Aston Martin declining sales
Discussion
Jockman said:
jonby said:
In due course, it then has the opposite effect as fewer cars in the marketplace pushes up prices, allowing existing owners to trade in more often as the cost to change drops, which in turn increases new car sales
Nope....you've lost me there, handsome. It's a bit like buying houses, if prices are rising then those looking to upgrade actually have to find more money to change.Apologies if I'm looking at this incorrectly
matrignano said:
A bit unfair as my 06 V8 didn't come with half of these, but the Maserati has everything that I need: heated memory seats, BOSE, ipod integration, bluetooth, cruise, auto lights/wipers, half decent satnav, front+rear parking sensors, decent autobox
OK and as I said I have no gripe at all with the Maserati but apples for apples....heated memory seats - my Vantage has these
BOSE - needed for resale in the Maserati but no better sounding than the equivalent Aston options
ipod integration - my Vantage has this
bluetooth - my Vantage has this
cruise - my Vantage has this
auto lights/wipers - my Vantage has these
half decent satnav - Garmin in Vantage not that bad, is the Maserati unit better? No
front+rear parking sensors - my Vantage has these
decent autobox - if I were personally buying the Maserati I would go MC Shift which is the same tech as the Aston Sportshift. MC Auto is pretty good though I agree.
jonby said:
Jockman said:
jonby said:
In due course, it then has the opposite effect as fewer cars in the marketplace pushes up prices, allowing existing owners to trade in more often as the cost to change drops, which in turn increases new car sales
Nope....you've lost me there, handsome. It's a bit like buying houses, if prices are rising then those looking to upgrade actually have to find more money to change.Apologies if I'm looking at this incorrectly
Dblue said:
Philip0 said:
Last year Aston sold 757 cars, down 27% from 2013, down 68% from the peak year of 2006 (the launch year of the V8V) and the lowest since 2004. The previous 5 years had been steady at around 1,000-1,200 units. So, why was 2014 such a poor year, and is this decline likely to continue?
matrignano said:
A bit unfair as my 06 V8 didn't come with half of these, but the Maserati has everything that I need: heated memory seats, BOSE, ipod integration, bluetooth, cruise, auto lights/wipers, half decent satnav, front+rear parking sensors, decent autobox
hope yours is more reliable than the 2 I've owned 
matrignano said:
A bit unfair as my 06 V8 didn't come with half of these, but the Maserati has everything that I need: heated memory seats, BOSE, ipod integration, bluetooth, cruise, auto lights/wipers, half decent satnav, front+rear parking sensors, decent autobox
Say you are joking.
When one of the important features are auto lights and wipers, when I am choosing a drivers sports car, Jockman will be about to start making my 'box'.
matrignano said:
A bit unfair as my 06 V8 didn't come with half of these, but the Maserati has everything that I need: heated memory seats, BOSE, ipod integration, bluetooth, cruise, auto lights/wipers, half decent satnav, front+rear parking sensors, decent autobox
A close friend of mine has just bought a new Granturismo - he isn't on a limited budget at all so this car was a real choice for him.He doesn't usually keep cars too long and I have to say that even his eyes have watered when he has looked into its resale price.....the depreciation is MASSIVE
If you think Astons shed £££'s, they are definitely in the amateur league when compared with Maserati.
Advice - buy second hand but still be prepared to loose a shed full of the old folding stuff
matrignano said:
I'm blind so can't tell when it's dark outside, need the car to turn the lights on for me
Go and buy one then. You're in the wrong place if you think we're all going to fall over ourselves with how great a decision that is and how we've all suddenly seen the light and wished we'd bought one too.Jockman said:
jonby said:
Jockman said:
jonby said:
In due course, it then has the opposite effect as fewer cars in the marketplace pushes up prices, allowing existing owners to trade in more often as the cost to change drops, which in turn increases new car sales
Nope....you've lost me there, handsome. It's a bit like buying houses, if prices are rising then those looking to upgrade actually have to find more money to change.Apologies if I'm looking at this incorrectly
If they don't do that, they are stuffed. I'll not buy a V12VS roadster if it came out with a manual gearbox regardless of how good it is, because it would cost, 2 yrs after purchase, at least £60-70k to change and I've lost too much money on my previous 2 Astons. In fact so much, that I'm dubious about ever buying another (new) Aston and there are others in a similar position - if that doesn't change, sales will never recover in a big way. The only way of that changing is to stop the steep discounting.
One of several reasons that cars like the Porsche GTs and ltd ed Ferraris sell so quickly is that people no there are no discounts and no depreciation. Of course they are also very good cars but the money side is a big aspect. Conversely McLaren, P1 aside, will take a long time to recover from the depreciation on the 12Cs which came from over supply and there are many who are put off Mac purchases solely for that reason
I just received an email from McLaren today regarding a November 2014 650S Spider, 230 miles on the clock, list price £240k, asking price £199k - my initial reaction is not that there is a £40k saving and instead, concern that it will continue to depreciate hugely.
