2013 Aston Martin Vantage V12S
Discussion
Seeing as it went to the PH annual service yesterday, I figured it was about time a thread was started to cover my ownership.
Full history on background etc. coming soon but suffice to say it was a boyhood poster car that I never thought I'd have chance to own. Turns out dreams can come true.
Oh and before anyone suggests it, yes Clarkson and that clip had a hand, but so did Guy Martin... IYKYK
Anyway, the car in question
It's a fairly subtle spec:
- 2014 (Built in July 2013) Aston Martin Vantage V12S
- #21 built
- 7 Speed Sportshift III
- Quantum Silver exterior
- Obsidian black leather seats, with silver thread and chainmail grey inner seat stripe
- Obsidian black Alcantara headlining
- Carbon bonnet vents, front splitter, rear splitter
- 10 spoke graphite turned corsa wheels
- No lipstick
- No graphics
- Premium audio
- Grey brake callipers
- V12 wing badges (gone AWOL at some stage)
- Body coloured roof
- Body coloured tailgate panel
- Piano black facia trim
- Heated front sports seats
- No seat embroidery
- Front parking sensors
- Reversing camera
Early history
- Factory registered car and kept as part of 'evaluation fleet'
- Aston Martin had it for c17 months and put 26,000 miles on it, before it was sold via Stratstone AM Cardiff
- Although looked after by press garage it wasn't a road test car, most of these were in bright colours. Suspicion is that it was a directors or senior management car, possibly even CEO car so may have commuted to Germany on a regular basis hence the high mileage
- Also unusual in that it was registered in Birmingham, most factory cars were Northampton given proximity to Gaydon
Further research is needed as to it's early life so watch this space. Suffice to say I love it.
Anyway more pics...
Full history on background etc. coming soon but suffice to say it was a boyhood poster car that I never thought I'd have chance to own. Turns out dreams can come true.
Oh and before anyone suggests it, yes Clarkson and that clip had a hand, but so did Guy Martin... IYKYK
Anyway, the car in question
It's a fairly subtle spec:
- 2014 (Built in July 2013) Aston Martin Vantage V12S
- #21 built
- 7 Speed Sportshift III
- Quantum Silver exterior
- Obsidian black leather seats, with silver thread and chainmail grey inner seat stripe
- Obsidian black Alcantara headlining
- Carbon bonnet vents, front splitter, rear splitter
- 10 spoke graphite turned corsa wheels
- No lipstick
- No graphics
- Premium audio
- Grey brake callipers
- V12 wing badges (gone AWOL at some stage)
- Body coloured roof
- Body coloured tailgate panel
- Piano black facia trim
- Heated front sports seats
- No seat embroidery
- Front parking sensors
- Reversing camera
Early history
- Factory registered car and kept as part of 'evaluation fleet'
- Aston Martin had it for c17 months and put 26,000 miles on it, before it was sold via Stratstone AM Cardiff
- Although looked after by press garage it wasn't a road test car, most of these were in bright colours. Suspicion is that it was a directors or senior management car, possibly even CEO car so may have commuted to Germany on a regular basis hence the high mileage
- Also unusual in that it was registered in Birmingham, most factory cars were Northampton given proximity to Gaydon
Further research is needed as to it's early life so watch this space. Suffice to say I love it.
Anyway more pics...
Edited by SPT28 on Tuesday 11th August 16:27
Thanks both.
With regards to the surrounding of VWs, that was at a Cars & Coffee event at Type2 Detectives in Cambridgeshire. They kindly did the mechanicals/fit out on my brothers '65 split screen bus and have since opened up a coffee shop with regular meets. Worth a visit if you're ever passing.
With regards to plans for the Aston, read on...
So back to the beginning. I actually purchased it back in November last year. I was between jobs at the time but was due to start the next one couple of weeks later, given I had time on my hands I was doing the usual browsing of Car & Classic as you do it when afflicted and it happened to throw this one up. After double-checking myself a few times given it was in budget and looked to be a good spec with a few choice options, I called and arranged to see the car. Fortuitously I was travelling south that week to see the folks so a diversion the other way around the M25 was no real hardship
On arrival and my first sighting of the car was that it was thankfully undercover
I spent a good two hours going over things, which as to be expected wasn't completely perfect given it had covered just over 58,000 miles... oh yes, this thing has been used.
Bad points:
- Heavy condensation in both rear lamps
- Headlights looked like they'd been cleaned with a scotch pad
- A few minor stone chips on the front bumper
- Front splitter had a possible crack in the centre, but it was also fully covered over by a 'carbon effect' wrap, for protection or to hold it together, who knows.
