V12V bought from JCT In May might need new clutch, advice?

[grarno]

I purchased a 2010 V12 Vantage with 10,000 miles from JCT600 In May 2014. I bought it over the phone with detailed pictures and trusting the Aston Martin dealership inspection. At the time I also asked about clutch wear but was told you can't get a wear reading like on automatic models, but that clutchwear was normal for the age of the vehicle. On collection I went for a 5min test drive but this was the first V12V I was driving so didn't notice anything special.

6 months and 2,500 miles later I had the opportunity to drive a manual DBS and realised the clutch felt completely different. As the car was due a service I asked Works to look into it and they confirmed the clutch operation was wrong. Next step is apparently to take the gearbox out to check whether it is a fault that can be repaired under warranty or wear. If it's wear that could apparently be a £4,000 bill, which I'd find pretty hard to swallow. AM Works suggested I contact JCT600 before they take the gearbox out as they might want to do it themselves and contribute to the cost if is indeed wear, but my email to them didn't get much interest.

Any advice / experience on average clutch life, cost or alternatives welcome

[grarno]

Many thanks for you contributions guys, all very helpful. I will get back to the AM guys with more info now and hopefully can get the issue resolved quickly and get the car back soon!

[grarno]

BamfordMike said:

finally, £4k is an interesting figure for clutch renewal, if debate about who foots the bill does not go in your favour ask for itemized breakdown, because i have no clue why clutch change on V12V could be that high

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your contribution. Just in case I thought I would start exploring options if I need to replace the clutch. Are there any uprated clutch I should be considering? Is that a conversation we need to have separately on email?

Thanks

[grarno]

Trek930 said:

My 2008 DBS had the rubbish clutch with the squak issue. It wasnt replaced by the previous owners through warranty but I only had to change it out at 28K when it was about to fail. I got the BR replacement with the lightened flywheel and it was a decent bit less than £4K.

Anybody knows whether that's available for the V12 Vantage as well?