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Diablo

Joined
28 March 2000
Messages
42
Considering the purchase of a 1994 Lamborghini Diablo. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this car... I think I recall G-man saying that his father owned a Lamborghini. I am a little concerned about the cost of servicing the car. I've been told that a new clutch is $17,000!!! (granted the source of that info may not be the best) By the way... the ease and cost oof srevice is why I bought the NSX....exotic looks and performance without the constant service headaches of Italian exotics. Thanks for the help
 
I doubt you've even sat in a Diablo, let alone looked at buying one, because if you had then you would have crossed it off your list instantly. No one used to the "greenhouse" level of great outward visibility that the NSX has could switch to a Diablo's coffin-like claustrophobia-inducing interior, period.

Hell, Diablo drivers have to open the driver's side door and hang half way out of the car to safely move in reverse due to a lack of rearward visibility from inside.

No joke.

If you actually have the money for a Diablo, then the car you should be looking at buying is the Ferrari 360 Modena. It's the only mid-engined exotic that can honestly claim to be equal/superior to the NSX in terms of ergonomics, along with being outright faster. Another good alternative is the new 2001 Porsche 996 Turbo, which can turn a mid-12 second 1/4 mile ET or better.

Diablos are for pretenders.
 

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yeah, the diablo isn't really too great of a car, its fun to drive but the ergonomics, visibility, and overall clunkiness is kinda annoying, it has an awesome torque curve though... the F360 modena is an awesome car but not really in the same class as the diablo, its a bit smaller and more of a GT, the F550 maranello is the closest ferarri to the diablo... or perhaps the older F40, all of the ferarris are easier cars to live with than diablos, although I have to warn you that if you have to ask about maintainance for these cars, you probably can't afford it, its not unknown for maintainance for one of these cars to exceed its purchase price in one year.

-warren
 
Easy my friend....

As I have stated in the past.. I make purchases based on what a car does for me. That is why I think this whole Supra vs. NSX war is stupid, but once again that is only "my opinion". Although some may like Porsches... I don't. I think they look like a bubble on wheels,once again "my opinion". I like the look of the Diablo as I do the look of the NSX. As far as performance. I don't go to the track... and the true driving potential of these machines isn't in my opinion realized on the roads.

I am 5'8"... entry in and out of the Diablo is no problem for me. I can see your point for someone taller but... for me... getting in and out was easy. Rearward visibility is poor in that car but not a huge sacrifice for me as I plan to spend most of my time driving forward.

I appreciate and respect "your opinion".

Regards,
"Pretending in Chicago"
 
thanks Warren-

Although I am confident I can afford the servicing. I'm not sure I can justify blowing loads of money on upkeep (why I own an NSX now). My personal debate is not comparing it to another car. My debate is.... How much financial upkeep is there for this car?.... If it is insane, I would rather put that "chunk" of money down on an apartment building or something that is more realistic at the stage of life I'm in. I guess it is a personal debate... I'm 27.... there is a ton of time for toys.... Don't know... just entertaining the idea. Thanks for your input.
 

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here's some pretty typical numbers for a diablo, tell me if you think this is "affordable"

Oil Change $750 (only supposed to use very specific types of oil)

2500, 5000, 10000 mile checkups $2000-4000 depending on if parts need to be replaced

Clock $11000 (god help you if this breaks)

Wheels $2000 each (don't curb these)

etc...etc... plus there is alot of other little bs that goes wrong with the cars, like power seat motors, all sorts of stuff... i would budget around $100k/yr for maintaining a diablo if you are going to drive it 5-10k mi... not kidding.

-warren
 

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it depends how much you drive it, if it sits in the garage it obviously won't cost that much, but if you drove it 10k mi a year the three checkups that you would go through and the 4 oil changes alone would cost you $15-20k, typically you should expect one mechanical problem with a lambo for every 500-1000 mi that you drive it, and the average problem will cost you $2000-5000 to fix, unless its something totally minor, then it will probably only cost $500.

if you ever read the nsxfiles, where doug talks about the reliability problems with his F355, the diablo is about 20x less reliable.

