About to buy a Rapide - A few questions
Discussion
Hi, It is ages since I have visited piston heads and this is the first time I have posted in the Aston section.
As the title, I am about to buy a Rapide, unless I get cold feet in the next 24 hours.
Fault codes. It had warnings for air bag service and child lock service. The previous Owner said he had recently replaced the 12 V battery and the warning lights came on then, so he thinks that it just needs a trip to a specialist to be reset. I have googled this and it appears correct, but if someone on here can confirm that would give me a bit of confidence.
Specialist servicing. Having been through the car service history, it has had an annual service. Initially by main dealers and lately by independent specialists. I live in Eastbourne, East Sussex and when I googled independent specialists I get them in Kent, West Sussex and Surrey, but not East Sussex. I live very close to HPC Classics who don't specialise in Aston Martin particularly, but do service high end cars of all makes. I have asked and they say that they regularly service several other local V12 Astons and indeed, I have seen several in their workshops over the years. If I was to use them for servicing, and you were looking to buy the car when I sold it, would it put you off if it has been serviced at HPC?
Would I be correct in thinking they prefer super unleaded due to less ethanol in it?
Finally, I have done loads of research, including discussing at length with several Aston Martin owning friends, Bamford Rose vids, and general reading of the internet, but if anyone has any last minute "check this before you buy tips" then feel free to advise me.
As the title, I am about to buy a Rapide, unless I get cold feet in the next 24 hours.
Fault codes. It had warnings for air bag service and child lock service. The previous Owner said he had recently replaced the 12 V battery and the warning lights came on then, so he thinks that it just needs a trip to a specialist to be reset. I have googled this and it appears correct, but if someone on here can confirm that would give me a bit of confidence.
Specialist servicing. Having been through the car service history, it has had an annual service. Initially by main dealers and lately by independent specialists. I live in Eastbourne, East Sussex and when I googled independent specialists I get them in Kent, West Sussex and Surrey, but not East Sussex. I live very close to HPC Classics who don't specialise in Aston Martin particularly, but do service high end cars of all makes. I have asked and they say that they regularly service several other local V12 Astons and indeed, I have seen several in their workshops over the years. If I was to use them for servicing, and you were looking to buy the car when I sold it, would it put you off if it has been serviced at HPC?
Would I be correct in thinking they prefer super unleaded due to less ethanol in it?
Finally, I have done loads of research, including discussing at length with several Aston Martin owning friends, Bamford Rose vids, and general reading of the internet, but if anyone has any last minute "check this before you buy tips" then feel free to advise me.
I can't give any specific advice regarding a Rapide but a massive red flag is a seller saying "It just needs X to fix the warning lights".
If it's "Just X" then why haven't you done it? Bad enough on a £10k car but on a £50k+ Aston I'd just walk away.
It's easy to get seduced into making a rash decision with these cars. Is there anything about this specific car that appeals to you? Colour, interior spec, general condition etc?
If it's "Just X" then why haven't you done it? Bad enough on a £10k car but on a £50k+ Aston I'd just walk away.
It's easy to get seduced into making a rash decision with these cars. Is there anything about this specific car that appeals to you? Colour, interior spec, general condition etc?
What I didnt say in post is that the seller is a friend.
He is in the middle of moving house and has a lot going on. (downsizing house and garage and has several other very nice cars and the Aston has taken the short straw I believe to be genuine reason for selling).
I am thinking I will say something along the lines of "I will get the fault codes reset, but if there is an actual problem that cost more than a diagnoses then I would expect you to contribute" and see what his reaction is.
He is in the middle of moving house and has a lot going on. (downsizing house and garage and has several other very nice cars and the Aston has taken the short straw I believe to be genuine reason for selling).
I am thinking I will say something along the lines of "I will get the fault codes reset, but if there is an actual problem that cost more than a diagnoses then I would expect you to contribute" and see what his reaction is.
The airbag service can be reset by a Foxwell OBD box with Aston software, about £140.
The child lock alert should be able to be reset from the centre console menu. Go to child lock menu, enable and then disable. Should cure it.
Might be worth investing in the Foxwell unit so you can do a quick scan of the car and see if any other error messages are being stored.
