The Definitive Guide to Gaydon-era ASTON MARTIN

The Definitive Guide to Gaydon-era ASTON MARTIN

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Discussion

Arjxh56

325 posts

138 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
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Excellent book.., read it in one sitting as i couldn't put it down!
I didn't get a great deal of sleep that night.. It was worth it though smile

kelk

955 posts

212 months

Tuesday 15th January 2013
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Wow - just wow.

One step closer to the car now

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Thursday 17th January 2013
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Arjxh56 said:
Excellent book.., read it in one sitting as i couldn't put it down!
I didn't get a great deal of sleep that night.. It was worth it though smile
I'll look out for the guy with the big bags under his eyes biggrin, glad you enjoyed it Jamie, the book is supposed to read from cover-cover, then revisited to double check, compare and be tempted smile thanks for the feedback.

kelk said:
Wow - just wow.
One step closer to the car now
Best of luck with the search Chris, that is part of the pleasure, deciding on model, colour, spec and then trying to track down your ideal choice, don't forget to post a photo once you have taken the plunge smile


Genie Chaser

98 posts

144 months

Thursday 17th January 2013
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Hi. Just received my 5th edition of 'the book'. Quite suprised to see the views of one Rick King of DMS fame are in the book, after his antics !

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Thursday 17th January 2013
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Genie Chaser said:
Hi. Just received my 5th edition of 'the book'. Quite suprised to see the views of one Rick King of DMS fame are in the book, after his antics !
Hi Genie, DMS business issues aside Rick gave lots of helpful advice on Pistonhead's Aston forum over a long period and had very good knowledge and experience of the cars,(his specialists views have also featured in various magazines)in addition all his input was checked and ratified anyway so is fully relevant - a small, but great addition to the guide. I note you don't have email active on your profile, pop me an email via my profile if you want to chat further, happy to do so on any aspect of the book smile

Genie Chaser

98 posts

144 months

Thursday 17th January 2013
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Thanks for the reply. Was quite suprising really that's all. Well compiled book tho, don't think you've missed anything!!

Dingle Dell

218 posts

137 months

Tuesday 26th February 2013
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Got the book, now just need the car.

Had a flick through and it looks invaluable - now I just need a few hours to sit down and read it properly.

Could be the best £20 I have ever spent.

cardigankid

8,849 posts

211 months

Friday 15th March 2013
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Grant

I noticed that on some of the cars, you have a section where the merits of different model years are compared. You don't have this on the DBS. It would also be useful to know of any common faults on the DBS. One or two have been highlighted on this site over the years - the wheel vibration, and the current 'strange noises around 3,000 rpm' mentioned in a current thread.

Would you care to offer any post-editorial comment?

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Friday 15th March 2013
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Dingle Dell said:
Got the book, now just need the car.

Had a flick through and it looks invaluable - now I just need a few hours to sit down and read it properly.

Could be the best £20 I have ever spent.
Hi Dean, apologies for the delay in replying I have been away for a couple of weeks. I noticed your post in the main thread about white cars. As you will see in the colour section, I have tried to include the year each colour was introduced so you have an idea what is available for the age of car you are looking at. Aston followed the trend away from silver to black and white, but Stratus and Morning Frost didn't come in until around the 08MY, so earlier cars are either factory demo's or re-sprayed. As the colour will shortly go out of fashion ( who remembers the white Astra GTE with white wheels from their youth!!) I wouldn't pay over the odds for the colour unless you really love it, my advice would be to visit a few main dealers to view a range of different colours in order to see what else appeals, these cars look great in a range lf popular paint finishes- Best of Luck

Edited by Grant3 on Friday 15th March 21:36

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Friday 15th March 2013
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cardigankid said:
Grant

I noticed that on some of the cars, you have a section where the merits of different model years are compared. You don't have this on the DBS. It would also be useful to know of any common faults on the DBS. One or two have been highlighted on this site over the years - the wheel vibration, and the current 'strange noises around 3,000 rpm' mentioned in a current thread.

Would you care to offer any post-editorial comment?
Hiya Cardigan/Dieter, thanks for the post and you make some good points, so let's chat.....

