Lambo Gallardo - to get or not to get?

[Discseven]

Why bother with a Gallardo when I luv my 911? This is a small roads bucket list drive around the USA with no particular destination in mind---just go. I've done cross country a few times driving a 911 so I know that feeling all too well. Having always been somewhat taken by the Gallardo, am leaning into getting an early model that's beat up, putting a few dollars into myself... and off we go.

Question is, is this car a cross country car? Or is one thing after another gona to come unglued?

What I do know is not to get the automatic as the clutch on those wears out before lunch. Also know to get the model with the front lifter. Forgot what year they introduced that. That's it for my Gallardo insight. Looking to expand on that before committing myself one way or another.

[stevej37]

I don't care for the armrest in the Gallardo.
Seals the deal for me.

[MRM]

My only insight is that a couple of years ago my wife spent a day on the Lamborghini test track with the factory drivers and came away so impressed that she strongly prefers Lambos to Ferraris. She got to spend some time in the Gallardo and the higher end models too and liked them equally. I’ve always figured that an end of life splurge would be to get a Ferrari but she is so taken with Lamborghinis that if we do get an exotic some day it will be a Lambo.

If you have the means, I highly encourage it. It’s a modern car. If you take care of it and drive it hard and change the fluids regularly, I don’t see why it would be worse to drive than any other track-oriented true sports car. That is to say, uncomfortable but bearable.

[Crowbob]

The doors open funny, too.

Pass.

[GH85Carrera]

Personal opinion only, you should be committed for thinking of driving an Italian car around the country on long road trips. You better have a good set of tools to drive any old Italian car around very much. I have driven my 1985 911 in 40 states, and Canada. Been to California three times. Been on the north rim and south rim of the Grand Canyon. As far south as possible in the 48 contiguous states, (Key West) just last summer. More national parks than I can count.

I have been in 16 degree weather and the heater simply is amazing. I went through Needles, CA when it was only 118 and the AC kept me from sweating, and it was fighting hard. I have driven in 100 degree weather for hours, driving west towards the afternoon sun with the suns rays shining on me, and I had to turn the AC temp knob up in temperature because I was getting chilled.

I have never had any issue except a starter that would get heat soaked and lock up. Push start always works. That starter is long gone and the high torque starter has replaced it.

Good luck on any road trip, and have fun!

[porsche4life]

I’d also look at an Audi R8. Styling isn’t as flashy,but it’s basically the same car, and parts are easier and cheaper to get I’ve heard.

[masraum]

I'm still in touch with my inner 12 year old, so Lambo, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, they are all awesome. I see them all around where I live too. I think some of the best looking of the current crop are the Aston Martins. The others are cool but I can't keep up with all of the models that all look about the same.

That said, I also really like the Gallardo, much more than the Murcielago. Sounds like a lot of fun. I'm expecting pictures when you finally get around to it.

[Bigtoe32067]

Gallardo has normal doors
I was all hot on a Gallardo Preformante a couple of years ago but I couldn’t find one the way I wanted for the price I wanted so I bought an old hot rod 911 and an old hot rod 308 and said the hell with it.
I say go for it. You only live once
Tony

[onewhippedpuppy]

Way beyond my means right now but I have some friends with exotic cars. They all say that the more you drive them the more reliable they are. Like most cars, sitting doesn’t do them any favors. So if you get one, absolutely cross country it!

[911boost]

While I don't see my GT3RS in the same league as a Gallardo, I can tell you driving mine would be a complete pain in the a$$ without the front axle lifting option. I specifically looked for one with it. Everything from my driveway to certain speed bumps, dips in the road, parking lot entrances, would all be a nightmare without it.

Do it and start a Youtube channel / Faceplant page on it, I bet you would meet some cool car folks driving cross country in it, like the Roadkill guys do but in an exotic.

[mo-mon]

Go for the Balboni edition- 6 speed manual, rear wheel drive.

[PcarPassion]

We owned a 2009 LP-560-4 bought new in Jan 2011 for about 5 years and 20k miles.

They made significant updates to the egear clutch in 2009 (I think it was 2009, but maybe 2008 - you should double check). I know for sure 2007 was the older style clutch which wore very quickly. We had less than 10% wear after 20k miles including a year of tracking the car (my husband and I shared it on track days). You can request a report called an e-gear snap which gives the transmission wear. I'd consider it a requirement if not buying the manual transmission.

