Exotic cars require some expensive maintenance. Neglect it for too long, and you may get stuck with a high repair bill. Farah is an exotic victim here
It is no secret that cars manufactured by companies like Lamborghini come with some huge price tags. Where first-time owners of such classic supercars start to feel buyer’s remorse when that first major maintenance bill hits. A simple oil change on a Lamborghini Countach can range from several hundred dollars to over $1000 in the US and is recommended at around 9,000 miles.
Most of the cost is driven by the amount of oil required in these V12 engines. For perspective, a typical American V8 holds 5-6 quarts of oil, while a Countach requires 17.5 liters. That is just over 4.6 gallons or 18.5 quarts! Another regular maintenance item on any car is replacing the engine’s air filter. That service is usually not very expensive, and most people can do it in their own driveway.
However, the Lambo we are talking about in this article requires around 8-9 hours of labor to complete. This is due to the removal of body panels to access the filters. With shop rates exceeding $150 per hour these days, this normal $10-15 service now skyrockets to over $1600. Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire podcast and YouTube channel recently found out what a major 30-plus-year maintenance will cost on his 1988 Lamborghini Countach.
A Countach, Pepsi Cola, And Cindy Crawford
Matt Farah did not just buy any old Lamborghini Countach. He bought the actual car from the infamous 1992 Pepsi Co. commercial featuring Cindy Crawford. Some of us remember watching this commercial with the same look on our faces as the kids in the video. Whether it was Cindy you were checking out or the Lamborghini, chances are a poster featuring one of them was up in your bedroom back then.
The Countach is bright red and rocks the iconic scissor doors, Lambo doors, or whichever term you would like referring to them as. Its profile is super low and aggressively styled. Furthermore, the Lamborghini barely fits into a standard lift at the shop due to its overly wide hips. Then, there is the rumble of a 4-liter V12 that plasters a smile on your face just hearing it. We all would dream of having one, especially this particular VIN.
Farah acquired this gem of a classic in 2018, and he enjoyed it mostly trouble-free for his first 4 years of ownership. However, after 35 years since being produced, it is time for him to look at some significant maintenance items to get the Lamborghini back to its original glory. Let’s explore how Matt uncovers the multiple parts that need replacement after some discovery during disassembly.
Matt Farah Gets Hit With A Surprising Repair Bill
The problem with any car that was built decades ago is that previous owners may have performed some questionable work on them. Matt Farah’s 1988 Lamborghini Countach is no exception. This includes random disconnected electrical harnesses, with no idea what they were intended for, and a mystery box that looks like it could be a control unit for who-knows-what. Then, there is a terrible repair on the engine’s water pump that could have simply been fixed by replacing it.
Matt has the car under the knife with vintage Italian car expert Donnie Callaway in Southern California. Donnie is highly respected when it comes to these exotic sports cars. His attention to detail and refusal to not refurbish everything he touches has gained him some serious clout in this community. As they comb through the car more, janky repairs from the previous owners show their ugly heads. Zip-tied hoses on the undercarriage, and some bad patchwork from bottoming out, are a couple of eyesores that are found.
Donnie goes on to point out some more obvious and expected issues that need to be addressed. The Lamborghini’s shocks need to be replaced, along with several failed bushings. Top that off with a bent control arm, and it is no wonder why Matt’s Countach feels like a floating Cadillac instead of a tight race car. Its brake cooling ducts are collapsing as well. Oh yeah, and there are substantial leaks everywhere underneath the car.
This 1988 Lamborghini Needs More Than A Spa Day
At this point, this Italian masterpiece is in need of full rejuvenation, not just some forgotten maintenance. Donnie’s plan is to replace all the failing parts with OEM-correct pieces to bring the car back to its original glory. Callaway’s attention to detail comes out in the video as well when he goes over how he always replaces all soft hoses during these projects.
Every time he replaces hoses, he also splits them open to inspect the inner linings just out of curiosity. The shots of this will make you think twice about leaving an old rubber hose when the option to replace it is on the table. In addition to all that, he mentions powder coating various items to brighten everything from the chassis to the intake manifold. This is how the bill starts to take an upward climb to crazy town.
In an episode on The Smoking Tire YouTube channel, Matt sits with Doug DeMuro where the topic of these repairs comes up, and Farah divulges the $40,000-$50,000 price tag to complete the work. Up to this point, Matt only had to perform 2 oil changes in the 4 years he owned it. However, the Countach needed its standard 20-year maintenance now, yet it is 35 years old, so some catch-up was required.
Sources: Hagerty, Lamborghini, The Smoking Tire, Hoonigan
