Looking to join the family.
Discussion
After looking around at a "toy" car I have after many rotations of ideas settled on a V8 Vantage. Until moving recently my neighbour ( a member here) had a DB9 and listening to it start up in the garage and drive off has made the decision easier.
I have made contact with my local AM dealer and taken a trip over there (unfortunately they were closed) to have a look at the cars in the flesh, and discovered photos online do not do either the exterior or interior justice.
I would prefer only to buy one from a main dealer, and I may have to wait a bit im sure for the perfect one. I was wondering if there was any advice on things to look out for during test drives etc.
Thanks
Paul
I have made contact with my local AM dealer and taken a trip over there (unfortunately they were closed) to have a look at the cars in the flesh, and discovered photos online do not do either the exterior or interior justice.
I would prefer only to buy one from a main dealer, and I may have to wait a bit im sure for the perfect one. I was wondering if there was any advice on things to look out for during test drives etc.
Thanks
Paul
Any thoughts on where you're pitching in at and roadster v coupe? As a really rough guide
Early 4.3 cars are sub 50k
4.7 late 40k to 80k for a newish one
4.7S 75k to 95k
Roadsters a couple a grand more.
On the later cars, the flappy paddle manual are a couple of grand more but the older the car the less the difference if at all.
Then the V12 which are more again. Early cars only manual. Later V12S flappy paddle.
Then there are the specials like N400, N420, N430 - all V8s
And the balance between comfort and handling? The V8S and V12S have probably the most sporting suspension.
You can get pretty much anything from a dealer even the older cars
But yes.. you need to buy Grants book
ps.. all rough finger in the air before people dive in and quote a different figures.
Early 4.3 cars are sub 50k
4.7 late 40k to 80k for a newish one
4.7S 75k to 95k
Roadsters a couple a grand more.
On the later cars, the flappy paddle manual are a couple of grand more but the older the car the less the difference if at all.
Then the V12 which are more again. Early cars only manual. Later V12S flappy paddle.
Then there are the specials like N400, N420, N430 - all V8s
And the balance between comfort and handling? The V8S and V12S have probably the most sporting suspension.
You can get pretty much anything from a dealer even the older cars
But yes.. you need to buy Grants book
ps.. all rough finger in the air before people dive in and quote a different figures.
I'm looking for a standard V8, probably around the 2007 4.3 area. I have 40k cash to play with and i'm not averse to getting a loan but I would prefer not too. I'm looking for minimal deprecation so late 2006 / early 2007 seems the way forwards.
I'm not overly fussed on gearbox, I have flappy paddles on my 5 series (I understand that's a totally different beast box wise) but when I do use that iI find it a bit odd.
Did you mean the FAQ section in the AM forum i have it a quick scan but noticed nothing about a book ?
Paul
I'm not overly fussed on gearbox, I have flappy paddles on my 5 series (I understand that's a totally different beast box wise) but when I do use that iI find it a bit odd.
Did you mean the FAQ section in the AM forum i have it a quick scan but noticed nothing about a book ?
Paul
Just to add my 2 pence worth
Don't forget to factor in your insurance, tax, tracker etc into your budget, maybe you already have?
I set myself a budget, but then got carried away, like you do, then forgot about the other things, as above
Oh, I almost forgot, get Grants book and read it, cover to cover, then start looking for what you want. I guarantee you, what you want now, will be different from what you want when you have read the book. But you will be well armed to go and find what you actually want.
Don't forget to factor in your insurance, tax, tracker etc into your budget, maybe you already have?
I set myself a budget, but then got carried away, like you do, then forgot about the other things, as above
Oh, I almost forgot, get Grants book and read it, cover to cover, then start looking for what you want. I guarantee you, what you want now, will be different from what you want when you have read the book. But you will be well armed to go and find what you actually want.