The child lock alert should be able to be reset from the centre console menu. Go to child lock menu, enable and then disable. Should cure it.
Might be worth investing in the Foxwell unit so you can do a quick scan of the car and see if any other error messages are being stored.
I've had Rapide for a couple of months now and it too had had a flat or battery replacement in the recent past... the clock being wrong was the main giveaway. After getting used to the car and figuring a few things out, I realised that the seats and windows had lost their calibration (heads up, the Rapide seat cal is slightly different process from the others so see the owners manual), however I had no lights or messages for any safety systems. There is a note in the owners manual about airbags etc being life limited but I'm not sure if that would generate a fault code?
I've recently purchased a Thinkscan 689BT and when I put that on for the first time on the body port, I had all kinds of random faults, particularly in the B&O amps and speakers and parking sensors. There didn't appear to be anything significant and couldn't find any actual faults, so I have cleared the fault codes and after 2-3 weeks none of the faults have come back on on subsequent scans. I would suggest getting an OBD scanner on it, clearing the faults and taking it for a drive. I would think any "hard" faults will come back, but I am very open to be told this is wrong as I am new to Aston Martins.
The other thing that will need relearning if it was a genuine battery replacement, is the Misfire Correction Profile by doing the coast down procedure. Funnily enough I have just been through this today after finding a piece of road quiet enough, and to say nothing of speed limits as we don't have many roads with speed limits of ~110kmh/70mph around Sydney. I would do this and check for any serious misfires being registered.
I did get the car PPI'd by the local AM dealership, but they didn't check for any of the above, or at least they were not on the report.
Check that the seller has the back up mechanical door key as AM do not have a record of the Tibbe code for Austrian built cars, or there could be a sticker in the owners manual. If not you may have to remove the lock barrel to get an auto locksmith to decode it and cut a key.
As for fuel, I only put in Super/98 RON, which is the best we can get down under, and I only ever use that anyway even in my daily Octavia VRS.
Apart from that, the Rapide is great. If you have "the bible" (you can get a E copy on Amazon) I would just follow the advice in there about what to look for on a similar vintage DB9/Rapide. I'm still learning a lot about it, and gradually getting the stuff together to give it a bi-annual service, and do the plugs and coils next year as they will be coming up due, but so far all good and loving it.
I've recently purchased a Thinkscan 689BT and when I put that on for the first time on the body port, I had all kinds of random faults, particularly in the B&O amps and speakers and parking sensors. There didn't appear to be anything significant and couldn't find any actual faults, so I have cleared the fault codes and after 2-3 weeks none of the faults have come back on on subsequent scans. I would suggest getting an OBD scanner on it, clearing the faults and taking it for a drive. I would think any "hard" faults will come back, but I am very open to be told this is wrong as I am new to Aston Martins.
The other thing that will need relearning if it was a genuine battery replacement, is the Misfire Correction Profile by doing the coast down procedure. Funnily enough I have just been through this today after finding a piece of road quiet enough, and to say nothing of speed limits as we don't have many roads with speed limits of ~110kmh/70mph around Sydney. I would do this and check for any serious misfires being registered.
I did get the car PPI'd by the local AM dealership, but they didn't check for any of the above, or at least they were not on the report.
Check that the seller has the back up mechanical door key as AM do not have a record of the Tibbe code for Austrian built cars, or there could be a sticker in the owners manual. If not you may have to remove the lock barrel to get an auto locksmith to decode it and cut a key.
As for fuel, I only put in Super/98 RON, which is the best we can get down under, and I only ever use that anyway even in my daily Octavia VRS.
Apart from that, the Rapide is great. If you have "the bible" (you can get a E copy on Amazon) I would just follow the advice in there about what to look for on a similar vintage DB9/Rapide. I'm still learning a lot about it, and gradually getting the stuff together to give it a bi-annual service, and do the plugs and coils next year as they will be coming up due, but so far all good and loving it.
Edited by Watermead on Sunday 2nd August 11:25
Hi Big Dunc hope you’re well. If the airbag light is permanently on, with a rapide it could be a door harness as they’re a very common fault on them. Or it could be a simple reset due to the low battery and it should be ok. I used to work at AM, feel free to WhatsApp me if you like and I can give you advice and potentially help you out. Thanks
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