Hello all.
I have been following the board for a few months and am close to buying my first Lambo. Likely a 2007 Gallardo. Going for my first test drive tomorrow and will drive both egear and manual. My gut tells me it will be the manual, but want to give the egear a fair shake. My question - what kind of "Lambo quirks" should I keep an eye out for in making a decision? Watch the starts (sluggish) and neutral at stop lights are the most common I have read here regarding the egear. Manual seems fairly straight forward. For reference, I have had several Porsche's and currently have and AM Vantage - so the Gallardo will be my first "true" exotic. All my previous cars have been manuals. I see the survey suggests its pretty close to 50/50 regarding egear/manual. So just curious as to the thoughts of those that have driven these cars for a while. Second question, the issue of depreciation is pretty much dollars and cents...for those of you that have been around for a while, what has your experience been on how these cars hold up during a recession? I see prices coming down pretty aggressively for the 2007 / 2006 Gallardo's and I'm guessing a weak economy will only make the situation worse. Goodness knows I'm going to take it in the shorts when I sell the AM. Thanks for any comments - and for putting up with yet another new guy with a ton of questions. But I am looking forward to joining "the family".

Welcome. As far as the transmission goes, it is personal preference. You will get the same response as the poll, 50/50. I personally like them both but egear is great. I also love the "rawness" of the manual, so I would be up in the air too. Depreciation is going to happen based on the economy and the fact that the market is flooded. They are just making too many. They are great cars but the prices will not hold anytime soon.

So, I suggest drive them both and see what you like for you. Then buy it, drive it and enjoy it because at the end of the day it will depreciate.

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1986 Jalpa Twin Turbo

Hi Chris,
Welcome to the Dark Side.
Sorry I don't know much more than what you probably already read on the forum, so I can't help you. I think Detour's answer is about the best you will get : it's all about your feelings, and yes, the Gallardo is far to be a "classic" and the market price will go down and down until then.
Anyway, I'd like to hear what you think about the AM Vantage. Is it the "new" V8 Vantage we're talking about ? I'm planning on getting one before the end of this year (with e-gear, by the way) in replacement of my daily driver in Europe, (a 8 years old TT Quattro Roadster) . Do you like it ? did you have any particular problems with it ? I tried to subscribe to the AM Owners forum, but these guys are just like us : they are all in love with their cars, so it's hard to have a "cold eye" and honest opinion about it Any info and feed back is welcome before I go sign my check
Thanks

Sounds like it may now be time then, to get out of your comfort zone and get an e-gear

Seriously though, if you haven't done much driving with a sequential paddle shift transmission, it will sure feel strange at first, and you may find it somewhat "clunky" in stop/start traffic etc.

When you go for your test drives tomorrow, it is important that you do some higher speed comparisons with some more aggressive driving if they let you(unless you are just after a boulevard coaster car). The faster you drive the e-gear, the better it performs. You definitely need to test both normal and sports mode - they are quite different. Try some quick downshifts in sports mode while approaching some tight corners. (The brakes in a Gallardo are quite impressive, so if all else fails........!)

But as others have said, at the end of the day you have to make your own decision. Both manual and e-gear both offer very competent, but different solutions

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I will certainly push the car as much as the salesman will let me. I would never have thought about testing the different modes in the egear. I'm pretty anal so will check everything out exactly as you said. I'm hoping the experience will be a good one - the salesman invited me to come and test drive a month ago and yesterday when I called to take him up on the offer, he really tried the hard sell...."order a new one or I might not let you drive them" kind of approach. Not exactly what he said, but was certainly the vibe. We'll see, I know he has to make a living, and I'm OK with that, but this is a process for me and I won't be pushed into a decision.