- Tyres had reasonable tread but the rears were probably down to c4mm
- Mesh grill had a few rust spots/marks
- Lower 'start' section of the key insert had fallen out
- Only one key, thankfully it was the crystal one but it had had a life
- Engine bay was a little untidy/dusty
- Small crack on the waterfall dash behind the nav screen
- Door rubbers looked tired and cracked in a few places
- Front right alloy had a couple of minor curb marks
- Two of the brake bleed nipples were rusty and one on the rear offside had been sheared off completely
None of the above was hugely worrying in the grand scheme of things and of course gave me some haggling room.
The important bits from the research that I'd done to date were that the carbon ceramics looked to be in good condition, with plenty left on the pads too. Oil was clean and at the right level and there was minimal wear on the seats, the dash leather was also good and hadn't lifted anywhere. On starting and having been left to warm up there was no ticking or rattles and it ran smoothly.
So all in all nothing I saw was a deal breaker.
I had a good look through the paperwork too and that threw up some other interesting information, namely in the form of an Aston Works stamp as the first service entry (see first post). I didn't drive the car at the time due to time constraints and the horrendous weather but instead left a refundable deposit on the proviso I would drive the car first before completing the deal.
What followed was a week of research and test driving other Astons. It was also the weekend of the NEC Classic Car Show so I hunted down the various specialists and had a good chat with them which proved worthwhile. I also managed to find a couple of other cars relatively local that I could test drive, one was a v12 with a 6 speed manual, the other a V8 with sports shift II...
Confession time, I didn't like the manual, felt heavy and cumbersome and I just couldn't get on with it for some reason, that of course may have been the car given it was an early V12, and it might be that you'd get accustomed to it in time, however driven back-to-back the SS was interesting in a good way, perhaps novelty value, perhaps not. Given the 7 speed manual v12s were out of budget by some margin, those were my options if I wanted one. One thing was certain, the V12 engine sounded and felt incredible
Decision made, man maths justified and brave pills swallowed, a day and time was set to go and drive/possibly collect the car later that week with one eye on a weather window given it was now mid-November. One-way train tickets booked, funds arranged and it was then just a case of waiting. One good thing, although a cold and crisp start, true to the forecast the sun was shining and it was set to be a dry November day. Perfect.
With regards to the surrounding of VWs, that was at a Cars & Coffee event at Type2 Detectives in Cambridgeshire. They kindly did the mechanicals/fit out on my brothers '65 split screen bus and have since opened up a coffee shop with regular meets. Worth a visit if you're ever passing.
With regards to plans for the Aston, read on...
So back to the beginning. I actually purchased it back in November last year. I was between jobs at the time but was due to start the next one couple of weeks later, given I had time on my hands I was doing the usual browsing of Car & Classic as you do it when afflicted and it happened to throw this one up. After double-checking myself a few times given it was in budget and looked to be a good spec with a few choice options, I called and arranged to see the car. Fortuitously I was travelling south that week to see the folks so a diversion the other way around the M25 was no real hardship
On arrival and my first sighting of the car was that it was thankfully undercover
I spent a good two hours going over things, which as to be expected wasn't completely perfect given it had covered just over 58,000 miles... oh yes, this thing has been used.
Bad points:
- Heavy condensation in both rear lamps
- Headlights looked like they'd been cleaned with a scotch pad
- A few minor stone chips on the front bumper
- Front splitter had a possible crack in the centre, but it was also fully covered over by a 'carbon effect' wrap, for protection or to hold it together, who knows.
- Tyres had reasonable tread but the rears were probably down to c4mm
- Mesh grill had a few rust spots/marks
- Lower 'start' section of the key insert had fallen out
- Only one key, thankfully it was the crystal one but it had had a life
- Engine bay was a little untidy/dusty
- Small crack on the waterfall dash behind the nav screen
- Door rubbers looked tired and cracked in a few places
- Front right alloy had a couple of minor curb marks
- Two of the brake bleed nipples were rusty and one on the rear offside had been sheared off completely
None of the above was hugely worrying in the grand scheme of things and of course gave me some haggling room.
The important bits from the research that I'd done to date were that the carbon ceramics looked to be in good condition, with plenty left on the pads too. Oil was clean and at the right level and there was minimal wear on the seats, the dash leather was also good and hadn't lifted anywhere. On starting and having been left to warm up there was no ticking or rattles and it ran smoothly.
So all in all nothing I saw was a deal breaker.
