and a tune-up..



$8,200 for oil change, tune-up

DON RETSON
CanWest News Service
March 16, 2005

Dan Echino is one person you won't hear fretting about the potential for climate change from global warming.

Echino owns a V-12-powered Lamborghini Murcielago convertible. The 2005 vehicle cost him $535,000, including GST, though Echino's biggest gripe is Alberta's too-short summers, not the half-million he paid for the eye-popping two-seater.

"I'm not complaining about global warming," Echino said during a recent interview. "Our summers are too short in Alberta."

Echino's fabulous yellow roadster was part of a display of Ferraris and Lamborghinis at the recent Edmonton Motorshow.

Joining him at the show was good friend Tom Goodchild of Edmonton, who last April bought Echino's 2002 Lamborghini Murcielago.

Goodchild preferred not to disclose the sale price, saying he's still coming to grips with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a vehicle most of us can only dream about.

But the two men spoke candidly of some of the joys and pitfalls of being members of such an exclusive club.

With an engine that packs 580 horsepower, 20-inch-wide tires and is very low to the ground, Goodchild deadpans that traction isn't a problem with his all-wheel drive vehicle.

"My car (goes) zero to 60 miles an hour in 3.6 seconds," he says matter of factly.

Costly breakdowns? Goodchild says he has never been in the situation of hearing funny noises when cruising 1,000 kilometres from the nearest specialty car shop.

It's not the sort of car that breaks down a lot, says the restaurateur.

"These cars are such finely tuned engines that it's rare to have any problems," agrees Echino, the president of a Lloydminster, Alta., petroleum service company, who also owns a 1999 Diablo Roadster.

But maintenance costs aren't for the faint of heart.

For example, because his 2002 Murcielago is still under warranty, Goodchild needed to have it serviced in Vancouver, one of only two Lamborghini dealers in Canada.

An oil change and tune-up cost him $8,200. New spark plugs cost $980. For a simple oil change, he now takes his Murcielago to ZR Auto in Calgary.

"Tuning a Lamborghini is like tuning an airplane engine," explains Goodchild, who says your average mechanic wouldn't try to tune such an exotic vehicle. With a deductible that's five per cent of the value of the car, inviting a buddy to get behind the wheel is out of the question, both men agree.

Echino admits it can be hard to keep within the posted speed limit when cruising along.

So, how fast has he cranked up either of his Lamborghinis? Echino joked that he'd get thrown in jail if he answered, then added that he once opened up on a racetrack at 305 kilometres per hour.

As for the risk of theft, Goodchild notes that the Lamborghini is so unique that it tends to attract a crowd wherever it's parked. Having people around deters would-be thieves.

Goodchild recalls a trip to Vancouver last summer with two fellow Lamborghini owners.

"Every time we stopped at a service station to fill up with gas, immediately there's 30 or 40 people around all the cars. It was quite something."

Edmonton Journal


http://www.canada.com/montreal/montr...9-4e51054cbfaa