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Anyone had one? I think I might be about to buy this.......
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7868/...ba6f44e2_b.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4863/...49b376b9_b.jpg
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Apart form the possibility of bankruptcy if owt goes wrong, any reason why I shouldn't?
I have heard things can get expensive if you do too many donuts in them... gently setting off seems to be a good idea!
Get one bought, drink it while it's fizzy!!!
I have been fortunate to drive many thousands of miles in all Aston Martin products. If I was going to buy one it would be a Vantage. The forum on Piston Heads is very well informed. They will all tell you to make sure the car has a good service history. The engines are very strong, the clutch less so depending upon how the driver uses it! Don't think about it too long, go for it and enjoy.
Hi Leigh
I have had 2 of them (not at the same time !!)... I really like them, well balanced particularly around a track and will out handle the DB9 or Vanquish V12's IMHO, great soundtrack, well finished, great image, etc etc.
18/20 mpg, servicing about £400 / 600 if done by main agent, the later car I had suffered from the electric windows not functioning correctly but I understand that the electric modules which control the windows are Volvo !
Do your homework on pricing, don't pay too much as there are plenty out there, ensure service history is all there, make sure EVERYTHING works as it should
The car you are planning on buying looks really nice, sport pack version ?
My cars...
Attachment 14314Attachment 14315
Cheers
Phil
Just noticed... it's a Manual !.... best choice
Life is toooo short... go for it
Thnaks for the replies guys. The car is in for an inspection with AML Performance in Macclesfield today. If it checks out then I'll be discussing price with the owner. It's a private sale so an inspection is essential. I don;t know these cars but I have done my research so am going in with my eyes open.
It's a one owner car form new. He got it for his 40th birthday. It's a 2006 my but was only registered on 1 Jan 2007. Talking to him I think it was a cancelled order from someone else that had sat at the dealer for a few months.
It not been polished and cleaned to death but it it in very good nick. It is a 12 year old car so not going to be perfect. It seems to have the small issues very common with these cars:
Tiny bit of condensation in front lights
Few stonechips on the nose /front bumper and also the fronts of the rear arches. Don't show up to bad because of the colour. But not sure how you would sort them as there are no panel gaps to paint up to, you'd have to do all the rear quarter of the car.
Wing mirror brackets look like they might be about to start loosing paint, although not yet happened.
Also a little bit of damage on one of handles on the interior door trim but could be sorted by repainting it.
Engine bay was dirty but no obvious leaks. And would probably clean up very nicely.
Basically the owner knows nothing about cars. He just uses it and sends it to Aston for service and MOT and whatever work is needed and pays them to sort it. So very well cared for but not cossetted and polished to death. But he is VERY well off. So he won't have scrimped on anything.
Clutch was heavier than a modern car but felt fine. Certainly not over heavy.
Gearbox was very notchy when cold but soon warmed up and got a lot nicer.
Just a very easy car to drive really in an 'old school' way. Comfy too, I could see it would be easy to spend a lot of hours at the wheel.
It's not a very fast car. Quick and sounds awesome but probably about the same as the OH's Audi S3.
It has a nice spec with power fold mirrors, rear parking sensors, GSM phone etc. Also has a tracker fitted.
Upgrades fitted (all done by AM Wilmslow)
Official AM engine upgrade kit (400hp)
AM sport exhaust back box
AM N400 side sills
AM N400 wheels
AM clear rear lights
AM carbon front spoiler lip
AM Carbon ear diffuser
All these will add up to well over £10k retail I reckon.
Included in the sale will be a AM tailored cover and the original wheels.
Overall a really nice example that needs a tiny bit of tidying and cleaning to make it about as good as it can be for the age. Nice colour interior too - sort of burgundy. Goes really well with the tungsten silver exterior.
Priced at £35k which is high(ish) for a 2006 MY car but it has only 18.500 miles on it.
