My VXR8, the story so far.....
Discussion
Have been meaning to do a bit of a write up on the Big Vaux Barge.. Finally got around to it.
Bought the car in Sept 2009 from Aston Vauxhall as they were doing a great deal at the time, pre registered car with delivery miles (25miles on the clock). Phantom Black, Manual LS3 engine with DVD SatNav. Got the car for £23,700 which was a massive saving from the list price.
I fell in love with the VXR8 after seeing it in a showroom and watching the TopGear lads hooning around making lots of smoke and noise. I have always wanted a V8 but assumed it would come later in life and probably in the form of a 40 year old American Muscle car. After getting insurance quotes of around £1k (for a 27year old that was pretty good) i went for it. Called Aston's and placed the order.
The car turned up on the back of a transporter and i could barely wait, after signing the paperwork i immediatly took it out for a spin, shamefully i stalled the car 3 times when i first went to drive away, i was really THAT excited. First thing for that day was to put a full tank in and drive to a friends bodyshop to get all the badges, bar the VXR8, taken off as they were very big and ugly.
The interior, in my opinion, is great and has some of the nicest seats i have sat in, in any car. A lot of reviews say the interior is a let down but i dont see that. It has its 6CD in dash changer, SatNav with colour screen, dual A/C and electric seats. It is a little plasticy but not in a way that makes it look cheap.
Sinse owning the car for 2 1/2 years (and 35k miles) i have only recently done some modifications to it, a simple yet rather pricey exhaust upgrade. having owned small hatchbacks for years i was shocked at the price to modify this car!! So now the car has the sound to match its look.
The cars looks are always going to be a bit marmite, it certainly has road presence as the amount of looks, flashes, toots etc can become overwhelming. As there were only around 500 brought to the UK its still quite a rare car and it almost always gets people asking questions or commenting on it at the petrol station.. All of which has been very positive.
That brings me to the running costs of the car.. As your probably aware, a 2009 car in the highest tax bracket does cost £460 a year, which i think is a little OTT but its worth it for the driving pleasure (it is a real pleasure to drive), rear tyres are around the £500 mark but if you dont drive like a loon everywhere they will easily last for 20k
as i do around 200miles a week commuting to work and then weekend drives its costing around £80 a week in petrol. Not too bad, and it has returned a total MPG of 23.6 over the total ownership. More than the books 19mpg !
The actual driving of the car is as simple as can be but you have to keep reminding yourself that it is a MASSIVE car with quite a few blind spots, especially the A pillar on the drivers side. The rear spoiler doesnt help much either as you only have a crack to see through.
The gearbox is very "agricultural" and is pretty clunky but you dont need to be a bodybuilder to change gears. Steering isnt as responsive as you would like at times but again, its a big car so its not going to turn like a Lotus. The braking is amazing, simply amazing. Those big AP Racing brakes all round really stop the car well. I saw on 5th Gear that it out-brakes a Gallardo! Not bad
As soon as i have the monies saved up i will be going for the TVS Supercharger, doubt it will be the TVS2300 as it requires some extras where as the TVS1900 is a bolt on application. This will give the car a much needed bit more oomph. 430bhp isnt quite enough to shrug off high end Merc,Audi,BMWs so the 'charger is on the cards for me.
So there is little else for me to do except post w
e some photos.. The car hasnt changed sinse these were taken in Oct.
As always, if there are any questions then let me know.. Im simply writing this to add to the PH community.
Cheers,
Steve
Bought the car in Sept 2009 from Aston Vauxhall as they were doing a great deal at the time, pre registered car with delivery miles (25miles on the clock). Phantom Black, Manual LS3 engine with DVD SatNav. Got the car for £23,700 which was a massive saving from the list price.
I fell in love with the VXR8 after seeing it in a showroom and watching the TopGear lads hooning around making lots of smoke and noise. I have always wanted a V8 but assumed it would come later in life and probably in the form of a 40 year old American Muscle car. After getting insurance quotes of around £1k (for a 27year old that was pretty good) i went for it. Called Aston's and placed the order.
The car turned up on the back of a transporter and i could barely wait, after signing the paperwork i immediatly took it out for a spin, shamefully i stalled the car 3 times when i first went to drive away, i was really THAT excited. First thing for that day was to put a full tank in and drive to a friends bodyshop to get all the badges, bar the VXR8, taken off as they were very big and ugly.
The interior, in my opinion, is great and has some of the nicest seats i have sat in, in any car. A lot of reviews say the interior is a let down but i dont see that. It has its 6CD in dash changer, SatNav with colour screen, dual A/C and electric seats. It is a little plasticy but not in a way that makes it look cheap.
Sinse owning the car for 2 1/2 years (and 35k miles) i have only recently done some modifications to it, a simple yet rather pricey exhaust upgrade. having owned small hatchbacks for years i was shocked at the price to modify this car!! So now the car has the sound to match its look.
