looking for opinions

[999gsi]

As some of you know I'm looking to buy my first AM. I know this may not suit all tastes, but I don't want a generic colour. I need a left foot accelerator adaption fitted due to being used as target practice when I was on my motorbike 8 years ago, hence it needs to be an automatic.
I'm looking for your thoughts, The seller has some lovely cars, would I need to get an independent inspection done ? I have noticed the steering wheel looks worn, should The dealer replace it ?
My other main concern is that in the description the seller has copy and pasted is a load bks from another source and hasn't actually mentioned anything about the car .

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604141...

[Simpo Two]

I saw that yesterday and thought it was a striking combination, and possibly the cheapest Vanquish 2 about. The 'description' is done by AI, and IMHO completely pointless. On reviews I found this: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I can only say - if in doubt, get an independent chap to inspect it for you, not least because if you're like me, when viewing an Aston you want your brains go to mush. Go in with your eyes open and go through the service history with a fine toothed comb because expensive things can catch the unwary.

Hope it works out!

NB The steering wheel is a One-77 wheel which I believe was a £1,600 option, so I doubt they'll give you a new one. But I'm sure it could be smartened up for a fraction of that.

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 4th May 22:59

[Agent57]

999gsi said:

As some of you know I'm looking to buy my first AM. I know this may not suit all tastes, but I don't want a generic colour. I need a left foot accelerator adaption fitted due to being used as target practice when I was on my motorbike 8 years ago, hence it needs to be an automatic.
I'm looking for your thoughts, The seller has some lovely cars, would I need to get an independent inspection done ? I have noticed the steering wheel looks worn, should The dealer replace it ?
My other main concern is that in the description the seller has copy and pasted is a load bks from another source and hasn't actually mentioned anything about the car .

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604141...

Good grief. The steering wheel looks like it's melted in a fire!

[Emilio Largo]

[Gassmi]

Yes get an independent inspection. No exceptions with a seller who can’t be bothered to write a proper description. Worn wheel on a dealer car means they’re cutting corners. Ask them to replace it before you even book an inspection. If they say no, walk. The copied marketing blurb is a red flag.

[Octavarium]

Agent57 said:

Good grief. The steering wheel looks like it's melted in a fire!

I think the steering wheel was the one thing I hated the most on my Vanquish S. The One-77 wheel design not only looks awful, but considering it is also the bit you hold all of the time, it feels awful too.

[alscar]

Can’t help on the whether you should or not but Royal Steering Wheels always seem to get great reviews.

[Handyman2009]

seems like a lot of wear and tear for such low milage car

[Simpo Two]

Octavarium said:

I think the steering wheel was the one thing I hated the most on my Vanquish S. The One-77 wheel design not only looks awful, but considering it is also the bit you hold all of the time, it feels awful too.

I actually prefer it to the standard wheel for both reasons!

[AMRicardo]

Judging by the steering wheel, the chap who tested the DB12 S must have wrestled this one for its 40k miles.

The description being useless, I’d speak with the dealer to see what they can share in terms of history. Structure the sale contingent upon an independent inspection.

[Greathey]

As far as I know this mk2 Vanquish is very reliable and the zf gearbox is way less headache than the previous automated manual.

I heard though all v12 engines can suffer from cracked manifolds and the infamous tick which means a full inspection with an AM specialist is a must

[999gsi]

Good morning. Thank you for your replies. The car is a lot of money for me so I want to get it right. I’ll ask them about the steering wheel, would you recommend it is recovered or replaced ?

Re betting it inspected there is a AM specialist in Otley called Adrian Johnson who provides an inspection service.

I’m in Norfolk so not local to the car, would you suggest I visit the dealer and get them to take me out in it ? I don’t know if they would haggle on the price but I imagine talking face to face would make doing a deal easier.

I apologise for all the questions but never having owned An AM before, I find this forum very friendly you all have a wealth of information and I appreciate the guidance and assistance provided.

[Dewi 2]

When an owner has failed to take care of their steering wheel, I would expect to also see scuffs and scratches on the door sills, seat upholstery, interior trim, petrol filler area, etc. You have not described other damage, so perhaps the steering wheel damage occurred because driver(s) were wearing metal finger rings.

A dealer should not expect to sell a car of this type, which has suffered such damage.
I would not think many general car trimmers could to do as good a job, as the (mostly) ladies do at Gaydon, who have experience of covering hundreds of new AM steering wheels. I would therefore insist on a new replacement steering wheel, not accept a repair.

Edited by Dewi 2 on Saturday 9th May 08:54

[MrC986]

The likes of Royal Steering Wheels can achieve factory finish on retrimming. If you are interested, yes get a test drive (with you driving), agree a price (the car market isnt great at the moment) subject to an independent inspection, and also agree (as part of the deal) any work you want doing at the dealers' cost before you collect the car and get it put on the sales form - put down a returnable deposit of say £1k and make sure it says on the form it is subject to inspection and jobs x,y and z.

I've just bought my first Aston (V8 Vantage) from a non-specialist dealer but I did my research, had been watching the car online (it wasnt in an easy place to get to and was listed i early winter) and drove it and agreed a discount on the price and specific conditions i.e. new MOT with no advisories and satisfactory clutch report. I was brave enough to use my research and own inspection before test drive to buy without a specialist inspection but it has been in for service 7 weeks after I got it and all was good - it was priced for me to pay for my own service.

[LTP]

999gsi said:

Good morning. Thank you for your replies. The car is a lot of money for me so I want to get it right. I ll ask them about the steering wheel, would you recommend it is recovered or replaced ?

Re betting it inspected there is a AM specialist in Otley called Adrian Johnson who provides an inspection service.

