pondering a vantage
Discussion
thinking of changing my car again in the autumn and after a 430, a lotus and an F type I am wondering if a Vantage would be a good choice. But I have heard horror stories about reliability and running costs, annual services never being much less than 4k in one owners case because of all the extra work that had to be done.
So how reliable are they and what are the typical annual maintenance costs, Comments from long term owners appreciated - anyone can own for just 12 months and get lucky.
So how reliable are they and what are the typical annual maintenance costs, Comments from long term owners appreciated - anyone can own for just 12 months and get lucky.
I’ve not had mine long but I would say a good inspection by a specialist is a great place to start.
My guy did one and we got a list of : to do now, to be done within 12 months, to do within a couple of years.
It was really handy to budget and know where you are.
Obviously things can fail and aston parts are ridiculous ( given many are off other cars anyway) ie air blower motor same as one off mazda rx8 and considerably cheaper
Phib
My guy did one and we got a list of : to do now, to be done within 12 months, to do within a couple of years.
It was really handy to budget and know where you are.
Obviously things can fail and aston parts are ridiculous ( given many are off other cars anyway) ie air blower motor same as one off mazda rx8 and considerably cheaper
Phib
Ive done over 110k miles in 2 Vantages now, a 2006 Coupe and 2012 Roadster.
First I would buy the modern AM bible - its the best £20 you will spend doing research - www.astonmartinreview.co.uk
Like any car it depends on where in the ownership cycle you buy it. New buyers dont have stuff wear out, but usually get to sort out all the niggles/service recalls in the early days.
Someone else may buy a used "bargain" car privately , lots of stuff wears out in 18 months, they have a few faults, they fix it, but lose confidence in it and sell it proclaiming its "unreliable" then the next guy buys this really well sorted car, runs it for 3 years and its the best car is ever had
You *could* get lucky and get a car that only costs you a yearly service - £650 fixed price at dealer. Unlikely you get more than one year occasionally like this because consumables wear out.
So maybe you put on tyres every other year or two at £400-500 per axle
Pads can now be found for £250 an axle fitted at indy (instead of £450 per axle at dealer)
You may average £1200 on a yearly service and some consumables needing replacing (pair of tyres, or pads etc).
On a "bad" year the clutch may go and add another £3k to your bill, perhaps you need 4 tyres and some discs that year and then you are at a £6k year. Thats the most Ive experienced.
If you go to a dealer every time a light comes on the dash, you will soon run up a large bill. All the common things that go wrong are well documented on here, and often cheaper indy, or DIY fixes are available for well known issues. An OBD II reader is most useful for basic diagnostics - for £30 it can save you £80 per trip to dealers just to tell you an O2 sensor had a blip.
Non consumable repairs over 83k miles in my first Vantage:
thermostat - £200 fitted
wheel bearings (£500 a corner)
coolant sensors - £20
ABS transducer - £70
O2 sensors - £60 each
aux belts - £150
clutch at 73k miles - £3k
aircon compressor - £550
Overall as a long term ownership perspective they are pretty good, and I have no issue running one as a daily use car for 6-10k miles a year
First I would buy the modern AM bible - its the best £20 you will spend doing research - www.astonmartinreview.co.uk
Like any car it depends on where in the ownership cycle you buy it. New buyers dont have stuff wear out, but usually get to sort out all the niggles/service recalls in the early days.
Someone else may buy a used "bargain" car privately , lots of stuff wears out in 18 months, they have a few faults, they fix it, but lose confidence in it and sell it proclaiming its "unreliable" then the next guy buys this really well sorted car, runs it for 3 years and its the best car is ever had
You *could* get lucky and get a car that only costs you a yearly service - £650 fixed price at dealer. Unlikely you get more than one year occasionally like this because consumables wear out.
So maybe you put on tyres every other year or two at £400-500 per axle
Pads can now be found for £250 an axle fitted at indy (instead of £450 per axle at dealer)
You may average £1200 on a yearly service and some consumables needing replacing (pair of tyres, or pads etc).
On a "bad" year the clutch may go and add another £3k to your bill, perhaps you need 4 tyres and some discs that year and then you are at a £6k year. Thats the most Ive experienced.
If you go to a dealer every time a light comes on the dash, you will soon run up a large bill. All the common things that go wrong are well documented on here, and often cheaper indy, or DIY fixes are available for well known issues. An OBD II reader is most useful for basic diagnostics - for £30 it can save you £80 per trip to dealers just to tell you an O2 sensor had a blip.
