'That’s a Lesson:' New Jersey Man Pays 'Top Dollar' for Audi R8. Then He Realizes It's Not Worth It

A luxury car dealer showed that sometimes the exotic vehicle trade isn’t always glamorous. George Saliba (@georgejsaliba) posted a viral TikTok showing the moment he takes delivery of an Audi R8. For many people, seeing Tony Stark rolling around in the German sports car had them yearning for the day they could afford one and feel like Iron Man themselves.

Saliba remarks in the clip that because of the money he paid for the car, he assumed it was in pristine condition. However, this didn’t turn out to be the case.

Dings and Scratches on a 'Top Dollar' Audi R8

“This Audi R8 is not worth what I paid for it,” an on-screen caption at the onset of the video reads. Saliba walks around the vehicle, recording the supercar’s exterior. He asks the person standing beside the vehicle about the shape the car is in, wanting to know if it’s clean. However, the individual doesn’t have the most positive assessment of the vehicle. He tells Saliba that the car isn’t in the best of condition, noting that there are scratches on its rims and bumper. Furthermore, there’s some type of issue with the ride’s vinyl accents.

As Saliba continues his assessment of the ride’s exterior, he can be heard stating, “I paid a lot of money for this car. It's gotta be clean.” Someone off-camera then says, “They painted over the curb rash on both these wheels.”

“They what?” the TikToker remarks in disbelief. “Does the bumper have a scratch?” he asks, finding even more flaws in the Audi R8 he bought. More evaluations of the red supercar reveal further cosmetic imperfections. “It’s fully cracked,” Saliba’s friend says off-screen of the rims after noticing a chunk missing.

Saliba then sighs and tells viewers, “I paid top dollar for this Audi R8 from a friend of mine. My buddy sold me Michael Jordan’s GT2 RS.” Although the vehicle apparently isn’t in tip-top shape, Salibas doesn’t appear to be too miffed by the situation. “It’s all right. We’ll figure it out,” he tells others.

“I mean, for the money he wanted me to pay, I was assuming it was spotless,” he tells the other people he’s evaluating the R8 with. Not long after, the TikTok comes to a close.

Viewers Say the Audi R8 Purchase Should Teach Him a Lesson

It appears Saliba has the car listed for sale for $144,995 with at least one visible change. The rims aren’t black, as they were in his clip. Rather, they’ve been switched out for an aluminum set. Further information on the site reveals it’s a 2017 Audi R8 with 30,172 miles clocked on its odometer.

Commenters who replied to his clip had variegated responses. Several folks stated that they didn’t think the high-end Audi was worth its high-end price tag. When the 2017 R8 debuted, depending on the trim level, its MSRP was between $162,900-$189,900—not much less than what Saliba is asking for it eight years later.

ONE said that Saliba’s situation is a good example of why you should never put money down on a whip unless you’ve seen it in person. “Never buy anything unseen,” they penned. 

Someone else replied that the R8 incident is why you keep business separate from family and friends. “Love my family and friends but that’s why I never buy/sell with them. If there’s an issue, it puts you in an awkward spot,” they penned.

Another echoed this sentiment: “Well that’s a lesson to never deal with your buddies.”

Is Buyer’s Remorse Common with Audi R8s?

One commenter said that they’ve heard stories of buyer's remorse from others who’ve purchased an R8. “Seriously though, This Audi R8 Is NOT Worth What I Paid For It is a vibe we all understand sadly,” they said.

An R8 owner also shared some of the downsides of cruising around in the supercar on TikTok. According to them, the vehicle’s engine is too loud and goes too fast to actually enjoy listening to music. Furthermore, their gas expenditures are through the roof. “I basically pay rent at Shell,” they penned. 

Also, they remarked that finding street parking is a tough ordeal, as they’re worried about “2007 Altima [drivers] with no respect for doors.” Speed is another issue when it comes to GPS navigation. The driver says, “Waze can’t keep up,” and they often overshoot exits and turns because they’re too fast for navigation apps’ graphical user interfaces.

However, there were others who didn’t seem to have regret regarding the R8. The only regret touched upon by folks in this Audi R8 Talk forum is opting for the V-8 model instead of the V-10 showcased in Saliba’s video. Meanwhile, a Facebook user said the only regret he had in purchasing the R8 was selling his S5 to get it. So, it wasn’t so much a knock against the R8 as it was his longing to drive the S5 again.

Motor1 has reached out to Saliba via TikTok comment to discern what fixes, if any, were needed to remedy the issues he had with the R8.