The spec sounds good andit looks the business Leigh - go for it ! I'd love to own one!
This car started life with about 320bhp so the "official" 400 upgrade is nice !...
as you say slightly high on the price... but not too bad.... the closer you can get to 30k the better !... good luck
Sorry... 320 should read 380 !
I'm not sure what he'll be like on doing a deal but I can try. The upgrades do add to the price a bit over a standard car but nowhere near the cost of the upgrades. I reckon £10k upgrades might add £2k to the value? The original wheels are included and they would sell for about £1k.
We'll see what the inspection says.
As far as I can see from the Web his house if valued at about £6m, so either he'll be flexible on price as £35k is pocket change, or he won't budge because he's tight and that''s how you become wealthy!
Anyone want to by a VERY fast and powerful Lotus Elise with a supercharged Honda engine? 18k genuine miles, bills for at least £80k - possibly closer to £100k....:eek:
Do it, I paid that for a Ford Focus!
The Focus is probably faster, more reliable, cheaper to service, cheaper to run, more practical etc...but hey that's an Aston.. get it bought, you only live once:).
If you buy it, don't forget to factor in the extra costs they don't tell you about...having to buy and always wear sharp suits, drink martinis (shaken not stirred), carry a gun, and have a garage full of guys making you weird gadgets. Oh, and then there's the cost of the inevitable divorce when 'Er Indoors finds out you've been knocking off dolly birds all over the world. Actually, yeah, forgot about the international travel costs. And you might be unaccountably away from home for extended periods when power-crazed megalomaniacs kidnap you. So actually....you might be better off giving it a miss... :) :)
To me it's one of the most beautiful cars ever, the proportions are spot on. And it sounds :cool:.
The specialists told me the build quality on them is on a par with Lotus and TVR - which is not a good thing! But I reckon they can't be that bad!.It's the parts prices for non-consumables that worries me.
You Focus will be faster, of that I have no doubt!
Oh and you lot really aren't helping my bank balance with all your comments!
Oh, and Nick - you're wrong....you only live twice, hahaha!
And the negative points are? Im buying it if Leigh doesn't!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Normb666
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I had one for 3 years and had a fabulous experience. I even sold it for within £500 of what I paid for it. I wasn't really "into" Aston as a brand but my mate bought one and when I saw it I thought it looked and sounded awesome so by the end of the following week I had a fairly identical one in tungsten metallic. First thing I did was to fit sports cats... the sound really is glorious!!
The "... ah, but..." warning is that whilst mine cost nothing to run other than servicing, my mates identical 08 plate car cost a small fortune. He spent £1000s keeping on top of the sort of niggly things that needed doing and finding that everything from Aston cost an arm and a leg. £300 here, £800 there, another £500 for something else then you find a replacement rear light is pushing £1k fitted. Hand build cars are ace.... till they're not. The reputation for needing paint around door handles and the like is well known and doing that properly becomes, surprise surprise.. expensive again.
They are an event to drive tho. Everyone on the road loves them so that part of the ownership experience is good. They are heavy so aren't ever going to be rapid, particularly around bends, but it's not really the point. I never bettered 18 mpg in mine. My mate still has his and still enjoys it. He's got a few other cars and I sort of agree with him when he says there are days when really an Aston is the perfect car.
They do seem to be holding up well on price and I think they are the sort of car that will reach a natural minimum and never depreciate any more. As they are an old school V8 with a very analogue' driving feel they may well start to appreciate in the future. These sorts of cars just don't exist anymore. Sure there are faster, more reliable things but they are all a bit clinical.
You here all sorts of stories about stuff breaking and there is an argument to say those that sit and don;t get used go wrong more than those that are regularly used. The one I'm looking at did less than 1000 miles a year over the first 10 years but in the last 2 he's put another 8k on it. So I'm hoping that would have brought any niggles to the surface!
