Off to test a DBS and V12VS tomorrow...Any advice?

[Nijius Maximus]

So it looks like exciting times ahead...

I used to own a Vantage V8 4.7 last year before I changed to an Audi R8 V10 Manual. Don't get me wrong, it was a massive step up in power and performance. But after a bit of time it just felt like it was missing something. Unless you were driving fast (which in central London ain't easy in traffic) it felt a bit dull... i.e. like an Audi.

The Aston just had more character and was more fun to drive and felt more special. Plus there actually seems to be a proper community of Aston owners here at PH. With a sense of humour as well. Ha!

So I've got an appointment with an official dealer where I'm gonna see at least the DBS and V12VS. Read Grant's great book and now just wondering if any practical advice for tomorrow?

Should I just strap myself in and let the Astons seduce me with their sexy lines and luscious sounds? I'm sure there'll be no physical or engine related things to check as it's a main dealer. So any tips for when I test drive them in order to make sure I fully experience the cars to make an informed decision?

Cheers, Nij


P.S. Can you believe I got rid of the following beauty. What was I thinking??

[Nijius Maximus]

tonyhall38 said:

London driving get the DBS......the v12 gearbox is ste in traffic.....

I know what you mean. I had the Sportshift on the Vantage before and parking and being stuck in traffic on upward slopes was a real hassle. Is SS3 still that bad? Don't they have Hill Start Assist now as well?

Of course there's always the manual V12V option instead...even though there's only two for sale on the whole of Autotrader

Nij

[Nijius Maximus]

Ed50 said:

OP,

My advise is take your cheque book and come back to the fold……...

That's what I'm worried about. The way things are going I'll probably "accidentally" end up buying a Vanquish. Stay tuned for my "accidentally bought this Aston" photos tomorrow evening...

[Nijius Maximus]

Thanks to everyone for their responses. Can't wait to see how the DBS and V12VS compare to each other and of course my old V8V. The V12V Manual could be the wild card. The DBS recommendations have definitely piqued my interest and agree it does look beautiful!

Here's replies to individuals...

tonyhall38 said:

In that case get a vanquish.....better than the DBS auto , and better than the v12 v s......I'm a bit biased though....

Tony, didn't you upgrade to a Vanquish from the DBS? Do you miss it?

Quarterly said:

As someone who recently upgraded from the 4.7 to a manual V12V, I'd recommend the manual V12V I have never grinned so much in my life before, other drivers must think theres something wrong with me.

Haha, that sounds great. The V12V has almost become legendary - especially as it's virtually vanished for sale. I know EVERY V8 Vantage owner wants to try one if only out of curiosity. Is there really that much of a difference between your old V8 and your current V12??

AMDBSNick said:

Buy the most beautiful Gaydon era AM, the DBS. And BTW it seems to be going up in value

Not gonna disagree with you there. Definitely looks more stunning than a Vantage. Going up in value would be a nice bonus...

CSK1 said:

SportshiftIII is a vast improvement over previous Sportshifts but still needs to be driven with the paddles as a manual. Forget the D button, D is for Don't!

Agree completely. I stopped using the Auto button pretty soon after I got the Vantage. It became second nature to use the paddles and treat as a manual - also a lot more fun and involving that way!

cayman-black said:

Go to sevenoaks AM they have two nice manual V12V there.

That's Wednesday's outing sorted then...

AWV12 said:

Of course it is very personal, and better test drive yourself, but since you had a R8 V10 manual...

...If you are a track driver, go for the V12V, if you like driving fast, but also use it in normal traffic, or on longer trips, go for the DBS.

Thanks for the detailed advice! Commuting in the R8 through London traffic is getting tiresome. Never driven the DBS so really looking forward to seeing if it can be the best of both worlds.

Jon39 said:

Enjoy your day, and tell us what you decide.

Don't worry, I'll keep the forum updated...all the way to when I get my keys, post up the obligatory photos and book myself onto Burghley House...

Edited by Nijius Maximus on Monday 18th January 21:19

[Nijius Maximus]

Quarterly said:

I'm glad you asked me that, because I was perfectly happy with my 4.7 it was a keeper, but I kept reading about the V12V so on my way back from a long drive I stopped to try one and you notice the difference straight away, its quite simply so much more powerful. If you think the 4.7 has the beans you're going to like the V12. I also thought I would prefer the lower exhaust note of the V8 but again the V12 sounds a whole lot better and I don't really know why. There is a downside to the V12 though, it doesn't have a pen.