-warren
 
The newer Lambos are not nearly as bad as the old ones as far as maintenance and reliability. They're still no NSX.. but then the NSX is no Lambo in the power or over-the-top looks department either.

A '94+ Diablo is not going to cost $100k a year in maintenance unless you are the most unlucky person in the entire world. And you can probably count on your fingers the number of people putting 10k miles a year on their Diabo.

Granted they are expensive for upkeep and repair but if you can spend the purchase price *comfortably* then maintenance isn't going to kill you.

But as you said there are an awful lot of other things you can do with that amount of money. It just depends on your priorities.
 
Lud,

my great-uncle has 3 diablos, he daily drove one for one year, put 12k mi on it, and spent nearly $100k in repairs and maintainance, that's where my figure comes from, if its lightly driven, then obviously the maintaince becomes less.

-warren
 
drizzt3117 your uncle has 3 diablos? or he has had 3 over the past couple of years? Because if he and 3 at the same time that doesn't make sense to me! Why would you want to have 3 at the same time? at 250,000 or so a piece i'd mix it up a little bit more. A ferrari, porsche, Benz, BMW, and a golf cart or two to get the mail! To me having 3 of same exotic car is, strange! Its not like having two Mercedes sedans, because they have some utility. Hauling kids, getting groceries, picking up the in laws from the air port, etc. But hey its his money. I'm just glad I don't make his car payments.
 
I dont know about you guys, but in my opinion the Lamborghini Diablo is one of the most awesome and intimidating looking cars ever built. The 2000MY 6.0L Diablo's can turn 12 second ET's out of the box and are still geared high enough to hit over 210mph. I consider that to bea "real" car. Definitely not a "pretender" car. All Ferrari's and like exotics are plagued with reliability/ergonomics problems. That is a given. That is also the reason why most of us chose to go with an NSX. We don't tolerate the little things that seem to go wrong. But again, if I could afford a 250,000 '00 Diablo VT, I'd dump my NSX in a millisecond. No question about it. Who cares about reliability...Drop dead gorgeous looks, 575 Italian Horses, and enough torque to wrinkle the face of the Earth is worth the hassle.
 
I guess owning three Diablos can't be that unusual, as I know someone here in Austin who has three as well.

The newer Diablos, especially the VTs, are a BIG improvement over the Lambos of the past, both in drivability and reliability. They are not on the same 'drive them to work' level as a Ferrari 360 or a Porsche Turbo, but are definately not garage queens. I know a couple of guys here in town that drive theirs every weekend and love them. I have to admit that the torque is amazing. You can downshift and punch it at almost any speed and be thrown back in your seat.

Also, for sheer "yes, both my girlfriends are supermodels" visual audacity, nothing else in the world comes close. If I had the garage space and the spare change, I would get one in a heartbeat.
 
I recently got a ride in a Diablo VT Roadster. It's got tons of torque, noisy engine, and it's definitely fast! Also, I've never rode in anything that caught more attention while I was being driven around in it. People were giving us the thumbs up, girls were waving at us, and we had a crowd of people coming up to us at the gas station(every single one of them knew what the car was). I get a lot of attention driving my NSX around, but nothing like what I experienced in the Diablo.

If you have the money to buy the car and are willing to pay the premimum for the maintenance, and are willing to get constant attention no matter where you go, I envy you. Remember that any super EXOTIC car you get, you're definitely going to be paying the premimum for the upkeep. My friend who owns the Diablo recently had some work done on his rear bumper(he backed up onto something 'cause the rearward visibility was so bad) and it costed him $10k to get it fixed.
 

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purevil,

my great uncle has like 63 cars, among which are three diablos... he's 73, retired for 2 years after selling his three private corporations, and daily drives a viper RT/10, his typical weekend drive is a 180 mph romp from LA to LV for some gambling... definitely not your average retiree
smile.gif


-warren
 

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diablos are sweet cars to drive, the VT especially is fun, very recoverable lots of torque, and you can drift it badass... i still think for the money i'd rather have a F550 though or an older F40.

