On the hunt for my first AM - V8V Roadster
Discussion
Recently sold my car and now on the hunt for a Vantage Roadster Sports shift.
Appreciate it’s the wrong time of year to be looking but there seems to be a few cars within my £25-£35k budget.
There are a couple of nice cars being sold privately, but thinking I’d be better off buying from a dealer for at least a modicum of come back.
Had a look at a car yesterday that was fairly local to me, but just a few too many issues for me and the boss doesn’t really like the colour combo (happy wife, happy life).
Been reading the the threads on here of others who have purchased their first AM’s and given me the inspiration to get on with it 😊
Any hints and tips always welcome and hopefully be an owner soon
Appreciate it’s the wrong time of year to be looking but there seems to be a few cars within my £25-£35k budget.
There are a couple of nice cars being sold privately, but thinking I’d be better off buying from a dealer for at least a modicum of come back.
Had a look at a car yesterday that was fairly local to me, but just a few too many issues for me and the boss doesn’t really like the colour combo (happy wife, happy life).
Been reading the the threads on here of others who have purchased their first AM’s and given me the inspiration to get on with it 😊
Any hints and tips always welcome and hopefully be an owner soon
The best guide is the book referenced here in the sticky in this forum https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
search around maybe you can find a copy for sale used
there is also the Pistonheads buyers guide, been updated a couple of times:
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-buying-guides/...
As always, the best advice is to find an enthusiast owned, well maintained car, that likely has all the common issues addressed over its lifetime.
If you find a good one you could have a few years of hassle free motoring just with a yearly service and maybe some tyres etc...on the other hand, you can find "horror stories" of people spending £5-10k in the first 18 months just on worn out consumables like clutches, tyres, discs, pads, bearings, worn suspension, spark plugs, etc
Generally the VH platform cars are very reliable, with running costs similar to a big engined German car rather than an Italian sportscar. There is also good network of specialists to look after them and save the £250 per hour labour at main dealers.
Good luck with the search , post some pics when you find the one
search around maybe you can find a copy for sale used
there is also the Pistonheads buyers guide, been updated a couple of times:
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-buying-guides/...
As always, the best advice is to find an enthusiast owned, well maintained car, that likely has all the common issues addressed over its lifetime.
If you find a good one you could have a few years of hassle free motoring just with a yearly service and maybe some tyres etc...on the other hand, you can find "horror stories" of people spending £5-10k in the first 18 months just on worn out consumables like clutches, tyres, discs, pads, bearings, worn suspension, spark plugs, etc
Generally the VH platform cars are very reliable, with running costs similar to a big engined German car rather than an Italian sportscar. There is also good network of specialists to look after them and save the £250 per hour labour at main dealers.
Good luck with the search , post some pics when you find the one
I think I would only buy from a dealer after being badly burned getting my SL500.
And by 'dealer', I mean would only go to an Aston-only dealer like McGurks or Chiltern. Random car dealers really have no idea what they're selling, can't/won't do the correct prep work and their warranty is probably not worth a damn if something serious happens.
When I bought my DB7 many moons ago it was from a 'prestige dealer' in Harrogate who assured me via email and phone that the coil packs were done. Drove up in my part-ex, nothing in the service history about them. But the salesman 'knew it had been done' so wrote it in there. On the drive home, emissions warning light and 3 coils failed during that drive. Lucky not to fry the cats.
Warranty paid for three but I paid for the other 9. They never accepted they'd lied about the history and the salesman disappeared from there within a week or two.
So my DB9 came from AM Reading and my Vantage came from McGurks!
And by 'dealer', I mean would only go to an Aston-only dealer like McGurks or Chiltern. Random car dealers really have no idea what they're selling, can't/won't do the correct prep work and their warranty is probably not worth a damn if something serious happens.
When I bought my DB7 many moons ago it was from a 'prestige dealer' in Harrogate who assured me via email and phone that the coil packs were done. Drove up in my part-ex, nothing in the service history about them. But the salesman 'knew it had been done' so wrote it in there. On the drive home, emissions warning light and 3 coils failed during that drive. Lucky not to fry the cats.
Warranty paid for three but I paid for the other 9. They never accepted they'd lied about the history and the salesman disappeared from there within a week or two.
So my DB9 came from AM Reading and my Vantage came from McGurks!
Just to add to the above, if you have a local specialist to you who you are likely to use for looking after the car, befriending them and asking for any customers who may be thinking of selling is a smart move in my book. They will likely know of any cars, know those cars well and be honest with the whole process as they have their reputation to maintain long after purchase.
That said i went to a main dealer as i wanted "piece of mind", and while i undoubtedly paid over the top for it i have had to claim on the warranty but there was no quibble at all.....justifying my decision.
That said i went to a main dealer as i wanted "piece of mind", and while i undoubtedly paid over the top for it i have had to claim on the warranty but there was no quibble at all.....justifying my decision.
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