Edited by jonby on Tuesday 24th March 16:58
jonby said:
It's a medium term, not short term strategy but eventually, it sorts itself out. Right now, the facts are simple - people buy a new aston and regardless of how much discount they get, it depreciates like a stone and when you look at changing, the cost can't be swallowed. The ONLY way to combat that is to stop the discounting, but it takes 2-3 yrs for the policy to see real benefits
If they don't do that, they are stuffed. I'll not buy a V12VS roadster if it came out with a manual gearbox regardless of how good it is, because it would cost, 2 yrs after purchase, at least £60-70k to change and I've lost too much money on my previous 2 Astons. In fact so much, that I'm dubious about ever buying another (new) Aston and there are others in a similar position - if that doesn't change, sales will never recover in a big way. The only way of that changing is to stop the steep discounting.
If they don't do that, they are stuffed. I'll not buy a V12VS roadster if it came out with a manual gearbox regardless of how good it is, because it would cost, 2 yrs after purchase, at least £60-70k to change and I've lost too much money on my previous 2 Astons. In fact so much, that I'm dubious about ever buying another (new) Aston and there are others in a similar position - if that doesn't change, sales will never recover in a big way. The only way of that changing is to stop the steep discounting.
Painful, but true! 
jonby said:
It's a medium term, not short term strategy but eventually, it sorts itself out. Right now, the facts are simple - people buy a new aston and regardless of how much discount they get, it depreciates like a stone and when you look at changing, the cost can't be swallowed. The ONLY way to combat that is to stop the discounting, but it takes 2-3 yrs for the policy to see real benefits
If they don't do that, they are stuffed. I'll not buy a V12VS roadster if it came out with a manual gearbox regardless of how good it is, because it would cost, 2 yrs after purchase, at least £60-70k to change and I've lost too much money on my previous 2 Astons. In fact so much, that I'm dubious about ever buying another (new) Aston and there are others in a similar position - if that doesn't change, sales will never recover in a big way. The only way of that changing is to stop the steep discounting.
Joining the debate, I'm not sure how stopping discounting stops depreciation. My daily is a BMW 640d GC - 72k list, commonly available with a 20k+ discount making it 50k. Used, even nearly 3 years old, they're still 35k. If they don't do that, they are stuffed. I'll not buy a V12VS roadster if it came out with a manual gearbox regardless of how good it is, because it would cost, 2 yrs after purchase, at least £60-70k to change and I've lost too much money on my previous 2 Astons. In fact so much, that I'm dubious about ever buying another (new) Aston and there are others in a similar position - if that doesn't change, sales will never recover in a big way. The only way of that changing is to stop the steep discounting.
I think cars have natural price points that set the floor;
V8V 4.3 - 30-35k
V8V 4.7 - 50-55k
V8VS - 60-70k
V12V - 80-90k
DBS - 80-90k
The further you are above these price points when you buy, the steeper and faster the fall towards them. Once you're close to these you're into 10k spread on dealer sell/buy, seasonal variation and condition. I've looked at used prices and after they're 1 year old, the age almost becomes irrelevant.
roughrider said:
jonby said:
It's a medium term, not short term strategy but eventually, it sorts itself out. Right now, the facts are simple - people buy a new aston and regardless of how much discount they get, it depreciates like a stone and when you look at changing, the cost can't be swallowed. The ONLY way to combat that is to stop the discounting, but it takes 2-3 yrs for the policy to see real benefits
If they don't do that, they are stuffed. I'll not buy a V12VS roadster if it came out with a manual gearbox regardless of how good it is, because it would cost, 2 yrs after purchase, at least £60-70k to change and I've lost too much money on my previous 2 Astons. In fact so much, that I'm dubious about ever buying another (new) Aston and there are others in a similar position - if that doesn't change, sales will never recover in a big way. The only way of that changing is to stop the steep discounting.
If they don't do that, they are stuffed. I'll not buy a V12VS roadster if it came out with a manual gearbox regardless of how good it is, because it would cost, 2 yrs after purchase, at least £60-70k to change and I've lost too much money on my previous 2 Astons. In fact so much, that I'm dubious about ever buying another (new) Aston and there are others in a similar position - if that doesn't change, sales will never recover in a big way. The only way of that changing is to stop the steep discounting.
Painful, but true! matrignano said:
Jon1967x said:
Go and buy one then. You're in the wrong place if you think we're all going to fall over ourselves with how great a decision that is and how we've all suddenly seen the light and wished we'd bought one too.
What's up your arse Jonny boy?Did you trip and fall on a dick?
You wouldn't understand as you crave Italian cars
hashluck said:
I agree with the sentiment (and reality) but also the factory has to build a certain number of cars or else it may as well not bother at all. So at that minimum level there has to be enough buyers who want the cars being made in order to create enough demand so that discounting is not required to shift them. Vicious circle. We can all applaud that they will in the future limit production to 7000 (sports) cars per annum, but to protect residuals there has to be 7000+ buyers per annum and at the moment we are at half of that.
Well the answer to that bit is to improve the product - obviously without a good & competitive product, it doesn't workBut your point also goes back to the first bit of my first post in this thread - the less reliant on UK sales as they now are, the better, so to address your point, they aren't struggling to push out cars just to make sure they are manufacturing a bare minimum
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