Vantage daily commuter options

[Wayne95]

Hi,'
I have decided to return my I-pace which I use for business and my 70 mile each way commute twice a week and start using my N430 full time instead. I don't manage to use the Aston enough, and I think the cost of running 2 cars is probably no worse than running the Aston full time (man maths here).

There's little town driving, mostly motorway and jumping off on to A roads.

So my choice is to use the Vantage , which has 30k miles already, for a year and add 12k miles, no warranty, or I'm thinking of buying a low cost new Vantage such as this.

https://preowned.astonmartin.com/en_gb/vdp/2513723...

I think the new Vantage may fair better over the miles, be a bit more comfy on the longer business trips and use a little less fuel. But is it ?

Anybody used the new model over many miles ?

Anybody done high miles in the VH Vantage?

Wayne

[AMV93]

I haven't done a huge mileage in mine in the 3 years I've had it (11k) but I can certainly tell you that the fuel economy is very good (surprisingly so) and it's a great car for longer trips.

Mine has been from the midlands up to Scotland for the NC500, to Wales and right down south on numerous roadtrips and I've never felt uncomfortable or struggled to do the long distances. It generally does >30mpg on longer trips whilst keeping up with traffic, including a few bursts where possible, and the ZF auto and adaptive driving modes mean it's a doddle in town. Mine has cruise control and 360 cameras, which make it even easier to live with.

Having owned a 4.3 Vantage and now a new one, the new one is by far easier to live with and if I was intending to use one as a daily it's definitely the one I would pick.

[AdamV12V]

Not wishing to get into the pros and cons of new vs old vantage as it's been done to death here, I would say that either Aston will be a much more enjoyable place to be for a long journey than a stuck in a soulless EV.

In terms of the pure financials of the three options 1) keep both 2) run only the N430 3) trade both in for a new Vantage, then for sure option 2) will be the cheapest option.

Firstly every time you trade a car in this price band your going to loose a good £10k straight off (at a dealer), whereas the mpg of the N430 vs new Vantage will be a trivial cost comparatively. At most £700-800 a year difference, so its going to take 12yrs+ to get payback on the switch, and probably a good 5-6yrs even if you sell and buy privately.

And then there's depreciation. One car depreciation is always going to beat running two, so that's option 1) firmly in last place, and Id also expect the N430 will depreciate less in absolute cash terms, than a new Vantage with like for like annual mileage.

[Froomee]

I ran a manual Vantage for 3 years doing approx 20k miles in all weather conditions with the car parked outside.

As others have stated on a run 30mpg is achievable, certainly at least 25mpg. Aston Martin recommend servicing annually, if you follow the schedule then servicing wont be any additional expense despite covering more miles and the same applies to the yearly road tax.

I ran mine with warranty (would be cheaper than running two cars) but even without the warranty the few issues I had were typical issues and not related to mileage (washer jet on the light detaching, etc).

It’s a good idea to keep it washed/waxed, etc regularly to prevent some of the issues like bubbling mirror arms, door handles, milky alloys (if diamond cut), etc but other than that it was a great car to spend time in on a daily basis and would recommend it. Another point to note is that windows and fuel cap can be prone to getting stuck in colder weather, nothing a credit card and some water won’t fix and/or some Gummi Pflege on the door rubbers.

[Ninja59]

My AM6 (I.e. new) vantage is a daily driver, it will do circa 11k per year.

Honestly, the easiest way to put it is it is easier to live with more of the time whether that be in the mood and then not.

Plus if it is circa 3 yrs old, it will still have 2 yrs free servicing as they benefitted from 5 yrs free servicing.

It will need some love, the back and rear arch area gets dirty quickly.

[bogie]

I did 83K miles in the my first 2006 manual Vantage over 9 years, it was still going great when I traded it in for a 2012 manual 4.7. I dont drive this car daily, but it has still covered 70k miles now. I used the first one daily for a couple of years no issue leaving it at airports and hotels.

They take the mileage well, get 25mpg on a run and avg about 19mpg in the 4.7, I dont drive around town much, mostly longer journeys.

No reason not to use a Vantage daily, that's why I bought mine in the first place. With 10k miles service intervals and Fords durability testing, the VH platform Astons are a world apart from the older Newport Pagnell cars (in terms of running costs).

I have only had a test drive in the latest Vantage, its very nice, perhaps the seats are a little more comfy otherwise Id be happy in either car as a daily. I still prefer the non turbo and manual gearbox though, so wont be changing this one unless its for a manual V12 Roadster one day.

[Wayne95]

Thanks for the comments.

I will start with the N430 on Monday and see how it goes, have to say I’m quite looking forward to it and will up even earlier than normal for a Monday start

I have fitted a phone holder and bought a glass key pouch, so I’m all set.

Just thinking on fitting PPF to the front to save any stone chips. My local MD contact said the well used ones always drive better which is positive, probably doesn’t mean they will offer more come trade in though!

[jason61c]

Wayne95 said:

Hi,'
I have decided to return my I-pace which I use for business and my 70 mile each way commute twice a week and start using my N430 full time instead. I don't manage to use the Aston enough, and I think the cost of running 2 cars is probably no worse than running the Aston full time (man maths here).

There's little town driving, mostly motorway and jumping off on to A roads.

So my choice is to use the Vantage , which has 30k miles already, for a year and add 12k miles, no warranty, or I'm thinking of buying a low cost new Vantage such as this.

https://preowned.astonmartin.com/en_gb/vdp/2513723...

I think the new Vantage may fair better over the miles, be a bit more comfy on the longer business trips and use a little less fuel. But is it ?

Anybody used the new model over many miles ?

Anybody done high miles in the VH Vantage?

Wayne

Surely you'd just use your n430, the problem with the one you linked is that you'll have to look at it every day. Its not the same as looking at your 430.