F348 gone so now need V8 vantage....any advice appreciated
Discussion
Hi all.... after having a 993 and a F348 (which I sold last week) need to scratch the V8 Vantage itch. The new showroom in Bristol I will add has enhanced that! However cant really afford the ones they have there as looking at a budget of £30k ish maybe a little more so after some advice or pointers etc. Needs to have folding mirrors and parking sensors (standard?) and preferably hifi upgrade. Silver/grey possibly Black. Any advice welcome but looking forward to getting one. Also did the man maths and as long as I don't exceed my current weight i'll be able to open the door with window down and just squeeze out when parked in garage!
Welcome and enjoy year search. If you really want to keep it to £30K then you're looking at a private sale as the cheapest in the dealer network at present is £37K and this has risen very slowly over the last 3 years so residuals are strong at that end of the market. Powerfold mirrors are common but not standard. I've never seen one without rear parking sensors but front ones are not very common on early cars. Premium Audio is excellent but again not that common on early ones but well worth it. Safe to say you won't have any trouble finding a silver/grey/black one 
I was in a similar situation to you back in the Spring. AM dealer cars will be out of your reach at that price, but there should be some independent dealer and private cars available in the low £30's especially now the summer is over and demand is declining. If you have the time and are prepared to travel, I'd advise viewing as many as possible to get a feel for what to look for as you'll likely spot different things on every car you see. There are plenty of posts on PH about what to look for and I'd recommend also buying the book as this is a wealth of further information. Folding mirrors are fairly common although premium audio less so on the earlier cars. If you are not too worried about higher mileages, then there could well be some '07 cars out there in your price range which more often have these options. Rear parking sensors are standard on all years I think.
Ultimately, my 4 month search taught me that condition is key, so don't discount cars that may not exactly match your criteria and be prepared to compromise on one or two things. I also really wanted premium audio but in the end I found a car that ticked the boxes in every other respect and knew I'd be mad to pass it up just because of the audio system (the standard system is perfectly ok IMHO). I'm also based in Bristol, so if you ever want to chat or need to bounce something off someone, just drop me a PM. You may have to search for while, but it'll be worth it in the end.
Ultimately, my 4 month search taught me that condition is key, so don't discount cars that may not exactly match your criteria and be prepared to compromise on one or two things. I also really wanted premium audio but in the end I found a car that ticked the boxes in every other respect and knew I'd be mad to pass it up just because of the audio system (the standard system is perfectly ok IMHO). I'm also based in Bristol, so if you ever want to chat or need to bounce something off someone, just drop me a PM. You may have to search for while, but it'll be worth it in the end.
There are quite a few 2006 cars at dealers for approx £32k with circa 60k miles. Whilst this mileage might be perceived to be on the high side, they're pretty robust cars in my experience - though I'd make sure that consumables (incl clutch!) have been changed. I've recently sold my high spec, low mileage 2006 car (many timewasters, and some ridculously low offers - some under £20k!) and am keeping an eye out for a newer replacement, so I've been idly watching prices for a while - they've started to drop off in the last month or so, with some asking prices being reduced and (with a few optimistic exceptions) newly advertised cars coming on at lower prices. This will probably continue through the autumn, though to a fairly limited extent at the lower end of the market - an early car with a good spec and decent miles is still going to be £30-32k minimum, even after haggling. Recently there have also been very few private sales, so people have been chancing it with close to dealer prices.
Good points in the post above re compromise - one thing that really seems to affect how easily they sell is the interior colour - the iron ore does seem to be common on the lower priced cars. The kestrel (tan) interior can also affect the asking price.
I noticed a nice looking 2007/07 facelift car on eBay with good spec and 55k miles, being sold by a dealer for £31795. Probably won't be keen to drop to £30k (I think it was on at around £35k until very recently), but if you can stretch your budget a little way, you do get more choice. I don't know the car at all, I should hasten to add!
Good luck!
Good points in the post above re compromise - one thing that really seems to affect how easily they sell is the interior colour - the iron ore does seem to be common on the lower priced cars. The kestrel (tan) interior can also affect the asking price.
I noticed a nice looking 2007/07 facelift car on eBay with good spec and 55k miles, being sold by a dealer for £31795. Probably won't be keen to drop to £30k (I think it was on at around £35k until very recently), but if you can stretch your budget a little way, you do get more choice. I don't know the car at all, I should hasten to add!
Good luck!
I bought mine privately at the start of July. Mid £30k for a 56MY (2007 spec interior) with 41k on the clock and - crucially for me - every option ticked with the exception of cruise which I added when I bought it. This was after 6 months of several daily searches to keep abreast of the market.
In that time, I saw prices firm up a little. Private cars ranged from £28k for early, higher mileage/lower spec cars to early £40k for high spec with sub 30k on the clock. Independent dealers tended to be 12-15% more for similar models and AUC were 20%+ over private.
It's a buoyant market and good cars sell fast. I'm not sure if there is any seasonal impact on the market given the time of year but I lost out on a couple of cars after giving myself 48 hours response time to go and see them. Most were over 120 miles away which was difficult to respond quickly to. That said, I ended up with exactly what I wanted in the end.
