Speculators ... any here???

[Paul]

Knowing people will speculate on anything they are confident of making a profit on ... and its not impossible even in the normally price depreciating car world ... to make a quick profit if you buy the right car.

For example ... another customer brought three RS4s from the same dealership that I got mine at ... only to advertise two of them in The Times for £60,000 each ... a nice little markup of between £7,500 to £10,000 per car ... depending on the optional extras.

Which makes me wonder if there are users here who are not planning on keeping their R8 for very long when they eventually take delivery of it ... i.e. selling it on within days, weeks, or a couple of months at most ... after taking delivery of it.

Having chatted with L3MAN via e-mail I am convinced he is not planning on selling on either of his R8s on order ... save maybe trading in his V8 for the V10 when it arrives ... which isn't really the same thing at all.

However ... two other users have already laid claim to having two V8s on order ... in Elliot's thread here ... which like another user here ... has me wondering if there is a bit of speculating going on with the R8 ... which I fully expect to happen ... even if it's not by users on here.

So ... as the forum title asks ... are there any users here who will be speculating with their R8(s) to make a quick profit ...

[harjitmann]

NO WAY! No one will ever touch my baby but me! I dont care how much they offer...

[L3MAN]

Paul,

You are quite right, I am not a speculator - but it would be nice to change from the V8 to V10 or V12 without loosing too much on the V8. Only time will tell!!!


On the London launch the MD did say to me that they are aware that a few orders are being made with a view to speculation, indeed another local dealer to me has an order for FIVE from one person and it was'nt the Sultan of Bruni.


Speculators should be literally driven away so genuine buyers can get their car's in a more realistic time scale. I think the new round of larger deposits will have some effect but what about the buyer who would need to sell their current car first to afford the new one!!!! Now Audi have a serious problem with this situation as they could push away genuine buyers who do not have the odd spare £10k.

The next few weeks will be very interesting, because the above is probably the main reason for the delay in literature, specs & pricing yet alone telling us all where we are on "THE LIST"

[Paul]

Paul,
You are quite right, I am not a speculator - but it would be nice to change from the V8 to V10 or V12 without loosing too much on the V8. Only time will tell!!!

Mmmm ... trading in, or up, without loosing too much ... that would be nice.

On the London launch the MD did say to me that they are aware that a few orders are being made with a view to speculation, indeed another local dealer to me has an order for FIVE from one person and it was'nt the Sultan of Bruni.

five ... FIVE ... ... definitely sounds like a speculator to me!

Speculators should be literally driven away so genuine buyers can get their car's in a more realistic time scale.

I couldn't agree more ... it's very frustrating to think that you've put your name forward ... parted with your hard earned ... and some loaded bugger has been the first to call the number in The Times when the advert is printed ... probably knowing bugger all about the R8 when the mobile is used to make the call ... other than they've heard about it and can't get one from their dealer for over a year.

I think the new round of larger deposits will have some effect but what about the buyer who would need to sell their current car first to afford the new one!!!! Now Audi have a serious problem with this situation as they could push away genuine buyers who do not have the odd spare £10k.

Hopefully it will drive away he who has five deposits ... but you do have a point ... it could prove very tricky for some people to find a spare £8.5k to bring up their total deposit to £10k ... or maybe even having to find a full £10k if they are after that as an additional deposit, rather than the total deposit ... my deposit if only £1.5k at present (which is refundable) ... but like you mention ... some people might not be able to afford that increase if they are part funding the purchase with their current car.

The next few weeks will be very interesting, because the above is probably the main reason for the delay in literature, specs & pricing yet alone telling us all where we are on "THE LIST"

I will be very surprised ... not to mention pi**ed off if they ask for the additional £10k before we can see a confirmed price list and full details of all options and their respective costs ... especially if the extra £10k deposit is non refundable ... bottom line is I don't really want to spend an additional £10k and spec a car that I can't put a price together for the total cost of it.

It's all very well hearing the expected cost of the basic R8 to be £76k ... plus little snippets of the cost of some options ... but until it's in black and white for the UK market ... the bottom line figure just can't be worked out.

Sure you could make a reasonable forecast on the final cost ... but without any printed brochures and confirmed prices when you spec the car ... you are trusting that Audi will not be substantially changing from the expected cost of the car when it finally does print the prices.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the 'expected' price and the 'actual' price when released for previous cars has changed significantly ... I'll be gutted if this happens with the R8 ... but as long as it's not by much ... and my own finances can handle the change ... I'll still be going ahead with my purchase ... subject to seeing a price list before increasing my deposit to ... or by ... £10k.

Regarding the waiting list ... please read and if possible reply ... with useful info ... in this thread ... thanks.

[jeanplilley]

I have been a maserati man for the last decade (Gransport at present) but have always had an audi as well. Basically I love the R8 because its the first out and out sports car they have made and I thought if it is as good as the RS4 is in its own class - it will be one hell of a car. Like L3MAN I also have a R9 on order so, as I have total faith in audi making an even more amazing car than the R8, will be trading up whenever that occurs. Hopefully supply and demand will keep the residuals high on the R8 so minimising cost. As for the other R8 it will be my wife's fourth audi and interesting to see if she prefers it to the RS4 cab - your guess is as good as mine.

[GR8CAR]

Will any promotional cars (those for overpaid footballers, soap "stars" and "D" list celebrities) come out of the UK allocation - or will Audi learn from Bentley's mistake that such cars "cheapen" the brand and make them pay the same as the rest of us?

[L3MAN]

Perish the thought, but if the R8 becomes the next footballers car - I may need to take the quick exit route!!!!! Could I be forced into becoming a "speculator", I sincerely hope not.