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LM002 Ownership Experience?


mrtiticus
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For you LM002 owners, would you mind sharing your impressions of what it's like to own this truck? How / where do you use it? What advice would you give to a prospective owner? Any regrets in buying one? Many thanks for taking the time to answer!

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I have owned two LM002's. My black LM was the first Lambo I ever owned and I sold it after ten years of ownership. I missed that truck so I was lucky enough to find a super rare verde LM. When I die then VCR has first rights to it!

 

Most people think it's some kinda hummer as nobody has ever seen one before so you get lots of puzzled looks when you tell them it's a Lambo. When I first bought one I thought I would drive it everyday, it's an old Lambo so you need to warm it up and it's not convenient like today's SUVs. It has power steering so the wheel is easy to turn and also has great visibility. Turning radius is not that great and fuel mileage is horrible.

 

I think the LM will continue to rise in value due to the limited numbers built and also because the Urus is coming out soon. Collectors will want to have both. As for advice, try and find one in really good shape with tool kit, hub wrench and not modified. Contact Roy Cats as he will know what's on the market. If it needs any work then take it to Steve at Driven Exotics.

 

Good luck!!!

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I have owned two LM002's. My black LM was the first Lambo I ever owned and I sold it after ten years of ownership. I missed that truck so I was lucky enough to find a super rare verde LM. When I die then VCR has first rights to it!

 

Most people think it's some kinda hummer as nobody has ever seen one before so you get lots of puzzled looks when you tell them it's a Lambo. When I first bought one I thought I would drive it everyday, it's an old Lambo so you need to warm it up and it's not convenient like today's SUVs. It has power steering so the wheel is easy to turn and also has great visibility. Turning radius is not that great and fuel mileage is horrible.

 

I think the LM will continue to rise in value due to the limited numbers built and also because the Urus is coming out soon. Collectors will want to have both. As for advice, try and find one in really good shape with tool kit, hub wrench and not modified. Contact Roy Cats as he will know what's on the market. If it needs any work then take it to Steve at Driven Exotics.

 

Good luck!!!

 

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Thanks for your post - very helpful. I've watched every YouTube video on it - even the German language one, and I don't speak German. But it's great to hear from a two-time owner! My hunt begins...

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Hello

 

Don't expect a lot when you have the chance to drive an LM the first time. Don't even dare to compare it to a modern SUV: Especially the steering and the brakes are from another century. As a consequence you have to lower your expectations and you will find yourself able to appreciate the positive points of the car.

 

The design is utterly cool, some would say ugly, I think it's iconic. In addition it was the first luxury SUV, Lamborghini was at least ten years ahead of the curve. A fact a lot of people don't know. Even with very limited resources the company was always very progressive and innovative. Just think about the Espada, this concept of a luxury high performance four seater was taken up again by Porsche with the Panamera or Aston with the Rapide 40 years later.

 

The engine is a blast. Lamborghini installed their top engine into this SUV. Just to put this into context: Lamborghini would have to install the engine from the Aventador SV into the new Urus to do the same. However they will not do that, at least at the beginning the car will only be delivered with the turbo charged V8. In my opinion there won't be a V12 in the Urus due to the emission standards (CO2 output would be very high).

There were two engines available for the LM. One had carburetors and one an injection system. The later one is quite easy to recognize by the OZ alloys and the smaller power dome. The alloys fit the car very well and are very difficult to get which is a big plus for the the injection version. However some people who own both versions or had the chance to drive both say that the carburetor engine feels more powerful.

 

As the LM is such a scarce good I actually wouldn't bother too much about the differences of the two versions. Much more important is to get a good example which isn't that easy. Like many other Lambos the LM wasn't in big demand for quite a while. You were able to buy one for USD 50'000 or even less about ten years ago. Many of such cars weren't maintaind well which means you have to easily invest quite a lot of money if you go for such an example. I was looking around for my first LM for quite a while and I saw a few dodgy cars with a doubtful history and some had clearly a faked tachometer/mileage. Depending for what purpose you buy the car I wouldn't worry too much about the mileage and pay much more attention about the overall condition and service history of the car. In case you want to put the car to a nice collection with no intention to drive it often go for a well documented low mileage one. Otherwise I wouldn't care if the car has 30'000 or 45'000 miles on the clock but was serviced on a regular basis by a specialist.

 

Maintenance isn't cheap for such a car, especially the spare parts. Tires cost you a fortune and are only produced by Pirelli about every second or third year. I have a spare set in my basement just in case. The positive thing about the car is that the reliability is quite good. Apart from the regular usage I haven't had any incident. Fuel consumption is comparable to a tank....

 

With regards to the value of the LM's: As an owner my opinion might be a bit biased but I don't see any reason why the car shouldn't go up in value quite a lot in the next two years. Only 301 were produced, some are destroyed, some are in a very poor condition and many are already in collections since years which means that they won't come to the market again. As a consequence not many cars available anymore. On top of that the Urus is at the doorstep and Lamborghini will promote it together with the LM for sure. This will bring the car into the spotlight again and demand will increase while the supply is tiny.