Non consumable repairs over 83k miles in my first Vantage:
thermostat - £200 fitted
wheel bearings (£500 a corner)
coolant sensors - £20
ABS transducer - £70
O2 sensors - £60 each
aux belts - £150
clutch at 73k miles - £3k
aircon compressor - £550
Overall as a long term ownership perspective they are pretty good, and I have no issue running one as a daily use car for 6-10k miles a year
Edited by bogie on Monday 27th August 20:24
Reliability obviously varies between Vantages which probably involves luck, but my thoughts from reading this forum, is that most owners seem to have fairly reliable cars.
My V8V is now 9 years old and in my ownership for 7 years. I have the full maintenance information from new.
Annual mileage has been low, so all that I can help you with is the age aspect.
The only non-routine maintenance from new;
Year 1 - Glove box door would not stay closed.
Year 8 - Clutch failure. Replaced with twin plate version.
The clutch failure was at a much lower mileage than expected, but obviously we have to take that unknowable risk with any used model.
A wonderful car to own, and I don't think you should be deterred by a few horror stories.
I'm 18 months into ownership of a 2006 V8V, so far it has cost me one annual service at an Indy, and a brake pressure transducer, £70 and 10 minutes easy DIY.
Oh and I had it 4 wheel alignment checked just after purchase, only because I'm a perfectionist, I think that cost around £65.
Oh and I had it 4 wheel alignment checked just after purchase, only because I'm a perfectionist, I think that cost around £65.
Had my Vantage for over 6 years and never had a bill of more than £1,200.
After an unhappy experience with the main AM dealer I use Aston Engineering in Derby. Last bill for an annual service was less than £700.
Had usual Vantage issues of thermostat etc but nothing more than £300 to fix.
Frankly I think they are pretty bombproof if you stay on top of things.
After 15 years of TVRs I find most horror stories emanate from conversations in pubs from people who’ve never actually owned one !!
They are wonderful cars and I still smile every time I start mine up.
You need to find a good Independent Specislist and build a relationship with them.
I cannot speak too highly of Aston Engineering. Great people to deal with and really know their stuff. Workshop is wonderful to wander around and look at cars being restored and race prepared.
Put three to four thousand aside for clutch/discs etc and enjoy a truly great car.
Remember it’s never going to be dirt cheap to run as they always were an expensive purchase but get it checked over by a specialist before you take the plunge and find a good specialist .
Good luck !!
After an unhappy experience with the main AM dealer I use Aston Engineering in Derby. Last bill for an annual service was less than £700.
Had usual Vantage issues of thermostat etc but nothing more than £300 to fix.
Frankly I think they are pretty bombproof if you stay on top of things.
After 15 years of TVRs I find most horror stories emanate from conversations in pubs from people who’ve never actually owned one !!
They are wonderful cars and I still smile every time I start mine up.
You need to find a good Independent Specislist and build a relationship with them.
I cannot speak too highly of Aston Engineering. Great people to deal with and really know their stuff. Workshop is wonderful to wander around and look at cars being restored and race prepared.
Put three to four thousand aside for clutch/discs etc and enjoy a truly great car.
Remember it’s never going to be dirt cheap to run as they always were an expensive purchase but get it checked over by a specialist before you take the plunge and find a good specialist .
Good luck !!
5 years owning 2 Vantages here and no regrets whatsoever.
First one was a 5 year old 2009 4.7 with 15K miles that needed a clutch when I test drove it (please steer clear of the muppets on the A40). There were several other niggles that needed sorting but having 1 year of AM warranty meant that those only cost me a little time/inconvenience but not money. Ran without warranty for second year of ownership with no bills other than service (and petrol
).
Next came my perfect spec 2014MY manual V8VS which I bought when it was 18 months old so still had 18 months of manufacturer's warranty to go. Again, needed a few niggles ironing out including IMHO unnecessary replacement of the engine for rattly valve gear because AM main dealers essentially don't work on the engine's internals, they just replace the whole thing. But again, that was all done under warranty and even though it did cost me considerable time without the car it didn't cost me money. As soon as the warranty expired the car went to BR for clutch/flywheel, exhaust, mapping, geometry and gear shift modifications to make it totally awesome. Now run without warranty for 18 months and looked after exclusively by BR with no scary bills and endless smiles.
So my advice would be:
1. Buying a car with 1 year of AM warranty is a good thing because there are likely to be niggles that you then get sorted FOC.
2. Once the car is sorted, get a good Indie to inspect it just before the warranty expires, get anything done that is needed then run it without warranty using an expert Indie for service/repairs. This also gives you the opportunity to have mods installed if that is your thing.
3. If buying privately or outside main dealer network get an expert Indie to inspect it properly before even considering the car.