Can't wait.
No pen?! DBS it is then...

bentley01 said:

I test drove both the DBS and the V12 manual. Loved the look of the DBS and the extra seats would of been very helpful with two young children. I bought the V12 because it was so much better to drive. Had to then explain why I had bought another two seat car. Good luck with the search.

When I got the Bentley my wife asked: "Where's the fifth seat?".
When I got the Vantage my wife asked: "Where's the other two seats?".
When I got the R8 my wife asked: "Where's the rest of the boot...and where's the rest of the car?"

[Nijius Maximus]

I'm actually here today. Ended up being busy with work all damn day yesterday. But have the day off today!

At Grange in Brentwood and than hoping to get down to Sevenoaks afterwards.

Ooh, they've just brought the "free" coffee...

[Nijius Maximus]

Right stopped for lunch before onto Sevenoaks.

Quick sumnary:

DBS
Great shape and road presence
Not as smooth as I thought - quite sporty
Great noise and torque
Feels big - you sit in it rather than be part of it - hard to feel where the front it
Feels relaxed at slow speeds, ie. You don't feel the need to drive it fast.

V12VS
What a noise even when idle!
In sports mode the sound is incredible
Feels so much more compact and nimble
Stiffer ride
Feel part of the car rather simply sitting in it
Great visibility and can really place the front of the car
Surprisingly light steering though? I prefer the heaviness of the DBS and my R8

Off to Sevenoaks to check out the V12V...

Exciting times...

[Nijius Maximus]

Well guys I've just got home.. Have good news and bad news... But no car yet.

Will update fully when showered and dinnered

All I do have to say is Damn you M25!! And buses in Sevenoaks don't accept contact less?! How dare you call your self part of London!

[Nijius Maximus]

All your questions are about to be answered, including the curious case of the bus while driving...

But firstly, let's cut to the chase: I bought a BMW i8.

The piped in exhaust note is so amazing and real, the electric steering is so feelsome not forgetting the regenerative brakes.

Who needs a V12 growl when starting up when you have the Star Trek Enterprise OS boot up sound instead...?!

And let's be honest the BMW interior completely shows up any Aston. BMW use plastic. REAL plastic!!

[Nijius Maximus]

Now, back to reality... (I was being sarcastic about the i8 above)
There's so much to report, so here's PART ONE:

GOOD
Gary at Brentwood and Paul at Sevenoaks were both great. I'm sure some of you must have met them before. Really friendly and really knowledgeable. Could talk to those two effortlessly about anything...even Astons! It amazes me how when you get more and more top end with cars the sales pressure just seems to completely vanish and it just ends up being a chat.


BAD
I completely messed up getting to Sevenoaks. It should have taken 45 mins from where I was having lunch. I think it took over 2 hours? If not more. There was an accident on the M25 and my damn Audi sat nav didn't match up with some of the signs on the motorway. Basically I was 2 miles away, missed a junction and ended up being 57 miles away.

Then later, take two, I was 3 miles away, missed a junction, and ended up being 17 miles away. Argh.

Then the icing on the cake: the sat nav told me that the garage was on the right hand side. I drove in. It was a Bentley garage. Apparently this mixup happens quite regularly with German based sat navs according to Paul.

Funny, right? Except at that point my display said I had ZERO miles of petrol left. So I left the car there and decided to walk. Then I realised it was 22 mins walk. Then I got the bus. That's when I realised a petrol station was literally 1 min drive away(!) Later Paul asked me why I didn't phone him up to pick me up. Good question...I'll ask that for the rest of my life.


GOOD
The DBS looked exactly right. It looked like an Aston SHOULD look. Perfect proportions. Although the boot was small I could imagine using the back seats as additional luggage space.

As I said earlier it was amazing how you could cruise around in it. I mean, I was doing only 59mph on the motorway. In my R8 that would never happen, you'd feel that you were just going too slow. Here I felt so relaxed and was talking away to Gary without a care in the world. What I mean is that the DBS made you feel like you DIDN'T need to go fast constantly to enjoy the car.


BAD
I found it more firm a ride than my R8 amazingly. In fact getting back into the R8 at the end it felt like I was driving a saloon! So smooth. But of course missing that connection and feeling to the road. I suppose I was expecting DB9 level of smooth and then Vantage levels of driveability at the flick of the suspension mode.

It also felt quite big and I never could fully tell where the front of the car was. It's a big bonnet. As I said earlier, I felt like I was riding IN it.


GOOD
The V12 Vantage S exhaust noise was ABSOLUTLEY INSANE. There's no other way to describe it! It'd louder than the DBS at start up and you can hear much more of it at idle and at low revs. But then the Sport mode is activated...CRAZY things happen. I'd say power wise it's similar to my R8 V10 but the way you hear and experience the power is completely different.

Later Paul at Sevenoaks dropped me off to Bentley in one of their V12S cars. It was freezing cold by that time. So the start up exhaust note sounded even more crazy and the short ride to Bentley was full of epic exhaust notes bouncing off walls and houses. All thanks to Sport mode.

It put a smile on my face. Every time.


GOOD
Then there was the size and feeling of the Vantage over the DBS. It felt so much smaller, so much more involving, so much more direct. I could place the front of the car so easily. As I said earlier, it felt like I was PART of the car rather driving in it.

Yes, it was stiffer still than the DBS. But without that how would get such an involving drive?!


Part Two to follow in ten...

Edited by Nijius Maximus on Wednesday 20th January 23:50

Edited by Nijius Maximus on Wednesday 20th January 23:52

[Nijius Maximus]

So here's PART TWO of my strangely good and bad Aston day out...

GOOD
I definitely want an Aston again. I miss all the little things, like the crystal key. The Audi key is the same as you get on an A1 no doubt! So boring. The swan doors - cos they look cool and actually stop you kerbing the doors. The flyaway hand brake. Yeah it takes a bit of getting used to. But it's always cool trying to get your friends to unlock the hand brake and failing every time. It's like a secret only Aston owners know...

The door handles. I remember going to a car wash and they couldn't even figure out how to open the door! Genius. The counter clockwise rev counter. I don't know why but in no other car have I paid so much attention to the rev counter before. Maybe because it's on the right hand side or because it's counter clockwise or just both? And of course the jewel like dials in the first place all lit up elegantly.

The real metal and glass. The glass buttons for example, well on the newer models such as the V12VS, just look and feel so expensive. Along with the leather all over the place. The startup noise. Nothing more needs to be said. No matter how tired I was in the morning my old Vantage's exhaust start up woke me up straight away and put a smile on my face.

I could go on and on...but you get he picture. There's a lot of cool things that add up to make something truly different and special.


BAD
The only bad thing left is the non-availability of the car I want. Grange had a 2013 V12VS with only 10k miles and in amazing Flugplatz Blue, i.e. like this:



For £99.9k. The magic number as I don't want to spend more than a £100k. Unfortunately it was sold before I enquired about it. However they may have access to another one so are gonna get back to me...


BAD
The other bad things is that I didn't get to try out the ORIGINAL V12 Vantage. Sevenoaks literally sold it in between me phoning them up to come down to me (eventually) arriving. A customer was test driving it when I was on the phone...but what are the chances!

And the other V12V isn't actually in stock yet. They'll call me when it is. I do still want to try the original V12V just so I know I'm gonna make the right decision. But in all fairness after all the driving today and how much my left foot and leg hurt from using the clutch in traffic I think I'd be well happy with a semi-automatic. More relaxing than a manual but more involving than a torque converter. Perfect.


CONCLUSION
It was a great day seeing and driving the Astons and the roads around Brentwood were amazing. In fact after the test drives I drove my own car along the same route when leaving! The icing on the cake was driving over Dartford Bridge. It was an amazing view. Almost felt like a dream.

At the moment the V12VS is at the top of my list. Sevenoaks had a coupe version in grey but it had 27k miles if I remember correctly and I really want it to be less than 20k.

So now the waiting game begins...although hopefully inter spread with a V12V test drive this week to keep me going and help make my absolute decision.

Ah, now off to sleep! Cheers everyone.

Edited by Nijius Maximus on Thursday 21st January 00:27

[Nijius Maximus]

I'm glad everyone enjoyed my report, here's some replies...

divetheworld said:

I like this guy!!!

Haha, cheers. Sometimes it's hard for people to detect sarcasm on the internet hence why I had to explicitly state it in the next post.

Quarterly said:

If you do buy an Aston, your navigational problems will be at an end. Aston only use the finest cutting edge technology.

Thanks for the report, I enjoyed reading about it. Although I'm bias towards the V12V I completely understand why you'd choose an automatic over it, living in London. Good luck with your search, exciting times.

Ha, looking forward to inadvertent scenic road trips in my future Aston...

Well, I haven't actually driven a V12V yet so you never know...

CSK1 said:

Great write up. So you actually enjoyed SportshiftIII? Did you find it an improvement over the earlier version you had in your V8?