In that time, I saw prices firm up a little. Private cars ranged from £28k for early, higher mileage/lower spec cars to early £40k for high spec with sub 30k on the clock. Independent dealers tended to be 12-15% more for similar models and AUC were 20%+ over private.
It's a buoyant market and good cars sell fast. I'm not sure if there is any seasonal impact on the market given the time of year but I lost out on a couple of cars after giving myself 48 hours response time to go and see them. Most were over 120 miles away which was difficult to respond quickly to. That said, I ended up with exactly what I wanted in the end.
I concur with all the comments. I bought mine this March after a 6 month search. I wanted an early car , using a collectors first of the breed type reasoning, and I was surprised at the variations in quality so held out until I got the best on offer. Mine had had a small fortune spent on it at a specialist rather than main dealer and was in exceptional condition. As for engine size 4.7 is nice but after an integrale and an Audi RS2, where you have to be 4000 revs plus to get a move on ,the 4.3 is very much in the same vain and a very quick car.....
davek_964 said:
If the posts on 348 values over the last couple of years are to be believed (albeit from 348 owners) - you should now be able to afford a ~£50k 4.7 
Thanks for the responses so far. I am going to try and be patient and see a few but tend to be a bit impulsive. As for the 348, mine wasn't concourse (but also wasn't a dog.. probably a 7/10) and needed a cambelt change along with some interior renovation, so about £3500 spend all in. I decided to sell into the trade via a friend and Autotrade mail and the bids varied from high 30's to £40k. That I would have said was fair as retail is about £50k-£55 for RHD. The ones over that have been on sale over a year... a few for over 2 years!Good thing though is that I bought in 2009 for just over £20k
Foundy said:
Thanks for the responses so far. I am going to try and be patient and see a few but tend to be a bit impulsive. As for the 348, mine wasn't concourse (but also wasn't a dog.. probably a 7/10) and needed a cambelt change along with some interior renovation, so about £3500 spend all in. I decided to sell into the trade via a friend and Autotrade mail and the bids varied from high 30's to £40k. That I would have said was fair as retail is about £50k-£55 for RHD. The ones over that have been on sale over a year... a few for over 2 years!
Good thing though is that I bought in 2009 for just over £20k
I had one a few years ago - a very good example (from Walkersport), bought for £29k I think and sold for the same after 18 months - just before prices shot up!Good thing though is that I bought in 2009 for just over £20k
Vantage is a tad different but excellent cars. Mine didn't have power fold mirrors in the ad, but does have them. I've put about 5k miles on mine in 18 months and reckon it's worth at least what I paid for it.
Regarding the speed mentioned earlier - I never find it feels fast. There is no real sense of hard acceleration, even if you rev it which means I find it disappointing on the rare occasions I try to push it down a twisty road. But it is actually a quick car - if you do floor it, the speedo tells the real story - it just doesn't tend to 'feel' fast. But perhaps that's not necessary in an Aston.
I have just been through the self same thing. I kept an eye on the market for quite a while to at least get an idea of prices, seem to be pretty stable to be honest. Obviously specialist dealers will ask for more but you would hope the asking is justified as they are meant to be specialists ! There are quite a few cars for sale at more 'mainstream' dealers and for me at least this seemed the most problematic route , just because they ( at least the ones I went to ...) just had no info on the car. Sure, a stamped book but little in way of paperwork etc. 2 had no idea if clutch had been replaced but it must be ok because it feels fine.....none of these were prepared to do a deal really either which I found odd seeing as they had both been for sale for at least 3 months !
I chose the private route in the end , probably a bit less choice but I liked meeting and chatting to the owner etc and normally would have some paperwork . Got myself a facelift 2007 car, new clutch , new brakes all round, just serviced by Bamfords. A bit 'miley' but condition, options and history got me a cracking car for around your budget.
As mentioned to me when looking, and said again above,enjoy the search it's well worth it .
I chose the private route in the end , probably a bit less choice but I liked meeting and chatting to the owner etc and normally would have some paperwork . Got myself a facelift 2007 car, new clutch , new brakes all round, just serviced by Bamfords. A bit 'miley' but condition, options and history got me a cracking car for around your budget.
As mentioned to me when looking, and said again above,enjoy the search it's well worth it .
Foundy said:
Also did the man maths and as long as I don't exceed my current weight i'll be able to open the door with window down and just squeeze out when parked in garage!
Maybe...When I went 348 -> 360, there wasn't a great difference in width but I did find that length makes a difference. 348 is a pretty short car and although I can get the 360 into the garage and get in / out, it is definitely more tricky than the 348 was.
I've not tried the Vantage (mine lives outside) but just something to consider.
davek_964 said:
Foundy said:
Hi all.... after having a 993 and a F348 (which I sold last week) ....
If the posts on 348 values over the last couple of years are to be believed (albeit from 348 owners) - you should now be able to afford a ~£50k 4.7 Edited by JaseB on Wednesday 28th September 13:08
bigee said:
Excellent ! Dealer or private ?
Private... Warranty gave me peace of mind on that front and couldnt find any corrosion on the bodywork. There are a couple of issues I will attend to, the front chrome side strakes have a few bubbles, a wiper arm is starting to corrode and the leather on the binnacle has come away at the bottom however overall was impressed.Looking forward to some sunny days to enjoy.... oh and apparently remove this fuse 22??
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