I agree here, I am very surprised at how little the R8 has depreciated. I've been also following the prices of the R8 for sometime now as well... a 3 yr old R8 has only dropped about 25%-30% off MSRP. While a 3 yr old Turbo easily 35%+ under MSRP. That being said, I don't think its because of the quality of the vehicle, I think its b/c of the rarity and the demand for them that keeps them above value. I think a TT will be more of a bargain and more reliable than an R8 is thats even a consideration of yours.

 

Although I haven't driven one, I absolutely love the look and sound of the R8's. My main concern about them is that they are not nearly as versatile as a 911. There is virtually no storage space in the R8, so you can't even take it on a weekend trip, unless you go alone and put your bag on the passenger seat. That means you can only drive it around town or on short trips where no luggage is needed. With that much money invested in a car, I want to be able to use it for more than short jaunts. That is why I love my Porsche so much.

 

I went to Home Depot and parked at the far end of the parking lot. On my return i found an R8 parked next to my 08C2S. Wow! I fell in love. Beautiful car.

 

The R8 V8 is quite an expensive car for what you get in return. It's still powered by the same 420 hp engine that powered the much less expensive RS4. If you put in the desirable options, it gets to be a 130K without too much trouble. A 2010 C4S has more performance at a lower price. The V10 is better, but even more expensive than a 2010 turbo, and the turbo has better performance. I may be in the minority, but I think that the interior of the R8 is a disappointment when compared to the usual gorgeous Audi interiors - and though there is plenty of headroom, I don't find the interior provides an open feeling compared to the 911.

On the other hand if you like to be seen and looked at, there's probably no bigger "It" car than the R8. When I've driven them, I feel like I'm on a parade float with everyone pointing and staring. If you like that, you'll love the R8.

 

I'm curious :

why would you want an R8 instead of a Skyline GTR ?

You can get one new for under $100k and the flappy paddle gearbox is pretty good.

 

Because the R8 comes with a warranty, and its transmission is not a ticking time bomb.

I looked into getting a GT-R (it's technically not a Skyline anymore, btw), and the warranty language gives Nissan an unavoidable "out" so that they can deny warranty coverage. Nissan just wasn't ready to support a global supercar.

 

Plus the GTR is ugly.

 

I've looked at the GTR, it is an impressive piece of technology BUT I have a long list of reservations about it.

All the dealers I've gone to have been awful, sleazy sales managers just trying to get the sale from me. They have no knowledge of the car, the last one I went to belittled his staff in front of me, then proceeded to read all the information about the car *out of the brochure* on his desk. This is why I buy Porsche, Nissan are too used to selling cheap cars and sleazing their way into a sale.

Why would I pay to downgrade my car? The MSRP on my 911 was over $100k, why should I pay $15-20k to change my car for a less prestigious, far cheaper car? (~$75-85k)?

It is very impressive but I can't help but feel that when supply finally exceeds demand that the prices will bomb. I do not want to be there when they do!

Feel free to critique my decision on the GTR but I've been put off for life by the dealers I've been to and worse still, unless I place a deposit (non-refundable), they won't even let me test drive it. I was given a Ferrari California for TWO days, just to see if I liked it, yet they won't let their precious Datsun out despite me turning up in a 911?

 

Hmmmm, the 6speed Gearbox is the same in my Gallardo. It's heaven. Nothing like the feel of a gated shifter. The R8 is a little feminine. It's a "pretty car" lol. It sounds too muted also. I think their values are really inflated and the market is going to catch up shortly. The market has already caught up to Lamborghini Gallardo. You can get a good car for audi r8 prices. I would research what the routine services cost on the audi and compare it to the gallardo. See if it's something you can do comfortably.

 

I would . I don't like the warranty disclosure rules of the Gtr and agree that they wiggled around standing behind their cars with the host of problems (ranging from transmissions with the 09 to the inconvenience of recall is Europe). I also think Mizuno sounds more like a politician than an engineer in his interviews.

Nonetheless the Nissan is the better car and a better value. It will rip circles around the R8 and cost thousands less.

 

and found it to be a bit boring. Its not really that fast and the sound was pretty quiet. I also drove the auto version like you so maybe the 6 speed manual will add to the excitement of the car.

As for the GT-R, I thought about one and walked into a Nissan dealer where I was treated like dirt. I was not even allowed to sit in the car, let alone drive it. I was told that "the real buyers know exactly what they want" and I don't need to allow the general public to mar our cars.

Granted I was dressed in a t-shirt, cargo shorts and flip flops and I look about 22, but man even if I liked the car I would never give my money to them. I called my friend who had just bought the first car they had and asked him if we could swap some car time and the sales person shrank to about 3 inches. My friend actually came to the dealership within 10 minutes and I drove his and found it to be to much like a computer game. Super fast, but something that my grandma could drive just as fast as I could. I thanked the dumbfounded sales person and told him he was right I'm not a Nissan buyer and I'm very sorry I wasted his time.

If you want a change give the R8 a shot but I'm personally brand new to Porsche and finding it to be everything I could want and more.

 

Its good to know I wasn't the only one that was treated awfully. I'm used to the "royal" treatment from Ferrari/Lambo/Porsche, and to be honest, am I wrong to expect that when I'm spending $80k+ on a car?

I much like you, look very young but still, I even showed up in my 911 and wasn't allowed to drive any of their GTR's, they wanted a non refundable deposit and an order confirmation before they'd let me near it!

 

Because of the nature of my work, I get the opportunity to drive most cars on the market.

I drove an R8 (yeah, it was an auto and a V8) but it certainly didn't have the same input and visceral feeling of driving a 911...Not even close.

Not talking about sheer HP or numbers or anything...Just my gut feeling when I dove it compared to a 911...

 

Well then again, how much are low mile Superleggera's going for again?

 

When my local Infiniti dealer closed down due to the economic downturn, I had to go to a local Nissan dealer to get the oil changed in my G35 coupe (my daily driver). It was quite a change from what I had become accustomed to. People and their cars were treated like mules, totally unprofessional staff, and dirty waiting rooms packed with people. And I remember seeing a guy pulling up in his GTR which he was getting serviced. His car pulled in between a Sentra and a "Cube" or whatever the hell those things are called, and they all waited in a single file line until the service person came out and took care of each car at his own pace.

Now, you know that saying, "you get what you paid for"? Well, apparently, that's not true in this case because even if you've paid 100k for a car, you get treated no differently than if you pulled up in a Sentra. At that moment, I ruled out the GTR.