In all fairness the roads around Brentwood were really nice, i.e. nothing like London(!) So we were moving at a steady pace and then at a crazy pace. Perfect conditions for a semi-automatic.

However, later when I was being dropped off to Bentley in the cold V12VS, it was up a hill and with traffic. It seemed to be doing a great job. My old Vantage would've been revving away trying to find the biting point every time we moved from standstill. The Hill Start Assist doing its job well, no doubt?

I was also shown they no longer have that annoying creep mode which made parking a real difficulty in the old days. So far so good but I'll be sure to check again when driving slowly to see how SSIII handles more traffic prone driving.

cayman-black said:

well its good to hear they are still flying out of the showrooms. The manuals now seem to be selling as soon as they come in. Good buy that blue (S) one at grange though!

I know, the demand for the manuals are crazy. In terms of a car that's very likely to appreciate in value this has got to be the investment option of the moment? Hopefully I'll be able to test one out before someone snatches it away...

That Grange V12VS seemed perfect. I wish I'd had time to go down earlier and check it out.

northernmedia said:

I have a flugplatz blue S coupe, you won't be disappointed.
I'm 1300 miles / 3 months into ownership and loving every minute!
I recommend one with lightweight bucket seats, really suit the sporty nature of the car. Mine also has B&O hifi, which is also superb when you can hear it over the exhaust!

Oooh, you have the colour I was interested in. How do you find it? Does it attract attention and does it get dirty quickly? My R8 is black and needs to be washed all the damn time.

I forgot to say, the V12VS had the lightweight seats. I have bucket seats in my R8 which I love. But the Aston don't allow for proper angle adjustment (without the front moving as well) and aren't heated. Which I discovered in last night's cold Aston!

But I didn't drive that Aston so would have to check the lightweight seats in the driver's seat next time.

I actually like the normal Aston seats - they seem more sporty than standard seats from other marques. They're a good combination of comfort and involvement.

I would love to get the B&O option if only for the super cool moving tweeters - like two missiles ready to launch every time you switch on the stereo. However even the 700w Premium Sound option which I had in my Vantage sounds absolutely amazing. The subwoofer gives so much bass. That system sounds BETTER than the B&O I have on my R8 surprisingly!

SlartiF430 said:

I'll get stabbed in the face for saying this here but...

...Why aren't you using the opportunity to get a 12c. They're on fire right now!

How dare you Sir! Mods, remove this blaspheme and strip him of his once mighty Aston badge...I fear his newly acquired 616bhp power has warped this gentlemen's mind.



In all fairness though, I DID have a good look at adverts for the 12c. Like the V12V, they keep being snapped up right before my eyes. There was quite a good selection around the Christmas time, especially official McLaren dealer ones.

As ds2000 said, I don't really want to spend that much. Actually he was wrong about the £99,999.99. It's actually £100k. The 1p makes a difference! Haha.

I was tempted earlier on. But then I started thinking about how clinical it is, the exhaust noise (loud but not the amazing Aston tone) and maybe the design? I feel almost like the 12c would be like a (massive) step up in power and performance version of the my R8, i.e. technically there but missing something?

Of course you're the one who moved from Aston (which one did you have). So how does it compare in terms of FEELING and the smile on your face?

Also as northernmedia said, the cheaper ones tend not to be authorised ones. I know an official warranty is an additional £3k+ and when you're spending that much on a car you really want to make sure it's perfect.

However, saying all that, IT IS currently amazing value for money especially compared to a 458. With F430 values at ludicrous levels the 12c is the supercar bargain of the century at the moment.

I was supposed to call a dealer back about the 12c and still could....decisions, decisions. If only out of curiosity and to continue this epic driving week...

Edited by Nijius Maximus on Thursday 21st January 15:35

[Nijius Maximus]

Cayman Black, it was the white V12V that sold. The silver is due to be... Wait a second. You're not gonna steal it before I get to test drive it, are you?? You sneaky bd...



What was Eric's (the Aston deserter) impression of the i8 from the V12V?

And yep I agree completely, having fun at slow speeds is what sets Astons apart from the other top end marques who are obsessed with 0-62 and Nurburgring times etc. Enjoy the car godammit!

[Nijius Maximus]

Here's the video of the V12V coming to Sevenoaks soon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYvPUrgwFuA

A classy colour for a classy car. Awful, inappropriate soundtrack to the video though.
What the HELL were they thinking?! Mute it when watching.

northernmedia, Surley a MANUAL would offer even more of a premium as time goes by? If the V12VS had had a manual option it would be a different story obviously. But I can just imagine buying one and a year later (not that'd I sell it) it being the same price or higher and be extremely quick to sell.