Because the car was still under warranty, we serviced at an authorized dealer. The closest was over 300 miles and we typically had their transport pick it up and bring it back. This was a pain, it was expensive, and if there were issues it took longer because of the transport. I would NEVER again buy a car that I could not service locally.

It was relatively bulletproof. Remember, when VAG bought Lambo it became 80% an Audi in an italian suit with some bespoke Lambo-only bits. When the car was up on a lift there were plenty of Audi part stickers beneath. The Gallardo is a V-10 that sounds spectacular. Our car had carbon ceramic brakes which were incredible. It also had the nose lift which we used a lot, although I'd guess my GT4 is lower.

The Lambo was fun to drive. The e-gear wasn't the smoothest in that generation but it was fine. Our car was a 3 stage metallic "pearl" white color with "lipstick red" leather interior which was spectacular.

One of the greatest joys of ownership was sharing the car with people. It was the greatest ice-breaker at a show or in the garage at WGI. It drew kids like a magnet but even adults. We loved letting people sit in it, or take folks for a drive if we had a chance. Kids lit up when they sat in the driver's seat for a photo. Many people figured a lambo owner would be an unfriendly snob who didn't want anyone touching their car. We are fairly particular about our cars and found everyone respectful. No one minded taking the keys out of their pocket first before sitting in it. We met lots of great people and had fun with it.

It got too much attention sometimes. People race up on the highway to take a photo and drive like idiots to get close. Sometimes they assume a celebrity is inside and want to see who is in the car. Maybe in a major city it would get less attention, but in western PA during the time we owned it, there weren't a lot of lambs around (or other exotics). We never had a negative experience in terms of anyone vandalizing it when parked overnight.

We took several trips in the car. We had it shipped to AZ for a Lambo factory trip (called GIRO) and we drove from Scottsdale to Sedona to the Grand Canyon and eventually Las Vegas. It included laps at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch with the newly released Aventador factory cars. The weather was severely hot (over 115 F for much of the desert trip) and the car was fine.

We found it quite comfortable for road trips. Obviously luggage space is limited and packing in soft duffles with minimum gear is required. But we travel light, and on the trip they trucked our luggage from hotel to hotel. It was good on gas (not that it mattered) and we ran Michelin Pilot Super Sports once we burned through several sets of Pirelli PZero Corsas on track that chunked despite following the Pirelli engineer recommendations. Pirelli wouldn't do anything for us - so no more Pirelli on our cars. Never had a problem with Michelins.

Service was expensive (as expected). We had our local Mercedes dealer do simple maintenance like oil change, brake fluid flush, or brake pad change (only needed new pads once). Parts were expensive but there were sources for OEM parts that were more reasonable if you searched. We didn't buy much from the dealer network.

We met some truly fun, wonderful people and made some good friends. There were a percentage of "jerks" but you get that with any marque. We found Lambo to be no better or worse than any other. We did some Italian car events run by the Ferrari Club (track was Pocono) and we found the Ferrari folks rather strict with rules and they seemed to want to keep to themselves rather than blend with the other italian marques (Lambo, Pantera to name two). But it was fine and we met lots of nice people including some nice Ferrari folks.

We didn't drive cross country but the AZ-NV trip was over 1000 miles, and we did other road trips ranging from 400 to 1000 miles. Never had an issue. We kept up with basic maintenance and it was bulletproof except for an electrical issue that turned out to be loose battery terminal connections. An easy fix and good as new (but the dash lit up like a Christmas tree while on track and it went into limp mode so we had it trucked to the dealer). This was early in ownership and we probably could have figured it out but with the warranty coverage we wanted it serviced at the dealer.

The A/C started to fail just before we sold it. A charge fixed it and probably would have held it for awhile, but we had already decided to sell and rather than fix it we sold and left that to the next owner (of course highlighting the fault as part of the deal).

It was a fun car and we had some life experiences that we wouldn't otherwise have if it wasn't for that car. In the end, I didn't really miss it once it was gone, but we moved on to other things. It was a fun track car. It's the car I achieved my personal high speed (165 at Pocono) and it was rock solid. The car had more to give but I did not. 165 is WAY faster than I'm comfortable and especially since I was only in my 2nd year of driving and my vision skills hadn't developed. But it was a confidence inspiring car at high speed. I was entering the Bus Stop at WGI as a relatively new driver with a new-to-me instructor and he had no idea how capable the car was until we went through at speeds far higher than he thought possible (for a new driver). It's not that I was going THAT fast - it's that the car handled it with aplomb and no issues whatsoever. Of course the tires had something to do with that.

