2002 Murci - What Should I Be Aware of?

OK - I've lurked a bit on this forum and decided it was time to step up and post.

 

Unfortunately, I have an affliction...I love toys. Growing up, the 2 vehicles I fantasized about owning were Porsche 911 TT, and a Lambo. This summer I sold my 911TT and have been kind of passively looking at Lambos. I cannot help but love the unique menacing look of the Murci (I currently also own a 2004 triple black Viper convertible viper that I put Belanger hi flo cats, headers and exhaust on that just screams testosterone (which my wife hates :-), but the Murci's refined yet nasty look has me just too intrigued that I don't know that I can do without much longer).

 

So a friend of mine deals in exotics. He knew I was interested in a Murci....and knew of a 2002 black 6 speed Murci w/20k miles on it that was just sitting in storage.

 

I took my 15 yr old son with me, after his hockey practice, to go look at the car. We both could hardly contain ourselves. Just a nasty looking beast.

 

If I decide to proceed, I'll have a pre-buy inspection done on the car and have remedied whatever is uncovered prior to purchase. Looks like I can pick up the car for about $100k - depending upon what Pre-buy uncovers.

 

Realizing that the car is 10 yrs old and has higher mileage than I typically am comfortable buying my toys at - am I nuts to consider this Murci?

 

I was hoping to leverage the collective wisdom of this board to provide me some guidance as to what I should be looking for...possibly what I should avoid, and what major service items might I expect (for example some of the pixels in the dash are out, so I know I am going to have the dash cluster replaced, etc..). Is 2002 a year that should be totally avoided?

 

Thanks and I look forward to your responses.

Seems reasonable if the ppi checks out. Murcis handle mileage well. There is a known throttle body issue easily corrected on the early cars as well as some of them haveing a stick shifter that breaks off. That too can be corrected by replacing the part before it happens.

 

Other small things are the sunshades tend to droop down, make sure the shocks aren't leaking and the lift system is intact.

 

OK - I've lurked a bit on this forum and decided it was time to step up and post.

 

Unfortunately, I have an affliction...I love toys. Growing up, the 2 vehicles I fantasized about owning were Porsche 911 TT, and a Lambo. This summer I sold my 911TT and have been kind of passively looking at Lambos. I cannot help but love the unique menacing look of the Murci (I currently also own a 2004 triple black Viper convertible viper that I put Belanger hi flo cats, headers and exhaust on that just screams testosterone (which my wife hates :-), but the Murci's refined yet nasty look has me just too intrigued that I don't know that I can do without much longer).

 

So a friend of mine deals in exotics. He knew I was interested in a Murci....and knew of a 2002 black 6 speed Murci w/20k miles on it that was just sitting in storage.

 

I took my 15 yr old son with me, after his hockey practice, to go look at the car. We both could hardly contain ourselves. Just a nasty looking beast.

 

If I decide to proceed, I'll have a pre-buy inspection done on the car and have remedied whatever is uncovered prior to purchase. Looks like I can pick up the car for about $100k - depending upon what Pre-buy uncovers.

 

Realizing that the car is 10 yrs old and has higher mileage than I typically am comfortable buying my toys at - am I nuts to consider this Murci?

 

I was hoping to leverage the collective wisdom of this board to provide me some guidance as to what I should be looking for...possibly what I should avoid, and what major service items might I expect (for example some of the pixels in the dash are out, so I know I am going to have the dash cluster replaced, etc..). Is 2002 a year that should be totally avoided?

 

Thanks and I look forward to your responses.

 

No, a 2002 isn't a car to be avoided. However If it has aftermarket wheels and the tire ratios aren't correct you will have traction control issues and the front diff may end up with problems. However taking the front diff out is the best thing you can do for this car, so get rid of it and you can put whatever wheels you want on it. Just turn off the traction control.. Lambo tcs is crap anyways and the car really doesn't need it. If you can get him to take you for a drive up to freeway speeds see if the car seems to vibrate from the engine area. I have heard a lot of guys say that was an issue in these years. My car doens't do it so I know there are some out there that don't. There were a lot of recalls on this era of car. Recalls you can't get done for free anymore and for the most part probably can't get done at all. If you don't get service paperwork showing all those recalls be careful. There was a steering column recall that could be difficult and spendy I am sure. Find out how many clutches the car has had in its life. My car has 31000 miles, but only 1 clutch at 27000 miles.. Which means the car was driven for the most part easily. I have been going back and forth selling my car, and I wouldn't let it go for less than $115000...I have all the service history on the car.. Service history means a lot.

 

Good luck.

The only big issue is that it has been sitting in storage. Worse thing for these cars and sometimes takes hours or days of driving to get issues to show up. Mice love sitting cars and don't fool yourself into

thinking that they have not found this one without a very detailed inspection. Ask me how I know on PM if you like. You may be fine but It could be a nightmare so just proceed with caution as always with a car of this value.

Good answers so far, and Assman hit all the major known issues - TBs, shocks, sunglass holder thingy if that's what he meant by sunshade, lift system. All those items seem to crap out quite a bit. My 03 had an issue with the serpentine belt shredding itself and I don't know if that's a common issue. My 05 had a bucking problem but that doesn't apply to non egear cars.

 

Remember the PP might be 100k but you're buying a 300k car with 300k parts and service. The bills are an order of magnitude bigger than 911 and Viper bills, and Murcielago bills IMO are far bigger than Gallardo, and I've owned both.

About $100k is the going price for an 02?? What kind of costs are you guys thinking to get up to solid shape?

About $100k is the going price for an 02?? What kind of costs are you guys thinking to get up to solid shape?