I m in Norfolk so not local to the car, would you suggest I visit the dealer and get them to take me out in it ? I don t know if they would haggle on the price but I imagine talking face to face would make doing a deal easier.

I apologise for all the questions but never having owned An AM before, I find this forum very friendly you all have a wealth of information and I appreciate the guidance and assistance provided.

I saw your latest post in this thread so just thought I'd chip in with my thoughts - an I emphasise that I know no more about this particular car than having looked at the pictures and read the spec.

Firstly, the steering wheel. The wear looks bad, there's no doubt about that. It appears to be localised and concentrated at the hard point "peak" where the leather is wrapped under at the interface with the Alcantara insert. From the pictures, if ever a wheel was designed to wear at a point then this design is it, with the shape of the leather above and below where the Alcantara inserts are stitched in. You can't tell from the pictures if there is similar wear on the other side and it's interesting that there isn't the same wear at the top of the Alcantara insert. While the wheels are hand-made and the wear could be due to the manufacturing process leaving more of a high point, my guess would be a previous owner had a habit of holding the wheel at 4 o'clock, possibly (as has been said) with rings (but this would be on the right hand).

I doubt that the dealer will agree to a new wheel as I had a quick look on Scuderia Parts and they list the optional wheel for over £3k (they have one in stock), whereas a standard wheel (which would be my choice) is about half that. There are companies that recover wheels and do a nice job, but that optional wheel, with the shape and the Alcantara inserts, looks like it would be a bit of a bd so it wouldn't be cheap and it's not something you can back out of once you start and due to the low number of cars it would probably be the first time anyone had actually tried to recover one of these. One thing you could try is to contact Aston Martin Works to see if they would offer a repair service, as they have a trim shop on site (they did some trim repairs on my V8V where the glue had pulled away). They will know the cars and, if they do recover, might be able to give you a price.

Needless to say there are no second-hand wheels for sale that I could find.

Having done the wheel to death, next - a general observation. The pictures don't show the car well but to me the driver's seat leather looks shiny and polished compared to the surrounding trim - but this could just be the lighting. I'd expect a car with 40k miles to be showing some signs of use but the pictures don't really show the interior well. The rest of the car looks OK, but I will say that Morning Frost is a spectacular colour but it's also a swine to match - check all the panels for any sign of colour mis-match.

As to "...would you suggest I visit the dealer..." I absolutely would. There's no way I'd part with north of £60k without seeing the car in person, even if it meant a day off work and a rail fare or tank of petrol. I'd also advise you get an expert appraisal before you buy as you admit you don't know these cars. The Vanquish was the pinnacle of the AML range at the time; all the exterior panels are carbon-fibre and the brakes are CCMs so you need to make sure all is well otherwise you'll need to sell one of your children (assuming you have some) into slavery.

If it's an Aston you want, rather than specifically a Vanquish, then you have other options. For example, Aston Martin Bristol have a nice-looking 2015 DB9.2 with about half the mileage for roughly the same money. Now it's a DB9 and not a Vanquish, it's in Onyx Black with black interior, not Morning Frost over red, but you'd get a year Timeless warranty and you're buying from a main dealer. Your call.

Good luck with your search and let us know if you join us few, we (mostly) happy few, we band of brothers.

[Marc_G]

As Dewi said, inspect every inch of the car for careless treatment. And yes to an inspection!!

But that steering wheel actually looks eminently restorable to me. Either by yourself (what id do) or get a leather specialist.
The Alcantara looks in need of a good brush too.

Would seem sensible to me to haggle a decent price on the car as is re;the wheel. Then you have the option to get the wheel restored.
If that doesn't then work out to your standards then a replacement wheel looks to be £1300-2000 plus fitting if you dont do it yourself.

[Simpo Two]

999gsi said:

I m in Norfolk so not local to the car, would you suggest I visit the dealer and get them to take me out in it ?

You absolutely have to view and ideally drive the car before deciding whether to buy it. You can't buy an Aston Martin by mail order, especially not a 13 year old one.

The Grant Neal 'Definitive Guide to Gaydon Era Aston Martins' will help you get to speed a bit; the books are £200+ now but there's a downloadable version I think.

Go and see the car anyway; even if you decide it's not for you, it will give you experience for the next one.

[Shnozz]

Redline are a reputable dealer (as much as a dealer can be) and been around some years now. I wouldn’t be concerned buying from them but an independent inspection is always worthwhile.

[skyebear]

Bamford Rose have some good videos on what to look for on used cars. Here they talk about carbon ceramic brakes.

[999gsi]

Once again, thankyou for your replies. Its all noted and taken on board. Its a massive amount of money for me to spend therefore I need to get it right.

As I need a left foot accelerator I wont be able to take it for a spin, but I'm sure the staff will take me out. More importantly, as I will be getting the vehicle inspected I will trust their judgement.

I sent the garage asking about the service history. I also asked if the front discs had been replaced. I gather they have a shelf life of 40k miles (I could be wrong). I have attached some of the email. Should I be worried it hasn't been serviced every year ? I like to think they will service it before it is sold.

Service history below for you

13/10/2013 @ Aston Martin

2/7/2014 @ Aston Martin Brooklands

21/7/2015 @ Done By us

16/09/2016 @ Alexanders Prestige

28/09/2017 @ Alexanders Prestige

23/11/2018 @ Aston Martin Mayfair

21/1/2020 @ Aston Martin Mayfair

14/03/2022 @ Aston Martin Mayfair

2/11/2023 @ Alexanders Prestige



I can’t see history of the brakes getting changed but have asked if there is any other history for this.



The steering wheel we would tidy up as part of our prep work, it wouldn’t be a full re trim!