Advice on used V8 Roadster purchase
Discussion
I'm new to this forum, but have been reading a lot of the posts over the last few months.
I am a self-confessed car addict and I'm looking for my next baby and I think I'm settled on a V-8 roadster.
I like to do my research before parting with my cash, so I would really appreciate opinions and points of view.
I originally started looking for a V8 with a budget of around £33,000 and soon realise that adding a bit more will get me into a roadster.
I have had so many cars over the years, but never bought an Aston before, so I just ordered the definitive Aston Martin guide and I'm waiting for it to arrive, in the meantime I'm out here looking for advice.
I'm always conscious of the cost of a car purchase and I'm very wary of depreciation, so looking to pick myself up a winter bargain ( if such a thing exists) and when I finally do part with it I will be looking to do so in the summer months to help minimise losses. I've been doing this for years on all sorts of makes and it's done very well for me so far.
I guess my initial questions are going to be a matter of personal opinion, but not sure if I should be looking for a manual or a paddle shift.
I'm based in North Oxfordshire and the car will be a sunny day toy rather than a daily driver, so I don't intend to drive very much in cities or even towns, most of it will be open countryside "A" roads.
I don't suppose I will be doing big mileage, I have a couple of daily drivers for that sort of thing. I guess I will probably do no more than 5000 miles in a year, possibly less.
I have owned a handful of BMW E46 M3's both as manual and as SMG paddle shift versions, I can only assume that the paddle shift on the vantage is a very similar thing to that of the E46 M3. More recently I had a Z4 35iS with a fantastic paddle shift box, but that was a much newer technology from what I can understand in terms of gear shifting and the overall feel of the gearbox.
Are there any particular colour is out there to avoid? Other than the obvious bright yellow of course - which in my opinion actually is quite nice, but I can imagine it's not everyone's cup of tea by an awful long way.
There are a handful of cars out there currently advertised at under £40,000, there's been a couple that I've been tempted to look at but don't feel I know enough on the subject yet to waste anyone's time. I might be tempted to buy from an independent specialist, but probably will be looking to buy privately ( backed up by a decent inspection by a decent specialist).
Other than general wear and tear is there anything really nasty to look out for?
Unfortunately my father used to run a garage so I always have the future owner in the back of my mind with any car purchase - I don't want to get something that I find I'm stuck with and can't shift when I get to that stage. With this in mind how do people feel that amount of owners affects the value of these cars? I really struggle to sell a BMW 6 series a couple of years back because it had 4 previous owners and was 4 years old, so again this is the sort of thing I just need to get sorted in my mind. I do appreciate that with these quite often being toys they do change hands more often than your average car.
I know these questions have all been ask before and I'm sure answered before, but it would be great to get fresh opinions if you have the time please
I am a self-confessed car addict and I'm looking for my next baby and I think I'm settled on a V-8 roadster.
I like to do my research before parting with my cash, so I would really appreciate opinions and points of view.
I originally started looking for a V8 with a budget of around £33,000 and soon realise that adding a bit more will get me into a roadster.
I have had so many cars over the years, but never bought an Aston before, so I just ordered the definitive Aston Martin guide and I'm waiting for it to arrive, in the meantime I'm out here looking for advice.
I'm always conscious of the cost of a car purchase and I'm very wary of depreciation, so looking to pick myself up a winter bargain ( if such a thing exists) and when I finally do part with it I will be looking to do so in the summer months to help minimise losses. I've been doing this for years on all sorts of makes and it's done very well for me so far.
I guess my initial questions are going to be a matter of personal opinion, but not sure if I should be looking for a manual or a paddle shift.
I'm based in North Oxfordshire and the car will be a sunny day toy rather than a daily driver, so I don't intend to drive very much in cities or even towns, most of it will be open countryside "A" roads.
I don't suppose I will be doing big mileage, I have a couple of daily drivers for that sort of thing. I guess I will probably do no more than 5000 miles in a year, possibly less.
I have owned a handful of BMW E46 M3's both as manual and as SMG paddle shift versions, I can only assume that the paddle shift on the vantage is a very similar thing to that of the E46 M3. More recently I had a Z4 35iS with a fantastic paddle shift box, but that was a much newer technology from what I can understand in terms of gear shifting and the overall feel of the gearbox.
Are there any particular colour is out there to avoid? Other than the obvious bright yellow of course - which in my opinion actually is quite nice, but I can imagine it's not everyone's cup of tea by an awful long way.
There are a handful of cars out there currently advertised at under £40,000, there's been a couple that I've been tempted to look at but don't feel I know enough on the subject yet to waste anyone's time. I might be tempted to buy from an independent specialist, but probably will be looking to buy privately ( backed up by a decent inspection by a decent specialist).
Other than general wear and tear is there anything really nasty to look out for?
