Vantage Roadster - New owner
Discussion
I wanted to say hello and thank you to all that have posted information and reviews on this part of the forum, I have spent a long time lurking and finally took the plunge and bought myself a Vantage Roadster.
I've owned it for a couple of weeks, but it went straight in for a service and the full health check immediately after I bought it. she has now been serviced with new breaks all round as well and at the same time I fitted the fuse 22 remote control (£80 ebay) so that every time I get in it I get the full "surround sound exhaust" which if I'm completely honest is one of the main reasons I went for a vantage in the first place.
I've only had it back in the garage now for the last week and a half.
I collected it with my 11-year-old son and had a great 2 hour blast across country bring it home last weekend followed by the remainder of the weekend spent detailing the car.
Although the car was gleaming when I collected it, I wanted to go over it in detail myself, so spend hours on both the interior and exterior getting it just the way I wanted it. I have included some photos, however I'm definitely not the best photographer in the world.
I was a bit worried about swell marks and polishing the black paintwork, but with the right polish its come up absolutely beautifully, I'm really pleased with the way it looks just as much as the way it drives.
It's a 2008 manual in black with black leather and a nice helping of options.
I went to test drive one a couple of years back, I made the mistake of driving the paddle shift and just didn't get on with it at all, so much so I walked away and pushed it completely to the back of my mind. It only over the last couple of months that I really have wanted to scratch the itch, so tried a manual and oh boy, what a completely different machine it felt.
So far it's been fantastic, without being insulting, I would describe it as more of a laid-back V8, but my comparison is a Ferrari 360 which is most definitely a completely different animal. I think the combination of the Aston Martin and the Ferrari in the garage will complement each other really well.
I have owned quite a few interesting bits of machinery over the years, but I've got to say at the moment the Vantage certainly does feel very special.
I'm afraid it's going to be a bit of a garage queen, it certainly won't be used as a daily driver, having said that the weather has been fantastic this week, so it's been used for the school run a few times already............
I've owned it for a couple of weeks, but it went straight in for a service and the full health check immediately after I bought it. she has now been serviced with new breaks all round as well and at the same time I fitted the fuse 22 remote control (£80 ebay) so that every time I get in it I get the full "surround sound exhaust" which if I'm completely honest is one of the main reasons I went for a vantage in the first place.
I've only had it back in the garage now for the last week and a half.
I collected it with my 11-year-old son and had a great 2 hour blast across country bring it home last weekend followed by the remainder of the weekend spent detailing the car.
Although the car was gleaming when I collected it, I wanted to go over it in detail myself, so spend hours on both the interior and exterior getting it just the way I wanted it. I have included some photos, however I'm definitely not the best photographer in the world.
I was a bit worried about swell marks and polishing the black paintwork, but with the right polish its come up absolutely beautifully, I'm really pleased with the way it looks just as much as the way it drives.
It's a 2008 manual in black with black leather and a nice helping of options.
I went to test drive one a couple of years back, I made the mistake of driving the paddle shift and just didn't get on with it at all, so much so I walked away and pushed it completely to the back of my mind. It only over the last couple of months that I really have wanted to scratch the itch, so tried a manual and oh boy, what a completely different machine it felt.
So far it's been fantastic, without being insulting, I would describe it as more of a laid-back V8, but my comparison is a Ferrari 360 which is most definitely a completely different animal. I think the combination of the Aston Martin and the Ferrari in the garage will complement each other really well.
I have owned quite a few interesting bits of machinery over the years, but I've got to say at the moment the Vantage certainly does feel very special.
I'm afraid it's going to be a bit of a garage queen, it certainly won't be used as a daily driver, having said that the weather has been fantastic this week, so it's been used for the school run a few times already............
marknash99 said:
Very nice!
Do you have any links to this Fuse 22 Ebay thingy? Would you recommend it?