 

100K is a fair price for that year, I 've found a handfull at those prices but either was not my color choice or I plain was just not ready to buy. Had a discussion about price before, owners said can't be had but I feel you look or be patient they do come up.

 

I like to add the car originally read out mileage in KM not Miles so it may come up on CARFAX as mileage inaccurate.

 

 

I know it's been brought up, but your really going to need to get a PPI done to find out what exactly the car needs. I would even consider getting 2 done to be safe as I've heard different stories when it comes from dealers vs independents. Their grest cars and can take a beating as long as their maintained properly. Good luck and keep us posted!

Agreed.. get someone that knows the cars to look it over for you. This could swing either way, a great car.. or one that needs enough tlc to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth for the brand.

 

What part of the world are you in? You might have a fellow lambo owner nearby that would help out with the simple stuff and help you find a good mechanic for a ppi.

Yep, your location would help us help you better.

 

aehaas

Yep, your location would help us help you better.

 

aehaas

 

I live in "sunny" Rochester NY. ...and this is obviously a horrible time to be procuring a seasonal toy. We get more snow than most (I live on Lake Ontario, and endure ridiculous amounts of lake effect snow - 2 years ago it snowed every single day in the month of January.)

 

My boats are put away and my Viper goes in storage next week....and here I am considering dropping a C on what will be a garage queen for the next 4-5 months. My plan was to make a move next spring, but this car kind of found me, so I couldn't resist.

 

I am still waiting for the pre-buy - since our closest dealer is in Columbus (yes this will be a PITA any time I need service, but signifies how badly I've wanted one of these beasts), the current owner has to have it shipped out to that dealer. His shipper has been tied up w/hurricane Sandy related activities and is hopeful that they'll get the car out there this upcoming week.

 

So, hopefully within the next 2 weeks I'll have the results of the pre-buy and be in the position to make the go, no-go call.

 

BTW, I did wake up to snow on the ground this morning :-(

You are doing the correct thing by sending the car to the authorized USA Lamborghini dealership in Columbus. You may want to point out to them what was said in this thread. Let the dealership know that they are your lifeline now, that they will be doing your service. But the car must be better than new when you take possession of it. It must have all the updates. Make sure the door locking mechanism updates with protective water shields are there as well. See if they can put on the newer spark plug/fuel injector water cover as well.

 

aehaas

 

PS Just to be sure, that dealership is in Dublin Ohio just outside of Columbus on Perimeter Loop Road, 614-889-2571.

You are doing the correct thing by sending the car to the authorized USA Lamborghini dealership in Columbus. You may want to point out to them what was said in this thread. Let the dealership know that they are your lifeline now, that they will be doing your service. But the car must be better than new when you take possession of it. It must have all the updates. Make sure the door locking mechanism updates with protective water shields are there as well. See if they can put on the newer spark plug/fuel injector water cover as well.

 

aehaas

 

PS Just to be sure, that dealership is in Dublin Ohio just outside of Columbus on Perimeter Loop Road, 614-889-2571.

Yup...I have assembled a list of items for them to pay special attention to per what has been identified in this thread, and will be sure to hit the point about them being my lifeline and support team should I purchase.

 

Yes, the dealer we are shipping to is Midwestern Auto Group of Dublin, OH.

 

Once the pre-buy is done, I'll post the results, and my next steps.

 

Thanks all for the wisdom.

 

Remember how much harder it was to gain the collective insights such as this prior to the Internet and online communities? I suspect there were exponentially more "surprises" post-buy than there are these days.

With the car being long out of warranty, you could also send it to Evans Automotive in Columbus for the PPI and for service as well. I have yet to hear a complain on here about the work they do. Hell just look at Allans Countach thread.

I would advise against sending it to Mag. There are stories on here of people being unhappy and given your logistical nightmare I would suggest Evan's in Columbus.

I would advise against sending it to Mag. There are stories on here of people being unhappy and given your logistical nightmare I would suggest Evan's in Columbus.

 

A huge thanks for the input on MAG. Current owner has some familiarity w/them and that was where he was defaulting to. I will ask that Evan's do the pre-buy.

 

Thanks very much for the guidance.

A huge thanks for the input on MAG. Current owner has some familiarity w/them and that was where he was defaulting to. I will ask that Evan's do the pre-buy.

 

Thanks very much for the guidance.

 

It will be greatly worth it. Evans will be very thorough. THere's nothing worse than a crappy PPI.

One more thing. 2002's read in kilometers from the factory. If the car is reading in miles now, then it has had an odometer(guage cluster) changed out. If so, look for a sticker in the driver's door that denotes the mileage when the odometer swap took place. You should also try to get a hold of the original receipt when the odometer swap was done, since authorized dealers are the only people able to order the guage clusters and install. New odometers from the factory had zero miles, and I would say the majority of 2002's had their guage clusters switched out. Some guage clusters blew out from aftermarket stereo installations, and many from people trying to jump a dead battery with the car "power knob" in the "off" position. This caused all the power to go through the guage cluster and kill it.

 

NOTE: The guage cluster "blow outs" completely baffled mechanics and the factory. This is the only cause the factory could come up with. They did change something in the wiring for 2003 models, and it seemed to remedy the problem.

Never hear of the jump start issue before, what a horrible design.

Never hear of the jump start issue before, what a horrible design.

 

 

I knew of several cars this happened to.

I knew of several cars this happened to.

 

I heard it could happen during jump starts because of improper connection where the cables alligator contacted the CF frame. Since cf conducts electricity that apparently lead to blowing the cluster.

 

In my Murci jumpstarting blew a large hidden fuse for the aftermarket stereo. Cost 2 bucks for the fuse and $400 for the shop to trouble shoot and find the fuse hidden behind a panel behind the seats.