I had a good look through the paperwork too and that threw up some other interesting information, namely in the form of an Aston Works stamp as the first service entry (see first post). I didn't drive the car at the time due to time constraints and the horrendous weather but instead left a refundable deposit on the proviso I would drive the car first before completing the deal.
What followed was a week of research and test driving other Astons. It was also the weekend of the NEC Classic Car Show so I hunted down the various specialists and had a good chat with them which proved worthwhile. I also managed to find a couple of other cars relatively local that I could test drive, one was a v12 with a 6 speed manual, the other a V8 with sports shift II...
Confession time, I didn't like the manual, felt heavy and cumbersome and I just couldn't get on with it for some reason, that of course may have been the car given it was an early V12, and it might be that you'd get accustomed to it in time, however driven back-to-back the SS was interesting in a good way, perhaps novelty value, perhaps not. Given the 7 speed manual v12s were out of budget by some margin, those were my options if I wanted one. One thing was certain, the V12 engine sounded and felt incredible
Decision made, man maths justified and brave pills swallowed, a day and time was set to go and drive/possibly collect the car later that week with one eye on a weather window given it was now mid-November. One-way train tickets booked, funds arranged and it was then just a case of waiting. One good thing, although a cold and crisp start, true to the forecast the sun was shining and it was set to be a dry November day. Perfect.
Edited by SPT28 on Wednesday 12th August 12:35
Back to the collection, the first item on the agenda a test drive, which as you can imagine was something I'd been dreaming of since seeing the car the week before.
In somewhat of a hint of things to come, this involved a trip through some gorgeously leafy Surrey lanes and A roads to get a feel for how the car behaved and felt, but with one ultimate destination in mind, yup where else but the local Shell petrol station.
Given there were no squeaks and rattles and it drove superbly, I think I'd even made friends with the SS3 by the end (so rewarding when you get it right). I think by this point I'd already made up my mind that the car was coming home with me that day, so it got brimmed. This is easier said than done it turns out as they like to airlock on the filler neck, something I've had plenty of practice to avoid happening since!
Back to the dealership for paperwork and transfer some funds and I was soon on my way home... I must confess it didn't feel real and there was most definitely imposter syndrome creeping in especially when I caught glimpses of the car in the various shop windows I passed. Just how.
I won't lie, my palms were a little sweaty too, not ideal with an alcantara wheel! I was also very tentative with my right foot, a few little squirts but nothing silly as I made my way on to the M25, M11 and towards home. To prove how sensible I was (or scared!), the average MPG was over 27 when I got back, considerably better than my D3 V8! Fear not, it's lowered considerably since.
Made it home without incident, and no rain, and after discovering that I couldn't fit it where originally intended thanks to the rather low front lip, it got tucked away elsewhere
A good look over the car once reminded me of a few items on the to do list, as well as double check anything I'd missed and wanted to sort, number one was the misting front headlamps (they all do that sir)
and the rear light units
but she was home...
(new flag required!)
In somewhat of a hint of things to come, this involved a trip through some gorgeously leafy Surrey lanes and A roads to get a feel for how the car behaved and felt, but with one ultimate destination in mind, yup where else but the local Shell petrol station.
Given there were no squeaks and rattles and it drove superbly, I think I'd even made friends with the SS3 by the end (so rewarding when you get it right). I think by this point I'd already made up my mind that the car was coming home with me that day, so it got brimmed. This is easier said than done it turns out as they like to airlock on the filler neck, something I've had plenty of practice to avoid happening since!
Back to the dealership for paperwork and transfer some funds and I was soon on my way home... I must confess it didn't feel real and there was most definitely imposter syndrome creeping in especially when I caught glimpses of the car in the various shop windows I passed. Just how.
I won't lie, my palms were a little sweaty too, not ideal with an alcantara wheel! I was also very tentative with my right foot, a few little squirts but nothing silly as I made my way on to the M25, M11 and towards home. To prove how sensible I was (or scared!), the average MPG was over 27 when I got back, considerably better than my D3 V8! Fear not, it's lowered considerably since.
Made it home without incident, and no rain, and after discovering that I couldn't fit it where originally intended thanks to the rather low front lip, it got tucked away elsewhere
A good look over the car once reminded me of a few items on the to do list, as well as double check anything I'd missed and wanted to sort, number one was the misting front headlamps (they all do that sir)
and the rear light units
but she was home...
(new flag required!)
So given it was now late November and the weather wasn't always the best to familiarise myself with 565bhp of toy sitting in the garage. I did the only sensible thing and started taking it apart.
Rear lights were first
Think I've seen less condensation in a steam room
These had clearly not been removed for a while and it was pretty clear where the seals had failed
After a quick clean, the vent caps were removed and they were left on a radiator for a few days to dry. They soon looked better for it
While that was happening I gave the car a good clean, best way IMO of finding any other areas needing attention
Thankfully nothing major found, so it was treated to it's first accessory purchase, which I happened to spot in the sale section of a car cover website.
Works for me.
A plate change was next, which involved removing the old plates and spending a not insignificant amount of time cleaning off the residue from the numerous bits of double sided tape used by whoever fitted the last set. All while marvelling at the sheer number of holes that had been added to the rear carbon section
Repeat the same exercise for front and rear
Plates fitted and with the weather perfect for a weekend morning, I took it out for a bit more of a familiarisation trip, namely a local cars & coffee.
Christmas soon came around and the family were grateful they now had another avenue for presents
I cannot confirm or deny if true...
However I was not idle, and instead accumulating 'accessories'. A bit of research and a chance spot on Etsy resulted in a nice leather holder for the crystal key, I even had this matched to the stitching in the car and a logo added too for considerably less than the usual purveyors of such items.
An expensive itch was starting to grow however, and one that would need to be sorted...
Rear lights were first
Think I've seen less condensation in a steam room
These had clearly not been removed for a while and it was pretty clear where the seals had failed
After a quick clean, the vent caps were removed and they were left on a radiator for a few days to dry. They soon looked better for it
While that was happening I gave the car a good clean, best way IMO of finding any other areas needing attention
Thankfully nothing major found, so it was treated to it's first accessory purchase, which I happened to spot in the sale section of a car cover website.
Works for me.
A plate change was next, which involved removing the old plates and spending a not insignificant amount of time cleaning off the residue from the numerous bits of double sided tape used by whoever fitted the last set. All while marvelling at the sheer number of holes that had been added to the rear carbon section
Repeat the same exercise for front and rear
Plates fitted and with the weather perfect for a weekend morning, I took it out for a bit more of a familiarisation trip, namely a local cars & coffee.
Christmas soon came around and the family were grateful they now had another avenue for presents
I cannot confirm or deny if true...
However I was not idle, and instead accumulating 'accessories'. A bit of research and a chance spot on Etsy resulted in a nice leather holder for the crystal key, I even had this matched to the stitching in the car and a logo added too for considerably less than the usual purveyors of such items.
An expensive itch was starting to grow however, and one that would need to be sorted...
Onwards with bringing this up to date...
By this time winter was well established and the car wasn't heading out anytime soon, it was therefore time to scratch that expensive itch... or should that be itches
It's well documented that the original Volvo derived navigation system is of its time... ok it's awful. Luckily for me my car is an early facelifted version which meant it was fitted with the HID screen from factory, which realistically just means you can see the terrible navigation in more detail (see earlier interior shots). It did mean however that upgrading was a little easier than if trying to update the screen as well. You can 'see' where this is going...
There are various retro-fit car play and android options on the market along with a plethora of fitters willing to part your hard-earned from you to do the honours of installation, but where's the fun in that
Having researched and wanting something that was as OEM fitting as possible, i.e. without any additional controls that needed to be fitted or hidden anywhere, I went for the IDCORE option. This effectively piggybacks on the existing set up but gives the option for an additional front camera (handy for that front lip!). It's not the cheapest, nor the most expensive but what I liked was that it allows you to access the menu via the existing buttons on the dash, just a case of holding down the 'Back' button once the ignition is turned on. Works brilliantly.
Fitting was remarkably straightforward too. Simply access the panel in the rear that contains the existing nav ECU etc., insert the box into the circuit with the addition of a supplied harness and run a couple of cables if desired. The only bit I've yet to do to date is to add the front camera as that is a bit more involved to get the cabling through the front bulkhead and I wanted to do a little more research on the best routing.
Those of you familiar with the various upgrades available for these cars will also be familiar with the box of delights in the above photo from Aston Installations. In this case it contained their headlight venting kit which could not be simpler to fit thanks to the excellent fitting manual and clearly labelled bags/steps of all the various parts. Often cited as the best upgrade you can do on these for the money, the only thing I did differently to the instructions was to leave the front wheels on as you can get access just by turning them instead.
The cabling and trigger sensor was carefully routed and hidden in the engine bay
I then tackled the access plate and light covers in the front wheel arches. You can see why the moisture easily gets into the lamps, especially given the 'protective' covers on my car are an open mesh with failing rubber seals
With the mesh removed, you can access the headlight rear cover
Which comes out easily enough via two slotted bolts
This is then replaced by the upgraded cover which contains a small fan, think laptop size, which vents the unit and is powered by the previously run wiring
Old covers were cleaned up for storage and the mesh arch panels adapted with supplied louvred covers
then fitted
These are covered in a sort of breathable foam on the rear so no water can get through, even if you went really fast in reverse through a puddle...
The final step is to seal around the arch covers with the provided sealant, however advice is to leave this off until you confirm the fans are working as intended.
Another couple of jobs off the list and some money saved too. Just as well given what I had planned next...
By this time winter was well established and the car wasn't heading out anytime soon, it was therefore time to scratch that expensive itch... or should that be itches
It's well documented that the original Volvo derived navigation system is of its time... ok it's awful. Luckily for me my car is an early facelifted version which meant it was fitted with the HID screen from factory, which realistically just means you can see the terrible navigation in more detail (see earlier interior shots). It did mean however that upgrading was a little easier than if trying to update the screen as well. You can 'see' where this is going...
There are various retro-fit car play and android options on the market along with a plethora of fitters willing to part your hard-earned from you to do the honours of installation, but where's the fun in that
Having researched and wanting something that was as OEM fitting as possible, i.e. without any additional controls that needed to be fitted or hidden anywhere, I went for the IDCORE option. This effectively piggybacks on the existing set up but gives the option for an additional front camera (handy for that front lip!). It's not the cheapest, nor the most expensive but what I liked was that it allows you to access the menu via the existing buttons on the dash, just a case of holding down the 'Back' button once the ignition is turned on. Works brilliantly.
Fitting was remarkably straightforward too. Simply access the panel in the rear that contains the existing nav ECU etc., insert the box into the circuit with the addition of a supplied harness and run a couple of cables if desired. The only bit I've yet to do to date is to add the front camera as that is a bit more involved to get the cabling through the front bulkhead and I wanted to do a little more research on the best routing.
Those of you familiar with the various upgrades available for these cars will also be familiar with the box of delights in the above photo from Aston Installations. In this case it contained their headlight venting kit which could not be simpler to fit thanks to the excellent fitting manual and clearly labelled bags/steps of all the various parts. Often cited as the best upgrade you can do on these for the money, the only thing I did differently to the instructions was to leave the front wheels on as you can get access just by turning them instead.
The cabling and trigger sensor was carefully routed and hidden in the engine bay
I then tackled the access plate and light covers in the front wheel arches. You can see why the moisture easily gets into the lamps, especially given the 'protective' covers on my car are an open mesh with failing rubber seals
With the mesh removed, you can access the headlight rear cover
Which comes out easily enough via two slotted bolts
This is then replaced by the upgraded cover which contains a small fan, think laptop size, which vents the unit and is powered by the previously run wiring
Old covers were cleaned up for storage and the mesh arch panels adapted with supplied louvred covers
then fitted
These are covered in a sort of breathable foam on the rear so no water can get through, even if you went really fast in reverse through a puddle...
The final step is to seal around the arch covers with the provided sealant, however advice is to leave this off until you confirm the fans are working as intended.
Another couple of jobs off the list and some money saved too. Just as well given what I had planned next...
Stunning car OP - they are a beautiful shape and hats off to you for choosing the V12!
In regards to the door seals, this is an issue on some 911s and Boxsters and have seen people fix them with a flocking kit - saves you having to purchase a whole new rubber if the original isn't leaking. Might save some pennies to put towards more super UL!
In regards to the door seals, this is an issue on some 911s and Boxsters and have seen people fix them with a flocking kit - saves you having to purchase a whole new rubber if the original isn't leaking. Might save some pennies to put towards more super UL!
RacingSloth69 said:
Stunning car OP - they are a beautiful shape and hats off to you for choosing the V12!
In regards to the door seals, this is an issue on some 911s and Boxsters and have seen people fix them with a flocking kit - saves you having to purchase a whole new rubber if the original isn't leaking. Might save some pennies to put towards more super UL!
Thank you, I think after test driving the two and going back to the original motivation I was never going to just settle for the V8, although finding an 'S' was a bonus.In regards to the door seals, this is an issue on some 911s and Boxsters and have seen people fix them with a flocking kit - saves you having to purchase a whole new rubber if the original isn't leaking. Might save some pennies to put towards more super UL!
Interesting on the rubber, thanks for the heads up, I'll look in to. The drivers side is split in a couple of places so ideally needs replacing but the passenger side might be saveable.
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