As you know the DBS was an evolution of the DB9 and we cover the fascinating and challenging engineering and specification changes in detail within the guide. As the new Aston flagship the DBS was born with a large range of enhancements that were not ( at that time) featured on its lesser brothers. So the DBS was born with pretty much all the 06/07/08 and 09MY changes that were applied to the other cars. So from day one the DBS has the new centre console and ECU, HDD sat- nav, new seats, sat-nav, iPOD/USB connections, Premium Audio, ADS adaptive supension, CCM brakes and most of the other evolutionary changes applied to DB9 and Vantage. So it has far less MY changes than the other models. Page 166 covers all the evolutionary changes for the DBS from the 2009MY up until the 2012MY along with the special edition run-out models. As the key changes are clearly noted and the major ones are really only the B&O stereo and Garmin Nav, plus Touchtronic II option, we elected not to write a model year choice synopsis as there are no major power, suspension, transmission, interior changes as per the other models.
Having said that if you feel some sort of summary (as above) needs adding I can get on the case.

With regards to potential problems, we try and cover all the recognised issues, although you can't cover every single individual problem experienced otherwise there would be thousands listed. You are right about the wheel vibrations on the DBS, this is covered within the inspection section on page 240 (see DBS note heading) and again in the Specialists view on page 249 under Brakes/Wheels/Tyres. We also cover DBS CCM, ADS, etc, specific inspection points within that section. You will also find DBS recall and service action notes along with the DB9 (as it is and evolution of the 9) on page 143, I'll add an extra note in the DBS spec section to draw further attention to this.

With regards to the 3,000 rpm noise issue recently posted, I'll keep an eye on this and see if it becomes and issue or if it is just a one-off, with each new edition of the guide new data, model information, specification changes, options, colour changes and potential problems are added, so I appreciate your feedback and hope the above answers your points. smile
Excuse typos/edit... Jet lag!!

Edited by Grant3 on Friday 15th March 21:38

cardigankid

8,849 posts

211 months

Saturday 16th March 2013
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Grant

Your comments are extremely useful, thanks, particularly your first paragraph which explains a lot. I read the other sections when I went through the book from cover to cover over Christmas/New year, but I seem to have forgotten to go back to them when I thought of looking into the DBS a little more carefully!

I will also have to go back into the book to remind myself about production numbers and colours - most DBS's currently on the market seem to be black and auto.

Problems will no doubt slowly emerge over the years as they do with any car, so there will be plenty of scope for further editions. I suppose that the big issue would be the long term performance of the ceramic brakes, and whether the early ones are as good as the later ones.



Edited by cardigankid on Saturday 16th March 07:58

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Saturday 16th March 2013
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Hi Dieter, I must confess to having a weakness for the DBS, it just looks superb. Great to hear you are considering one and plunging back into the guide when considering a new Aston, that's one of the aims of the book in fact it seems to be stimulating a good few upgrades, which is pleasing smile I'll add a summary note as above to the DBS section.

I would add that younger model DBS prices are coming under pressure( some prices are OTT) from the new DB9, which is only 45kg heavier and has more torque (and the same bhp) to compensate for this, plus the new 3 stage ADS ( latest gen CCM's) etc. Once they start filtering onto the used market it will adjust DBS pricing IMO and lightly used Virages are also looking great value. Of course the earlier car's will be less affected and they are starting to look good value wink . With the DBS as you say CCM's ( I still remember all the horror stories from first gen Porsche ceramic brakes!!) and Carbon-fibre panels need very careful inspection and ADS isn't proven in the long term, so expert inspection is a must IMO.

You are right about most DBS' being auto, once the option became available virtually all were specified as Touchtronic, so most manuals are early cars before T2 was available..... which is a shame. The earlier cars are mainly Lightning Silver, Casino, moving to Storm Black, Quantum, Carbon Black with some of the more recent S.E. models in vibrant orange... If that is your bag.

Best of luck with the search, I'll be interested to see what you choose..... You lucky devil biggrin

cardigankid

8,849 posts

211 months

Saturday 16th March 2013
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Thanks, Grant, the plan is to take my time and get it right. If the spec I am after doesn't come up, I will just let it slide. I'm not keen on all those black ones. Red, Aston Green, any of the silvers from Titanium to Quantum, but the black doesn't appeal, and there are hunners of them. As for luck, well, I haven't got it yet, and I kind of need business conditions to improve, to fund it, but your book is certainly a great help.



Edited by cardigankid on Sunday 17th March 12:16

V8Vin

37 posts

132 months

Monday 18th March 2013
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Grant,

Writing from across the pond. Just want to let you know that your guide is way too expensive. I bought it 3 weeks ago from Amazon and it came with a 2007 V8V

That's right the book came with an AMV8 attached. madlaugh

LoL!

Great job on the book. Was in the early stages of searching for a used AM. Your book did a great job of illustrating the differences across the MYs. I read from cover to cover, bit by bit. Then the search began. We finally picked up a 1-owner, very low miles, 2007 AMV8. Stick shift of course. The belligerent mechanism has nothing on me, having lived through an Exige transmission.