The link below is exactly what I purchased from this seller:Do you have any links to this Fuse 22 Ebay thingy? Would you recommend it?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aston-Martin-V8-V12-Vant...
The seller was fantastic, he posted it straightaway, it was well packaged and with a good set of instructions. I couldn't recommend this seller any more highly.
In terms of the remote, I didn't fit it myself, but my guys told me it literally took a couple of minutes, itself powered and sits inside the fuse box so no wiring knowledge needed whatsoever. You then get two standard looking remote key fobs and simply press unlock to open the exhaust valve and lock to close it again. I find myself pressing unlock every time I get in the car, but at least I have the option to have it closed on those early morning starts.
justin220 said:
Congratulations!
I've also just picked up a black manual roadster but have only managed to drive home so far.. I've came from a Vantage coupe and although i think the coupe looks better, the roadster feels brilliant with the roof off!
A client of mine has a coupe, I think it's an achingly pretty car. But I also think the roadster is one of the better looking convertibles on the market. What I love most is that the fantastic V8 exhaust note is most definitely in "surround sound", I've driven mine only wants now with the roof up and it feels quite a bit more muted.I've also just picked up a black manual roadster but have only managed to drive home so far.. I've came from a Vantage coupe and although i think the coupe looks better, the roadster feels brilliant with the roof off!
Manwhoneverwas said:
Enjoy your new V8 Roadster and thanks for the link to the Fuse 22 remote kit, I have just ordered one for my V8 Roadster.
It looks a great solution and I like the fact that everything is housed within the existing fuse box.
Definitely a worthwhile purchase, even more so on the Roadster.It looks a great solution and I like the fact that everything is housed within the existing fuse box.
They looked to be 2 different people selling these remote kits on eBay, I went for the one with the nicer looking remote although clearly they both do the same thing. I also really like the idea that everything sits in the fuse box, so if you want to completely remove it is all goes exactly back to standard.
Grant3 said:
Nice stable Jeremy, the Vantage Roadster is the pick of the Aston range IMO and the 08 cars received useful suspension and steering modifications ahead of the coupe, roof down on a sunny day with that V8 roaring it's hard to beat... enjoy 
Thanks Grant, I brought your book couple of years back and found it incredibly informative. I took it with me when I went to view the car and very much used it to check everything that needed looking at.JetskiJezz said:
marknash99 said:
Very nice!
Do you have any links to this Fuse 22 Ebay thingy? Would you recommend it?
The link below is exactly what I purchased from this seller:Do you have any links to this Fuse 22 Ebay thingy? Would you recommend it?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aston-Martin-V8-V12-Vant...
The seller was fantastic, he posted it straightaway, it was well packaged and with a good set of instructions. I couldn't recommend this seller any more highly.
In terms of the remote, I didn't fit it myself, but my guys told me it literally took a couple of minutes, itself powered and sits inside the fuse box so no wiring knowledge needed whatsoever. You then get two standard looking remote key fobs and simply press unlock to open the exhaust valve and lock to close it again. I find myself pressing unlock every time I get in the car, but at least I have the option to have it closed on those early morning starts.
Not quite sure what possessed me to go ahead and buy this now (I've had Fuse 22 out for 3 years since owning the car), seeing as I only put my car up for sale a few days ago in the Classifieds !
nw28840 said:
I've just bought the last remaining "Exhaust-Remote-2-fobs-Fuse-22-Switch" from this seller off eBay. Turns out he lives less than a mile away and is fitting it on Saturday morning for me.
Not quite sure what possessed me to go ahead and buy this now (I've had Fuse 22 out for 3 years since owning the car), seeing as I only put my car up for sale a few days ago in the Classifieds !
When I test drove my car, the fuse was out, I had expected it to sound too loud, but I thought it was just perfect.Not quite sure what possessed me to go ahead and buy this now (I've had Fuse 22 out for 3 years since owning the car), seeing as I only put my car up for sale a few days ago in the Classifieds !
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