Lambo Gallardo Questions

Hey guys, Im a potential Lambo Gallardo buyer, and I had a few questions for the owners. The car I would get rid of for one would be my 2005 Viper. I know the best way to really know is to go drive one, but I would like some insight before I take the 3+ hour trip to find one to drive. I appreciate any help and insight you guys can give me.

1. I am 6'5 180 pounds. Am I too tall for the Gallardo? I fit in the Viper ok, I have to duck down from time to time to see stoplights when im first in line waiting.

2. How is the ride of the Gallardo compared to the Viper? I dont mind stiff, but the Viper's ride is beyond Harsh, the tires are large and track a lot (follow the imperfections in the road) I understand there are some differently tuned suspensions for the Gallardo based on what year or model one gets. What are the differences?

3. Can the Egear be used in some sort of auto mode? I have driven BMWs SMG (similar, not as good as egear) and it was ok not the greatest. Also how is it compared to a traditional automatic and manual.

4. If I am to purchase one, it would have to be a brand new one or very close to brand new, because I don't screw around with cars not under warranty. What are differences in horsepower/gearing between the 05s and 06s? Are their plans to bump up the horsepower in 07?

5. I live in Franklin, TN, 15 miles south of Nashville. Are there any Lambo dealerships closer than Atlanta to me? I am not really familar with how the Lambo dealership network operates. If you have something MINOR you need repaired under warranty, where do you get the repairs done? Driving my Lambo 4 hours to get something fixed under warranty is not my idea of fun.

Thanks in advance for all the help, I am sure I will think of more questions soon.


Aaron


2004 Black SL600 Sport Renntech Upgrades
2005 Red SRT-10 Viper
2004 Black Porsche Cayenne Turbo
2005 Silver Infiniti FX45 (fiances)
2005 Black BMW Z4 (sold)
2005 Stealth Gray CTS-V (sold)
2005 Black Infiniti FX45 (sold)

 

Thanks for the reply Seller. I would definately want the Egear. Can anyone answer the rest of my questions? Are there any owners who upgraded from a Viper out there? Thanks.

 

Well I took the 4 hour drive to Atlanta with the intent of checking out the following cars: Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DB9 and Vanquish S, Ferrari 360/430, and Lambo Murci and Gallardo. Being 6'5" I just had to know how I would fit in the Lambos especially. I apologize for the length in advance. Here's how the day went.


I went to the Bentley dealership first. As I rolled into the deserted Bentley parking lot connected to the Volkswagen dealership in my SL600, I could see a sales guy inside taking notice. As soon as I went inside he greeted me and asked me a few questions. As soon as I said, "Continental GT," he immediately motioned for me to follow him to a new 2006 black on black one they had in the showroom. As he began telling me the differences between the 2005 and 2006, I opened the door and the first thing I noticed was how there was nearly no leg or head room for backseat passengers. I was really surprised. It was a huge turn off for a 5400 pound car, but I decided to take one for a drive anyways. As the sales guy pulled away in a used 2005 Silver GT with me in the passenger seat, the first thing I noticed was how solid the car felt. A few miles up we switched seats and I was able to drive for about 10 miles through twisted side roads and a crowded highway. The car accelerated very nice and smooth and 95 mph felt about like 55. The front seats were very comfortable and I could tell right away that this would be a great long trip car. As I took the salesman's card, the fancy GT brochure and said thanks, I knew in my heart that this was not the next car for me. The lack of backseat space was just a huge deal breaker. I also found that the flying Spur just is not as beautiful on the outside as the GT. I decided to continue my search, so it was onto the next place.

As I pulled into the Aston Martin/Ferrari/Maserati triplex, the first thing I noticed was the size of the Ferrari part of the showroom. I went inside and there was a beautiful Aston Martin Vanquish S and DB9 Vert in the AM section of the showroom. As much as I liked the outward appearance, when I looked at the interior of the AMs, the design really turned me off. This of course is a very subjective opinion. The Maserati section also had 2 cars. I didn’t pay much attention to them, since I am not really interested in the Maseratis. The Ferrari section had what seemed like 25 cars (I didn’t count them), about half of which consisted of 360s and 360 spiders. There was one 430 spider (and no coupes) that had a sign on it that read, "SOLD DO NOT TOUCH." The first thing I noticed about the 430 was how it looked a whole lot like a 360. While it did have some cosmetic differences that I liked, it would be hard for anyone who is not greatly familiar with Ferraris to tell one from another if they only saw one on the road. I spent about an hour looking over the various brands without anyone greeting me or asking me if I needed help. I was fine with that. None of the cars had really sparked my interest. It was onto my final stop of the day.


