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.
Thanks all for your feedback and guidance - i'm learning more every day.
I've found a car that looks possible which has got 40k on it and had a new clutch in 2016 at 20k so either its due one or will least another 40k!
I have 4 specialists near me, so good call on contacting them - AHM Aston Martin Care, Phoenix AM, BTE Automotive and Chicane AM as well as a general performance car indy called Performance Car Specialists. If anyone has any good or bad things on those, that will be helpful.
I've found a car that looks possible which has got 40k on it and had a new clutch in 2016 at 20k so either its due one or will least another 40k!
I have 4 specialists near me, so good call on contacting them - AHM Aston Martin Care, Phoenix AM, BTE Automotive and Chicane AM as well as a general performance car indy called Performance Car Specialists. If anyone has any good or bad things on those, that will be helpful.
Re the clutch life its so difficult to tell, unless its had the twin plate clutch upgrade which should last a very long time in a V8. I cant remember reading about anyone wearing one of those out yet with just road use in the V8.
My first 2006 Vantage was an ex dealer demo with 5k miles on it and the OE clutch lasted until 73k miles, I traded it in with 83k miles on it and the dealer sold it on within a week, said it looked and drove like a 30k mile old car not a 9 yr old one.
My next 2012 Vantage I bought 4 years old, and it had just had a new clutch at 31k miles so I figured it would last many years then just 2 years later on the way home from MOT, the clutch release bearing jammed, so then it was on its 3rd clutch at just 42k miles.
My first 2006 Vantage was an ex dealer demo with 5k miles on it and the OE clutch lasted until 73k miles, I traded it in with 83k miles on it and the dealer sold it on within a week, said it looked and drove like a 30k mile old car not a 9 yr old one.
My next 2012 Vantage I bought 4 years old, and it had just had a new clutch at 31k miles so I figured it would last many years then just 2 years later on the way home from MOT, the clutch release bearing jammed, so then it was on its 3rd clutch at just 42k miles.
Greathey said:
I personally would avoid any 4.7 too many reported failed rod bearings
I haven't seen any; where are they all? There was talk about it around 2022/2023 from a search but still all very anecdotal... And consensus seems to be warm the car up properly, use good quality oil and don't let it get dirty.
yeti said:
I haven't seen any; where are they all?
There was talk about it around 2022/2023 from a search but still all very anecdotal... And consensus seems to be warm the car up properly, use good quality oil and don't let it get dirty.
There was talk about it around 2022/2023 from a search but still all very anecdotal... And consensus seems to be warm the car up properly, use good quality oil and don't let it get dirty.
I remember the Bamford Rose thread scaring everybody with regard to the rod bearings issues by "70-80k miles" . The last time this was discussed on here we searched around and found 6 examples globally reported by owners out of approx 7500 4.7 engined cars built so statistically nothing to worry about....
.....however if its only "a possibility from 70-80k miles" onwards then few cars may have reached that mileage yet so perhaps its something we might see more of in future?
Looking at the most reliable car engines data here for mainstream brands, Aston Martin seem excellent
https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/most-reliable-engin...
bogie said:
we searched around and found 6 examples globally reported by owners out of approx 7500 4.7 engined cars built so statistically nothing to worry about....
I could never really enjoy my 3.4 Boxster as there was always the nagging doubt with bore score. Again, who knows how rare it is but there were obviously more Porsche folk with serious issues due to vastly more 3.4/3.6 engines made.
I'll have a natter with Mike at BR when I am up there for my manifolds. I'm at 45k miles and may well still have my car at 70-80k!
yeti said:
Thanks Bogie, most manufacturers would kill for those stats!
I could never really enjoy my 3.4 Boxster as there was always the nagging doubt with bore score. Again, who knows how rare it is but there were obviously more Porsche folk with serious issues due to vastly more 3.4/3.6 engines made.
I'll have a natter with Mike at BR when I am up there for my manifolds. I'm at 45k miles and may well still have my car at 70-80k!
That info was just a few of us searching online 4 years ago, as the US forums reported a few. Its just anecdotal internet evidence ...I could never really enjoy my 3.4 Boxster as there was always the nagging doubt with bore score. Again, who knows how rare it is but there were obviously more Porsche folk with serious issues due to vastly more 3.4/3.6 engines made.