-warren
 

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How about take a few pictures of his collection for us to see? I find it hard to believe
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I am sure we'd all be very impressed, sounds like he's richer than Bill Gates.
 
Originally posted by worldsport:
Easy my friend....

As I have stated in the past.. I make purchases based on what a car does for me. That is why I think this whole Supra vs. NSX war is stupid, but once again that is only "my opinion". Although some may like Porsches... I don't. I think they look like a bubble on wheels,once again "my opinion". I like the look of the Diablo as I do the look of the NSX. As far as performance. I don't go to the track... and the true driving potential of these machines isn't in my opinion realized on the roads.

I am 5'8"... entry in and out of the Diablo is no problem for me. I can see your point for someone taller but... for me... getting in and out was easy. Rearward visibility is poor in that car but not a huge sacrifice for me as I plan to spend most of my time driving forward.

I appreciate and respect "your opinion".

Regards,
"Pretending in Chicago"

Worldsport,
Seems like if you mention any car other than an NSX on this forum your always going to have some ignorant yahoo just lay into you. Just thought that I'd tell you if you can afford it go for the Diablo! Obviously the newer the better (for realiability) and it can cost you a lot in maintenace but if you can afford it, it's only money. Cars are like women, the NSX would be an refined lady that gives you no headaches, the Diablo on the other hand would be a beautiful woman who gives you a lot of grief to stay with but when it's good "oh mama!!" she'll make you forget about all others in a heartbeat.
Just a personal suggestion, seeing as you got the money, why don't you use some of it on your NSX. You know send your motor to a good builder (I know a few) that will build you a 600+hp Twin turbo screamer with Carbon fibre disks to stop just as fast and full race suspension. You'll transform your car into something that should be faster than the diablo, sound just as good and cost a bit less. But that's just a sugestion!

Anyway good luck with your decision!
 
Originally posted by drizzt3117:
my great-uncle has 3 diablos, he daily drove one for one year, put 12k mi on it, and spent nearly $100k in repairs and maintainance, that's where my figure comes from

Then I would say he was pretty unlucky. I know several people who own (or have owned) them and none of them ran up $8+/mile in maintenance and repairs.
 
WOW! I go away for a few weeks and you guys start going crazy.
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Ok, since my name is in the initial post, I feel obligated to chime in here. For the record, my father owned a one of a kind 1968 Lamborghini P400SV Miura Prototype. Lamborghini didn't start making the SV model (better engine mods) until 1972, but they built 4 cars as SV prototypes to get the mods worked out and my fathers was the ONLY one ever imported into the US. He bought it in 1972 after the introduction of the actual SV when the showcar/testcar was no longer needed by Lamborghini. It was purchased from then the ONLY Lambo dealer in the US in RI (now the oldest I am sure).
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Ok, enough of the trip down memory lane. Then new cars have almost nothing in common with the older cars.

Where to mop up first...

SEE NEXT MESSAGE: HAD TROUBLE GETTING IT ALL INTO ONE?!


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Gordon G. Miller, III
Y2K NSX #51 Yellow/Black
 
Well, first, my hats off to Worldsport for diversifying his/her taste in automobiles. If any of you have ever driven a Lambo, there is surely nothing like it and even if it doesn't look so hot on paper, your head (at least not the bigger one) is never the part of your anatomy that yields a Lambo purchase.
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I have to back to your original comment Worldsport, "I make purchases based on what a car does for me", OK, well, what do you want this car to "do for you". If you want hordes of women (16-60) to line up around your car everytime you park it somewhere just waiting for you to come back out, then it is a good car for that. If you want 10 year old boys to run thier bikes into trees when you drive by, it is also good for that too. If you want every guy with something to prove to try and race you when you are driving, challenge you when you are stopped, and key your car when you are no where in sight, then it is good for that too.

