Considering going from Z4MR to R8. Thoughts? (UPDATE: Bought a V10 R8!)

[JT_0306]

Hi everyone,

I am considering selling my Z4MR and getting into an Audi R8 (V8, manual) or equivalent (though there are few others that appeal as strongly to me without spending too much). I am at the early stages of thinking about this and curious to hear perspectives!

Has anyone else experienced an R8 or ~close competitors (V8 Vantage, Evora), and what do you think vs. the M?
My expectations are that the performance will be a small jump - nothing earth shattering, but the car is otherwise a significant step up in many regards. In particular, supercar looks and sound and overall pedigree of the car. Plus the more subjective elements – I fell in love when I saw one about 10 years ago and have always wanted to get into something with 8+ cylinders at some point in my life, with now a prime opportunity (no kids, but probably only for another two years). I am hoping to drive one soon, perhaps as soon as tomorrow (appointment pending), to get a feel for it. There's part of me expecting it not to blow me away, as I think it may take a bigger jump given how great the Z4M is

Lastly, thinking financially, I don't see either car dropping much further in value (pending any economic doom we may be soon facing, and the number of miles put on them).

One part of the equation is what I may be able to get for my Z4M. Below are some summary details. What do you think?
I am of course biased towards my own car, but I think it is a well-specced and looked after car, with some nice extras for people who want them, so I am hopeful. Although the market isn't great at this time of year, or at the moment generally.

One challenge is that I don't have the skills to swap the mods back to original myself, and keeping them on will presumably limit the number of potential buyers, so I may have to invest in getting them swapped back to sell separately.

Summary details:

• BMW Z4M Roadster. Interlagos Blue, black leather and the leather/carbon-look dash.

• Just about to hit 46K miles. I am still driving it, so it will be somewhere between 46K and 47K by the time I sell, if I do.

• Full BMW service history at all the appropriate times, including run-in check. I have all the relevant documents.

• I need to double check V5 but I think I am the 4th or 5th owner. I've had it since 28K miles / nearly 3 years and have had no significant issues with it (washer jets have randomly stopped spraying, which I am getting fixed). It appears to have been well looked after before my ownership. I will be getting the MOT done shortly, before a sale.

• Paint is in good condition apart from standard road-rash on the bumper, and a small scuff on lower front right of the bumper (a high curb at a motorway pit stop caught me by surprise – very frustrating). I detail it myself every so often to keep it looking sharp.

• I think it has pretty much every option specc'ed (I need to check if anything wasn’t specc’ed). Including: heated seats, sat-nav (for better or worse!), 6-CD changer, rear-parking sensors, cruise control, removable wind-deflector, auto-dimming and folding mirrors, BMW professional sound system, strut brace which I think is OEM (not sure if this was originally included or added by previous owner - need to check).

• It also has the detachable metal roof in matching colour (small pain chip on front lip, otherwise all good). Which was bought separate to the car.

• I have made some light modifications, which could be kept on the car or removed and swapped back for originals:
  Hayward and Scott exhaust system.
  Eventuri air intake.
  ECU tune. Combined with above its at 350bhp vs. 330bhp on Evolve's dyno :evil:

Quick pic below:



Thanks for reading and all thoughts welcome

 

[Beedub]

I had a mk1 v8 r8 in my studio this summer. Honestly..... i LOVED it.... i can absolutely see why you would want to make this move. The car felt so so so special. It had sub 30k miles, and the owner paid 37k !!!! What on earth can you get like that for 37k..... i fell in love with the thing. I love the z4m as many will know but the r8 had a whole different presence and respect from people that came in contact with it too. The r8 really felt and looked like a super car.. the only bit that let down that feel was the interior. Lovely car!

 

[ocrx8]

100% would swap my Z4M for a R8 if I had the cash.

 

[2dogs]

Yes do it :driving: :evil:

 

[JT_0306]

I had a mk1 v8 r8 in my studio this summer. Honestly..... i LOVED it.... i can absolutely see why you would want to make this move. The car felt so so so special. It had sub 30k miles, and the owner paid 37k !!!! What on earth can you get like that for 37k..... i fell in love with the thing. I love the z4m as many will know but the r8 had a whole different presence and respect from people that came in contact with it too. The r8 really felt and looked like a super car.. the only bit that let down that feel was the interior. Lovely car!

Thanks Beedub. I'm looking at £40K for 40K miles, high specc'ed manuals, which I thought was good. £37K with 30K miles is incredible! Appointment for tomorrow has been confirmed so i'll see how I get on :driving:

 

[ph001]

Its the only upgrade path I’m considering at the mo. Has to be the V10 manual though. Honestly, it really does, for lots of reasons, both financially and emotionally.