Unfortunately my father used to run a garage so I always have the future owner in the back of my mind with any car purchase - I don't want to get something that I find I'm stuck with and can't shift when I get to that stage. With this in mind how do people feel that amount of owners affects the value of these cars? I really struggle to sell a BMW 6 series a couple of years back because it had 4 previous owners and was 4 years old, so again this is the sort of thing I just need to get sorted in my mind. I do appreciate that with these quite often being toys they do change hands more often than your average car.
I know these questions have all been ask before and I'm sure answered before, but it would be great to get fresh opinions if you have the time please
Before setting your heart on a sport shift -try one.
Apart from performing clutch learns the SS is fine on open roads. if my driving was in town i would have opted for the manual. The reverse gear in both cars is horrendously high and its easy to smell a hot clutch. There is no hill start which leads the new owner to acquiring a new skill.
Safe colour combinations are easier to shift and more individual colours are few and far between.
Me, I would have gone dealer and opted for the pre owned Aston warranty but each to his own on that one.
Good luck as the chase is nearly as good as ownership.
Apart from performing clutch learns the SS is fine on open roads. if my driving was in town i would have opted for the manual. The reverse gear in both cars is horrendously high and its easy to smell a hot clutch. There is no hill start which leads the new owner to acquiring a new skill.
Safe colour combinations are easier to shift and more individual colours are few and far between.
Me, I would have gone dealer and opted for the pre owned Aston warranty but each to his own on that one.
Good luck as the chase is nearly as good as ownership.
Edited by Mr Aston Martin on Sunday 2nd December 19:11
Try ASM1 before you buy it
Check to roof for wear
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
As you are close take it to Bamford Rose for an inspection before you buy it.
Check to roof for wear
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
As you are close take it to Bamford Rose for an inspection before you buy it.
mikey k said:
Try ASM1 before you buy it
Check to roof for wear
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
As you are close take it to Bamford Rose for an inspection before you buy it.
I've just sent them am email and had hoped they could do an inspection, the only issue is that the car you want is never on your doorstep, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.Check to roof for wear
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
As you are close take it to Bamford Rose for an inspection before you buy it.
IBM hoping to find a low mileage one, say up to 20,000 miles or so, so I would hope the roof would be ok, but thanks for the advice.
Mr Aston Martin said:
Before setting your heart on a sport shift -try one.
Apart from performing clutch learns the SS is fine on open roads. if my driving was in town i would have opted for the manual. The reverse gear in both cars is horrendously high and its easy to smell a hot clutch. There is no hill start which leads the new owner to acquiring a new skill.
Safe colour combinations are easier to shift and more individual colours are few and far between.
Me, I would have gone dealer and opted for the pre owned Aston warranty but each to his own on that one.
Good luck as the chase is nearly as good as ownership.
I'm leaning towards the manual at the moment, I'm starting to worry about the sport shift. The crazy thing is that I brought a 360 4 years ago and would never have even considered the paddle shift version in that car as I wanted the feel of the gear change and 4 years late I'm positive I made the right decision. Apart from performing clutch learns the SS is fine on open roads. if my driving was in town i would have opted for the manual. The reverse gear in both cars is horrendously high and its easy to smell a hot clutch. There is no hill start which leads the new owner to acquiring a new skill.
Safe colour combinations are easier to shift and more individual colours are few and far between.
Me, I would have gone dealer and opted for the pre owned Aston warranty but each to his own on that one.
Good luck as the chase is nearly as good as ownership.
Edited by Mr Aston Martin on Sunday 2nd December 19:11
Any thoughts on glacier blue - there is an interesting on on autotrader at the moment with one owner, good spec and 20,000 miles. I'm temped to call.
20k is nothing on a modern engine. That said AML paint is as soft as warm butter so you may want to accrue for a paint correction? Depends how anal you are with the appearance!
However given your focus on selling on you will need a FSH ( approved dealer or someone like Bamford Rose) with the car.
However given your focus on selling on you will need a FSH ( approved dealer or someone like Bamford Rose) with the car.
Mr Aston Martin said:
That said AML paint is as soft as warm butter so you may want to accrue for a paint correction?
Maybe unfair to make such a whopping and collosally incorrect generalisation?My car has 36k miles and the paint is perfect, never a problem. Stone chips, sure there a few but I'd expect that on a 6-7 year old car with those miles... And driven as it is too
Mr Aston Martin said:
True but how many examples have you seen like yours?
Is it fair to say your car is the exception rather than the rule
One of the reasons my paint is in such good condition is that I don't clean it. Lacquer is still thick and no swirl marks Is it fair to say your car is the exception rather than the rule
I wonder if we only hear about those with paint defects? Bit of a boring post about how your paint hasn't chipped off or bubbled round the door handles...
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