Buying a Lamborghini? Let’s see what is available…

You want a Lambo, as do we all, but where do you start?

If you ever find yourself dreaming about the day when our numbers come up on the Lottery you have probably also browsed the online listings for your own My Car Heaven. But how do you go about it?

Obviously there are several Lamborghini franchise showrooms and other specialist dealers dotted around the country but you’ll probably start online. Somewhat disappointingly, searching ‘Lamborghini For Sale’ brings up the same results as you’d get if you were searching for a ten year old Ford Focus: Autotrader, Gumtree, Motors and Parkers, with a few other dealer websites. Alternatively you could look to rent a Lamborghini, which is much more affordable.

Maybe this isn’t so difficult after all. So how about eBay? On the day we tried it there were 145 Lamborginis for Sale on eBay! From £57,990 for a 2006 Gallardo V10 with 46,000 miles right up to £464,995 for a brand new Aventador SVJ Roadster with just delivery miles. (I wonder what the PayPal fees for that would be??!!)

The oldest examples were quite interesting. A 1976 Espada Series III which had driven just 11,000 miles (an average of 244 miles per year!). A 1983 Lamborghini Countach LP500s was listed at £299,000 as ‘newly restored’ condition with zero miles. Then we have a selection of 90s Diablos in various guises.

All of these listings were Classifieds, so there’s no chance of blagging a bargain in an auction just because it has been overlooked by other buyers. The dealers are just using eBay to advertise what they have.

Over on Pistonheads the selection was even better. 320 Lamborghini’s for sale. From £62,900 for a 2004 Gallardo with 35,000 miles up to £1.4million for a 1967 Miura. In fact there were four Miuras for sale, the ‘cheapest’ being £1 short of a million. The Miura is also the oldest Lamborghini currently available. There are a handful of Espadas from the early 70s then into the 80s and 90s to see all the ones from our childhood years.

The Pistonheads listings certainly had a wider selection of available cars and the best selection of different models. But of the 320 vehicles available only three were listed as a private sale. 

In fact, many of the vehicles shown as ‘trade’ or ‘dealer’ listings on any of the online platforms, and even in the specialist magazines, will actually be private sales. Dealers advertise and sell them on consignment, or on behalf of a private owner in return for a commission.

This is quite standard practice, there are very few dealers with a line of credit from the bank  sufficient to by a forecourt full of exotic sports cars, so the consignment option works well for both the dealer and the private seller.

H.R. Owen is a name you will probably know, and if you don’t, you will certainly find them when looking to buy a Lamborghini. They are the UK’s largest official Lamborghini dealership with five locations in the UK. They sell new and used vehicles.

The H.R. Owen website lists 19 ‘Approved Used’ Lamborghinis for sale. From £119,500 for a 2015 Huracan up to £579,950 for a 2020 Aventador. The 2015 Huracan is also the oldest car at just over 5 years old.

So we have established that there is no shortage of cars available suiting every budget, but let’s say you do want a brand new Lamborghini. Well you’re going to have to go to H.R. Owen again, the will be able to supply any of the current eleven models of Lamborghini available.

You’ll need to get in touch with them and pre-arrange a visit, just turning and knocking the door in your lunch hour won’t get you far. These are big ticket items so be ready to answer some questions as the salesperson qualifies you before you start talking spec list. Every car dealer does this, whether you are in the £10k or the £1million price bracket. 

Financing a Lamborghini

So let’s assume that, like everyone else, a lottery win or inheritance is not on the cards but you still want one. It is not as far off as you might think. If you find a car for £180,000 you only need a 10% deposit of £18k to secure it, you can finance the rest. £162,000 over 4 years at 6.9% will cost you £2,212 per month with a balloon payment of £90,000 at the end.

There’s are really good chance that the car will still be worth more than £90k after four years so you could sell it, pay off the balloon payment and still have enough for another deposit on a similar car.

Smart investors who take risks on car values might even finance a vehicle over a longer term of 8-10 years to lower the monthly payments but on the understanding that the vehicle could actually hold its value or even rise over that period. If it works out (it is a big ‘if’ so you need to know what you are doing) you could profit on the entire transaction, or at least have the use of a Lamborghini for free.

We will look at finance for supercars in more depth very soon.