As I pulled into a parking spot in front of the Lamborghini of Atlanta showroom, I could see some Gallardos and a Murci through the window. I also saw an F430 coupe parked outside. My eyes lit up when I saw the Lambos and I started to get excited. As soon as I opened the door to go in, a salesman was there to greet me and ask me if he could help me. Not expecting him to be right there as I opened the door (I think he was actually on his way outside), I mumbled, "I want to check out your Lamborghinis." He led me towards the back part of the showroom past the Lotus, BMWs and Porsche cars. They had 1 Murci coupe black on black and 1 Murci spider dark silver with black interior. I was told that the Murci Spider was already sold to Lil Jon but the black coupe was for sale. I sat in the Murci coupe; it was really hard for me to get in and out of it with the scissor type doors. They also had 4 Gallardos in the showroom. 2 Yellow ones, one of which was sold. A silver 2005 that was for sale. And an orange 2005 SE that was already sold. Apparently the guy who traded in the SE did so for the 430 coupe that I saw outside. The salesman then told me about the black on black Gallardo they had just gotten in which was in the service bay, it wasn’t even prepped yet for sale. He grabbed the keys to that one and began telling me all the differences between 2005 and 2006. The biggest differences were the 20 horsepower upgrade, the slightly different exhaust, and the shorter gearing. This particular car had egear, clear bonnet, and a few other small things, putting the sticker including gas guzzler at around 198k.

After sitting in the Gallardo I immediately noticed that I was more comfortable in it compared to my Viper. I think the biggest difference was that I was able to lean the seat back a little bit. There was a little less leg room, but it being an egear (and egear is a must in my mind) that was not my primary concern. Feeling much better about being able to fit in the car and hearing the really nice exhaust, I decided that I needed to get this thing on the road to feel the power and the suspension. One of the biggest complaints I have with my Viper is the ride is so insanely harsh and the car jumps to the right of left because the tires track at every imperfection on the road. After the salesman grabbed a copy of my license he went and gassed up the car, he picked me up and we took off down the street. The salesman was much more of an expert driver than me, especially the egear, which of course takes some getting used to. He had been to several driving schools and had a lot of track time in the Gallardo. When he violently took off the car stuck like glue to the road (awd rules). He took the car near redline in the first 3 gears and each time he shifted it the egear change was really smooth, near flawless. I only felt my body shift forward for a split second during gear shifts before I was thrown back into the seat each time. As he exited the freeway and came to some pretty sharp curves, I was thinking to myself, surely he’s going to slow down to under 100 to take these. Well he didn’t, and the Gallardo took the curves very nicely as the salesman read my mind and said to me, "Your Viper can probably do this too, but you probably won’t feel near as confident or as safe doing so." He stopped the car and we switched seats. I spent most of my time driving it getting used to the Egear, which I ended up really liking. The ride in the Gallardo is night and day compared to a Viper. You can feel the road, but it’s not harsh at all, and imperfections do not yank the steering wheel nearly out of your hands. I was also impressed that the visibility was equally as good if not better than the Viper with the top up of course. After we got back I asked the salesman a lot more questions which we has able to answer, took his card, gave him my information and was on my way back to the hotel.

Overall I really loved the 2006 Gallardo. From the intoxicating smell of the brand new leather. To the beautiful exhaust sound that is quieter but nice at lower rpms, and then screams at WOT. I loved the egear and the power delivery. The biggest downsides are storage space and being 4 hours away from the dealership. The latter (got to have warranty and roadside) and the changes for 2006 have me leaning towards getting a 2006 over a 2005, even though the 2005s are being discounted like 15-20k, and 2006s maybe a few k at most. I do think that the Murci looks better than the G, but having to have a car that has at least 18 months worth of warranty, I just can’t justify the extra 100k for a Murci coupe. The must have options for me would be, egear, Electric and Heated Seats, clear engine bonnet. I think I would also want the navigation and rear camera and branding package. I am not that familiar with most of rest of the options or where to find out what some look like. I have been using edmunds.com. I haven’t decided on color yet. I like the pearl yellow, blue, and the black, and possibly the darker orange. Although I already have 2 black cars, so I think its time for a change.

Since I normally cannot wait very long to get the cars I want, I probably wont be able to order one exactly to my specifications. If anyone has any leads on any 2006 Gallardos or newly used Murcis coupes that are selling at a big discount (this is doubtful) let me know. Of course I would be trading in my 2005 Viper (around 2000 miles) to get one. The difference would not need to be financed. My salesman told me they were getting some more 2006s in soon so I will follow up with him on the when and what. 95% of the information about these cars I have gained from reading past posts on this forum, so thanks to all.

Hey Roy should I be paying sticker for 2006 Gallardo coupes? Or do you have some special deals for me on a near new 2005 Murci coupe