The other thing that is worth saying is that there are no killer services in the schedule. Clutch is the one big bill that is hard to predict (particularly for manual cars).
Enjoy your search
First one was a 5 year old 2009 4.7 with 15K miles that needed a clutch when I test drove it (please steer clear of the muppets on the A40). There were several other niggles that needed sorting but having 1 year of AM warranty meant that those only cost me a little time/inconvenience but not money. Ran without warranty for second year of ownership with no bills other than service (and petrol
).Next came my perfect spec 2014MY manual V8VS which I bought when it was 18 months old so still had 18 months of manufacturer's warranty to go. Again, needed a few niggles ironing out including IMHO unnecessary replacement of the engine for rattly valve gear because AM main dealers essentially don't work on the engine's internals, they just replace the whole thing. But again, that was all done under warranty and even though it did cost me considerable time without the car it didn't cost me money. As soon as the warranty expired the car went to BR for clutch/flywheel, exhaust, mapping, geometry and gear shift modifications to make it totally awesome. Now run without warranty for 18 months and looked after exclusively by BR with no scary bills and endless smiles.
So my advice would be:
1. Buying a car with 1 year of AM warranty is a good thing because there are likely to be niggles that you then get sorted FOC.
2. Once the car is sorted, get a good Indie to inspect it just before the warranty expires, get anything done that is needed then run it without warranty using an expert Indie for service/repairs. This also gives you the opportunity to have mods installed if that is your thing.
3. If buying privately or outside main dealer network get an expert Indie to inspect it properly before even considering the car.
The other thing that is worth saying is that there are no killer services in the schedule. Clutch is the one big bill that is hard to predict (particularly for manual cars).
Enjoy your search
Just to add, I've had diesel daily drivers that have been more expensive to run than my Vantage, for example I had an E320 Mercedes that I was forever throwing money at.
As stated above, there are no 'big services' to look forward to like cambelt changes, if she's had a recent clutch, and has some meat on the discs, pads, and tyres, she should be fairly low maintenance for a good while.
As stated above, there are no 'big services' to look forward to like cambelt changes, if she's had a recent clutch, and has some meat on the discs, pads, and tyres, she should be fairly low maintenance for a good while.
Interesting positive comments. The area that worried me most was electronics, mainly I guess because I know how to strip and rebuild the greasy bits ( not that I would do it myself) but my eyes glaze over when it comes to things like canbus. Plus the reliability issues I was warned about with Astons were the electronics / electricals and not the engine. In fact nothing but clutch life on the flappy paddle models which is the same issue that I had on the 430 anyway.
I’ve had my V12 for seven years from new and done 34000 miles.. The most serious thing that has happened was one of the gearbox linkages coming unattached a couple of months ago. That cost about £1600 to fix. Otherwise, I once had a broken air on tube. Services have been between £850 and £1800.
bordseye said:
do any of you feel the need to pay for a warranty once the car is out of the manufacturers warranty
This question arises occasionally and of those who reply, the consensus is always keep the premium money youself.
Cars purchased from an Aston Martin main dealer, will come with at least 1 years warranty, so if few or no problems arise during that period, then there is more confidence to 'go it alone.
Me either.
Electronics wise, depending on the age of car, you could get the old door modules thing where the car doesn't lock.
My 2009 V12 over 3 years has had the door modules (age related), couple of wishbones/bushes, a bit of fixing on the exhaust valves, filler cap release cable and a couple of fairly healthy bills for brakes which won't be anything like as big on a V8. Not so bad for a near 10 year old car.
Electronics wise, depending on the age of car, you could get the old door modules thing where the car doesn't lock.
My 2009 V12 over 3 years has had the door modules (age related), couple of wishbones/bushes, a bit of fixing on the exhaust valves, filler cap release cable and a couple of fairly healthy bills for brakes which won't be anything like as big on a V8. Not so bad for a near 10 year old car.
bordseye said:
do any of you feel the need to pay for a warranty once the car is out of the manufacturers warranty
Nope ...and not having one saved thousands over the years...well on my first Vantage saved me 7 years @ £1400 = £10,000 of warranty cost versus repairs below.thermostat - £200 fitted
wheel bearings (£500 a corner) 3 replaced
coolant sensors - £20
ABS transducer - £70
O2 sensors - £60 each - all replaced
aux belts - £150
aircon compressor - £550
macdeb said:
The 'Timeless' warranty is very good, as I've had a new engine and new gearbox. Now, it seems I was very unfortunate to have the unheard of problems but lucky to have had them covered. I was tempted to extend the warranty but what else could go wrong? 
Ouch, how much was the warranty claim for that? Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff