emissary

First off, I just wanted to thank everyone for their for the input on this; I really appreciate it. Secondly, if we itemize this out: $135,000 for the car $1900 for the shock repair $3100 for the head gasket repair $500 for the cluster repair $5000 for Hercules wheels $1500 for tires $1000 for shipping from SF to Roy ...it appears I would be to the car for at least $148k. Am I missing anything in the above list? I feel like the odds are fairly good that something else might be found along the way; is this a correct assumption?

This actually brings up a good point...I would definitely vote for gunmetal/titanium.

Thanks for your insight Roy. I've attached the repair estimate from BMCD; total is $20,034.90 (I confess I rounded this up to $21k). Estimate_of_repairs_____ZA9BC10U43LA12365.pdf

The tech indicated that oil was running out along the side of the engine and onto the ground.

The owner's response after seeing the PPI results was that the car was being sold "as-is", and he would not further negotiate on the price as a result of the PPI. Given that, I was not willing to pursue the car further (not to mention my general concern that the car is being misrepresented). But I agree that the repairs could likely be performed for less at an independent. That said, I live in Bend, Oregon, and my local independent (who has done all the service on my Porsche/Gallardo/Scuderia/R8/etc. over the last eight years) recommended getting any engine-out work done by a more experienced shop, given the difficulty of removing a Murcielago engine. The nearest actual factory-authorized Lamborghini service center is about 250 miles away in Seattle. While I do love Verde Ithica, I would be fine with an Arancio Atlas car as well. My core goal with this purchase was to find a V12 Lamborghini in an attractive color that I could own for a couple of years with minimal depreciation until Aventador depreciation became more manageable.

Our agreed upon purchase price was $135k for the car with only stock wheels and tires. I think I would be concerned that being into the car for $160k (repairs plus Hercules Roadster wheels) would be an excessive price for an '03. Is a sorted '03 Verde Ithica Murcielago really worth $160k?

I agree with this (although the tech did tell me that the leak amounts were significant); the bigger issue was simply that our agreed upon purchase price was based on the car not needing costly repairs.

Yeah, I wasn't going to get into that, but that completely mirrors my experience with San Francisco Sports Cars as well. I made three offers on this car to them over a period of six months. I never heard back on the first two. On the last offer, they said no, but said they needed $125k for the car. I agreed on that price pending a PPI. Then they told me the car was already sold. All of this happened over a span of 20 minutes. They also assured me the car was in perfect mechanical/cosmetic condition, and passed their internal PPI with flying colors. I would definitely be wary of dealing with them again.

I've been looking for an early 6-speed manual Murcielago to replace my previous '04 Gallardo that I sold at the end of last summer after six years of blissful ownership. I recently came to terms with a private seller to purchase this '03 Verde Ithica Murcielago coupe: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/ve...60259&Log=0 I had actually tried to buy this car when it for sale at San Francisco Sports Cars, only to be ultimately told that the car was sold. When it popped up again on AutoTrader soon thereafter, I thought I'd try again. After being reassured that the car had absolutely no mechanical or cosmetic issues, the owner and I came to terms, and a PPI was performed yesterday at BMCD in San Francisco. The good news from the PPI was that the car is indeed in excellent cosmetic condition...the bad news was that the car appears to have significant issues mechanically. The exact words from the PPI tech's report: * The tires are worn very heavily on the inner edges & the side walls are beginning to separate. * Bank 1 head gasket is leaking oil * The front suspension shocks are leaking oil * The lifting system high pressure oil line is leaking oil * The instrument cluster buttons are starting to get the common Ferrari / Lamborghini stickiness to them Total estimated cost to address those items? $21k. Obviously some of those items could likely be fixed for less than what a factory dealership would charge, but when your agreed purchase price is based on an issue free car, it's a deal-breaker. I've always had PPIs performed on every exotic I've purchased; this is the first one that has ever failed. I can't imagine how disappointed I would have been if I hadn't performed one on this car. Needless to say, I'm not buying this one, and as they say, the search goes on...

I apologize, my Photoshop skills are pretty limited...but here are a couple of rough mock-ups of what Gold or Bronze wheels might look like.

That orange one looks awesome. Anyone know what wing that is?

Email sent!

So at the risk of bumping my own thread here, does anyone else have any advice on this particular Murcie?

I would actually just prefer a set of stock OEM Hercules Roadster wheels, but I do concur with your assessment.

I'm strongly considering purchasing this '05 Monterrey Blue Murcielago Roadster, but I'm having difficulty determining what the car is worth: http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?t...&listType=1 The positives: it's a Monterrey Blue Roadster with a nice LP640/LP670-ish body kit. The negatives: it's got around 22k miles, has a history of paint work, and is an e-gear. According to the seller, the car originally had tan leather interior; this has now been replaced with grey alcantara (which is fine with me, but obviously not factory). Additionally, the car has had paintwork...besides the obvious body kit painting, the rear quarter panel was also repainted due to a significant scratch that occurred during installation of the body kit. The car apparently originates from Las Vegas; it originally had a set of chrome Maya wheels. I'm pretty sure I saw this car in the Lamborghini Las Vegas service center back in 2011 (before it was modded)..the car looked rough at the time (lots of side skirt paint chipping, etc.), but this should be remedied by the updated bodykit. The seller says he purchased the car from the bank as a lease return, and only has one key. So...does anyone know this car perchance and can vouch for it's condition/modifications? And more importantly, what do we think would be a fair price for the car? Any advice would be most appreciated...thanks in advance!

That's funny...I feel your pain. I just got the plates for my wife's Audi SQ5, something like: "GTR 695". Really, this couldn't have waited until I actually picked up a GT-R this summer?

I would definitely send the deposit as soon as possible to avoid losing this deal.

This is easily the most impressive thing I have seen all week. Great job! Just out of curiosity, I noticed that you have the LP-640 and Countach towards the front, and the Diablo SV and Aventador in the back; is this a reflection of what you drive more?

For whatever it's worth, it appears this car is now for sale at Lamborghini of Dallas for $384k...I wonder if they bought it from BMCD. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lamborghini-Aventa...=US_Cars_Trucks

So, I realize this is mostly related to torso/leg proportions, but I'm 6'2" 230, and I fit just fine in an LP-640/Gallardo, but I don't fit at all in a Countach...will I fit in a 6.0 Diablo? Any advice would be most appreciated.

I wonder if the eventual LP-640 dip will affect early Murci prices (which seem to be in the $120-130k range). At what point do we think the early Murci's have bottomed out?

I was looking for an LP-640 at the end of last summer and was as confused as you are. I saw a few '07/08's go for $190-200k. Most dealers seemed to think that $200k was the floor for their LP-640 regardless of miles, color, or options. I did talk to a guy about two months ago who was trying to sell his '07 LP-640 with some nice mods and around 15k miles...he told me he had tried to sell the car to a few dealers, but he didn't get a single dealer offer over $170k. Where does that put the actual market for these cars? Beats me.

Nice quatro copter coverage! The Ultima GTR is an incredibly impressive machine...although I feel like every video we see comes with the UK curse (i.e., lots of rain)...

RIP...he was never on track to win an Oscar, but he was a true car guy and by all accounts pretty down to earth. Whether you have a high-powered sports car or a minivan, it's a sobering reminder that the most dangerous thing you do everyday is get in a car.

I've seen a number of comments in this thread that Arancio Argos is considered to be "not a desired color." I would have figured that the new pearl orange color would be considered desirable (as it is on other Lambos). What colors would be considered more desirable for an Aventador?