Edited by bomberh on Monday 15th September 17:21
Wh1teKnight said:
Already covered that, but thanks for the heads up .... and worked out an on-going "fund" for servicing and future tax / insurance ... my biggest issue is this being my first ever second car ill be starting from scratch on the NCB side of things ... :-(
Try a few companies on the phone - Admiral gave me 5 years NCB on a second policy. i wasn't even insured with them although I did have 10 years NCB on my main car with a different company.Hi I got quotes for insurance from compare the market but once I got the final quote they all went up, one company wanted to put a black box in the car to monitor my driving (not sure how that works on a race track). Joint the AMOC and got a good price from Locktons they alos include recovery and insurance based on value so no worry re gap insurance,they also sorted out some NCD for second car.
Edited by dig123 on Monday 15th September 18:39
The budget that you mention is not too far away from the 4.7 cars.
Many detailed improvements, notably considerably more torque.
They might depreciate a little more gently, because fewer were built each year.
Some now advertised under £50k, although amongst them are a few high milers.
Enjoy the learning and looking. It is all part of the Aston experience.
michael gould said:
whilst I understand your desire to buy from a main dealer that will probably cost you a premium of 4-6k (and you will drop that much as you exit the dealer) ....you should also consider private cars with a warranty
That's a very good point. I certainly bought mine from a private sale, charming guy, fastidious in looking after the car and it had an extended AM warranty. Food for thought. Oh, and DON'T drive the V12V..........4.7 could be in reach though, and it's worth it over the 4.3.
Don't sweat the no claims, I had the same drama but some offer free no claims, Locktons were certainly very good, I'm now with Admiral multi car, and it's as cheap as chips (some might say that's for good reason, but I'm willing to take the risk to see how it panned out if I had an incident).
Buy Grants book, hopefully you've found it by now, it's an absolute must as there are so many combinations of spec to consider. I'd also consider a roadster for the odd nice summers day, but that's an extra few grand to justify. Exciting times though, good luck with it and use this forum to ask any questions, regardless of how stupid they might seem.
Hmmm a private sale might be something to consider then .... Im sure if needs be i could smuggle an extra 10k out of savings for the right car (shhhh don't tell the missus). Ive always bought second hand from main dealer as i once bought a Accord type R from a non dealer garage and it was a complete Lemon .... really put me off ... (although i did sell it on 7 months later for a £500 profit).
I Didn't realise there was going to be that much premium on buying from a dealer ... hmm .... food for thought indeed.
I Didn't realise there was going to be that much premium on buying from a dealer ... hmm .... food for thought indeed.
Wh1teKnight said:
Hmmm a private sale might be something to consider then .... Im sure if needs be i could smuggle an extra 10k out of savings for the right car (shhhh don't tell the missus). Ive always bought second hand from main dealer as i once bought a Accord type R from a non dealer garage and it was a complete Lemon .... really put me off ... (although i did sell it on 7 months later for a £500 profit).
I Didn't realise there was going to be that much premium on buying from a dealer ... hmm .... food for thought indeed.
I would say a 10% premium for a main dealer is about right, maybe slightly less.I Didn't realise there was going to be that much premium on buying from a dealer ... hmm .... food for thought indeed.
I was happy to buy privately but found it hard to find the right car in the right condition. I ended up buying from a main dealer, actually the first time I have ever done that. I enjoyed the experience and was happy with the price / service.
I wouldn't be afraid of purchasing privately - I purchased mine this way, from a very diligent owner and I've run without warranty for 3 years and 20k miles only replacing a hub speed sensor above and beyond normal servicing / consumables - so I'm at least £4,500 "in pocket" as a result.
In my experience they are robust and well engineered cars if used regularly. Like any car, leave it sitting in a garage 30 days a month and it will suffer.
£40k will get you a great dealer example, or a very nice private car with £5-8k in your pocket as an emergency fund - a very nice cushion!
Happy shopping.
ps. based up near Camberley, if you wanted to take a look around a "live" example
In my experience they are robust and well engineered cars if used regularly. Like any car, leave it sitting in a garage 30 days a month and it will suffer.
£40k will get you a great dealer example, or a very nice private car with £5-8k in your pocket as an emergency fund - a very nice cushion!
Happy shopping.
ps. based up near Camberley, if you wanted to take a look around a "live" example
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