Is the brand being devalued..?

[Square Leg]

Chatting to an AM salesman the other day, it appears one can have a brand new with no lead time V8VS for £20k deposit and around £1400 pm for 2 or 3 years.
They also come with 5 years servicing thrown in.

Have they got so much stock built that they’re having to knock tens of £000’s off the price and offer these deals?
(I couldn’t afford that, but it must be attractive to someone..)

[Jon39]

It reminds me of Andy Palmer's plan, 'We must report good sales figures'.
Think it was towards the end of 2019, the first year that AML was publicly listed.

Uk dealers were receiving more new cars than they could sell.
To move them quickly, the solution was:-
Brand new dealer stock V8V, some fitted with many options;
Deposit £1,000.
23 x £1,000.
Initial road tax and 5 years servicing included.

In the following year accounts, AML wrote off £35 million.

[Square Leg]

So it looks like the time has come to do it all again.





(I could have afforded that £1k deal now…)

[nickv12]

I got tempted by that 2019 deal even though I’m typically allergic to finance. This deal is equally good.

But let’s not kid ourselves… it’s still a lot of money for a lot of people. I don’t think the world will stop spinning as a consequence.

[Square Leg]

Is it a good deal now?

Reading about the current depreciation (I didn’t realise this was such an issue with AM’s) even with the discount, after three years is up there’s likely to be no equity in the car, so £70k spent to enjoy a fantastic car for 3 years.

You then have to start again.

But you’re right, it’s not going to get the masses banging on the door.

[Minglar]

The new Vantage deals that appeared at the end of 2019, as mentioned by Jon and Nick, happened a few months before AML almost went under, and the subsequent rescue by LS/YT. Let’s hope this is not an omen of something similar happening again soon, because I fear if it does happen again, there may not be a saviour this time.
BRM.

[Simpo Two]

Square Leg said:

Chatting to an AM salesman the other day, it appears one can have a brand new with no lead time V8VS for £20k deposit and around £1400 pm for 2 or 3 years.
They also come with 5 years servicing thrown in.

Have they got so much stock built that they re having to knock tens of £000 s off the price and offer these deals?
(I couldn t afford that, but it must be attractive to someone..)

If you have to 'devalue' a brand to sell it, it suggests it was over-valued in the first place.

Is a new Aston worth £250K? They're not luxurious.

[Nmann88]

@Squareleg out of interest where are you seeing said deals? I'm in the market for a new Vantage but only ser £30k deposit and £1500-1600 per month deals. Thanks

Edited by Nmann88 on Monday 20th July 10:06

[DeejRC]

Simpo nails it there - they are HUGELY overpriced! Nobody wants £200k+ V8Vs. In the same way that nobody wanted a £180k V6 Maserati. The market neither wants nor needs these cars. Anybody want actively wants to spend that money on a new uber sports GT goes and buys a 911Turbo S. Yes, they will look at other stuff then go and buy the 911. Those who want more special than said 911 already know they are spending north of £200k because they want the camp bull or dancing donkey.

Ppl wanting a Vantage want/expect to spend about £120k’ish.

[Davil]

Then there are people like me that would not buy that boring accountant’s German statistic sheet even it were 50k.

I wish the Vantage S were UK200k down here. Bargain!

Then again, the way is Australia is these days I am strongly considering leaving. UK is even worse but Australia will “catch up” very soon. Probably won’t be a lot of these type of cars sold in either country soon.

[nickv12]

Pricing is all relative.

I recently bought a 2006 Vanquish S. Around £175k when new. Using the BoE Inflation Calculator, that’s around. £330k today. The latest Vanquish is around £400k list but also contains a load more tech (automotive advances and legally required).

And then I watched Harry’s Garage the other day where he reviewed Lamborghini's Temerario. Harry was not impressed… especially by the price when fully spec’d, coming in at an eye watering £400k.

Things are now expensive. Are they worth it? Depends who you are. For the current crop of Astons, they are all getting glowing reviews. The company has done the hard miles to get the engineering and design right. And they’re still losing money. If it doesn’t work at this point, I fear the entire European sports car business sector is doomed.