 

[Angelus666]

If you do go for the R8 just go in with your eyes open....it is quite a bit more to run than the Z4M, basic oil services can easily be £600 and according to my mate in the trade, they almost always need some form of consumable that needs replacing, so £2-£3k service bills are the norm.....he once saw one at over £9k....ouch! Also, the magnetic dampers are notorious for going wrong, and they're a £3k fix...Larry from Ammo replaced with coilovers and that seems a good plan.

If you can factor that against low depreciation then it's a beautiful car and much better than the Z4M in almost every way.

 

[JT_0306]

Its the only upgrade path I’m considering at the mo. Has to be the V10 manual though. Honestly, it really does, for lots of reasons, both financially and emotionally.

:evil:

I would love to go for the V10 manual! It is doable, but hits resources for other things and feels like a stretch to far. I also fear the maintenance will be too big a jump from the Z4. Still slightly tempted by the V10, but focusing on the V8 for now.

 

[JT_0306]

If you do go for the R8 just go in with your eyes open....it is quite a bit more to run than the Z4M, basic oil services can easily be £600 and according to my mate in the trade, they almost always need some form of consumable that needs replacing, so £2-£3k service bills are the norm.....he once saw one at over £9k....ouch! Also, the magnetic dampers are notorious for going wrong, and they're a £3k fix...Larry from Ammo replaced with coilovers and that seems a good plan.

If you can factor that against low depreciation then it's a beautiful car and much better than the Z4M in almost every way.

Thanks for the input. It is a bit scary and if I got hit with something big early on it would be painful. Aiming for ~40K miles and well looked after, but you never know and need to be ready. The expected low depreciation helps, and I suspect that any equivalents around the same price would be similarly expensive to maintain.

RE: Magnetic dampers. Does anyone have a view on whether it is best to just go for cars that didn't have this specced? They are harder to find, and supposedly less desirable. But if the ride is still good (albeit not as great), then maybe that is a better way to go? I am reading through the Audi forums but not getting a lot of insight. More reading needed!

 

[ph001]

I would try to avoid the mag dampers personally,but only because they are expensive if they go wrong. Both the V10 and the V8 seem tough tbh. As with all direct injection engines they can get coked up a bit but nothing that a clean can’t sort. I think if you test drive both you will find a big difference, despite the paper figures. The V8 is quick but is not a massive step up. The V10 is.

 

[MrPT]

Love the mk1 R8 but it would have to be the V10 (manual) for me too.

 

[Anakin]

have to be a V10 to get me into one. My mapped TT RS has more power than a V8. Still a very nice car though !

 

[buzyg]

R8 8) About the only Audi I love. The V8, as you suspect is not much quicker than your MR. But looking they look good and the knurled gear knob is a thing of beauty. :wink:

Do it. :evil:

 

[BMWZ4MC]

In the real world, the V8 performance is very similar to that of your Zed up to speeds in excess of 120mph. However, the R8 certainly has more presence. Like the AM V8 Vantage, it’s a car that is an emotional step up rather than a performance step up from the ///M.
Like most have said, I’d prefer the V10 to the V8 R8, but that doesn’t mean the V8 isn’t an amazing engine. It revs incredibly freely and quickly to over 8000 rpm and pulls throughout the rev range. I think the coking issues are overstated too.
Personally, I’d take an Aston Martin over an Audi every time. The only thing that has stopped me buying a Vantage is that I use my Zed as a track car and the AM just wouldn’t be as rewarding a car on the track.

 

[Jembo]

Yeah, as above... running costs are deffo higher, appear ultra wide close up so if you have any width restrictions nearby, forget it. The 4wd system doesn’t suffer as much from understeer as its lesser siblings, though with so many ponies will be very easy to get carried away.

I’d only get one if I was able to still afford to keep the Zed, its shape especially that of the //M has almost improved with age, not deteriorated

 

[Beerman]

I'm surprised their values are still going down. It wasn't so long ago £40k was the very bottom of the market. They've dropped a lot recently when everything else rare and sporty has remained firm.

The V8 isn't as fast as it should be.

 

[Adam D]

100% would swap my Z4M for a R8 if I had the cash.

Me too, whilst the early v8 may not be super car fast it has a nice sound and looks great. Would want the manual gearbox oke: :driving:

 

[Doddsy]

I’ve drove plenty of first gen R8’s. I prefer the V10 but you can’t really go wrong with the V8. Happy hunting!