£2200 a year for an Aston Warranty would pay for itself if you had a major issue, but apparently they don't cover lots of common issues anyway so you are better off banking the cash and building up a 'repair' fund just in case. Chances are you'll still have the money at the end of each year. Servicing isn't too bad especially at a specialist. Pads and disks are cheap if you source Brembo and Pagid stuff from normal car parts places. Full set of tyres (which this car has just had) is £800ish, again not silly.
Lots of second hand bits around now too. If you go to the dealer the whole time fr any issues I can see the costs racking up very quickly. I saw a video recently where they were talking about prices on Astons and what a rip-off the 'luxury' car makes are. One example, Ferrari 599 fuel pump $2700 from the dealer. Exact same part is used in the Ford F150 pickup @ $150........
It has a sports back box but I've already been looking at manifolds and CATs as this can release a big lump of power. :rolleyes:
Of there is always this option http://gmr-uk.co.uk/product/gmr600-s...allation-4-3l/ I mean who wouldn't want 580 hp!
There's an informative thread on PH from a guy running a V8V alongside some other cars including an F360 Spider and 996 Turbo. (It's not me, but bizarrely I had the same cars, along with a few others, alongside my V8V)
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/...&t=1500210&i=0
Yup, you can run them on the cheap, relatively speaking, but having money stuffed down the sofa for a rainy day would be wise.
I got fed up with being shafted by Main Dealers for both BMW and Land Rover in the last few years and after the 3 -year "free" servicing has run out I always now head for the specialist marque garages. The labour costs are literally half price - £75 vs £150 per hour - (or maybe even more now for the main dealers) - so your AM experience shouldnt be much more painful than for a high volume car.Quote:
If you go to the dealer the whole time fr any issues I can see the costs racking up very quickly.
Go for it - and Good Luck !
The inspection happened today. WIill get the full details tomorrow but had a quick chat with the guy from the specialist this eve.
Mechanically no issues apart from the clutch biting bit high. It's worn but shows no evidence of slipping at the moment.
Everything else is cosmetic. Couple small leather scuffs that I saw, bumper scuff (again I picked that up) and 2 scuffed wheels which I had spotted. One thing I thought I'd seen was confirmed and that was the paint bubbling around the driver's door.
The only thing I hand;t spotted was a frayed seat belt. They said they car sort that without replacement. An AM belt is £500! Mind you I reckon you could get new webbing fitted for a lot less once the belt was removed.
It is also due a service and an MOT in the next month.
Still interested in it. What do I offer?
Clutch will end up costing somewhere between £2500/£3k once you get it done... at a specialist, not a Main Dealer, and you can be fairly sure it will need done sometime during your ownership.
Paint bubbling around the door handles is a common fault and if you have a search on the PH thread you'll see it's not an easy fix to blend into the door and can be relatively expensive panel paint for what looks like resolving a minor issue. Door mirror repairs less expensive tho.
Scuffed wheels should be less than £100 each inc refitting and balance. My mate was £500ish to repaint his front bumper to get rid of stone chips which isn't unreasonable. Condensation in the headlights is one of these things you either live with (then hope to sell to someone else who's happy to live with it) or you find out how expensive replacement units are. Similar really with any interior issues. You'd more likely live with scuffed leather in a volvo than be happy with it in an Aston. Similarly, when you eventually come to sell you'll discover folk owning tatty bangers scratching their chins and muttering when viewing a beautiful car like a Vantage with scuffed seats.
Service could be anywhere from £450 (cheapest I ever paid) if you're lucky to... a lot more (my mate had one that was around £2250) if you're not.
I wouldn't dissuade you from getting one. I loved mine and the manual box is the one to have. At the end of the day whether it's £30/33/35k you pay it's only money and it seems like a well spec'd car (personally, I couldn't live with the 06 seats or the interior colour but that's an individual thing) I doubt you'll ever get your money back if you pay anything starting with a 3 but I doubt the owner would sell it for anything starting with a 2. Vive la difference. :)
I doubt anyone ever looks up from their nursing home bed and regrets owning an Aston Martin V8 Vantage tho.