The cars looks are always going to be a bit marmite, it certainly has road presence as the amount of looks, flashes, toots etc can become overwhelming. As there were only around 500 brought to the UK its still quite a rare car and it almost always gets people asking questions or commenting on it at the petrol station.. All of which has been very positive.
That brings me to the running costs of the car.. As your probably aware, a 2009 car in the highest tax bracket does cost £460 a year, which i think is a little OTT but its worth it for the driving pleasure (it is a real pleasure to drive), rear tyres are around the £500 mark but if you dont drive like a loon everywhere they will easily last for 20k
as i do around 200miles a week commuting to work and then weekend drives its costing around £80 a week in petrol. Not too bad, and it has returned a total MPG of 23.6 over the total ownership. More than the books 19mpg !
The actual driving of the car is as simple as can be but you have to keep reminding yourself that it is a MASSIVE car with quite a few blind spots, especially the A pillar on the drivers side. The rear spoiler doesnt help much either as you only have a crack to see through.
The gearbox is very "agricultural" and is pretty clunky but you dont need to be a bodybuilder to change gears. Steering isnt as responsive as you would like at times but again, its a big car so its not going to turn like a Lotus. The braking is amazing, simply amazing. Those big AP Racing brakes all round really stop the car well. I saw on 5th Gear that it out-brakes a Gallardo! Not bad
As soon as i have the monies saved up i will be going for the TVS Supercharger, doubt it will be the TVS2300 as it requires some extras where as the TVS1900 is a bolt on application. This will give the car a much needed bit more oomph. 430bhp isnt quite enough to shrug off high end Merc,Audi,BMWs so the 'charger is on the cards for me.
So there is little else for me to do except post w
e some photos.. The car hasnt changed sinse these were taken in Oct.As always, if there are any questions then let me know.. Im simply writing this to add to the PH community.
Cheers,
Steve
yeah the new ones are around £50k although i have seen some advertised for £40k already, alright they have 14k miles on them but still.. Give them a year or so and they will be under £30k i bet
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3482026.htm
but yeah the price was one of the reasons i jumped at the chance to own one. They are, so far, still holding their value fairly well
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3482026.htm
but yeah the price was one of the reasons i jumped at the chance to own one. They are, so far, still holding their value fairly well
strangehighways said:
strangehighways said:
Am I reading this right?
You got the car effectively new, for £23700? Isn't the list price around £50000?
If you did pay £23700, surely this is the bargain of the century??!?
Oops, list is £35,100, still insanely cheap.You got the car effectively new, for £23700? Isn't the list price around £50000?
If you did pay £23700, surely this is the bargain of the century??!?
Re TVS, Go for 2300 and keep the boost low.
You will have more options in the future if you change your mine and
want more HP, plus 2300 will always sell for more 2nd.
IMHO
P.S. any more plans for mods ?
007 VXR said:
Some got them for 21K )pre reg)
Re TVS, Go for 2300 and keep the boost low.
You will have more options in the future if you change your mine and
want more HP, plus 2300 will always sell for more 2nd.
IMHO
P.S. any more plans for mods ?
Next 2 mods on the cards are the Orssom intake then CATs/Headers. All up around £2k's worth but will make it breath easier and should release a few more poniesRe TVS, Go for 2300 and keep the boost low.
You will have more options in the future if you change your mine and
want more HP, plus 2300 will always sell for more 2nd.
IMHO
P.S. any more plans for mods ?
but that wont be for a while yet as im in the process of looking for a flat in Putney with the Mrs
Aston Vauxhall always seem to do pretty amazing deals. If they cant shift the cars, much like the VXR8's as people seem to get put off with high running costs etc, then they offer them at unbeatable prices.
yeah i know it sounds like i work for them or am advertising but im not lol.. they just sorted me out with a fantastic deal.
got myself a lot of car for the £££
yeah i know it sounds like i work for them or am advertising but im not lol.. they just sorted me out with a fantastic deal.
got myself a lot of car for the £££
strangehighways said:
I challenge anyone to find a better deal on a performance car than this??
This is the price of a cooking Seat Leon for gods sake!
VX were having a lot of trouble sell the last 100 cars, so gave them away, same with the Monaro but not as cheap.This is the price of a cooking Seat Leon for gods sake!
Got my 06 Monaro new for 27K
ls3steve said:
Next 2 mods on the cards are the Orssom intake then CATs/Headers. All up around £2k's worth but will make it breath easier and should release a few more ponies
but that wont be for a while yet as im in the process of looking for a flat in Putney with the Mrs
but that wont be for a while yet as im in the process of looking for a flat in Putney with the Mrs
You will love the TVS 
ls3steve said:
Next 2 mods on the cards are the Orssom intake then CATs/Headers. All up around £2k's worth but will make it breath easier and should release a few more ponies
but that wont be for a while yet as im in the process of looking for a flat in Putney with the Mrs
Lol I have just gone through the same process (renting in Putney with the lady) which only means one thing. Your going to have to take me out for a bit of a blast once your set. but that wont be for a while yet as im in the process of looking for a flat in Putney with the Mrs
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff