Bought a V8 Vantage!
Discussion
Hi all,
Thought I'd say hi properly (with photos in tow), and say thanks for all of the help over the last few months. I bought a 2007 V8 Vantage last month, and finally got rounds to sorting some photos.
I have wanted one for a long time, and have been putting it off since about 2012 in the hope that the Vantage would dip to £20k. I've realised that this is very unlikely to happen, so have put faith in my money being reasonably safe buying in the £30-35k mark. I have kept a close eye on this end of the market for a few months now.
I originally wanted one of the very early models with a sound service history and sensible mileage (which I defined as being less than 50k), and pay as close to £30k as possible. After getting Grant's book for Christmas (a vital guide for any prospective buyer!), I decided that I wanted an MY2007 for slightly better standard spec (guaranteed leather dash/rear parking sensors) and the revised seats which I prefer the look of.
I also absolutely wanted Tungsten Grey originally, and I later included Meteorite Silver - which is a fantastic colour.
I ended up putting a very quick offer on the one I bought after being the first to pounce on Autotrader. It was a private sale, and everything stacked up for me apart from the colour. I was sold on Onyx Black the moment I saw the car.
I've got it back from an inspection with Chiltern AM last week. It needed a new thermostat and oil breather valve, and I had the aux belt changed as a precaution, but otherwise given the green light! It came off an AM AUC warranty in September last year, so I wasn't expecting a huge amount of problems.
A few details: June 2007, 43k miles, FAMSH, new clutch at 31k miles, MOT till late 2016; 700w Premium Audio, Sat nav, auto dimming mirror, Xenons, Bluetooth, cruise, folding mirrors, memory seats, heated seats.
Been driving an e46 M3 for the past 7 years (which I still have). Looking forward to a fun summer ahead, and looking to hold onto it for as long as I can!
Nick
Thought I'd say hi properly (with photos in tow), and say thanks for all of the help over the last few months. I bought a 2007 V8 Vantage last month, and finally got rounds to sorting some photos.
I have wanted one for a long time, and have been putting it off since about 2012 in the hope that the Vantage would dip to £20k. I've realised that this is very unlikely to happen, so have put faith in my money being reasonably safe buying in the £30-35k mark. I have kept a close eye on this end of the market for a few months now.
I originally wanted one of the very early models with a sound service history and sensible mileage (which I defined as being less than 50k), and pay as close to £30k as possible. After getting Grant's book for Christmas (a vital guide for any prospective buyer!), I decided that I wanted an MY2007 for slightly better standard spec (guaranteed leather dash/rear parking sensors) and the revised seats which I prefer the look of.
I also absolutely wanted Tungsten Grey originally, and I later included Meteorite Silver - which is a fantastic colour.
I ended up putting a very quick offer on the one I bought after being the first to pounce on Autotrader. It was a private sale, and everything stacked up for me apart from the colour. I was sold on Onyx Black the moment I saw the car.
I've got it back from an inspection with Chiltern AM last week. It needed a new thermostat and oil breather valve, and I had the aux belt changed as a precaution, but otherwise given the green light! It came off an AM AUC warranty in September last year, so I wasn't expecting a huge amount of problems.
A few details: June 2007, 43k miles, FAMSH, new clutch at 31k miles, MOT till late 2016; 700w Premium Audio, Sat nav, auto dimming mirror, Xenons, Bluetooth, cruise, folding mirrors, memory seats, heated seats.
Been driving an e46 M3 for the past 7 years (which I still have). Looking forward to a fun summer ahead, and looking to hold onto it for as long as I can!
Nick
What's Fuse 22? 
Parcel shelf has been neatly stowed too! I have a huge collection of cleaning products for my M3 including a Meguairs G400 polisher which I'll be getting out in the Spring, so the Black paint will be staying nice and shiney.
I want to keep the full AMSH, I really like Chiltern AM - great service and extremely convenient for me. Are Chiltern AM considered 'proper' AM for servicing purposes? I don't quite understand their Independent status, but would prefer to use them for everything if I can.
Parcel shelf has been neatly stowed too! I have a huge collection of cleaning products for my M3 including a Meguairs G400 polisher which I'll be getting out in the Spring, so the Black paint will be staying nice and shiney.
I want to keep the full AMSH, I really like Chiltern AM - great service and extremely convenient for me. Are Chiltern AM considered 'proper' AM for servicing purposes? I don't quite understand their Independent status, but would prefer to use them for everything if I can.
Haha, I do enjoy the v8/v12 banter in here. The reality is that the 4.7 was out of budget, and the v12 was in another world. The 4.3 isn't ballistic, but I didn't buy it for outright speed (I don't think there's any real difference between it and my e46 M3). It's a great little package which looks and sounds fantastic, is built brilliantly, and a total event to drive. Let's face it, we'd be driving F10 M5s and GTRs if we were really serious about outright performance!
The V12 is something really special- I won't ever drive one for the same reason I'll never drive a CSL
.
The V12 is something really special- I won't ever drive one for the same reason I'll never drive a CSL
. 
Thanks guys. I had it serviced by Chiltern last week- fantastic service by Ed and Stuart- a great experience after years of visiting BMW main dealers. They have the personal touch and experience of a top independent with the weight of a main dealer stamp which is exactly what I want.
Martin- the car isn't a daily, but I've been using it most weekends since I got it. Based very close to London- so would be good to meet up. There was talk of a Highgate meet recently, so I will try and arrange a pub lunch when the weather is nicer.
Martin- the car isn't a daily, but I've been using it most weekends since I got it. Based very close to London- so would be good to meet up. There was talk of a Highgate meet recently, so I will try and arrange a pub lunch when the weather is nicer.
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