The seat belt and the door are the only issues that I think need addressing as part of the sale. Other stuff is neither here nor there on a car of this age and can be sorted.
Seat belt is a potential MOT fail and the door could get a lot worse over time. OEM belt is £500 :rolleyes: but I reckon one removed you could get it re-webbed for a hell of a lot less. Door will probably be £500 at least as you have to do the full door. Mind you I could get the stone chips done at the same time!
Jim has said it all really... especially the nursing home quote !
the seller can't really argue against an engineers report about the the clutch, service, MOT, wheel scuffs, stone chips etc.... but he can the price !
If it were me I would be at £30/31..... despite all the mods... as I said before there are plenty out there to choose from
But when you own an Aston you want it to be a nice one with all the above problems rectified
good luck
I'm quite particular about cars - as my LB build is revealing! I've not seen another one advertised in a colour combo I like as much and with as many nice upgrades, combined with the low mileage. I could just about get a 25k mile totally standard car from a independent dealer for £34-35k. Whatever I get some work would be needed to sort little issues as they are all of that age now., but I would get a bit of protection from a dealer in terms of warranty etc.
I had another look through the classifieds last night and there is nothing else that really takes my fancy below £45k and I don't want to spend that much.
The place that did the inspection will call me today and I'll get them to price up the work. Then I guess it's a case of trying to do a deal. Not the end of the world if we can;t agree on a price, it's only costs me £225 for the inspection.
C'mon Leigh, you've already bought it in your head (or the topic wouldn't be on here now...) so forget all the umm-ing and ahh-ing, stop worrying and prevaricating, and JFDI. So what if it needs money spending on it, or you lose money when you sell it. It's obviously something you're besotted with, and therefore the experience is priceless. As Jim said, you don't wanna be thinking, when you're too old, "if only..."
Personally it's not my cuppa tea - I did toy with the idea of one back in 2008, but then someone said to me, "it's too grown-up for you", and they were right. I bought a Porsche GT3 Clubsport instead (in Speed Yellow, obviously) and it was fantastic. I never regretted giving the Aston a miss and I still feel the same about them now...they're all too serious and lacking in playfulness, if you see what I mean. But then, as everyone knows, I'm just a big kid ;)
Spoke to the garage this morning. Pretty much what they told me last night but also:
Drivers side mirror sticks on unfold sometimes and needs a couple of goes to get it to open fully.
'Very fine mist' of oil in the front of the engine. Not enough to drip but just a fine coating. Engine has never been cleaned so this has taken a while to appear.
If it needs a new timing cover seal (it's a known issue) be pretty expensive. Maybe £1500? Mostly labour as you need to drip the front subframe off the car to get access to the front of the engine.
Anyway the garge are going to email me prices for fixing the stuff they have found and I'll take it form there.
Still interested in the car so will see where I get once I have the costs for rectifying stuff.
Oh well............I need to collect it from him before 11 Feb! :rolleyes:
Haven't you got it yet?? It's been hours.... :D
Well done - enjoy it.
I was hoping my LB would be off for paint next week which would have freed up some space in the garage until I sell my Lotus. Car has been booked in for ages, called them today and they say they are really busy at the moment........
So I need to find somewhere to put the Aston :rolleyes:
Evict the wife's car from your garage and put it next to the LB! Sure she wont mind scraping ice first thing in the morning for the next few weeks..Quote:
Originally Posted by LPH_UK
Think it might be Leigh scraping the ice after the frosty looks he'll get :)
Wot Norm said!
She only changed her car a few weeks ago. It's an Audi S3 so probably best left in the garage, more nickable than an Aston!
Looks like I'll be picking it up next Friday but it's going straight to a specialist to be serviced, MOT'd and have a couple of small issues dealt with. So I'll probably not have it back home for another week after that.