Thanks again for the putting this together and introducing us to the AM family.

Now, if you pardon my haste, I need to go and drive!

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Wednesday 20th March 2013
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V8Vin said:
Grant,

Writing from across the pond. Just want to let you know that your guide is way too expensive. I bought it 3 weeks ago from Amazon and it came with a 2007 V8V

That's right the book came with an AMV8 attached. madlaugh

LoL!

Great job on the book. Was in the early stages of searching for a used AM. Your book did a great job of illustrating the differences across the MYs. I read from cover to cover, bit by bit. Then the search began. We finally picked up a 1-owner, very low miles, 2007 AMV8. Stick shift of course. The belligerent mechanism has nothing on me, having lived through an Exige transmission.

Thanks again for the putting this together and introducing us to the AM family.

Now, if you pardon my haste, I need to go and drive!
LOL Vince biggrin what you haven't spotted yet is it actually has more than one car attached, after a while with your latest car you will re-visit the guide and end up looking at a DBS or Vanquish. Best prepare your bank balance now.
Great to hear you have had an Exige ( great drivers car) and have now found the right V8 Vantage, Aston's are still cool in the UK, but they are ice cool in the US, so get ready for the admiring glances wink
When you get a chance do pop a photo of your new beast in this thread as well as the main forum and I hope you enjoy the special Aston ownership experience.

Bincenzo

2,606 posts

178 months

Wednesday 10th April 2013
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Grant, just wanted to let you and prospective buyers know that this book is useful not only for researching a potential buy, but also for 'in-ownership' use. I'm looking to fettle my V8V with some newer bits and bobs, and I'm consistently drawn to look to the book for information. Every time I have, it contains exactly the input in need, so thank you again! My son says I'm becoming an AM geek, which frankly is not my fault, it's yours..... wink

Straightenout

12 posts

132 months

Wednesday 10th April 2013
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As a first time poster I'd just like to say thank you to Grant for his excellent book. I'm currently running a Brera and looking to move away from Alfa later this year as there will be no obvious alternative within their range for the foreseeable future (4c excepted).

V8 Vantage is the likely candidate for the Brera replacement. Undecided as to 4.3/4.7 yet as both have pros/cons it seems. I'll doubtless be back with some questions as I narrow the options down.

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Friday 12th April 2013
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Bincenzo said:
Grant, just wanted to let you and prospective buyers know that this book is useful not only for researching a potential buy, but also for 'in-ownership' use. I'm looking to fettle my V8V with some newer bits and bobs, and I'm consistently drawn to look to the book for information. Every time I have, it contains exactly the input in need, so thank you again! My son says I'm becoming an AM geek, which frankly is not my fault, it's yours..... wink
Cheers for the feedback Mark, glad you are finding the guide useful in-ownership, what you haven't spotted yet is it may well drag you back to a V12V or DBS at some time in the future after you have exhausted the options section... wink.. keep your wallet close, the fettling itch is how it all starts!

As you know these are NOT just cars rather an "ownership experience" and a certain knowledge is required to qualify as a "real" Aston owner.... so tell your son there are no Aston geeks, just Aston enthusiasts and aficionados smile who are cool .....well I have to say that as the man who spends so many hours poring over the latest new A.M. widget biggrin

Grant3

3,635 posts

254 months

Friday 12th April 2013
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Straightenout said:
As a first time poster I'd just like to say thank you to Grant for his excellent book. I'm currently running a Brera and looking to move away from Alfa later this year as there will be no obvious alternative within their range for the foreseeable future (4c excepted).
V8 Vantage is the likely candidate for the Brera replacement. Undecided as to 4.3/4.7 yet as both have pros/cons it seems. I'll doubtless be back with some questions as I narrow the options down.
Welcome to P.H. and what a classy place to place your first post (although I may be a tad biased biggrin)

Coming out of a Brera you will clearly appreciate style and character, which the Vantage has in spades, along with that intangible thing called "class," so I think you are making a great call in looking at the V8V. If you can stretch to a 4.7 do, it is the better model, but the 4.3 is still a great car and the guide is packed full with information on both.

Thanks for the feedback thumbup and feel free to ask additional questions any time, you will also find a host of knowledgeable experts in the main thread below. Best of luck with the search and let me know how you get on. smile


dkatwa

570 posts

244 months

Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Got the 5th Edition book and well worth buying. I was toying with buying a DB9 (LM Edition?) but house renovation has put paid to that plan. However, I have yet to touch an Aston, much less drive one and I am sure the house renovations would take a back seat if ever I drove an Aston!
Love the posts on this forum - so informative.....