NA2 and R8

[NSX7]

I had some questions in another thread related to selling my NA1 and and acquiring a NA2 T

I also came across the idea of a manual Audi R8 - whether a V8 or V10, not sure yet - apparently the two main issues are the A/C compressor and the magnetic ride suspension - not sure if there are little other German car issues?

Obviously the difference in power and technology can’t be ignored and prices are almost identical between a NA2 and a 2010/2011 R8

For those who lived with both cars, what are the pros and cons? There is that subjective car feel that can’t be put in paper and sometimes difficult to explain!!!! For example, I also have an S2000 and E46 M3 - not powerful cars by today’s standards, but driving them gives different kind of joy/feel which is again different from the NSX

Please discuss

 

[drew]

>- not sure if there are little other German car issues?

R8 space frame crack. Lots of fun. https://www.r8talk.com/threads/structural-failure-warning.10169/page-2

Maintenance on an R8 is likely to be a magnitude higher than the NSX.

 

[NSX7]

Oh wow - thanks for sharing this - frame cracking!!!!!!!

 

[Old Guy]

drew pointed out the biggy issue. You would have to do some research to determine the 'collective wisdom' on the model year at which the cracking appeared to disappear as an issue. I don't think Audi ever issued a product info blurb stating ' new 20xx models eliminate annoying space frame crack issue'. Its been a while; but, when I was doing my R8 market research I don't think Audi had accepted the crack issue as a design issue.

You used to be able to easily find internet stories about people acquiring R8s for ridiculously low salvage prices. My hazy recollection is that Audi did not have or would not provide an official repair procedure and in the absence of a sanctioned repair mechanism frame cracks resulted in the cars being write-offs. Since the cracks would not be deemed accident damage or covered by the normal comprehensive insurance coverage, I often wondered who took the $ hit when the car got salvaged. The uncertainty about the structure issue was enough to deter me when I was looking around at used R8s.

Most of the R8 frame cracks that I saw pictures of looked repairable by a competent welder and there were a number of internet threads showing repairs, some of them appearing very thorough; but, not super cheap or easy to do especially after you add in the required re paint work. That said, some people probably got a nice car for a really good price. There are now more aluminum bodied vehicles around and more shops qualified to work on aluminum so chances of finding one of these crack write-offs is probably low.

The R8 issue for me might be that if you are looking for a lower priced older model, you could end up with one with an undetected / unresolved structural issue. The wheels don't necessarily fall off so if you don't take apart stuff to go looking for the problem, an owner may be unaware that they have a structural problem.

One of the things that continues to impress me about the original NSX is the durability of the space frame. Moving pieces wear out and rubber and plastic pieces deteriorate; but, if you don't fetch it up against something solid and immovable I haven't heard anything about structural issues on the car.

 

[NSX7]

It looks like 2010+ is when Audi secretly added reinforcements- although this doesn’t give me confidence in the brand (not really surprised here), the idea of V10 manual is tempting- the only problem is what else might go wrong in the ownership at 40-80,000 miles - and how much $$$$ it will cost?