911 vs V8 Vantage
Discussion
I would appreciate any feedback on the below post regarding 911 (specifically early 997) ownership if someone has some spare time 
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The Aston slushbox is pretty awful, even compared to Tiptronic, let alone PDK.
The Aston manual is pretty awful, compared to the Porsche manual.
The Aston V8 sound awesome, probably a better, but different sound to the flat 6. But when you get into the upper reaches of the 6 though, it comes alive.
The Astons have bottomed out on price if you buy in the right colour / spec, are pretty reliable, not as good to drive though as the Porsche.
The Porsche is for driving, the Aston for cruising / posing...depends what you want
The Aston manual is pretty awful, compared to the Porsche manual.
The Aston V8 sound awesome, probably a better, but different sound to the flat 6. But when you get into the upper reaches of the 6 though, it comes alive.
The Astons have bottomed out on price if you buy in the right colour / spec, are pretty reliable, not as good to drive though as the Porsche.
The Porsche is for driving, the Aston for cruising / posing...depends what you want
I've owned a v8 vantage (08) sportshift and a manual 997.1 turbo back to back. They are very different cars.
The Vantage looks pretty and sounds amazing. When I got use to the sport-shift i really enjoyed it (ended up,preferring it to the manual version and would now only buy sportshift. The car is fast and enjoyable to drive. Very classy and everyone is polite to you. Terrible on fuel consumption. Servicing is brutal. Even with its faults I loved it.
The turbo has to be manual for me (I absolutely hated the tip; it's an auto with buttons and I didn't like anything about it). It doesn't sound so good; quiet and unimpressive. It is an animal to drive; very very fast and capable. You don't need to push it for it to fly. You feel connected with the road, it feels more balanced, it's feels right in so many ways. It is more comfortable to drive than the Vantage. It's an all round more usable car. Fuel consumption is better than the vantage. Servicing is cheaper. Amazing car. Hard to work out where to go from it. Also, appreciating fast in value which is nice :0)
The Vantage looks pretty and sounds amazing. When I got use to the sport-shift i really enjoyed it (ended up,preferring it to the manual version and would now only buy sportshift. The car is fast and enjoyable to drive. Very classy and everyone is polite to you. Terrible on fuel consumption. Servicing is brutal. Even with its faults I loved it.
The turbo has to be manual for me (I absolutely hated the tip; it's an auto with buttons and I didn't like anything about it). It doesn't sound so good; quiet and unimpressive. It is an animal to drive; very very fast and capable. You don't need to push it for it to fly. You feel connected with the road, it feels more balanced, it's feels right in so many ways. It is more comfortable to drive than the Vantage. It's an all round more usable car. Fuel consumption is better than the vantage. Servicing is cheaper. Amazing car. Hard to work out where to go from it. Also, appreciating fast in value which is nice :0)
I'm on hols atm but happy to discuss - have pmed number.
I had A V8 VANTAGE. now have a 997 daily and a 911 sc targa toy.
The am is a joy in manual form. But..........
You need a warranty
Not many specialists
People won't buy outside main dealer private or with non mail dealer stamp generally
There's loads more but call me as can't be asked typing on phone from Crete
Back Monday
If you're near Wycombe come and try the 997 and 911 sc
Mike
I had A V8 VANTAGE. now have a 997 daily and a 911 sc targa toy.
The am is a joy in manual form. But..........
You need a warranty
Not many specialists
People won't buy outside main dealer private or with non mail dealer stamp generally
There's loads more but call me as can't be asked typing on phone from Crete
Back Monday
If you're near Wycombe come and try the 997 and 911 sc
Mike
My wife would really like some form of convertible Aston someday. I second the thoughts above, the 911 is more of a sports car, astons always seem a bit posery to me. I've never driven an Aston and I imagine it sounds better than a 911 but reliability always sounds like its poor whereas Porsche seem pretty good in my experience.
Edited by chriscoates81 on Sunday 7th August 07:19
I owner an AM V8 for around 4 years, have also owned a C2S and currently have a 997.2 turbo.
Very different cars, Porsche far cheaper to maintain.
However if the 997.1 engine needs work such as bore scoring or bearings you may be looking at upwards of £10k for a rebuild.
May I suggest that you buy a decent superbike to replace your 2004 CBR1000RR
Very different cars, Porsche far cheaper to maintain.
However if the 997.1 engine needs work such as bore scoring or bearings you may be looking at upwards of £10k for a rebuild.
May I suggest that you buy a decent superbike to replace your 2004 CBR1000RR
Been lucky enough to own both at the same time, last year I had a Manual 997 Carrera as a daily car and the mrs had the V8 Vantage in manual. I am a Porsche guy through and through and prior to owning the Aston had the impression that they were very pretty but expense boulevard cruisers; I am now a fan.
