So I'm thinking of getting into my first Gallardo and was looking for some advice. Here is some details about the car..... 2008 Gallardo coupe, black on black, E-gear, mileage around 20K, major just completed, brand new tires, clutch, and brakes, clean title and CarFAX, service records available for the last 10K miles and serviced at a Lambo dealer since first 10K miles. Cosmetically car looks great. Asking 135K. At first glance, I was OK with not having the records for the first 10K since it has been serviced and documented by a Lambo dealer since but now I'm not so sure. How important are the service records if the dealer stands by the car? The asking price seems high to me according to the NADA guides but I have not been able to find comparable sales in this year/mileage combo. Any thoughts on where I could find info on comparable sales? Much appreciated in advance.
Find out who the first dealer was they'll surely have records on file.. it's all computerized now a days for real dealerships look into the car fax and it should show you the dealership that first had it. 135k seems a little high for the mileage. Yes it is nice that all the services and clutch, etc was done.. but dig deeper.. you just hope this car wasn't beat to death tracked and now that it's being sold it's getting the things done now. I definitely recommend getting a pre purchase inspection report and if you can fly out to see it and drive it do it if you are serious about the combo / options the car has. Not sure if you've experimented with an e-gear or not. I always recommend drive a car if you are really going to get into it because you may end up hating it. my .2 worth. -Carlo
Congratulations on starting the search for a Gallardo. They are awesome cars and you will love it. You are correct in doing your due diligence in the shopping process. Service records are important but a good PPI that gives you a clear picture of how the car is now will be more important. Here are some things that I put together that you might find helpful during the shopping process: Lamborghini Gallardo Buyer's Guide - http://edbolian.com/?p=3725 Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
So I did some further digging from earlier records... Check engine light came on in the first 1K miles and then again three more times in the first 10K miles. Repeatedly needed service for that Transmission light illuminated in the first 5K miles. Recent servicing because the car wouldn't drive in reverse. Not really sure what that's about. Needless to say, I'll pass. Anyone know of any nice white or blue Gallardos in the market???
Some 2007 and 2008 seem to have repeat egear failures. I looked at a white one with 40k miles. It was daily driven. Pump, actuator and fluid on the egear were swapped to diagnose the issues. One issue was no reverse, the other failed to engage in first. The owner noted that he drives in auto mode (tsk tsk...). He probably sit in traffic too in auto mode since he lives in the city. Perhaps the failure is due to extensive use of auto mode or simply a poor batch. eGear system is very expensive to repair and only a good tech can fix it without going through lots of parts replacement. Each repair can be anywhere from $3-10k in parts and labor. So, a good egear history is important when buying out of warranty. I have actually found the earlier year to be less problematic.
On the other side of the coin the repair can be as little as $600 if diagnosed correctly. Had I sent my car to a dealer I would probably paid 3k. I diagnosed it for my mechanic, he had to get very intimate with my car to do the repair but I can live with that.
