Vanquish II ownership - one year on
Discussion
Well for now, I've decided to leave the fold....
The Vanquish went about a month ago via SOR through HRO. With hindsight i wish id stuck with the DBS. Its not that the Vanquish isn't a much better car, i think it is. I think its better looking (slightly more modern), acceleration and handling is improved, engine noise has a better tone and inside, its look and technology are up with the times. That said, my year of ownership was one of pain and frustration, coupled with endless trips back to the dealer. The majority of these issues were related to the new infotainment system, radio, aircon, satnav, telephone, speakers.... endless. Not only that, it took update after update to resolve, very poor show AM. I forgave a lot of these issues as new tech but the rattles, paintwork, wind noise and tyre pressure issues, I could not. These were poor workmanship. Not only that, it took 9 months of troubles before AM even called me and given they were supposed to be monitoring all Vanquish issues, appalling. Even when they did, all they were interested in offering me was a PDC free of charge. Well given the Vanquish PDC I paid for was tainted as the Alpine circuit was closed, to be honest, that should have been a given....
All in all, my experience was not a good one. Its a shame as the Vantage and DBS ownerships hold wonderful memories. Although i don't know many on here, those i do know that have made recent purchases seem to have suffered too on their models. Its such a shame and I so hope a temporary glitch by Aston. Their quality control is obviously going wayward. I hope they bring it back. Moreover I think (as has been said before) they really start to move with the times as they are being left behind in many ways.
Moving forward, Im undecided. I was thinking about a V12V Coupe or the V12Vs but I wasn't a fan of the gearbox in the S. I think the V12V would be a great option and if i stay with Aston, that is the most likely purchase.
At the moment however my head is being turned by other brands. I walked into my local Jaguar dealer last week and without knowing me from Adam (or my car history) essentially lent me their F type R for 3 days. I have to say i was very impressed. Ok it might not have the initially presence of an Aston but perception aside, its comparable in all other ways. I love the shape, the acceleration is brutal, the handling is superb and despite coming from a 6l V12, the engine noise was still awesome. Its certainly on my 'possibly' list. Im struggling to consider ferrari, lamborghini, maclaren as they are a little flash but maybe a second hand one for a year could be fun. That said, although my AM pride has taken a bit of a hit, i may not be able to prise myself away just yet.....
Take care all and enjoy....
The Vanquish went about a month ago via SOR through HRO. With hindsight i wish id stuck with the DBS. Its not that the Vanquish isn't a much better car, i think it is. I think its better looking (slightly more modern), acceleration and handling is improved, engine noise has a better tone and inside, its look and technology are up with the times. That said, my year of ownership was one of pain and frustration, coupled with endless trips back to the dealer. The majority of these issues were related to the new infotainment system, radio, aircon, satnav, telephone, speakers.... endless. Not only that, it took update after update to resolve, very poor show AM. I forgave a lot of these issues as new tech but the rattles, paintwork, wind noise and tyre pressure issues, I could not. These were poor workmanship. Not only that, it took 9 months of troubles before AM even called me and given they were supposed to be monitoring all Vanquish issues, appalling. Even when they did, all they were interested in offering me was a PDC free of charge. Well given the Vanquish PDC I paid for was tainted as the Alpine circuit was closed, to be honest, that should have been a given....
All in all, my experience was not a good one. Its a shame as the Vantage and DBS ownerships hold wonderful memories. Although i don't know many on here, those i do know that have made recent purchases seem to have suffered too on their models. Its such a shame and I so hope a temporary glitch by Aston. Their quality control is obviously going wayward. I hope they bring it back. Moreover I think (as has been said before) they really start to move with the times as they are being left behind in many ways.
Moving forward, Im undecided. I was thinking about a V12V Coupe or the V12Vs but I wasn't a fan of the gearbox in the S. I think the V12V would be a great option and if i stay with Aston, that is the most likely purchase.
At the moment however my head is being turned by other brands. I walked into my local Jaguar dealer last week and without knowing me from Adam (or my car history) essentially lent me their F type R for 3 days. I have to say i was very impressed. Ok it might not have the initially presence of an Aston but perception aside, its comparable in all other ways. I love the shape, the acceleration is brutal, the handling is superb and despite coming from a 6l V12, the engine noise was still awesome. Its certainly on my 'possibly' list. Im struggling to consider ferrari, lamborghini, maclaren as they are a little flash but maybe a second hand one for a year could be fun. That said, although my AM pride has taken a bit of a hit, i may not be able to prise myself away just yet.....
Take care all and enjoy....
Always sad to hear such stories when the outcomes should be so much better.
Not being able to keep customers investing £200k+ in their cars is bad for the brand. I suspect those spanking new Astons with their AMG engines and gearboxes and other components will still have crap paintwork, ill-fitting panels and rattles all over the shop, so whilst they may be well engineered they will still let owners down.
Time for Aston to wake up and invest heavily is revised QC.
Not being able to keep customers investing £200k+ in their cars is bad for the brand. I suspect those spanking new Astons with their AMG engines and gearboxes and other components will still have crap paintwork, ill-fitting panels and rattles all over the shop, so whilst they may be well engineered they will still let owners down.
Time for Aston to wake up and invest heavily is revised QC.
I feel just like the OP Bannanarob, six months into my Vanquish II ownership I'm already looking at my exit strategy options and it definitely won't be another Aston. My experience with the marque to date has been that in the overall quality stakes, each new car has been worse than the previous one.
My V12V-S is back in to AM Derby in an attempt to resolve the vibrations that resonate through the cabin on specific road surfaces, after reading this I hope this isn't going to be a painful process!!
Also I clipped my front splitter at the weekend, having it replaced at the same time, but £3,000 I mean seriously!
Also I clipped my front splitter at the weekend, having it replaced at the same time, but £3,000 I mean seriously!
Sorry to read and see you go Rob,our Aston Paths have been so similar from the get go with the V8 sister cars we had a few years back,good old Red and Black.
We both moved up at the same time and had some fun at Millbrook,even meet the very shy Robgt there if you remember and did a selling job on him……..
which seems to have worked
by all accounts.
Shame you've experienced such a poor do and again so similar to the misfortune I've encountered with my latest Aston,strangely purchased around the time of your
Vanquish move.
I don't post my frustrations anymore on hear as its better to keep quite and let others enjoy the brand in hoping that they have a better experience.
Looks like we caught a cold together on this batch but keep us posted on your next steer and thanks for the heads up on the R as it may well get a visit if its that sound,I was thinking
of changing to a DB9.2 Volante but after another visit to WS with the Roadster S I've put it all on hold whilst I catch my breath and consider the competition.
Cheers.
We both moved up at the same time and had some fun at Millbrook,even meet the very shy Robgt there if you remember and did a selling job on him……..
which seems to have workedby all accounts.
Shame you've experienced such a poor do and again so similar to the misfortune I've encountered with my latest Aston,strangely purchased around the time of your
Vanquish move.
I don't post my frustrations anymore on hear as its better to keep quite and let others enjoy the brand in hoping that they have a better experience.
Looks like we caught a cold together on this batch but keep us posted on your next steer and thanks for the heads up on the R as it may well get a visit if its that sound,I was thinking
of changing to a DB9.2 Volante but after another visit to WS with the Roadster S I've put it all on hold whilst I catch my breath and consider the competition.
Cheers.
bananarob said:
Well for now, I've decided to leave the fold....
The Vanquish went about a month ago via SOR through HRO. With hindsight i wish id stuck with the DBS.
The Vanquish went about a month ago via SOR through HRO. With hindsight i wish id stuck with the DBS.
So sorry to read the `tale of woe` about your Vanquish.
What amazes me, is that a Vanquish requires spending four times as much as I did, to be an Aston Martin owner, and my 4.7 has been completely trouble free (so far).
Confucious (or avinalarf), probably has a saying for that.
Ian365 said:
Understandable sentiments and good luck with your next choice. I hope that whatever it is doesn't come with the shadow cast by under investment in QC.
Real shame
The quality control and apathy regarding it is going to lose them sales at a time when they can least afford it
I know they monitor this forum and hope they get the message (are you listening Ian?
)Jon39 said:
So sorry to read the `tale of woe` about your Vanquish.
What amazes me, is that a Vanquish requires spending four times as much as I did, to be an Aston Martin owner, and my 4.7 has been completely trouble free (so far).
Confucious (or avinalarf), probably has a saying for that.
I had less ( but still too many) issues with my 09 4.7 roadster compared to my new S roadster
Last year I was committed to buying the a V12VS roadster on it release
I'd far rather put them money into a 16M or California T
Very sad to hear about this.
I was going to move up to a DBSV,but then thought maybe a Vanquish,one thing kept nagging at me was that fortunately my car has been problem free ( touch wood )and I was concerned that I might be buying trouble .
