Having nice things make no sense if you don’t use them. That’s why I don’t get summer homes and yachts - 90 percent of the time, they’re unused and essentially useless. Not so with this relatively cheap Lamborghini Gallardo, which has more miles than your Uber-moonlighting neighbor’s Prius.
This 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo is the starter exotic that everyone wants because it’s actually a stellar value for money. You have a high-revving, high-output 10 cylinder engine that produces an exhaust note more surprisingly pleasing than that restaurant scene from When Harry Met Sally, a look that screams “the owner of this car has their shit together”, and reliability that would knock anything Ferrari has made in the last 40 years into the stone age, where it belongs.
This example, while not the pristine, like-new car that we’re accustomed to seeing, is as relatively affordable as a new BMW M3 - because it has more than 100,000 miles on the odometer, and that might not be such a bad thing at all.
The car has apparently had the entire drivetrain replaced and has a service history to back up its claims of reliability. While things like the interior door panels may need reconditioning, as long as the motor and transmission check out, it may be a solid deal.
With the mileage, drivetrain replacement, and E-Gear transmission option, my guess is that it was originally, or at some point, a exotic rental car. Although this may make some people anxious, keep in mind that these cars are maintained quite well to be able to rack up this kind of mileage consistently. Here’s an excerpt from the description:
I have owned this car for 2 years and have had zero problems with it. I bought it from a well known and respected Lamborghini Owner in the Lamborghini community. (which I can provide later). The car had the V10 engine, Trans and E gear replaced at 90k. Car has 12K on the drivetrain. I have all the receipts from the work completed. This car gets driven almost every day, which is a good thing. If you don’t buy this one be very cautious of the ones that have low miles. These cars are actually made to be driven and when they are only driven 1k a year they sit for long periods of time and hoses, belts and gaskets dry out.
This car, with its mileage probably won’t appreciate because it’s too common for an exotic, the mileage will scare away potential buyers in the future, and the early 2004 model year means that it won’t be as refined or well-equipped as a later version - but that doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a Lamborghini to make into your own dream supercar. With the price as low as it is, you can get an off-the-shelf twin turbo kit for it and boost the power up to something ridiculous, change the color, get some better looking wheels and an exhaust that makes you forget that the doors don’t actually open upwards.
It’s not the best Lamborghini out there, but it sure can be if you can snag it for the right price and make it into something truly unique.
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes and makes videos about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world’s cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he’s the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn’t feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.
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