reactions are always positive, but not in the 'oooh, look at that douche' kind of way that some cars get.

3 - We do not see any discounting on new models here, particularly the 5.2L. Production for the V8 is done at Neckarsulm for 2010, so the vehicles here now are going to be all there is until 2011 models arrive in the fall.

4 - The colors seem to be a double-edged sword. I personally prefer the more exotic colors (Sepang, Red, all the Exclusives) but they can also be more difficult to sell. Ice Silver, Black and Daytona Grey are the fast movers for us, but I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get my hands on a certain Suzuka car floating around on here...

Hope that helps and good luck! We've got a nice 2009 Daytona 6MT if that is your cup of tea...

[SebringSilver]

The R8 as a daily driver? Absolutely!

[hmp10]

You don't say where you live, but I drove my R8 in heavy Chicago commuting traffic for two years, including winters (with all-season tires). Snow was never a problem.

The overhang and chassis height could be, though. I could only exit my building through a series of alleys, as the "V" where my building driveway met the street was too deep. Ditto for many parking lots. Also, there were many streets where I could not parallel park with a passenger, due to high curbs and very low doors (unless traffic was light enough for the passenger to get out and in before I parked).

But this may be mostly a Chicago problem, as their street engineers like very deep "V's" and very high curbs. The only other place I've seen such high curbs was running the canyon roads in Los Angeles.

Also, Chicago streets are horribly potted. While it made for a rough ride, the car was tight and rattle-free when I traded it. (However, the steering rack did spring a leak and have to be replaced. Don't know if that had anything to do with the potholes.)

But, basically . . . my new V10 is going to be a daily driver, too, but in Florida. The car is the best combo on this planet of cutting-edge performance and comfort / luxury.

[KfabR8]

I drive mine every day in every type of weather condition the great Mid West can throw at us.

In general, I don't have issues with the front end catching or dragging often at all - and once you find the driveways that tend to scrape, you just learn to drive in at an angle instead of straight on.

The car is as docile and as easy to drive as anything out there if you desire and drive it in this manner, but push on the fun pedal and the Beast is released and the fun begins.

Drive, drive, drive. That's what it's built for.