Aston Martin V8 4.7 Vantage Sportgearshift clutch replacemen
Discussion
Dear All,
I have just been informed by my local Aston garage that my V8 requires a new clutch after 43,000 miles! To my shock and horror this is a common place problem, normally after 30,000 miles.
I have contacted Aston Martin at Gaydon to gain some financial support towards the £3,000 bill. However they say that its not their problem even though its a common one!
I would be grateful if anyone could tell me if they have had any joy in gaining a contribution towards the repair from Aston Martin, plus is £3,000 a fair price from the dealer to undertake the repairs?
Cheers,
Phil
I have just been informed by my local Aston garage that my V8 requires a new clutch after 43,000 miles! To my shock and horror this is a common place problem, normally after 30,000 miles.
I have contacted Aston Martin at Gaydon to gain some financial support towards the £3,000 bill. However they say that its not their problem even though its a common one!
I would be grateful if anyone could tell me if they have had any joy in gaining a contribution towards the repair from Aston Martin, plus is £3,000 a fair price from the dealer to undertake the repairs?
Cheers,
Phil
phil 5 aston said:
Dear All,
I have just been informed by my local Aston garage that my V8 requires a new clutch after 43,000 miles! To my shock and horror this is a common place problem, normally after 30,000 miles.
I have contacted Aston Martin at Gaydon to gain some financial support towards the £3,000 bill. However they say that its not their problem even though its a common one!
I would be grateful if anyone could tell me if they have had any joy in gaining a contribution towards the repair from Aston Martin, plus is £3,000 a fair price from the dealer to undertake the repairs?
Cheers,
Phil
It's not AM's problem in the same way that a worn brake pad or worn tyre is not their problem.I have just been informed by my local Aston garage that my V8 requires a new clutch after 43,000 miles! To my shock and horror this is a common place problem, normally after 30,000 miles.
I have contacted Aston Martin at Gaydon to gain some financial support towards the £3,000 bill. However they say that its not their problem even though its a common one!
I would be grateful if anyone could tell me if they have had any joy in gaining a contribution towards the repair from Aston Martin, plus is £3,000 a fair price from the dealer to undertake the repairs?
Cheers,
Phil
A clutch is a consumable.
phil 5 aston said:
Cheers for the feedback, however most cars would see 80,000 miles before needing a new clutch, the fact this one is failing at 42,000 would suggest its not fit for purpose, thus AM problem. I'm struggling to find any AM literature to suggest new clutches are required every 30k!!!!!
I'm afraid it is the case and there is lots of info on here and in buyers guides forewarning that clutches can go within that sort of mileage - when mine needs doing, at least I'm prepared for it, as much as it'll hurt!As suggested above, a good indi is the way to go.
phil 5 aston said:
Cheers for the feedback, however most cars would see 80,000 miles before needing a new clutch, the fact this one is failing at 42,000 would suggest its not fit for purpose, thus AM problem. I'm struggling to find any AM literature to suggest new clutches are required every 30k!!!!!
A 1.3l hatchback might expect to get 80k miles out of a clutch. But a 4.7l 400bhp sports car????You've done remarkably well to get 42k miles out of your clutch. Lots of owners get a lot less.
And the chance of AM contributing? Zero, I'm afraid.
Bravo73 said:
A 1.3l hatchback might expect to get 80k miles out of a clutch. But a 4.7l 400bhp sports car????
You've done remarkably well to get 42k miles out of your clutch. Lots of owners get a lot less.
And the chance of AM contributing? Zero, I'm afraid.
Not heard of a Sportshift getting that many miles out of a clutch before so OP you've done well to get 43k.You've done remarkably well to get 42k miles out of your clutch. Lots of owners get a lot less.
And the chance of AM contributing? Zero, I'm afraid.
As has been said it's not a little 1.3l car
Would be similar or worse on a Lamborghini or Fezza
£3K is about right from a main dealer
Being blunt, I think the American expression is "suck it up". These are specialist cars and your clutch has lasted pretty well. It's not a 1 litre Micra.
It's not abnormal for automated manual cars to go go through clutches faster than manual cars. Ferrari, Maserati etc all suffer the same.
Ad others have said it's just a consumable.
It's not abnormal for automated manual cars to go go through clutches faster than manual cars. Ferrari, Maserati etc all suffer the same.
Ad others have said it's just a consumable.
Phil, I'll be brutally honest when I say I'm extremely surprised that you didn't know this was the case. Did you do any research before buying, as this forum is festooned with threads about clutch life?
I also think it very unlikely that a premier motor company are likely to fill the owners manual or brochure with 'don't buy this FFS, the clutch will be shot after xxx miles"
Personally, I'm waiting for mine to go then I'll get the twin plate and lightened flywheel - quite looking forward to it actually.
I also think it very unlikely that a premier motor company are likely to fill the owners manual or brochure with 'don't buy this FFS, the clutch will be shot after xxx miles"
Personally, I'm waiting for mine to go then I'll get the twin plate and lightened flywheel - quite looking forward to it actually.
phil 5 aston said:
Its a Sportsshift gearbox, the chap at gaydon said it was known for such gearboxes to go after 5 or 7,000 miles! I dont recall seeing that mentioned in the showroom or owners handbook.
Its a manual gearbox, with electro-hydraulic Magnetti Marelli F1 software. I once replaced a clutch on a brand new Vauxhall Astra with 800 miles on the clock, elderly driver!! By the same token, a guy in Europe got over 130,000 kilometres out of his V8 Sportshift clutch..The gearbox is designed to take 900 bhp, so whoever said that at Gaydon, is mis-informed...
tonyhall38 said:
Get a like for like quote from a good independant.....3k is top end of the scale if you ask me..depending on where you are based....Bridge hill motors have a good rep...as do Bamford rose and David Appleby engineering....
Also this thread might be helpful
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
phil 5 aston said:
Cheers for the feedback, however most cars would see 80,000 miles before needing a new clutch, the fact this one is failing at 42,000 would suggest its not fit for purpose, thus AM problem. I'm struggling to find any AM literature to suggest new clutches are required every 30k!!!!!
You need to spend some time on the Lambo/Maser/Fezza forums Clutch wear is a variable AM cannot control, the high reverse gear doesn't help
Hello Phil
Sorry to hear about the bad experience.
This is my first such type of car but I understood it is the norm for clutch life to be much shorter than for an everyday car.
A quick search of the internet shows BMW M5s needing replacements at 40-60k miles. Porsche 911 Carreras at 30-50k miles - less, even. I don't think 42,000 is bad. My Peugeot 206 needed one at only 70,000.
I think this is just how it is. Hope it doesn't sour your experience. I too was surprised, when I first looked into exotic cars, by the many ways such as this in which they are more compromised and more expensive to run than a normal car. I realised that they are all like this - there are no exotics cars around with the same running costs and longevity as a hatchback. Well, maybe a Corvette - I'd have to find out.
The cost of the replacement is quite high too compared to a normal car. I'm not sure how difficult a job it is, but part of the reason may be the transaxle design. For weight distribution and feel, the gearbox is at the rear of the car. Does this make the clutch more effort to change, I wonder? I'm sure I'll find out one day.
Sorry to hear about the bad experience.
This is my first such type of car but I understood it is the norm for clutch life to be much shorter than for an everyday car.
A quick search of the internet shows BMW M5s needing replacements at 40-60k miles. Porsche 911 Carreras at 30-50k miles - less, even. I don't think 42,000 is bad. My Peugeot 206 needed one at only 70,000.
I think this is just how it is. Hope it doesn't sour your experience. I too was surprised, when I first looked into exotic cars, by the many ways such as this in which they are more compromised and more expensive to run than a normal car. I realised that they are all like this - there are no exotics cars around with the same running costs and longevity as a hatchback. Well, maybe a Corvette - I'd have to find out.
The cost of the replacement is quite high too compared to a normal car. I'm not sure how difficult a job it is, but part of the reason may be the transaxle design. For weight distribution and feel, the gearbox is at the rear of the car. Does this make the clutch more effort to change, I wonder? I'm sure I'll find out one day.
Pentoman said:
Does this make the clutch more effort to change, I wonder?
Yes. The clutch itself is quite straight forward to change. But to get to it involves a lot of work: the transaxle has to be dropped, the torque tube removed (or moved) and one of the manifolds removed. 10 hours work by someone who knows what they are doing.As for the rest of your points, well, welcome to the world of performance cars!
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