[Dewi 2]

My lifelong practice of buying lightly used, as new condition, second hand cars, still appears to show Aston Martins as reasonably priced. That is when supply and demand takes more control of price setting.

Of course the strategy only works, when there are enough customers buying new cars.

How much would the new full list price be of this car?



10 months old.
3,500 miles.
Main dealer retail asking price £164,900.

There are 2 year old main dealer Vantages from about £130,000.

[Minglar]

Dewi 2 said:

My lifelong practice of buying lightly used, as new condition, second hand cars, still appears to show Aston Martins as reasonably priced. That is when supply and demand takes more control of price setting.

Of course the strategy only works, when there are enough customers buying new cars.

How much would the new full list price be of this car?



10 months old.
3,500 miles.
Main dealer retail asking price £164,900.

There are 2 year old main dealer Vantages from about £130,000.

Would have to assume the full list price of that car started with a “2”, and as you say there are still plenty of low mileage relatively new cars available on AT at a significant discount to the new prices. AML never advertise the numbers of new stock cars available in the UK MD network (unlike Porsche) but from the first post in this thread I would assume there are a few sitting around if deals are available. Last time I visited my local MD, about two months ago, they had three unregistered cars sitting in the showroom and I didn’t ask how many they had stored elsewhere. They also had a new Vanquish Volante for sale…at £440,000. No idea if that one is still there, but as many of us have said on here, AMLs new pricing is somewhat optimistic and unfortunately the market usually decides. The world and the economy have changed dramatically over the last two or three years, so Nick your assessment may well be how it all turns out in the end. Certainly difficult times to be making expensive ICE cars for almost all manufacturers. We shall see. BRM.

[Simpo Two]

nickv12 said:

Pricing is all relative.

I recently bought a 2006 Vanquish S. Around £175k when new. Using the BoE Inflation Calculator, that s around. £330k today. The latest Vanquish is around £400k list but also contains a load more tech (automotive advances and legally required).

And then I watched Harry s Garage the other day where he reviewed Lamborghini's Temerario. Harry was not impressed especially by the price when fully spec d, coming in at an eye watering £400k.

Things are now expensive. Are they worth it? Depends who you are. For the current crop of Astons, they are all getting glowing reviews. The company has done the hard miles to get the engineering and design right. And they re still losing money. If it doesn t work at this point, I fear the entire European sports car business sector is doomed.

I fear the 'power of the badge' may be fading as AM move towards supercars and find themselves far from the 'gentleman's GT' that made them famous. If you want a flash car, 'I've got a Lambo' sounds better than 'I've got an Aston', especially to the young rich brigade.

[nickv12]

Simpo Two said:

I fear the 'power of the badge' may be fading as AM move towards supercars and find themselves far from the 'gentleman's GT' that made them famous. If you want a flash car, 'I've got a Lambo' sounds better than 'I've got an Aston', especially to the young rich brigade.

That, I agree with. Aston Martin, in my mind at least, have a relatively unique appeal. The only brand remotely similar is Maserati, but its reputation is very faded in the mists of time.

The trouble is, those who used to seek a GT, now probably buy an SUV.

The VH V12 Vantage was the perfect blend of sportiness and usability. I have to admit, I follow the Valhalla much less. The Valkyrie was a once-in-a-lifetime event for the brand, similar to the F1 for McLaren and should be celebrated if only for its wilfully stubborn levels of engineering.

But back on the ground, a modern Aston is a Vantage, DB12, Vanquish and DBS. The "S" versions perhaps even turn the wick up too much for production models?

[Jon39]

nickv12 said:

... The Valkyrie was a once-in-a-lifetime event for the brand, similar to the F1 for McLaren and should be celebrated, if only for its wilfully stubborn levels of engineering. ...

We know that Adrian Newey did the initial design of the Valkyrie hypercar.
Is it widely known that when Mr N joined AM F1 Racing, his employment contract allowed him to complete the design work of a Red Bull hyper car, named RB17?

That car, which is sold as track only, was driven recently at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed.





Goodwood Video

Edited by Jon39 on Monday 20th July 18:37

[quench]

DeejRC said:

Simpo nails it there - they are HUGELY overpriced! Nobody wants £200k+ V8Vs. In the same way that nobody wanted a £180k V6 Maserati. The market neither wants nor needs these cars. Anybody want actively wants to spend that money on a new uber sports GT goes and buys a 911Turbo S. Yes, they will look at other stuff then go and buy the 911. Those who want more special than said 911 already know they are spending north of £200k because they want the camp bull or dancing donkey.

Ppl wanting a Vantage want/expect to spend about £120k ish.

Have no fear. This will soon be rectified, when Aston drops the Vantage models, and raises prices on the remaining cars.

[dibblecorse]

DeejRC said:

Simpo nails it there - they are HUGELY overpriced! Nobody wants £200k+ V8Vs. In the same way that nobody wanted a £180k V6 Maserati. The market neither wants nor needs these cars. Anybody want actively wants to spend that money on a new uber sports GT goes and buys a 911Turbo S. Yes, they will look at other stuff then go and buy the 911. Those who want more special than said 911 already know they are spending north of £200k because they want the camp bull or dancing donkey.

Ppl wanting a Vantage want/expect to spend about £120k ish.

On what planet is a V8 Vantage expected to be a 120k car when you need north of 155k for a decently specced 911 GTS

V8 Vantage and 911 Turbo S owners are not the same breed.

An M3 Touring is a 100k car.

[DeejRC]

dibblecorse said:

DeejRC said:

Simpo nails it there - they are HUGELY overpriced! Nobody wants £200k+ V8Vs. In the same way that nobody wanted a £180k V6 Maserati. The market neither wants nor needs these cars. Anybody want actively wants to spend that money on a new uber sports GT goes and buys a 911Turbo S. Yes, they will look at other stuff then go and buy the 911. Those who want more special than said 911 already know they are spending north of £200k because they want the camp bull or dancing donkey.

Ppl wanting a Vantage want/expect to spend about £120k ish.

On what planet is a V8 Vantage expected to be a 120k car when you need north of 155k for a decently specced 911 GTS

V8 Vantage and 911 Turbo S owners are not the same breed.

An M3 Touring is a 100k car.

Congratulations - you have successfully identified Astons problem.
Now feel free to make everyone put their hand in their pocket by telling them to stop being so cheap and pony up…

All owners/buyers are the same breed. 70% (minimum) of the market buys on £, the rest buys on “other stuff”. Even Ferrari know/knew this stuff - though the very latest thinking down in donkey land suggests someone is soon going to have relearn some lessons.

[dibblecorse]

DeejRC said:

dibblecorse said:

DeejRC said:

Simpo nails it there - they are HUGELY overpriced! Nobody wants £200k+ V8Vs. In the same way that nobody wanted a £180k V6 Maserati. The market neither wants nor needs these cars. Anybody want actively wants to spend that money on a new uber sports GT goes and buys a 911Turbo S. Yes, they will look at other stuff then go and buy the 911. Those who want more special than said 911 already know they are spending north of £200k because they want the camp bull or dancing donkey.

Ppl wanting a Vantage want/expect to spend about £120k ish.

On what planet is a V8 Vantage expected to be a 120k car when you need north of 155k for a decently specced 911 GTS

V8 Vantage and 911 Turbo S owners are not the same breed.

An M3 Touring is a 100k car.

Congratulations - you have successfully identified Astons problem.
Now feel free to make everyone put their hand in their pocket by telling them to stop being so cheap and pony up

All owners/buyers are the same breed. 70% (minimum) of the market buys on £, the rest buys on other stuff . Even Ferrari know/knew this stuff - though the very latest thinking down in donkey land suggests someone is soon going to have relearn some lessons.

But Aston isn't trying to be Porsche and why would a V8 Vantage be expected to be cheaper than a 911, there is always a cheaper option, if you really want something and can afford it, buy it, if the maths don't work then don't.

And not all owners are the same breed, many csr buyers have their ingrained likes / dislikes, and at every price point there is choice, so people are buying to their budget, not to price.

The lower down the budget levels you come the more buyers there are, Astons have always cost more than Porsches, the challenge now is they have moved up a budget level and thats squeezing people out, Porsche has done much the same.