 

If you have the chance to buy one; drive it. Show it to the public and be rewarded by astonished people and happy faces of kids.

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LMs are surprisingly cool in real life.

 

The mileage of a well tuned carb'ed LM isn't that horrible from my experience, you can drive two or three days with a quick fill up (say, 15 gallons). I've had many cars with identical or even worse mileage. With a huge fuel tank you can cover decent distances as well.

 

The tune of carb'ed engine is quite interesting, the faster you go, the better it accelerates, so getting from 60 to 120 mph is easy. 0-60s are harder, you have to go through some gears, hehe.

 

The brakes are sometimes good, sometimes not. Depends from car to car, hard to say what's different. (Maybe, adjustment of rear drum brakes) I had the one with amazing brakes, quick-quiet-fast, no complaints. The suspension is what makes the car amazing - it eats up everything, but you feel connected.

 

The tires are a big topic to discuss - the OE Scorpion BK tires had reinforced sidewalls (sand lip) and are stiffer. In late 90s there were Scorpion Zeros introduced - much softer sidewall, lower cost (at first), quieter, but it has more body roll in it. Also the tires due to their size kinda dance around the road, so you have to take it in the account and compensate.

Sourcing BKs is a nightmare, first, they are really old. Every LM owner is praying Pirelli to reproduce them, but no answer is heard. So if you find a car with nice BKs - that's a huge bonus.

 

Some people blame the clutch pedal for being too heavy, but actually you get used to it and after a day it seems not heavy, but adequate. The steering gear is long - that's what I don't like.

 

Overall, once you get it serviced properly, you end up with a robust car, there's hardly a thing that can fail. (Just don't run 4x4 or 4x4 LOCKED on pavement, this might damage the transfer case)

 

IMHO, it can be used as a daily driver. If Malcolm Forbes could do it, why couldn't you? :)

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To rambointhegarage and K-works, thanks so much for your very thoughtful replies (and for taking the time to write them). I agree that Lamborghini was ahead of its time with the LM002, and I find it very intersting that they were able to create an iconic vehicle out of what essentially was a failed venture. It would seem that any "respectable" vintage Lamborghini collection must include this model. I started with a 2001 Diablo 6.0 and am going backwards.

 

I worry slightly about keeping one on the road for the long term with so few made, but it does seem as if Lamborghini today is more mindful of preserving its historic models, so perhaps extra attention will be focused on re-making out-of-production parts, including encouraging its partner, Pirelli, to make additional runs of tires so that owners can drive their LM002s.

 

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a source that cross-references parts that were used on the LM002 with parts that may have been used in other vehicles from other manufacturers to make it easier (and possibly more affordable) for an owner to source a worn part?

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Just curious, do you know anything about the non-US manual SVs? I've read there are 5 in the world, 3 being white US cars then a red one owned by a member here. Never heard anything about the last one.

I can say without question that I think I probably have the BEST example of a LM 002 America on the market...for sure in the USA if not the world. It also has beand new P tires on it, worth their weight in gold....

 

One thing a lot of people forget, The Carb version cars had the Countach heads on the block. The 48 or so roughly American FI versions had the heads of the Diablo motor...IMO the FI American trucks are all around better looking and certainly with the FI more reliable....but that is my thoughts.

 

http://www.catsexotics.com/vehicle-details...-wa-id-11987392

post-23696-1487034098.jpg

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Took out the LM today after it was sitting idle in the garage for the past three months.

 

 

post-219385-1487434440_thumb.jpg

 

 

That is just beautiful!

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  • 7 months later...
Took out the LM today after it was sitting idle in the garage for the past three months.

 

 

post-219385-1487434440_thumb.jpg

 

Very nice.

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Not to bring up an old thread.

 

An important point to note is that the LM002 is a true off road vehicle. No company would be able to produce a vehicle like this today. To compare it to an SUV is really selling it short. Its similar to comparing a G Wagon 6x6 to an ML55 etc, they're completely different.

 

 

With the Urus coming out I believe enthusiasm for the LM will only increase.

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I have owned a H1 for 21 years, don't drive it much anymore- but that mite change soon.

 

I've driven the LM002 a few times and if I didn't have my H1, I'd buy one for sure. IMO they are great on so many levels. For the reasons mentioned here and others.

 

Great buy, sure this is a old thread but the logic is still the same.

 

I haven't ruled out buying one someday.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi, new to the message board and a new owner of a 1990 LM. I saw someone ask above about sourcing parts or cross reference of parts that Lamborghini borrowed from other card for the LM. If there is a list or reference i would be interested as well. I read somewhere door handles and some interior handles were from jeep?? Is that true? What model? Also mine cane with a winch and i would like to get the grille for it, any source for those? As well as air intake components.

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Hi guys looking for some advice. Just bought an 1990 LM, my first exotic/ lamborghini. Looking for advice on what type of service/care the car needs. Theres not a lambo dealer near me so want to make sure i not only pick right shop but know what to ask them to look at, any pointers are really appreciated.

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I believe Frenchtown NJ is about 75 miles or so from you.  Give Wil DeGroot a call at Exotic cars NJ  In the past, he has done extensive work for me....good shop and nice guy

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