I'd say buy a solid car with good service history. Know where the Audi dealers are along the way in case you need a specific part (although the earlier cars were not so much Audi so it depends on the year you bought). We had a Performante for 1/2 a day and found the bucket seats very harsh and I wouldn't want to drive long trips in those. But our seats were more like a Porsche 14-way. Very adjustable, very comfortable with padding.

The E-gear had different modes (Street, Sport and Cross). This affected the speed of the shifts and how "harshly" the car handled. Corsa was fun, but on the highway we usually chose Sport.

Best of luck. They are an experience to own and most whom I knew had good ownership experiences with few mechanical problems. Of course the older the car and higher the miles, the more chance of an issue with wear-tear items. A thorough PPI with a reputable knowledgeable shop is highly recommended.

Unfortunately the Lambo Power forum participation has dropped dramatically since they made changes to the format but I'd say introducing yourself and joining Lambo Power might be a good resource. I found it extremely valuable when I was searching for the car, and then as an owner it was a great resource for all types of info.

Best of luck!

[wildthing]

You know what they say about Boxster owners. They can’t afford a 911. Gallardo owners can’t afford a Murcielago/Huracan/Aventador.

[slow&rusty]

Great response by PcarPassion, I doubt you'll get a more honest and comprehensive review of ownership.

Personally I couldn't own an e-Gear car, I would focus on a "G" with three pedals.

[PcarPassion]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

Great response by PcarPassion, I doubt you'll get a more honest and comprehensive review of ownership.

Personally I couldn't own an e-Gear car, I would focus on a "G" with three pedals.

Thank you for the kind words.

While I wouldn’t change my last experience for many reasons, if I bought another it would be the manual. The gated manual is awesome.

We took our 991RS on some long road trips. I’d say it was less comfortable because of the LWB seats and stiffer suspension. PDK is far better but it’s 2009 vs 2017.

We’ve owned a variety of cars. The Lambo is the only exotic. We stayed at hotels with it and drove it places and tracked it for a full season. It held up well and was fun. My husband never chose it as he hated the attention. I enjoyed not because of the attention but it did add a new twist to ownership that could be fun (with the right attitude).

In today’s climate I’m not sure I’d go cross country in an exotic. Too much hatred and division. I don’t wish to have a political discussion. Just making an observation that I hear reports of people vandalizing “nice” cars like Mercedes and bmw. Not sure how I’d feel about being in a Lambo. I’d choose something lower profile like a 911.

Cheers!

[MBAtarga]

Pcar, You might not know, here on Pelican, posts in green font are a symbol for sarcasm. So wildthing's post shouldn't be taken as a put down, it's just a joke.

[pwd72s]

Good advice on the current state of the nation adding to the risk of driving an exotic cross country by Pcar Passion.

Reminds me of a story I read in THE OREGONIAN newspaper years ago...about a local car megadealer, Ron Tonkin. He was on the east coast during 9-11-01 for a car dealer's convention as President of the association that year.

Wanting to return home to Portland, Oregon with all flights cancelled, what to do? Of course, he bought a car in order to carry he & his wife back home. I'm not sure how many dealerships he owns, but pretty much sells any brand you can think of, up to and including Ferrari. His Tonkin Gran Turisimo store was the first Ferrari dealership in the Northwest.

So, what did he buy for the drive back to Oregon? A week or so later, a used Camry with a few thousand miles was in the lot of his Toyota dealership.

Thinking about it, with all the tensions following 9-11-01? I think he made the perfect choice.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by PcarPassion

Not sure what your point is. I find the comment rude.

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

Pcar, You might not know, here on Pelican, posts in green font are a symbol for sarcasm. So wildthing's post shouldn't be taken as a put down, it's just a joke.

That, green text means it's sarcasm (because that's often tough to determine over the Internet) here on the board.

With that in mind, I wouldn't have considered it rude, but more of a joke. We also joke about miatas and boxsters being hair-dresser's cars.

[PcarPassion]

My apologies to wildthing.

I didn’t know about the green font. I usually look for a wink or some sort of emoji. Thanks to those who took time to enlighten me. Much appreciated. I deleted my post.

[MBAtarga]

Pcar - also if you see a post about "spoons" - they aren't talking about the eating utensil. Spoons are otherwise known as a lead delivery device, which is Craigslist accepted speech for "guns."
And "snow tires" is an always accepted answer for any question. Hang around here a decade or more and you'll pick these things up!