Everyone says how the V12V is a future classic and one of the best cars ever made. Plus it's (currently!) cheaper than a V12VS. Could spend the money saved paying for the divorce when my wife tries to kill me after discovering the car in the garage...

P.S. Can someone please tell me why I keep day dreaming about the DBS? Those looks, dammit.

Edited by Nijius Maximus on Thursday 21st January 18:31

[Nijius Maximus]

They have a V12VS at Stratstone Amersham:
http://www.stratstone.com/search/vehicledetails/us...

Always loved the white and black look. But it's £5k more than I wanted to pay. If anyone from Stratstone is reading: just drop it to £100k and I'll buy it ASAP. Thanks in advance for your understanding - you know you want to. I'll pick it up tomorrow.


AMDBSNick and AMDBSTony: are you two twins?!

How do you two find your DBS? Is the manual DBS good in traffic?

Phil74891 said:

Personally I think the V12V, the DBS and V12VS are the best three cars to come out of Gaydon.

All are brilliant and capable way beyond anything any of us can do with them.

If you want cast iron residuals then get either a V12V or a manual DBS. If you want a magnificent GT, then get an auto DBS. If you want the best car of the three, get the V12VS - but be prepared to pay a bit more, then watch it deprecaiate down to current V12V levels. Can't see nice examples of any of the three going much below 80k in the long term.

I don't do turbos, I would love a 458 Speciale, but would rather have an iPhone 8 than a BMW i8.

Happy hunting!

Thanks for the advice! You've summed up all three cars nice and succinctly. Great comment about iPhone 8 over the BMW i8. In the same way I'd choose an Aventador over a 650s. It's all about the smile on your face rather than the technical superiority.

[Nijius Maximus]

AMDBSNick said:

Twin plate clutch, light as a feather. 3rd may as well be "D" unless you need to stop. As Tony said the 2010 car with B&O just needs buying

Looks like I'll have to add a manual DBS to the test drive rota!

Phil74891 said:

Here's a nice V12s:

http://used.astonmartin.com/en-GB/Search/Details~0...

Striking colour. Not on Autotrader though - maybe sold?

£105k as well. Anyone know the likelihood of price negotiations at Aston dealers? I'm sure I've read from here the answer seems to be ZERO?? You negotiate extras instead, right?

[Nijius Maximus]

JaseB said:

End of January must be almost the best time of year for buyers for getting offers accepted.

When I got the DB9 it was an easy 10%, I don't do haggling either.

Edited to add, that was a £55k car not £110k though!

10% off a £55k DB9? In that case I should offer £94.5k for the £105k V12VS and they'll bloody well like it...

It is near the end of January now, as it gets closer to Spring and sports cars get more popular this seems like the last chance for a stab at a discount. I never would've thought a year ago if I had £100k to spend that'd it be so damn hard to find the car I want. Oh, pity me(!) Them's the (first world) breaks though...

Also, a quick update: had a couple of missed calls today from Sevenoaks but we kept missing each other. So gonna call first thing tomorrow morning to see whether they have the V12V in yet or not. The more I think about it: cheaper, more solid residuals, lower mileage than the next cheapest V12VS for sale and more cult status, it might be the one. I love heavy steering. Does anyone know how the steering feel compares between the S and normal V12V models? And how about the exhaust noise difference?

Also gonna call Stratstone Amersham to see how flexible they are with pricing on their V12VS. Let's see what happens...!

[Nijius Maximus]

AWV12 said:

Before you make a final decision, please test drive a manual(!) DBS too...

Thanks for the detailed advice my friend! Sevenoaks have the manual DBS so hopefully if they have the V12V in stock I'll be able to check out both.

Not a bad week test driving a range of Astons I must admit. Test the DB9 and Rapide S? Well if you insist Sir, if you insist...

[Nijius Maximus]

The V12V I was supposed to look at was sold....before it even arrived at the garage.

No surprise I suppose - the dealer told me there was three other people who were interested who'd missed out on the previous one that went and missed this as well. Jesus! No supply and massive demand...

[Nijius Maximus]

Quarterly said:

Thats disappointing, no doubt there will be another along sooner or later. What are you planning to do now? Are you going to wait or take the plunge with a DBS or V12S?

Very good question! Most of the main dealers are closed on Sundays so that'll give me a day to think things over...