2004 Lamborghini Gallardo from UK and Ireland - Comments

Thought I'd join the debate. I've thought long and hard between a Gallardo Spyder, F430 Spyder and a 991 997 Turbo.

From 2006 onwards Lambo have fitted a very hard wearing clutch, that's not to say you cannot do standing starts in it, however after around 9-10 they will go.

COme on think about it, you want to dump 520bhp to 4 wheels regularly and expect something not to give. Sure you can do this, but I defy anyone to tell me they do this day in day out with a car with more than 400bhp and nothing has given !!!

I have actually ordered an E-Gear Spyder and it comes on 01/03/07. Sure I might do the odd standing start, but I'd rather enjoy more of the car and use its superior torque to glide past a 430 and a 911.

Lots of reasons why I cose a lambo.

the 430 looks odd at certain angles, the 911 turbo looks too ordinary for a 100K car, I've had a Ferrari before (355 spyder), the Lambo is an everyday car and as for depreciation....well let me tell you something a director of Lambo told me.

When Lambo brought out the Gallardo, they wanted to hurt Ferrari as quickly as possible, not just with the 360m, but with the upcoming 430, so what did they do....

Flod the market with Lambos that were not sold to anyone, give them to all the big dealerships and sell in mass.

What they didn't tell you was that the car was not finished and the true car is the 2006/2007 model.

Too many cars and not enough buyers leads to mass depreciation...now you get the picture.

Now the car is complete, they are strictly built to order and will not be built until you part with a 2nd, yes 2nd deposit of £10K (1st deposit is £5K), until this time they will only confirm your order.

So now the 2006/2007 cars are built to order, go and have a look at residuals for a 2006 coupe with a couple of thousand miles on the clock.... rock solid.

Remember in 2003 you looked at the same thing...£10K cheaper. That's not to say it will not depreciate, it will but at a rate equal to or slower than a 430.

Am I worried about spending £130K, yes, but dealers are offering me £10-£15 over my purchase price, so for now I will not worry, just enjoy that V10 in my ears. !!!!!!!

What Lambo wanted to

What does a new Gallardo clutch cost?

Does the e-gear clutch go out as often as a stick?

Having been lucky enough to snare a drive in a colleague's Gallardo, I can add that it is an absolutely awesome car to drive and stands out far more than a 911 Turbo (though the 997 Turbo is apparently faster). Personally, I prefer the Gallardo over the Ferrari F430 too. Though I would probably have a hard time choosing between these three cars if I had the funds.

So what was the Gallardo like to drive? The fact that it had bags of grunt should be obvious even to those who have never driven one. However, what really hit home the point to me was the fact that you could reach cruising speeds using only the first two gears! Of course, this is the sort of car where you would like to use more than one gear. And it really is a cinch to drive too!

The sound is sensational and really has to be heard to be appreciated. And few cars on the road have such road presence. You really do feel like a rock star driving it.

The biggest let down for the Gallardo (according to my colleague - now friend ;) was depreciation and cost of maintenance. The F430 would be a far wiser purchase although I still think the Gallardo has the greater wow factor. As for cost of maintenance, I guess this is par for the course. Anyone who can afford a Gallardo probably doesn't mind the bills, although even the very rich can get annoyed if they do not get "value for money" and feel "ripped off" (being a relative concept of course).

Hi I would like to add to the questions relating to gallardo clutches I have had to replace the clutch twice in 4mths and that is not driving it hard.i think this is a disgrace at a cost of £5000 does any body from the edinburgh area know of any cheaper garages as lambo are taking the pi-- cheers kenny edinburgh.

Have heard that the 6 speed manual is more reliable than the e-gear. Apparently egear not easy on clutch. I guess all that performance and AWD chassis must make the clutch the weak link irrespective of transmission.

Other problem with Lambo is that being a relatively low volume maker and demanding specialist attention, you don't get too much choice when deciding where to service.

Personally, to all who can afford it, I would choose the Lambo over a mere Porsche any day. But if you have scrimped and saved to buy your first "exotic", then go the Porsche. It will (probably) not send you broke and will definately make a better daily driver.

I see people talking about Porsche as the only alternative to a Lamborghini... I would suggest looking at a modded NSX - a Love Fab Turbo is phat... and it will eat most super-cars! I do not have a turbo on my 91 NSX - but the adjustable Tien Suspension and the Dali exhaust make th eordinaty NSX into a monster! Also... breakdown is rare - as the car is solid!!

A wonderful car and all, but if clutches are failing at 10,000 miles or less, they are not fit for the purpose.

Autotrader ads seem to back up these claims. Most used Gallardos say "recent clutch fitted" or similar. It's appalling.

There are big turbodiesels weighing half as much again, and making half as much torque again as this(car) that don't fry clutches. It's just crap engineering.

The Gallardo is an amazing car, but it's amazing that with poor design and lousy components, people will mistake for "character".

Expense exotic car should be able to take off without burning out they're clutch. Why have a sportcar if you can't drive it in a sporting manner? Lamborghini should be a shame of themselves for putting such an unreliable clutch in they're cars. I really feel sorry for the owners of Lamborghinies.

Ferrari ain't much better, I remember an episode of Top Gear that stated the Enzo could only do 4 full bore standing starts before the clutch gave up.

The clutches got revised several times by the factory, and were only an issue in early e-gear cars. Software revisions and stronger clutches solved the issues they were having early on. And even on those early ones, it's all about how the car was driven, cause I was at a car event today with a guy with a 2004 with over 20k miles and his clutch still read 80% by the dealer computer. I have an 08 and supposedly it can handle well over 50 launches with 'launch control' without eating the clutch up.

It doesn't even begin to compare to my previous cars (01 S4 412awhp, 02 M3, 01 996 turbo, etc.), easily the most wonderful car I have ever owned.

I have a 05 gallardo manual it has had 4 clutches in 8 months at a cost of 3800 each I drive this car softly as I think it will allways brake lambo tel me a clutch can go in 200 miles I hate this car do not buy one ever. I paid 90000 for it 12 months ago lambo offered me 50000 last weak taking the p... allso have a 55 430 spider manual this car is ten times the lambo it has done 31000 miles on one clutch.

I had an 04 Gallardo manual. Replaced the clutch twice within a couple of thousand miles!! In the end I just left it in my garage for a few months before selling on (out of frustration and knowing I was getting ripped by the dealership)! Apparently it costs Lambo an extra £50 to strengthen the clutch i.e. harder wearing material. If Porsche can state that the clutch in the Carrera GT is good for 100k miles, why can't Lambo make it last more than a few thousand miles. After sales rip off that's what it is. Lambo know what they're doing!

20:14 300 hp why not a used V10 Viper? Low production race inspired frame fast, handles great and takes a lot of abuse.

Buy a CD and listen to the Lambo motor at home, but buy a car you can drive on the track and then make it home as well.