Oh, yeah, it will also do over 210 mph, go 1,320 ft in less time than you can say "Oh my God what the hell did I buy this car for" and drive you to drink, go bankrupt and beat your dog when the thing breaks down. And that is just all the good parts of it.

While I have always had something better to do with $200K+, I did originally have my money down on a 1999 Ferrari 355 and then decided to buy the NSX because it was hands down a better car. But, you already own one, so you know that. My biggest problem is that I have owned 8 cars in the last 5 years looking for the ultimate ride and I finally found it in the NSX. While it could be a little faster, it is fast enough. While it could be a little better known by the general public at least people leave me alone. And most of the challenges at stop lights are from Integra Owners that just need to be taught a lesson.
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My sense is that Worldsport, unless you are looking for what the Lambo can give you, then you and your money would be happier somewhere else. I agree that the Ferrari 360 is a fantastic automobile and worthy of your consideration. Wait a few and get the AWESOME new spyder with the F1 transmission. It is a killer! For now, I will keep on loving my NSX.
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SEE NEXT MESSAGE FOR PART III


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Gordon G. Miller, III
Y2K NSX #51 Yellow/Black
 
PS: As far as drizzt3117 and his whacky and obviously disgusting rich family goes, all I can say is that I am available for private adoption.
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While I find it odd that anyone would have 3 of anything, I guess that if you have $1M US that you don't feel real partial toward, I guess 3 Diablos is one way to go. 63 cars may seem like a lot, especially since Bill Gates only has 40. But car nuts like David Letterman and Jay Leno have collections over 100 cars... Letterman even has a warehouse full of cars in LA he only sees once or twice a year since he is in NY! And he only makes $14M a year. Sounds possible to me, not likely, but certainly possible.
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PPS: As far a repair costs of $100K per year for any car, I just can't see that. Especially for only $10K miles. I agree with Lud, at $8 per mile, you better really want to drive this puppy. The new cars are surprising reliable for how exotic they are especially now that Lambo has continued to change hands and the reliability has been improved along the way ever since Chrysler first owned them. If drizzt3117 says he has a friend spending that much then that friend needs another car, another mechanic, another accountant or another life. Because someone is taking him for a ride.

PPS: In closing, I would hope that all of us would bring a healthy degree of skepticism to the table when dealing with anyone hiding beind usernames on the internet, but also realize that most of us are honest well meaning NSX driving people of higher than average intelligence (as can be seen by our NSX purchase over a Ferrari) and higher than average moral fiber. I doubt anyone here would out and out lie just to impress those of us here, so let's not be too quick to dismiss the possibility that there are people out there, obviously more fortunate than myself, who own more cars than pairs of underwear and may indeed change one more often than the other.
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Gordon G. Miller, III
Y2K NSX #51 Yellow/Black
 
Enzo,
Thanks for the links to the photos. The image of http://www.macs.ch/homepages/david/Media/affolter/pictures/lambo4.jpg shows one of the few, VERY RARE, remaining Lamborghini Jarma race versions. Very similar to the Lamborghini Miura P400 except for the Jarma has cooling ducts beind the front wheel arches, acrylic headlight covers and the very much needed wrap-around chin spoiler in the front. Color and other finish items are exactly as I remember from dad's car. Even that wondeful red-orange paint job still looks uniquely Lamborghini.
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Thanks,

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Gordon G. Miller, III
Y2K NSX #51 Yellow/Black
 
The Lamborghini dealer shows their inventory to include a 1970 Lamborghini Miura P400S. I can only conclude that since my father's car was a 1968 and suffered from a variety of problems including excessive front end lift above 140 mph that rose to near suicidal levels at 200+mph, I can only deduce that later models after 1968 must have offered modifications such as chin spoiler and air fins on the sides. The wider than normal fender flares in the rear lead me to believe it was one of maybe a dozen Lambo Jarma race version left. I guess it has been too long. Also not sure what was offered in non US cars.
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But just wanted to set the record straight.


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Gordon G. Miller, III
Y2K NSX #51 Yellow/Black
 
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