Returning to the fold

[JulianPH]

Hi all

After foolishly letting one of you chaps relieve my of my DB9 a few years ago I have taken a step back into AM with something a bit more sporty, a baby step, if you will.

So next week sees the arrival of a 2015 V8 Vantage S with the 7 speed S/S 2 box, FAMSH, 3,600 miles on the clock and still under AM extended warranty.

Completely unmarket Pentland Green with plenty of carbon, Sahara Tan main leather hide/alcantara, silver DT wheels and yellow brake calipers (I don't know why, but I really love yellow break calipers - I'm convinced they make them go faster!!!).

So... I'm pretty chuffed!!! Here are some pics, as required by law...
















I also cannot possible recommend Dan at Broadoak International enought. We are mates, but I had never bought a car from him until now. Just beyond superb!

Happy days!

[Graze01]

Julian

beautiful combo, congrats

Graeme

[JulianPH]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

You know very well it is on the right side for over here mate!

Thanks for the offer, but it should be with me Wednesday/Thursday - and I know you have bad memories of that crazy multi-everything junction in Spain!

See you out here again soon!

[Jon39]

A lovely looking car Julian and beautiful colours.


You were not tempted by a new look Vantage then ?

Edited by Jon39 on Sunday 8th May 10:06

[JulianPH]

Graze01 said:

Julian

beautiful combo, congrats

Graeme

Thank Greame

It was the colour combo that sealed the deal. I was initially after some more pork, in cab form, but as the heat starts to kick in here I realised that coming back to scorching hot leather left under the sun was not brilliant (not to mention the fade on it) so decided to stick with a roof and the air con on.

So this widended my search and I have always liked this incarnation of the Vantage, so when all 4.7L of it popped up at sub £60k it was a no brainer!

[kevin_cambs_uk]

The colour of the seats and the embroidery is beautiful
Lovely all round.

[JulianPH]

Jon39 said:

A lovely looking car Julian and beautiful colours.


You were not tempted by a new look Vantage then ?

Cheers Jon!

Haha!!! Out of all of the current range, the new look Vantage is my favourite actually, but still doesn't hold a candle to the previous generation IMHO!

[JulianPH]

kevin_cambs_uk said:

The colour of the seats and the embroidery is beautiful
Lovely all round.

Thanks Kevin, I loved them too. Obviously not a patch on Nick's old Tandoori Express though!!!

Just want to get inside and see what she can do now!

[Simpo Two]

JulianPH said:

Haha!!! Out of all of the current range, the new look Vantage is my favourite actually, but still doesn't hold a candle to the previous generation IMHO!

I tend to agree. Mind you I wasn't enthralled by the DB11 until I saw a Volante in dark blue...



Pentland green would be even better.

Just need my savings to go up more, do you know anyone?

[Jon39]

JulianPH said:

Cheers Jon!

Haha!!! Out of all of the current range, the new look Vantage is my favourite actually, but still doesn't hold a candle to the previous generation IMHO!

You have explained why you wanted LHD, but I am intrigued that you managed to find, a left hand drive Vantage in the UK.
You might have been watching out for one, for a long time.
Presumably a German, Swiss etc. car would also have suited you.

If you want to, please tell us the background story.

[CSK1]

Lovely looking Vantage! Congratulations!

[woodsypedia]

That's beautiful! Congrats fella.

[bogie]

Congrats, looks great and barely run in

[Import]

That’s an awesome way back in..congrats..it’s a beauty..

[hashluck]

What a lovely spec. Pefect way back in

[JulianPH]

Simpo Two said:

I tend to agree. Mind you I wasn't enthralled by the DB11 until I saw a Volante in dark blue...



Pentland green would be even better.

Just need my savings to go up more, do you know anyone?

Hello mate! Yes, that does look nice and I do like that colour. In fairness to the DB11 I have not seen the Volante in the flesh, but the coupe just did nothing for me...

I'll have a think about someone who manages investment for a living and see who I can come up with!

[AstonV]

Simpo Two said:

JulianPH said:

Haha!!! Out of all of the current range, the new look Vantage is my favourite actually, but still doesn't hold a candle to the previous generation IMHO!

I tend to agree. Mind you I wasn't enthralled by the DB11 until I saw a Volante in dark blue...



Pentland green would be even better.

Just need my savings to go up more, do you know anyone?

The DB11 Volante is beautiful. It is a massive car in size in comparison to the VH Vantage.

[EVR]

Congrats, superb car. I must have a green over tan combo as well at some point.

[JulianPH]

Jon39 said:

You have explained why you wanted LHD, but I am intrigued that you managed to find, a left hand drive Vantage in the UK.
You might have been watching out for one, for a long time.
Presumably a German, Swiss etc. car would also have suited you.

If you want to, please tell us the background story.

It was actually my mate Dan at Broadoak who found it. He had just been over hto mine whilst on a family break in the Algarve and having already found me an immaculate Porsche Cayenne Turbo (2012 with just 12k on the clock) as a stop gap to fill my LHD car need, he knew I wanted something a bit more sporty.

Before I go further it is worth me pointing out just how stupidly fast, utterly luxurious and brilliant at everything the Cayenne Turbo is. After a lifetime of always having a Range Rover alongside anything else I have, I will never get another one again.

I still had my classic 911 CS Targa and had it been LHD none of this would have ever happend, but I started searching for a LHD one and this widend to a 992. Still no joy though.

The did me a favour though, as I realised a cab was going to be a nightmare as a DD with the heat here in summer (it was 32 yesterday - just early May!) and so I changed to looking for coupes instead and included other marques I liked.

Skip to the end and he found me this 4.7L beauty and I just jumped at it!

Why source from the UK? The tax in Portugal is ludicrous. It is charged on every car imported (new or second hand) and then drops down the resale price ladder at the same sort of rate as the car becomes worthless.

There is no concept of buying a shed here, every car is expensive. Here are some examples of older decent ones...








I could go on, but you get the point and this dealer (Marco) cannot get hold of them quickly enough!

There is, however, an exemption from this tax for those from other countries granted Portuguese residency. You are allowed to import your primary car with no tax to pay. There are certain rules, but these are very simple.

Also, as this rule is per person then it applies equally to my wife and daughter, so I have now used up two of my three exemptions!

So this is why I am sourcing from the UK. It also means that once registered here, my pristine condition ultra-low milage Aston and Porsche will be worth a huge amount more than I paid for them in the UK.

I think my daughter might be getting a Lotus Emira for her Birthday!!!

[JulianPH]

AstonV said:

The DB11 Volante is beautiful. It is a massive car in size in comparison to the VH Vantage.

It does indeed look very beautiful! Bigger is not a problem (though they have a habit of putting roundabouts everywhere here!).