That is not what you want in the back of your mind when buying a new Aston.
To make matters worse Aston do not appear to have a cohesive policy when dealing with customer complaints,once again not what you want to hear.
One must bear in mind that many owners,like myself have not had serious problems and it is always the bad news that hits the headlines.
Nevertheless a shake up does appear to be in order to restore confidence in the brand.
I was going to move up to a DBSV,but then thought maybe a Vanquish,one thing kept nagging at me was that fortunately my car has been problem free ( touch wood )and I was concerned that I might be buying trouble .
That is not what you want in the back of your mind when buying a new Aston.
To make matters worse Aston do not appear to have a cohesive policy when dealing with customer complaints,once again not what you want to hear.
One must bear in mind that many owners,like myself have not had serious problems and it is always the bad news that hits the headlines.
Nevertheless a shake up does appear to be in order to restore confidence in the brand.
The vanq2 is on my to-buy list, when it gets to a level that i can comfortably afford. OP's comments are disappointing as emotionally i want to own one sooo much. perhaps used ones will drop to my levels of affordability sooner rather than later if this keeps up, but then do i want to buy a used car that's going to give me grief? hmmm...
SlartiF430 said:
The vanq2 is on my to-buy list, when it gets to a level that i can comfortably afford. OP's comments are disappointing as emotionally i want to own one sooo much. perhaps used ones will drop to my levels of affordability sooner rather than later if this keeps up, but then do i want to buy a used car that's going to give me grief? hmmm...
Perhaps work on the fact that like TVRs used to be by buying a used one the original owner will have sorted out all if not most of the niggles.Was excusable when talking about TVRs that were £50K new but not so palatable on cAstons costing £150K upwards.
Fail to understand how paint and fit/ finish problems can not be ironed out by AM.
the experience you should have had with your Vanquish should have been nothing less than spectacular ....... Aston Martin should come grovelling to your front door and beg forgiveness.
to AM .......get your act together Gaydon, you don't sell enough cars to allow faithful customers to post such comments on high profile forums such as this.
This post makes me so sad and we hear it all too often
to AM .......get your act together Gaydon, you don't sell enough cars to allow faithful customers to post such comments on high profile forums such as this.
This post makes me so sad and we hear it all too often
Hate to hear stories like this. I had a rough time with the V12V for the first 6 months until they changed the entire engine harness. Have had no issues for the last 2 years.
I do like the marque and want to stay with it, but I do wonder at times.
I remember the Vanquish they sent to California for the journos to test. It had a massive gap on the leather seam line of the headliner. Hard to believe.
I do like the marque and want to stay with it, but I do wonder at times.
I remember the Vanquish they sent to California for the journos to test. It had a massive gap on the leather seam line of the headliner. Hard to believe.
michael gould said:
the experience you should have had with your Vanquish should have been nothing less than spectacular ....... Aston Martin should come grovelling to your front door and beg forgiveness.
to AM .......get your act together Gaydon, you don't sell enough cars to allow faithful customers to post such comments on high profile forums such as this.
This post makes me so sad and we hear it all too often
Absolutely agree Michael,my feelings are posted in my recent comments above.to AM .......get your act together Gaydon, you don't sell enough cars to allow faithful customers to post such comments on high profile forums such as this.
This post makes me so sad and we hear it all too often
In fairness I know you had problems with a Merc you recently purchased,I presume you had a more satisfying customer experience.
As we know Astons are not the only performance cars that suffer from problems but what upsets and concerns me is the cavalier way some customers are treated.i
It is not rocket science to have a central customer relation dept that is equipped to deal with complaints in a professional and sympathetic manner.
As for comments re defective paintwork etc.on brand new cars,well what's that all about,words fail me.
bananarob said:
Well for now, I've decided to leave the fold....
The Vanquish went about a month ago via SOR through HRO. With hindsight i wish id stuck with the DBS. Its not that the Vanquish isn't a much better car, i think it is. I think its better looking (slightly more modern), acceleration and handling is improved, engine noise has a better tone and inside, its look and technology are up with the times. That said, my year of ownership was one of pain and frustration, coupled with endless trips back to the dealer. The majority of these issues were related to the new infotainment system, radio, aircon, satnav, telephone, speakers.... endless. Not only that, it took update after update to resolve, very poor show AM. I forgave a lot of these issues as new tech but the rattles, paintwork, wind noise and tyre pressure issues, I could not. These were poor workmanship. Not only that, it took 9 months of troubles before AM even called me and given they were supposed to be monitoring all Vanquish issues, appalling. Even when they did, all they were interested in offering me was a PDC free of charge. Well given the Vanquish PDC I paid for was tainted as the Alpine circuit was closed, to be honest, that should have been a given....
All in all, my experience was not a good one. Its a shame as the Vantage and DBS ownerships hold wonderful memories. Although i don't know many on here, those i do know that have made recent purchases seem to have suffered too on their models. Its such a shame and I so hope a temporary glitch by Aston. Their quality control is obviously going wayward. I hope they bring it back. Moreover I think (as has been said before) they really start to move with the times as they are being left behind in many ways.
Moving forward, Im undecided. I was thinking about a V12V Coupe or the V12Vs but I wasn't a fan of the gearbox in the S. I think the V12V would be a great option and if i stay with Aston, that is the most likely purchase.
At the moment however my head is being turned by other brands. I walked into my local Jaguar dealer last week and without knowing me from Adam (or my car history) essentially lent me their F type R for 3 days. I have to say i was very impressed. Ok it might not have the initially presence of an Aston but perception aside, its comparable in all other ways. I love the shape, the acceleration is brutal, the handling is superb and despite coming from a 6l V12, the engine noise was still awesome. Its certainly on my 'possibly' list. Im struggling to consider ferrari, lamborghini, maclaren as they are a little flash but maybe a second hand one for a year could be fun. That said, although my AM pride has taken a bit of a hit, i may not be able to prise myself away just yet.....
Take care all and enjoy....
I purchased my V12V at approximately the same time as you.The Vanquish went about a month ago via SOR through HRO. With hindsight i wish id stuck with the DBS. Its not that the Vanquish isn't a much better car, i think it is. I think its better looking (slightly more modern), acceleration and handling is improved, engine noise has a better tone and inside, its look and technology are up with the times. That said, my year of ownership was one of pain and frustration, coupled with endless trips back to the dealer. The majority of these issues were related to the new infotainment system, radio, aircon, satnav, telephone, speakers.... endless. Not only that, it took update after update to resolve, very poor show AM. I forgave a lot of these issues as new tech but the rattles, paintwork, wind noise and tyre pressure issues, I could not. These were poor workmanship. Not only that, it took 9 months of troubles before AM even called me and given they were supposed to be monitoring all Vanquish issues, appalling. Even when they did, all they were interested in offering me was a PDC free of charge. Well given the Vanquish PDC I paid for was tainted as the Alpine circuit was closed, to be honest, that should have been a given....
All in all, my experience was not a good one. Its a shame as the Vantage and DBS ownerships hold wonderful memories. Although i don't know many on here, those i do know that have made recent purchases seem to have suffered too on their models. Its such a shame and I so hope a temporary glitch by Aston. Their quality control is obviously going wayward. I hope they bring it back. Moreover I think (as has been said before) they really start to move with the times as they are being left behind in many ways.
Moving forward, Im undecided. I was thinking about a V12V Coupe or the V12Vs but I wasn't a fan of the gearbox in the S. I think the V12V would be a great option and if i stay with Aston, that is the most likely purchase.
At the moment however my head is being turned by other brands. I walked into my local Jaguar dealer last week and without knowing me from Adam (or my car history) essentially lent me their F type R for 3 days. I have to say i was very impressed. Ok it might not have the initially presence of an Aston but perception aside, its comparable in all other ways. I love the shape, the acceleration is brutal, the handling is superb and despite coming from a 6l V12, the engine noise was still awesome. Its certainly on my 'possibly' list. Im struggling to consider ferrari, lamborghini, maclaren as they are a little flash but maybe a second hand one for a year could be fun. That said, although my AM pride has taken a bit of a hit, i may not be able to prise myself away just yet.....
Take care all and enjoy....
Similarly, I have suffered with many issues with the car. Many are exactly the same as your car, ie quality of workmanship and build quality.
It's the first car I have ever had that required a replacement gearbox at any mileage, never mind one which was pretty much brand new.
My discussions with both the dealer and the factory quickly identified that they are very well aware of the quality issues and tell me that they are committed to addressing them.
As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, they would do very well to take these ongoing issues seriously and avoid losing those serial buyers of new Aston Martin cars that keep them afloat.
I sincerely hope that they do.
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