 

[Beedub]

Or OP..... another option. Keep the Z and add a stage 1 blower. Really cheap compared to this swap up. Everything is reversible and i will gaurantee you could sell the blower within a few days of it going for sale if you remove from the car. Performance will blow your mind.

 

[markos]

I just sold my V8 R8 after just shy of 2 years, and that was coming straight from a Z4MC. Like the OP it was something I'd lusted after ever since I first saw one so picked up a manual 2-owner with 29k on the clock for mid-40's with FASH, magride, cruise, elec seats (seriously, many don't have this, and even then elec seats don't have memory :| ) B&O, parking sensors, carbin interior.

Jeez, this is a long post so let me break it down!

Performance and perception
In terms of performance as all say, it's not a big difference at all, although flooring from standstill or close standstill is 'wow'! In terms of prestige and others perception: huge difference, even at the low end of R8s you're in a supercar*/almost-a-supercar with a V8 which means you can afford to buy and run one which strangely kind of puts you in the 'big boys' category even though their supercars may cost 4-5 times as much... odd but that seems to be the general perception. I got a lot more attention in the R8 as you'd expect, from kids in back seats craning their necks on the motorway to men shouting out "Lovely car mate!" or "What are you doing in my car?!" as you drive past them. Being London-based I often see real super/hypercars so my 2008 R8 always had 'context' for me, but for many people it's an exotic supercar, period. Seeing people's turnng heads and reactions as you just pootle through or stop in a local high street was kinda nice, and I'm not really one to show-off, but I guess I appreciated it.

Used prices
I sold mine as for the first time in YEARS, they're dropping in value as I guess Brexit uncertaintly hits the markets, a lot of nice cars are much cheaper in price than 2 years ago. Normally £40k was the start mark, £45k for a good early one, but now you can get a good early one for £39k. I actually think it's the V10s that have sparked the V8 price drop as they are much cheaper than before and there's no way V8 values can hold firm as V10s drop. 2 years ago you needed £65 for a nice V10, now there's this for £50k:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/audi/r8/audi-r8-v10-quattro-2009/9161141

Potential bills
The R8 pretty much a hand-built car made in comparatively low volumes so things can go wrong. On mine I changed the oil cooler and pipes (common issue), heater flap (common), and door handle mechanism (£220), then I stuck an Audi warranty on which was possible as it has FASH, and which gives peace of mind.

What the warranty won't cover is things like clutch or magride, and I didn't want those bills. No idea on clutch, if it's less than £5k then I'd be impressed, as for magride, Audi would want over £6k I reckon to change all 4. There's a place in Poland that refurbishes them (Nagengast) although Id have just stuck regular Audi R8 passive dampers for around the £2k mark if I'd have needed to change them. That being said magride works unbelievably well in ironing out bad road surfaces.

Spec and aftermarket upgrade parts
As for spec, prospective buyers (mine did) still want magride and as much kit as possible, so when sourcing one note that ones with lots of kit and carbon (and manual gearboxes) go for more than poverty spec ones and R-Tronics. Miles obviously affects values just as you'd expect although the V8 is in other Audi mdels and seems very strong and good for 150+k with good maintenance I'd have thought.

Also know that aftermarket parts arent priced in terms of what they cost to make, but more like 'just a bit cheaper than Audi charge for the same part', and Audi charge a lot for parts. IIRC a new headlamp for an early R8 is something mad like £4k, although I recently saw a used one £1700, so this is the world the R8 lives in. Happyparts.de are good for used parts.

Is it a supercar?
As for the whole supercar thing, on Pistonheads the R8 gets hauled over the coals over the whole 'is it a supercar or not' thing. When it first came out it was, but the power and stats for supercars has moved on lots since 2007. There sems to be a bit of badge snobbery maybe or there's too many Porsche lovers on PH, or maybe the R8 is too well-rounded and not raw enough for their taste, but that's PH for you. it 100% IS something that you can drive daily, although it's wider than most cars and storage is limited.

Negatives
Negative points for me was on normal driving the V8 rumble is lovely, but when really opening it up the exhaust doesn't do the car justice. With fitting the cheapest new exhaust for a V8 is £2k, and they don't ever come up used. I'd say the cabin is too well insulated against noise and when really opening it up the power delivery is very linear and there's not enough roar or drama – certainly compared to the much more raw Z4M – so I ended up accidentally bouncing off the limiter many times.

Summary
Plenty above to scare off most people ( :lol: :lol: ), but a well-maintained one is a thing of utter beauty, the V8 rumble is lovely and it's a very special car. My plan was to keep for just 6 months but I ended up keeping it for nearly two years, and had Brexit not been a thing IMO there's every chance I'd still have it.