Is an Aston going to ruin me?

Is an Aston going to ruin me?

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raceboy

Original Poster:

13,082 posts

279 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
Is an Aston going to ruin me? rotate
Idly browsing the classifieds as we all do I noticed the price of V8 Vantages dropping ‘just’ below £30k for early cars and this got me doing the man maths…..
It’d be a push to buy the thing, but doable, and after a visit to my local main dealer the urge is strong. It really didn’t help that they had a suitable car, all be it a little pricey due to tiny miles, but it looked stunning and was very well prepped, a chat to the salesman was informative but then he did admit to not being the Vantage ‘expert’ but running costs don’t seem ‘that far’ north of the current TVR toy.
I’d be doing minimal miles, probably about 3-4k a year so the likes of petrol, insurance and tax not really any different, and the last ‘service’ on the TVR was north of £1k by the time a few ‘consumables’ were added so even the higher service bills are hopefully not going be ‘that much’ higher.
Headlights and Clutches appear to be the things to look for, so hopefully a used example with a recent clutch would be the way to go, anything else to look out for? scratchchin
I can see it getting more expensive than I planned as to get it past SHMBO a trip to Monaco in it has been promised. driving
Biggest ‘issue’ at the moment is will it fit in a ‘standard’ new build type garage, online data says it’s 1mm wider and 300mm longer than the TVR which on paper works, but really need to ‘borrow’ one to see if you can get out the car when it’s in the garage, and hope to tackle this at the same time of ‘having a go’ in one from the dealer as it is a bit of a different animal to the TVR, a lot more refined and quiet. wink
So…anyone else not a powerfully built company director running an Aston?

BravoV8V

1,858 posts

173 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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No. They have similar running costs to comparable performance cars, ie TVRs, 911s, M3s etc.

Have a search on here. This question comes up lots and lots.

matrignano

4,345 posts

209 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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Mine has been very reliable on balance.

A common issues is the engine emissions warning light, often due to stuck O2 sensors. I had it on mine and cleared it with an OBDII computer, hasn't come back for a while.

My doors sometime don't lock/unlock properly but it's very occasional so doesn't bother me much. Also get some glitches with a fuzzy audio display screen and the outside temp gauge which gives odd readings, again nothing that happens too regularly or that affects the running of the car.

I've had 2 broken springs in 4 years so don't know if that's a common issue or if I was just unlucky.
Tyre pressure sensors are apparently fragile but never had problems with them.

In terms of running costs, a service from an AM dealer will usually cost £1-1.5k (I'm in London). They will also pick up/deliver the car and give you a decent courtesy car (Merc C Class).

Full set of brake discs and pads will be around the £1k mark if you buy the parts yourself, and have them fitted by an independent garage.

Clutch cost me close to £3k from an AM dealer and that was after 25k miles of not particularly gentle driving.

Full set of tyres (Michelin PSS preferred to the older "approved" Bridgestone Potenza) around £7-800.

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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Probably better than a TVR in running costs so long as all the consumables don't come due at the same time with a service. (We had Tuscan and Sagaris before) I do 3-4k miles a year in mine and a service is usually £600 ish at indy. I may change tyres or pads/discs every few years you get another £1k bill

Ive had the car since 2007, I did 30K miles in the first couple of years then had another car as well. Im now at 70k miles on original clutch....

I would recommend spending £20, buy Grants book on amazon, its all documented in there:

"The Definitive Guide to Gaydon Era Aston Martin"

DB4DM

928 posts

122 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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It's unwise to think you can "just" afford an Aston, they can bite, whatever age. How would you deal with say an unforeseen bill of £5K?

mikey k

13,011 posts

215 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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Get it serviced at an indie and it will probably cost less than the TVR wink
Park it on forwards and you can always climb out the hatch back wink
(seriously the doors are long and angle up as they open)

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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DB4DM said:
It's unwise to think you can "just" afford an Aston, they can bite, whatever age. How would you deal with say an unforeseen bill of £5K?
Yeah, there is that...you could do £5k easy if you need a clutch/service/tyres one year

I think my worst bill one year has been about £2500, a service, tyres, couple of wheel bearings, thermostat, aux belt kit

another year tyres and discs at the same time meant another £2500 year in maintenance

on the best years its £600 a service...

Personally If I was stretching myself to purchase a £30k car, I wouldnt buy one with £90K car running costs. It can dampen the experience if you are driving around worrying about the bills coming your way

raceboy

Original Poster:

13,082 posts

279 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
Understand the issues with running costs getting no cheaper regardless how cheap the cars become, my daily driver is an ageing Boxster. wink
Must admit a £5k surprise Bill would smart a little but I'd find it somehow, the TVR hit me for a £4k chassis refurb/body off bill but I did have a few months notice on that one. eek
It's a given that EVERYTHING is going to be more expensive than the TVR, but it's currently an exercise to make sure my eyes are firmly open to any potential big bills.
Looks like the book is one to quickly add to the Christmas list. xmas

matrignano

4,345 posts

209 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
Agreed. This year it will have cost me close to £3k for service, brakes and tyres.

