Maintenance bills for a Bugatti Veyron can climb to spectacular heights. But not every part of this 1,000-plus-horsepower supercar is priced to break the bank. British YouTuber Mat Armstrong keeps proving the point with a particularly satisfying example.
A Bugatti That Hides Its True Nature
Mat Armstrong has made a specialty of rescuing damaged or poorly running cars. A former BMX champion and the son of a mechanic, he started modestly by fixing a crashed Audi TT bought for 600 pounds after it was declared beyond repair. Eleven years later, his YouTube channel has more than 7 million subscribers, and the cars that pass through his hands now include Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and Bugattis. It was in Dubai that he recently unearthed this Veyron, especially desirable because it had also been deeply customized by a high-end tuner. Problem: the W16 started up but stalled a few seconds later, while the gearbox also showed some quirks. Armstrong nonetheless bought the car. The purchase and repatriation to the U.K. brought the bill to around £1 million (roughly $1.3 million). Replacing fuel lines before transport initially seemed to help, until the issues reappeared. And their origin turned out to be far less exotic than the car itself.
When a Bugatti Goes Shopping at Volkswagen
Some of the clamps used on the fuel lines simply weren’t up to the task. But Armstrong also knew that behind the Bugatti badge lie some components far more ordinary drawn from the Volkswagen family. He swapped the starter switch for a unit identical to the one used in a Volkswagen Transporter. The hood’s worn-out struts? The uprights used for the trunk of a Volkswagen Tiguan do the trick perfectly. With the right clamps, these little repairs would have run to only about $50. A sum almost comical next to the car’s value, now estimated by a specialist at about £1.5 million (roughly $2 million). Armstrong isn’t the first to uncover the Veyron’s little secrets: the American channel Hoovie’s Garage had already shown that a component in its fuel circuit could be swapped for an Audi part costing around $80. Obviously, no one will claim that a Veyron is economical to maintain: tires, brakes, or W16-specific interventions can still rack up dizzying bills. And before you save a few tens of dollars on parts, you still have to come up with the million needed to buy the car. But knowing that a Bugatti can sometimes be saved with a little help from VW parts remains deliciously reassuring.
