WarrantyWise data reveals the real cost of repairs for exotic cars from the likes of Lamborghini and Aston Martin

• WarrantyWise data reveals the real cost of repairs for exotic cars from the likes of Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin and Porsche
• WarrantyWise’s biggest pay-out is for £15,000 to a Lamborghini Murcielago owner for major engine repairs – WarrantyWise cover is just £166 per month on average for a Murcielago
• A Porsche 911 and Maserati 4200 are the second and third largest pay-outs, of around £10,000 each for engine repairs
• Also in the top 10 is a £9,500 gearbox replacement for a Nissan GT-R and £8,057-worth of gearbox repairs on an Aston Martin Vanquish
• For more sensible warranty cover, WarrantyWise.co.uk offers plans for popular models like the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf from just £19 per month

WarrantyWise.co.uk has revealed the true cost of exotic car repairs, with data detailing its largest ever payouts. A Lamborghini Murcielago tops the list, with a major engine mechanical repair bill of £15,000 fully covered by WarrantyWise. By contrast, covering your Murcielago at WarrantyWise’s highest level of service will set you back just £166 per month.

The top ten list and beyond is full of some of the world’s most famous performance cars, with the top three largest payouts covering major engine mechanical repairs.  Following the Lamborghini in WarrantyWise’s second and third largest payouts were a Porsche 911 and a Maserati 4200 with bills of around £10,000 each. The average monthly cost of WarrantyWise cover for each of the cars is £82 and £146 respectively.

Gearbox issues can leave owners with a hefty bill, too, with big repair costs of just under £10,000 for Aston Martin’s Vanquish and DB9 models needing major repairs to their automatic gearboxes.

Away from the largest repair payouts, WarrantyWise’s data reveal just how expensive relatively minor issues can be in complex, exotic cars. Repairing the ECU in a Ferrari 360, for example, came with a bill of nearly £2,000, with a similar amount required for wheel bearing repairs in a Ferrari 355.

An air-conditioning fix in a Maserati GranTurismo resulted in a £1,885 payout from WarrantyWise and replacing the water pump in a GranTurismo Spider commanded a repair payout of £2,278.

Even the more run of the mill cars aren’t immune to a crippling bill, though, with payouts of more than £5,000 each for family favourites, the Renault Grand Espace and Volkswagen Passat.

Warranties at this more sensible end of the scale, including for popular models like the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf, start from just £19 per month.

Lawrence Whittaker, CEO of WarrantyWise, said: “When you lay out all the repair payouts WarrantyWise makes, you can see why so many of our customers swear by our service – especially on an exotic car where the bills are rarely cheap. But the fact that we also have the likes of Renault and Volkswagen in our largest ever payouts just goes to show that all cars have the potential to go very badly wrong – and the resulting repair bill can be large enough to really disrupt your life.”

WarrantyWise Top 10 Most Expensive Authorised Repairs

Make	Model	Issue	Amount Paid
Lamborghini	Murcielago	Engine (Major Mechanical)	£15,000
Porsche	911	Engine (Major Mechanical)	£10,051.63
Maserati	4200	Engine (Major Mechanical)	£10,000
Ferrari	550	Electrical (major)	£9996.52
Nissan	GT-R	Replace Gearbox	£9,500
Nissan	GT-R	Gearbox (selector)	£9,500
Aston Martin	Vanquish	Gearbox Auto	£8,057.56
Aston Martin	DB9	Gearbox (auto)	£7315.45
Lamborghini	Gallardo	F1 Actuator	£6437.27
Ferrari	575	Gearbox (selector)	£6161.21

USA - Analysis Uncovers Surprising and Eclectic List of Out-of-Production Models for Millennial buyers.

Analysis Uncovers Surprising and Eclectic List of Out-of-Production Models and Family-Friendly Vehicles that Skew toward America's Youngest Population of Used Car Buyers

Dodge Magnum has a higher rate of Millennial buyers than any other vehicle on the used car market, according to a new analysis released today by car shopping destination Edmunds.com. 

The analysis further found that there is an array of unlikely, out-of-production models – like the Magnum, Chrysler Pacifica and Pontiac Aztek – that are finding new life on the pre-owned market with a younger crowd of buyers.

According to Edmunds' findings, 27.6 percent of all used Magnums sold in the U.S. were bought by Millennial shoppers (age 18-34) in the first six months of 2015, outpacing any other vehicle on the used car market, and far exceeding the overall used car industry average of 16.8 percent. 

The vehicle's pull with young buyers is not just isolated to this year: based on Edmunds' research, the Magnum is poised to claim the top Millennial share for the third year in a row. Chrysler Pacifica is next on the list, with 27.3 percent of all used sales this year registered to Millennials.

Top 10 Used Cars, by Share of Sales to Millennials

(Jan-Jun 2015)

Rank	Used Car Model	Share of Model's Sales to Millennials
1	DODGE MAGNUM*	27.6%
2	CHRYSLER PACIFICA*	27.3%
3	SUBARU WRX	26.4%
4	CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER*	25.9%
5	VOLKSWAGEN R32*	25.7%
6	PONTIAC AZTEK*	25.5%
7	NISSAN GT-R	25.4%
8	SATURN OUTLOOK*	25.3%
9	DODGE DURANGO	24.8%
10	LEXUS IS-F	24.7%
	INDUSTRY AVERAGE	16.8%

Source: Edmunds.com Analysis of Polk Registration Data * — vehicle no longer in production

Both Magnum and Pacifica have a distinct characteristic in common, aside from being larger crossover vehicles: they are no longer in production. 

In fact, Edmunds found that six of the ten used models with the highest rates of Millennial buyers are no longer produced by automakers. But while these vehicles no longer roll off assembly lines, Edmunds analysts say that they offer young used car buyers almost unparalleled value.

"Millennials are more practical used car shoppers than we might otherwise credit them," said Edmunds.com Analyst Jeremy Acevedo. "They may not go into the shopping process targeting these lesser-known vehicles, but when they see how their price tags stack up against other, better-known vehicles, they suddenly become a lot more attractive. 

When it comes to used cars, value and utility appear to trump just about anything else for many Millennial buyers."

Other insights and storylines revealed by Edmunds' research into Millennial used car shopping habits include:

Millennial Parents Turn to Used — Edmunds' research found that the largest penetration of Millennial buyers can be found in the used passenger van segment (including minivans), where the demographic made up about 20 percent of all purchases this year. 

By comparison, Millennials made up 17.3 percent of all used sedan purchases and 15.8 percent of all used coupe purchases. The used minivans with the largest shares of Millennial buyers this year are Volkswagen Routan (24.6 percent), Nissan Quest (23.9 percent), and Honda Odyssey  (23.6 percent).

Rise of the Aztek — Once regarded by Edmunds as one of the ugliest car of all time, the Pontiac Aztek has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts with Millennials in the secondhand market. 

In 2010, the Aztek had the highest rate of Millennial used car buyers, with exactly one-third of all used Aztek sales falling into the hands of shoppers age 18-34. 

The vehicle has since maintained a top-ten Millennial share in four of the last five years. Edmunds suspects that the "Breaking Bad Effect" has at least some hand in the vehicle's sustained popularity with young buyers.

Geographic Influences — Millennial used car preferences vary from state to state, and even city to city, according to used car registration data from January to June. 

The Magnum, for example, claims the highest Millennial share in Midwest cities like Detroit (43.5 percent) and Chicago (28.8 percent), while Millennials make up the largest share of used Saturn Outlook sales in Dallas (37 percent) and Atlanta (36.9 percent). 

The Pontiac Torrent, meanwhile, boasts the highest Millennial share in Houston (34 percent) and Phoenix (33.3 percent).

Edmunds.com's research into Millennial used car buying habits was based on used car registration data provided by Polk. Data for 2015 includes all used car registrations recorded through the first six months of the year. 

Data from 2010 to 2014 is based on registrations recorded over the course of each full year. The universe of vehicles evaluated by Edmunds includes used cars and trucks that are ten years old or younger.

From Lounge to Le Mans in just 10 months for Nissan Racer.

• Winner of 2014 GT Academy to race at 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours
• Frenchman Gaetan Paletou makes the grade quicker than ever before

In 2011, after three years of racing, Lucas Ordonez became the first GT Academy winner to compete at Le Mans. In 2013, after just two years of racing, Jann Mardenborough made his debut at La Sarthe.  Now, in 2015, Gaetan Paletou will race a Nissan-powered LM P2 car at Le Mans, just 10 months after winning GT Academy.

Since winning GT Academy Europe on 6th August 2014, Paletou has been on Nissan's intensive driver development programme, the same programme that prepared Jann Mardenborough for GP3 and Lucas Ordonez for Super GT.

He raced a Nissan 370Z to numerous victories in club races to obtain his racing licence in time to compete at the 2015 Dubai 24 Hours in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

Paletou was a key member of the all-gamer driving squad that took fifth place overall and second in class at the Dubai 24 Hours in January before starting simultaneous racing seasons in GT3 (Blancpain Endurance Series) and LM P3 (European Le Mans Series).

He has made the grade quicker than any GT Academy graduate before him. 

When he was told he could be racing the Greaves Motorsport Gibson-Nissan LM P2 car at Le Mans, Paletou was surprised to say the least: "I really don't know what to say...Le Mans!" said Paletou. 

"This was completely unexpected and I honestly thought that Darren (Cox) was playing a trick on me, like on one of those TV shows.  I dreamt of racing at Le Mans as a child but I didn't expect to ever race there.  I love driving the LM P2 car and I really like the guys at Greaves so this is going to be a great experience for me. It is far too soon to talk about expectations, I just want to go there and do the best job I can." 

"One thing that every graduate of GT Academy learns very quickly is that this is not a free ride, so to speak," said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO. "We push our graduates hard via our driver development programme, which gets stronger and tougher every year. We have given Gaetan all the backing and the training he needs and he has proved to us that he is ready for Le Mans.

"Le Mans is the world's greatest race and it happens to be in France," continued Cox.  "For a Frenchman like Gaetan to make the transition from virtual-to-reality in less than a year and race at Le Mans is an incredible achievement.  He has handled everything we have thrown at him so far so we have absolute faith in his ability to do a good job at Le Mans."

Paletou completed his ten mandatory rookie laps of Le Mans behind the wheel of the Greaves Gibson-Nissan LM P2 car during the official Le Mans Test Day last weekend.

AUTOCAR announces its best car in the wet, and the winner is....... A surprise !

• Autocar tests Britain’s love affair with sporty and performance models in the wet
• November, December and January wettest months of the year

The Volkswagen Golf R has been voted the best performance car to have in the wet according to Autocarmagazine.

With November signalling the start of the three wettest months on the calendar, and a general decline in road conditions, driving a higher performance car can be something of a handful for many owners.

Last year, Britons bought 47,544 sports and performance cars, 3.1% up on 2012, with more than 12,191 cars with over 3.0-litre engines registered on the roads according to the SMMT.

Autocar brought together seven of the most popular performance models – MINI Cooper, Audi RS4, VW Golf R, Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, Range Rover Sport, Toyota GT86 and Nissan GT-R – to scientifically prove beyond doubt which model is the most assured in the wet.

Testers examined the capability and safety of each model over five separate challenges at manufacturer test facility at MIRA Proving Ground. Autocar left it to the discretion of the manufacturers which tyres their cars were shod with.

The popular sporty models were scrutinised on their control when stopping from motorway speeds of 70mph, their stability on accelerating and braking on ice-like conditions at lower speeds, the level of lateral grip when cornering and finally their precision around a circuit.

VW’s four-wheel-drive Golf R, which costs £31,970 and produces 296bhp, performed the best across all five tests, with the rear-wheel-drive £24,995, 197bhp Toyota GT86 the worst.

Running the VW Golf R close was the £88,400 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S with exception for the Lateral Grip tests where it’s rear-biased weight distribution unsettled its handling.

“Driving conditions can become hugely challenging very quickly for drivers of sportier and higher performance vehicles. It is very easy to get caught out,” explains Chas Hallett, editor-in-chief of Autocar.

“Advanced electronics certainly aid the driver, and winter tyres will improve grip, but drivers still need to drive within their limits and abilities, not the cars.”

The full feature can be viewed at http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/comparison-whats-best-car-wet