I'll have a natter with Mike at BR when I am up there for my manifolds. I'm at 45k miles and may well still have my car at 70-80k!
Im sure Mike at BR has seen a few more by now ....but even if there have been hundreds of occurrences that makes them about as reliable as an Audi
Thanks all - have also come from the world of Porsche and the many, many doom mongers who will tell you the engine will explode and you need a rebuild if your washer fluid runs out - glad to be out of that!
I called a couple of my local specialists for a rough ball park on a new clutch (so i am prepped) - 1 doesn't do SS clutches, the other said "telephone numbers with a laugh" and suggested around £5k + VAT (he also said the parts on the last one he did were around £2.9k+vat but that they change regulalry).
Another specialist is going to mail me a rough estimate.
Had an owner contact me last night with a 4.7 on 50k that could be within budget, but would be a private sale whereas the 4.3 i'm due to view on Saturday is at a dealer. I don't normally have an issue buying privately, but at that sort of money and being an AM i'm thinking a dealer may be better?
I called a couple of my local specialists for a rough ball park on a new clutch (so i am prepped) - 1 doesn't do SS clutches, the other said "telephone numbers with a laugh" and suggested around £5k + VAT (he also said the parts on the last one he did were around £2.9k+vat but that they change regulalry).
Another specialist is going to mail me a rough estimate.
Had an owner contact me last night with a 4.7 on 50k that could be within budget, but would be a private sale whereas the 4.3 i'm due to view on Saturday is at a dealer. I don't normally have an issue buying privately, but at that sort of money and being an AM i'm thinking a dealer may be better?
The 4.7 cars are more than just an engine and power. New interior, improved dampers, it was a pretty serious facelift.
I couldn't be happier with mine.
If this makes sense; with a 4.3 I always knew I'd hanker after the 4.7, but with a 4.7 I knew I wouldn't hanker after a V12. I feel like it's the car it's supposed to be.
I can use every one of those bhp and know it will be exactly where I want it once the BR stuff is finished.
I couldn't be happier with mine.
If this makes sense; with a 4.3 I always knew I'd hanker after the 4.7, but with a 4.7 I knew I wouldn't hanker after a V12. I feel like it's the car it's supposed to be.
I can use every one of those bhp and know it will be exactly where I want it once the BR stuff is finished.
yeti said:
The 4.7 cars are more than just an engine and power. New interior, improved dampers, it was a pretty serious facelift.
I couldn't be happier with mine.
If this makes sense; with a 4.3 I always knew I'd hanker after the 4.7, but with a 4.7 I knew I wouldn't hanker after a V12. I feel like it's the car it's supposed to be.
I can use every one of those bhp and know it will be exactly where I want it once the BR stuff is finished.
I get it - similar to the porsche world - get a 2.9, but should i have got the 3.4?I couldn't be happier with mine.
If this makes sense; with a 4.3 I always knew I'd hanker after the 4.7, but with a 4.7 I knew I wouldn't hanker after a V12. I feel like it's the car it's supposed to be.
I can use every one of those bhp and know it will be exactly where I want it once the BR stuff is finished.
Same as you, while the V12 is lovely, i don't see myself wanting it - i'm still grinning like a cheshire cat after driving the 4.3 last Saturday
RacingSloth69 said:
I get it - similar to the porsche world - get a 2.9, but should i have got the 3.4?
Probably like buying a base 911 (excellent in every way) and wishing you'd bought the 911 C4S (slightly better in every way).The V12 then represents something like the turbo S or GT3, not even being on my radar!
Appreciate you said you're after a SS but I've had this in my watch list for a while now - sadly a bit too soon for me to start seriously looking. Looks to have been on sale for a while wonder whats up with it..!!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604211...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604211...
If I were in the market again I’d be going 4.7.
The fact the price difference is negligible (particularly when the cars age alone is taken into account) would make it a no brainer unless I was really scraping the bottom of the savings pot. In which case I’m not sure an old Aston is a wise choice anyway.
The fact the price difference is negligible (particularly when the cars age alone is taken into account) would make it a no brainer unless I was really scraping the bottom of the savings pot. In which case I’m not sure an old Aston is a wise choice anyway.
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