Couple years back almost £4k for service and clutch.

Nothing out of the ordinary for a 7 years old sports car that gets used daily, but still it's not small change!

raceboy

Original Poster:

13,082 posts

279 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
Just been having a flick through the TVR's history file and that is averaging out at £1k a year on 'servicing' and has only been doing an average of 1000 miles a year for the last 4 years....last year was only 367miles! eek I almost start the question the point of having a car of any sort. rolleyes
But then some of the reasons for that are now the reason I fancy a 'treat'. smile

jazzybee

3,056 posts

248 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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I've had my manual roadster for 2 years and 20k miles. Car is now just over 7yrs old and at 44k miles. Car was bought from a main dealer.

Costs: Over the 2 years, I have spent:
Approx: £1800 on Premium Warranty (first year was free - This was insurance against those scary bills) Not sure I would get the warranty on the next car
Approx: £1700 on 2 services and alignment - higher services costs as I hit the first 10k miles very quickly. 12k miles in Yr1, and 8k miles in Yr2
Approx: £1000 on Rear brake pads, discs and front pads
Approx: £800 on new set of Michelin Tyres - tyres were half worn when I bought the car
Approx: £1100 on Road Tax - little road tax when I bought the car
Fuel - I guess I average around 17 Mpg.

Plus side:
I have had about £1000-1500 of work covered by the warranty (Thermostat (I think) and Electric Roof Module)
Original clutch now at 44k - working fine, if a little stiffer and higher bite point - but still fine.
Insurance cost very very low. £275 for the year, for 12k miles, 6k of which for business use. Car parked on a drive in London Suburb.

I have no idea what I have lost in depreciation - could be anything from £3-9k.

I hope this is helpful for your budgeting. Costs are not insignificant, but not outrageous.

V8 Animal

5,914 posts

209 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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Hi Steve did you mention animal? wavey

V8 Animal

5,914 posts

209 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
Had my 3 TVRs in here and the 3 Astons
This is a modern house with single garage and the picture is the bigger DBS model.

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
raceboy said:
Just been having a flick through the TVR's history file and that is averaging out at £1k a year on 'servicing' and has only been doing an average of 1000 miles a year for the last 4 years....last year was only 367miles! eek I almost start the question the point of having a car of any sort. rolleyes
But then some of the reasons for that are now the reason I fancy a 'treat'. smile
In 2006 my other half got a Sagaris new, and I got a 9 month old Vantage early 2007. Over the next 3 years she did about 33K miles and I took mine from 6k to 40k miles. Every time she had her Sagaris serviced the bill was at least 40% more than mine which was a constant source of jest in our household wink

My Jan 2006 car is even on the old roadtax and £280 versus £480 and im starting to feel like Ive had my moneys worth out of it, maybe even time for an upgrade next year smile

So if you are looking at early Vantages, pre March 2006 is cheap(er) road tax.....

raceboy

Original Poster:

13,082 posts

279 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
bogie said:
So if you are looking at early Vantages, pre March 2006 is cheap(er) road tax.....
Had already spotted that one. 😉
I'm even beginning to like the monochrome colour pallet most early cars appear to be painted from. 😊

Impasse

15,099 posts

240 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
A lot of the problems stem from lack of use rather than things wearing out. Mine has been virtually an everyday car for the past two and a half years. There have been zero surprises whenever it goes for a service - unless you count the knackered bonnet release cable, whose rustiness speaks volumes.

Ken Figenus

5,678 posts

116 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
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Just because it's an Aston does not mean you can't do a bit of DIY and use local garage and specialists. Remember jacking the TVR up and swapping the front disks and pads for under £200. Ford Granada parts! Same with an Aston. ..you can get brakes for a fraction of the shiny dealer cost. Pay for a warranty to cover gearbox or engine catastrophe if you like (but it's not a Porsche so you should be OK)😊 Risk it!

SL500UK

346 posts

152 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
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I would think twice about running a car like an AM if I was on a budget but then again, when I was 28 that didn't stop me taking out a loan to buy a 1988 911 (last of the proper ones) and the current crop of Astons seem pretty reliable.

raceboy

Original Poster:

13,082 posts

279 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Impasse said:
A lot of the problems stem from lack of use rather than things wearing out. Mine has been virtually an everyday car for the past two and a half years.
I think this goes for a lot of cars, the TVR had a lot less silly issues when it was a daily driver, and even the Boxster seem to take the hump if it doesn't get used much, which is leading me to the idea of replacing them both with the Aston, this seems to answer a number of problems, but does raise a few others.... rotate

bogie said:
I'm starting to feel like Ive had my moneys worth out of it, maybe even time for an upgrade next year smile
My current plan maybe a change about April time.... wink

michael gould

5,691 posts

240 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
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the only advise I could give you is that it is far better to pay a little more for a car with an impeccable service history