The Aston for me wins on looks, sound and just has a great sense of occasion when you drive it; when we bought ours the handling was awful but the alignment was out so I had it set up properly by a team that run Aston race cars and it transformed the car. Post set up it was amazing how fast and flat it could corner on long sweeping bends, probably faster than the Porsche although hard to quantify accurately. We ran the Aston for just over a year and only costs where a service and the suspension set up and we sold it for the same price we bought it for, so for us it was great value.
997 was equally inexpensive to run, only a service and two tyres; easy car to drive daily but less sense of occasion than the Aston. Its not something I could quantify but the 997 interior and controls feel more solid and bullet proof whereas the Aston controls and interior feel more fragile. The navigation in the 997 is so much better than the Aston, to the point it feels like the Aston one is a decade older technology. The gearshift on the 997 is lighter than the Aston, but not necessarily that much better, just lighter.
The 997 is always the one I would take to track day although the difference in performance is probably marginal, I somehow feel the Porsche was designed to be thrashed around a race track and then do the commute to work the next day, whereas the Aston might not respond as well to a hard track session.
However I think the most telling thing about how I feel about the two is that if we were going out and only using one car I would always take the Aston for preference. Sold them both as were moving to a different country, but now looking for another manual AMV8 and a 997 Turbo to replace them.
The Aston for me wins on looks, sound and just has a great sense of occasion when you drive it; when we bought ours the handling was awful but the alignment was out so I had it set up properly by a team that run Aston race cars and it transformed the car. Post set up it was amazing how fast and flat it could corner on long sweeping bends, probably faster than the Porsche although hard to quantify accurately. We ran the Aston for just over a year and only costs where a service and the suspension set up and we sold it for the same price we bought it for, so for us it was great value.
997 was equally inexpensive to run, only a service and two tyres; easy car to drive daily but less sense of occasion than the Aston. Its not something I could quantify but the 997 interior and controls feel more solid and bullet proof whereas the Aston controls and interior feel more fragile. The navigation in the 997 is so much better than the Aston, to the point it feels like the Aston one is a decade older technology. The gearshift on the 997 is lighter than the Aston, but not necessarily that much better, just lighter.
The 997 is always the one I would take to track day although the difference in performance is probably marginal, I somehow feel the Porsche was designed to be thrashed around a race track and then do the commute to work the next day, whereas the Aston might not respond as well to a hard track session.
However I think the most telling thing about how I feel about the two is that if we were going out and only using one car I would always take the Aston for preference. Sold them both as were moving to a different country, but now looking for another manual AMV8 and a 997 Turbo to replace them.
I just sold my 997.2 4S but can't bring myself to seriously consider the Vantage. I think it's just too soft and the cabin is quite unresolved with the incredible leatherwork but odd switchgear and plastic buttons.
I do agree that it has a ton more presence and a much better noise... and for those reasons I think I'm going to buy an F-Type. Their second hand values make for a lot of car for an early V6-S or even the V8. I doubt I shall keep it for longer than a year or so but from what I can tell it's a "younger Aston".
I haven't owned one (yet) so interested if people think I'm way off the mark.
I do agree that it has a ton more presence and a much better noise... and for those reasons I think I'm going to buy an F-Type. Their second hand values make for a lot of car for an early V6-S or even the V8. I doubt I shall keep it for longer than a year or so but from what I can tell it's a "younger Aston".
I haven't owned one (yet) so interested if people think I'm way off the mark.
Robbidoo said:
I do agree that it has a ton more presence and a much better noise... and for those reasons I think I'm going to buy an F-Type. Their second hand values make for a lot of car for an early V6-S or even the V8. I doubt I shall keep it for longer than a year or so but from what I can tell it's a "younger Aston".
I haven't owned one (yet) so interested if people think I'm way off the mark.
I'd be interested to hear this too; the F-Type was something I was hesitating to suggest to the OP.I haven't owned one (yet) so interested if people think I'm way off the mark.
I Have been fortunate enough to own 3 new AM Vantages over a three year period. The last one was something of a disaster a lot of which was down to very poor build quality . In fact total problems came to 26 to include gear box replacement, battery and clutch. In the end chose to take a massive hit as I had the chance of a new 991 GT3. I can
honestly say the car truly lived up to the hype. At six months old the car was sold with 5700 miles accrued for a healthy profit. No faults, squeaks or rattles to report. The car was superb. I then had a wait of five months for my GT3RS to arrive taking delivery in January of this year. So far 5800 of the best driving miles I have ever had the good
fortune to drive. Staggering performance, amazing handling all combined with rock solid build quality. Best car I have ever owned by a country mile.
