Hi everyone!
the name's Mulder, I live in France and I'm 34. I used to own a Ferrari F355 for 4 wonderful years and now I've decided to spice it up a bit by purchasing a Lamborghini Gallardo.
I was advised to chose at least a 2007 model because the e-gear box was more efficient.
I was wondering if a Superleggera was confortable enough to drive it everyday?

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"When science fails, we have to consider extreme possibilities." Scully D.

I believe the rough e-gear shifting and clutch wear were the issues with earlier years. These issues were fine tuned in the 2006s and farther refined in the 2009s. Generally, 2006 are an improvement over previous years and likewise with the 2009 subsequent years.

You should tell us a little about how you plan to drive the car and driving conditions. Daily commute in heavy stop and go traffic, long expressway driving, etc.. Does parking requiring you to go up a steep incline or backing into parking spaces? What type of parking is available, street, tight spaces, valet, etc..

The F355 is an easy car to maneuver compared to a Gallardo. You will find a rear camera a “Must have” for the Gallardo. A Superleggera would be comfortable for some people to drive every day, but to others it would not.

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I don't have to use the Gallardo to go to work since I work at home!
I'm gonna use it mainly to go on week-end gateways, to go and visit my friends who mostly live in the countryside. I have many highways (like German Autobahn) around where I live. I was told that the rear camera was like you say "a must have" and useful to park and mainly when I drive downtown where our parking spaces require 50% of the time some backing-up!
I was thinking about finding one with the lift system cause here In France we have many "road bumps".

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"When science fails, we have to consider extreme possibilities." Scully D.

I also work at home (Telecommute) and drive my cars for pleasure.

Generally some people say that after two hours you start to feel a little uncomfortable in a Gallardo and I think a little dash light comes on to remind you to take a break. I have driven my 2006 for over 4 hours at at time taking one break for gas and meals and it did not bother me.

Weekend getaways may present a problem as far as storage is concerned. Coupes have more room behind the seats (11 inch shelf) than do Spyders. With a coupe you have enought room to put two carryon bags behind the seats. The front boot will hold a small overnight bag or two depending on the size. But than again, you are only going away for the weekend and do not need that much stuff. At least that is what I keep telling my girlfriend who insist on packing three or four bags. We usually put one or two under her legs on the passenger side.

going up inclines at a slow speed (Steep driveway) and using reverse on inclines tend to wear the clutch more. Plus it is difficult to see when backing. So avoid as many of those situations and you will be fine.

2006 and later years come with the lift system as standard equipment which is a good thing to have when going over speed bumps, etc.. I think you can only go up to 50 mph with the lift system up and then after 50 mph it goes down automatically.

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The lift came in all cars after, and including, 05.

The transmission changed in all cars (manual and e-gear) in 06. Smaller first gear.

In 09, the gallardo got the most amount of revision both in the internals and the external. The e-gear got a huge change at this time. I believe the manuals still had the same previous transmissions.

All great info here!

At this point with 09s becoming more affordable than ever before, I would with it just because of the eGear alone. Not to mention power and body modifications. If that is not in your budget then 07 is a great choice.
BTW Mulder, say hi to Scully!

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2008 Gallardo Spyder Sold
2012 Gallardo Spyder

Thank you guys for your comments.
I did not know that the lift system was not an option, that's good too know!
I will try my best to avoid steep inclines not to wear the clutch. Speaking of clutch, I was told that going back to Neutral when stopping at a red light was recommended not to wear that damn clutch. Is it true?
How long does a clutch last (I know it depends on how I drive and where but if I avoid city downtowns as much as I can)
Here in France, the cost of a clutch is 5,000$ at a Lambo dealership. Is it the same price here in the US?
I met an owner of a 2008 Gallardo and he told me that his clutch lasted 30000 km (18750 miles).
I know that the Gallardo has to be serviced once a year, what exactly is checked and changed during this service?
I also heard about the big service every 20000 miles, do you guys know what it includes and what the cost is?


Thanks for your responses

Scully says Hi!

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"When science fails, we have to consider extreme possibilities." Scully D.

Try doing a search because a lot of your questions have been answered before.

A lot of owners put their G-Cars in Neutral when coming to a stop light and a others do not. The amount of wear you save with this method is probably mininmal, but it all adds up over time.

Make sure you get a clutch snap to tell you how much wear you have left prior to purchasing the car.

I believe people can get as much as 20K miles from their clutch if not more. It really depends on how you drive the G-Car. Those slow stop/go movements up steep incline well wear out a clutch very fast.

Here is what I paid for an annual dealer service:

10 quarts of Agip Oil@22.50 per quart: $225.00
Replace Oil filter: 87.96
Gasket Rings: 4.44
Total Parts: $317.40
Total Labor: $159.86
Supplies: $39.95
Tax: $36.22

Grand total: $553.43

Once every two years you need a break flush - cost ???

Services included topping off all fluids, check tire pressure and alignment, check clutch and brake wear, car wash and inspect and fix anything as needed.

5 years service items as a follow up to the above oil/filter change will be done (Will not include the oil/filter change) but will include: Replacing the engine air filters, fuel filters, spark plugs, AC pollen filter, brake flush, coolant flush and car detailed = $3000 plus tax.

As you know your F355 required belt service and replacement. The G-Car has a timing chain and does not need the expensive belt service that F355 required.

It would not surprise me if the maintenance on a G-Car turned out to be less than the maintenance on the F355 you owned.

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thanks for the infos ajpeters
The cost of a F355 servicing is indeed very expensive
I'll post some pictures of the cars I'm going to see before I make a decision.
Have a good one boys!

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"When science fails, we have to consider extreme possibilities." Scully D.

When I had my 08 I would also go to neutral when approaching a red light, not so much to reduce clutch wear but to eliminate the clunkiness & surging of the eGear. With the updated eGear in my LP I never bother with neutral anymore. It is smooth as silk. It seems to engage sooner and much smoother. I don't know for a fact but I would bet the new eGear clutch will last longer than the pre LP version.

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2008 Gallardo Spyder Sold
2012 Gallardo Spyder