Congratulations!
Like I said, I doubt anyone kicks the bucket and regrets owning an Aston (unless they are driving it at the time I guess) :)
I've still got one of the official, genuine, Aston branded ctek battery tenders. If you want it you're welcome to it FOC. I never used it as it actually plugs into the cigar lighter and I had a spare connection in my garage to a bank of battery terminal connectors so used that instead.
If you are serious about the charger I would love to have it! I think he's not got the original one but not sure until I collect all the stuff. Happy to give you at least some beer tokens for it :)Quote:
Originally Posted by renmure
Cheers
No worries. Send me a PM with your address and I'll pop it off to you. Even if you never use it then it's probably better that someone with the right car has it :)
PM Sent
Cheers
Apologies to renmure whose already read this on Pistonheads! ;)
Collected the Aston Vantage today. Drove it from Macclesfield to Buxton over the 'Cat and Fiddle' and then down the A515 to Ashbourne and then back home. So about 55 miles. Initial thoughts:
Ride quality is brilliant. Looking through the paperwork I've found out it actually has the 'sport pack' fitted which was an AM aftermarket upgrade. I knew it has the lightweight forged N400 wheels on but didn't realise it also had uprated Bilstein shocks and springs. OK on really bad surfaces it's a little bit harsh but otherwise it's great. Apparently the new(ish) Pilot Sport 4S tyres it has on also help a lot.
Steering is pretty direct. It's no Lotus but it goes where you point it and doesn't feel as heavy as it actually is - 1600kg!! Bit heavy at parking speeds but fine once you are rolling along.
Very quiet inside the cabin and comfortable too. I have the earlier seats as it's a 2006 MY car. The later ones were supposed to be an improvement but I like mine. I think they are slimmer which for someone skinny like me actually means they grip you better. Good driving position and very good visibility all round I reckon.
How you get it to do 0-60 in 4.9 secs I have no idea. It feels dead slow when you are starting off and the long accelerator and heavy flywheel mean it seems to take an age to wind up. It's actually very docile and easy to drive slowly. To get it to feel fast you need to get it over 3.5-4k revs and it then comes alive and starts feeling fast(ish).
Gearbox is pretty nice. A tiny bit notchy but overall it's good. Feels like it will get a bit smoother with technique as you get used to it. Clutch is heavy and hill starts are difficult - the smell of burning clutch was testament to this! The fact mine is biting quite high didn't help. I know it will wear eventually, just a matter of time.
Reverse gear is a nightmare! Far too high, why they set it up like this I have no idea! Apparently the technique it so not use the accelerator at all and let the idle control deal with the small amount of throttle needed.
I think the interior might have been worked on by someone from Lotus https://static.seloc.tv/images/smilies/lol.gif. A few creaks (moving leather) and a few rattles. On the way back the TPMS box fell out from behind the glove box and is now hanging down in the passenger footwell. https://static.seloc.tv/images/smilies/tsk.gif
Oh and it is very thirsty. Speed limits were all 50mph on the way back, lots of cameras (some average speed), lots of other traffic, artics and the like. So it was really an economy run and it did an average of 23mpg https://static.seloc.tv/images/smilies/brum.gif
Overall it's a great GT car that looks and sounds awesome and feels pretty well screwed together. A lighter flywheel and a smidge more power would make it feel a lot quicker........https://static.seloc.tv/images/smilies/D.gif
I love the fact that you only thought about it for a brief moment.... then just bought it. That’s the way to live :)
If you average more than 18mpg then I recon you’re not trying hard enough.
re the clutch (and power) and as per on PH... you only ever hear good things about the Bamford Rose modifications and I don’t think their lightened flywheel clutch replacement costs much more than the standard one.
I'd actually been thinking about one since August last year, just not really asked anyone about them :). I always do loads of research and thinks lots before I buy anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by renmure