Should I consider a used Vantage over my TVR?

[THREEFISHORANGE]

Should I consider a used Vantage over my TVR? I Purchased the book by Grant so studied all the things to look for. I have one main concern, the rear arches.Are they prone to rust or even full corrosion? If so can they be repaired properly or will they just rot away? Are the arches replaceable? I can do all the other work on the car,but this one area is a worry. Has anyone here had rear quarters replaced or know of it?

Thanks
Chris

[gibbon]

Yes.



What are your concerns regarding the rear arches based upon?

I have never heard of anything like this. Concerns of blown headlights and bubbling door handles yes, rotting archers or rotting anything for that matter, no.

[Jon39]

You have referred to almost the only body part, which is made of mild steel.
I have never read about rust problems with the rear wheel arches. There have been instances of paint 'bubbles', often near the door handles, but I don't expect that you will see the rear wheel arches, 'just rot away'.

[South tdf]

I know of an early Vantage that has spent many years of its life parked on an exposed seafront and the only visible rust I could see were non body related mesh grills, wiper arms etc.

[THREEFISHORANGE]

Thanks for the quick replies. Someone posted on here a while back showing rust marks and light bubbling on the underside of his 07 or 08 vantage? It may have been due to previous accident damage.? But Aston wouldnt touch it warranty wise. Ill see if i can find the original thread. Cheers again

[bogie]

The whole car is aluminium or composite plastic, with only 2 steel panels. I owned my last Vantage for 83k miles and 9.5 years. The only visible parts that rust on it was the wire mesh in the grilles. I re-painted them once. To be fair they are only a couple of hundred quid for new parts and easy to replace if you wish.

The paint bubbling is not corrosion as such, if it was it would have been a lot easier for more people to claim on the 10 yr anti-corrosion warranty. The issue is poor paint prep and occurs even on the composite and aluminium panels. Not actually seen reports of it on the steel panels. My old car had it around the door handles and the dealer where I traded in sorted it out ready for the next owner.

The build quality overall is more Ford like than TVR, so nothing to worry about there

[Gazza450]

Having gone from a chimeara 450 to V8 Vantage I would say go for it but if you can keep both, go for it even more. The Vantage is great and has been totally reliable for the 18 months I have had it but I still miss my TVR. Don't think I would go back and although the TVR felt faster and more involving, the Vantage is more usable and hence gets more use. My Vantage is an 07 with 32k miles on it and no sign of rust anywhere. My TVR was a 98 and had to have a body off chassis refurb. Rust is not an issue with the Aston😀. Both are "feel good" cars so you can't lose with either!