As a company Aston are delightful to have dealings with. We came to know so many of Gaydon's staff for all the wrong reasons. Would I ever go back? No chance I will remain loyal to the boys from Stuttgart . Porsche!
honestly say the car truly lived up to the hype. At six months old the car was sold with 5700 miles accrued for a healthy profit. No faults, squeaks or rattles to report. The car was superb. I then had a wait of five months for my GT3RS to arrive taking delivery in January of this year. So far 5800 of the best driving miles I have ever had the good
fortune to drive. Staggering performance, amazing handling all combined with rock solid build quality. Best car I have ever owned by a country mile.
As a company Aston are delightful to have dealings with. We came to know so many of Gaydon's staff for all the wrong reasons. Would I ever go back? No chance I will remain loyal to the boys from Stuttgart . Porsche!
robgt3 said:
I Have been fortunate enough to own 3 new AM Vantages over a three year period. The last one was something of a disaster a lot of which was down to very poor build quality . In fact total problems came to 26 to include gear box replacement, battery and clutch. In the end chose to take a massive hit as I had the chance of a new 991 GT3. I can
honestly say the car truly lived up to the hype. At six months old the car was sold with 5700 miles accrued for a healthy profit. No faults, squeaks or rattles to report. The car was superb. I then had a wait of five months for my GT3RS to arrive taking delivery in January of this year. So far 5800 of the best driving miles I have ever had the good
fortune to drive. Staggering performance, amazing handling all combined with rock solid build quality. Best car I have ever owned by a country mile.
As a company Aston are delightful to have dealings with. We came to know so many of Gaydon's staff for all the wrong reasons. Would I ever go back? No chance I will remain loyal to the boys from Stuttgart . Porsche!
Hi Robhonestly say the car truly lived up to the hype. At six months old the car was sold with 5700 miles accrued for a healthy profit. No faults, squeaks or rattles to report. The car was superb. I then had a wait of five months for my GT3RS to arrive taking delivery in January of this year. So far 5800 of the best driving miles I have ever had the good
fortune to drive. Staggering performance, amazing handling all combined with rock solid build quality. Best car I have ever owned by a country mile.
As a company Aston are delightful to have dealings with. We came to know so many of Gaydon's staff for all the wrong reasons. Would I ever go back? No chance I will remain loyal to the boys from Stuttgart . Porsche!
Glad to hear you are enjoying the RS.
Would have to say that unfortunately my experience with Porsche was the exact opposite with a new gearbox required in the Cayman, 3 times it defaulted to limp home once with no gear change available from 3rd and 3 failures to start all in less than 3000 miles.
The 991 Carrera 4S didn't have any problems but only seemed to come alive at speeds which weren't suitable for the road. does seem daft to knock a car for being too good at what it does but that was the impression I was left with.
Not driven a GT3RS but from your feedback it sounds completely different.
Is the V8 Vantage as good as a 911, if you count getting from A to B as quickly as possible as being important then definitely not but personally I found I enjoyed all the journeys, even the slow ones, in my V8 and the V8S whereas both Porsches needed to be driven hard to get me smiling.
If the car is going to be a daily driver as well as a weekend fun car then I think it would be hard to better a 911 or Cayman/Boxster come to that but as a car that is for weekends, holidays etc I think the Aston wins it.
Logical way to look at it for the OP though "What a horrible decision to have to make"
Get a decent extended test drive in both before a decision is made.
Rob, haven't seen any on board videos since your move to Porsche, used to enjoy your AM ones especially some of the commentary.
I had the same problem but ended up with a 996 GT3 RS and a Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black. Both completely different cars.
The Aston is the kind of car you can race to Mont Ventoux in the South of France but still wearing your suit. But the 996 GT3 RS is the car you want when up the mountain in your shorts and tods.
If I had to have one car I really don't know which one I'd choose, it's like between a mistress or a wife. Both great on the right occasions and very special in their own ways.
Pocty
The Aston is the kind of car you can race to Mont Ventoux in the South of France but still wearing your suit. But the 996 GT3 RS is the car you want when up the mountain in your shorts and tods.
If I had to have one car I really don't know which one I'd choose, it's like between a mistress or a wife. Both great on the right occasions and very special in their own ways.
Pocty
I had a V8V a few years ago (2006-7) and I've been fortunate enough to own a few 911's, among them two 997's, the first was an S and the last one a GTS, both manual, as was my Aston. I loved the look and occasion of the Aston and suffered no reliability problems in 10,000 miles, but to drive it was not a patch on either of the 997's, handling, brakes, ride, performance were so much better, but I liked the Aston all the same. I can remember being pushed by a guy in a 997 and deciding to decline, knowing that I wouldn't have a prayer.
If you want a proper drive go for the Porsche, if you want to stare at it longingly on the drive and grab attention, go for the Aston.
If you want a proper drive go for the Porsche, if you want to stare at it longingly on the drive and grab attention, go for the Aston.
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