I won't be a "racer" on a daily basis, but if you don't drive it like it was meant to be driven once in a while, whats the point? OK, yes, it does look way cool, and in the winter when its sitting in the garage and I come home and see it just sitting there it will certainly make me smile (every time!) but the real fun is driving. My last Porsche was a 1996 twin turbo, one of the last of the air cooled, and it was awesome. But I rarely drove it - I kind of felt that every mile I put on it was somehow disrespectful to the car...afterall, they will never make them again. Well, I figured if that was the way I felt, then let someone else have it who would not feel that way, and drive it. So, bought the AM. Which, honestly, is a fine car (you will love it Ayanami) but way different than the 911, particularly the turbo.

Ayanami - some answers to your questions. The AM is a 2007 V8 Vantage so I guess its the "new" one. Manual transmission. I was a little concerned when I bought it, since its English (hope I dont offend, but some of the older English cars had some problems) I kind of expected some issues, and really I have had no problems whatsoever. Its the first one for me after the 911, and I actually DROVE it, put about 4,500 miles on it in six months. I live in Pennsylvania so have to put it away for about six months, so pretty much drove it every day in the summer (when it didn't rain). Handles well, corners well, accelerates OK, but I could never find a comfortable driving position. I'm only 5'4" tall (yes I'm an adult....) and had the seat pretty much up to the max, and just never felt comfortable. That is my only knock on the car...and its not the cars fault. So if I were you, I'd certainly put it on your list. And you should be able to get one pretty cheap - its the first real production car for AM, and boy did they produce. There are still new 2007's sitting at my dealership, right next to the 2008's. So they are not holding price - simply because they made too many (that and the approacing recession in the US. Sounds a little like the Gallardo.

Well, I'm off for the drives. It's an overnight/long weekend trip with the wife so I'll give you my thoughts about both transmissions tomorrow night - or if she'll let me take my laptop, tonight!

Thanks again for your feedback.

The only thing I would add, is that you should consider an 05-06 model that has depreciated more, you can always trade up...That is if you choose to stay with the car.

OK, so, WOW. The test drive went very well. My concern regarding a pushy salesman were completely unfounded - which made me feel good. Got to drive an egear (Supperlaggera!) but they sold the manual while I was there. Can you believe the luck??? Crap. But having never driven an egear, it was certainly worth the three hour drive. I plan a trip to another dealer soon and will check out the manual there.

OK, a few observations. 1) the hesitation when you first start out is a bit strange, but really no big deal - just keep pushing through it 2) reverse is not as much of an issues as I expected, but if I would ever have to park in a tight space, the forward/backwards may be a struggle - but I have avoided those spaces for years, so doubt if thats a problem 3) the shifting is smooth but the hesitation between gears is a little awkward at first, but I bet its just as fast (or faster) than the manual, but with the manual you are just busy shifting. Just a guess. I couldn't tell the difference between normal and Sport mode - but hard to feel the difference on a 15 min test drive. I drove it twice, about a hour apart, so it wasn't "new" the second time. Still, its hard to get a real feel until I would own if for a few weeks. Having been a manual guy for 30 years, I could definately get used to it - but I bet I still end up with another manual this time around.

What I did decide for certain - I am buying SOMETHING this year and have pretty much decided on the coupe. The Gallardo is just fantastic. Fast and responsive - curves were a dream. I love the Spyder for what it is, but the lines on the coupe are just awesome. Color?? Went in thinking I would hate the Pearl Orange and Balloon white....wrong, in person they are beautiful. Still want to see a Rosso Vik and Leto in person, and a few of the Blues, before I decide. But narrowing the search.

Thanks for the advice and suggestions.

There is one thing to note. The Superleggera has a little bit different egear than the regular coupe. The SL has the ability to adjust the "hardness" of the shift. It is hands down faster to shift the egear than anyone can shift manual. The SL also has a much more firm suspension and steering feel. The number one mistake that is made will egear is letting off the gas between shifts, similar to shifting manually. This is wrong. You need to put the pedal down and just keep pulling the lever.

It sounds like you had a good experience. I suggest you look into what Raymondo suggested. Look at the 05-06. There are great deals to be had out there. Let someone else take the big hit for you.

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1986 Jalpa Twin Turbo