Vantage Coupe Confusion

[ChilliWhizz]

Morning AM peeps, I'm going through my regular annual 'I need an Aston in my life' period again and (again) need some help

Looking at PH classifieds this morning there are 16 V8V Coupes for sale between £31k and £35k. A couple are green, one is an auto, but in the main they are silvery coloured manuals.... How on earth do I decide which one to go and look at or which one to buy? I know this kind of dilemma would apply to most cars but the AM is rather special and I'm rather confused...

Please help,
Chilli..

[davek_964]

What options do you care about? That made a difference to which ones I wanted to view.

(And actually, you shouldn't look at any of those because you should be buying a black one!).

[Grumpydev]

Buy "The Book"

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Frances The Mute]

Decide on what spec you have to have then look for the best example you can. Easy.

I'd suggest you drive as many as you can beforehand so you get a feel for what is a good car compared to a tired/bad car. All cars at that price range will have some form of issue, whether it's stone chips, kerbed wheels etc.
These can be fixed relatively easily so make sure the car is solid from a mechanical/electrical and history perspective. Don't buy a car with lacking provenance.

[northernmedia]

Try to get a face lifted 07 car, better seats etc.
Premium audio and powerfold mirrors would also be a must for me.

[Grumpydev]

Powerfold mirrors, xenons (bizarrely not standard), memory seats (in case the missus wants to drive it!) would be my "must have" - although I'd be more concerned about condition than spec personally.

[blade runner]

Go and see a few cars that are close to you (regardless of colour & spec) to get a feel for things and what you like/don't like in regards to spec. Buy the book as previously mentioned and decide what your ideal spec is, then narrow down your search accordingly and do some more serious viewings. Personally, I'd be prepared to compromise on one or two things to get a car with strong history and good overall condition.

[Jon39]

Manual or Sportshift 1, is a very important decision.
Make sure you understand that aspect.
It is a 'Marmite' choice.

Edited by Jon39 on Monday 10th October 09:58

[krisdelta]

I've just seen my old car come up for sale again (I was the 2nd owner) - meteorite with dark wheels up at £31.5k. That would be a good buy, it was my daily for 3 years and the original owners daily for 5 years and very well looked after. Looks like it's only done 4k in the last 2 years. Edit to add, 56 plate facelift / manual.

[ChilliWhizz]

Guys, thanks for all the advice, I'm off to look at a car on Thursday

As regards, spec/options etc, my P&J (which would remain in my custody) is top of the range for its year as regards spec... it has a heater, two speed wipers and electric windows It also has no drivers aids... not even ABS So, anything over and above that is a real bonus for me

[bigee]

Have just been through the same process,in my opinion.....they ALL look and sound great so thats a given. as most here are saying try and get one with good provenance,history and condition.A few i looked at (mainly at indi dealers) whilst having a fully stamped book had no supporting documents at all.So no real way of telling when (if ? ) clutch,brakes,suspension work etc had been done. Overall condition and history/recent expenditure where important to me rather than colour/options, although i ended up with an '07 facelift,virtually fully specced and in the best colour being Black !!

[ChilliWhizz]

Deposit placed, picking it up next week

Thanks again fella's for the input, I'm sure I'll return with lots of questions soon (and piccies)

[hashluck]

Well Done!

[V8V Pete]

ChilliWhizz said:

Deposit placed, picking it up next week

Thanks again fella's for the input, I'm sure I'll return with lots of questions soon (and piccies)

Congratulations & welcome. In the absence of pictures what colour and spec is it?

[ChilliWhizz]

V8V Pete said:

ChilliWhizz said:

Deposit placed, picking it up next week

Thanks again fella's for the input, I'm sure I'll return with lots of questions soon (and piccies)

Congratulations & welcome. In the absence of pictures what colour and spec is it?

Hi Pete, so, it's an 06 plate & MY07, in Meteorite Silver.. Interior is black/Red.... It's a manual... think it has pretty much all the options except the premium audio... From memory (not in the ad and I didn't make a note) it has...
19" wheels
Red Calipers
Xenon lights
power thingy mirrors
satnav (stuck closed)
Memory and heated seats
Heated front screen

I believe fuse 22 is no longer in place...

So, first impressions after a 40 minute or so drive..... I loved it, for me it was how the car made me feel whilst driving it rather than how it performed against particular criteria.... Clutch was properly heavy, but at 54k miles (if original) I guess that's not unusual... I've read a twin plate and lightened flywheel is the way to go.....

I have a TVR Chimaera 500 which I've owned for 7 years... I had the engine completely rebuilt not long after I bought it. and pretty much everything has been uprated... for track days She's been RR'd at 360bhp and 354 ft/lbs, and at half a tonne lighter than the Aston it's much quicker, actually it's pretty mental....

So, buying the Aston wasn't an exercise in buying a fast car as I already have one (which is a keeper), it was about fulfilling a boy hood dream.... and putting another great British V8 in the garage

I am however a bit disappointed that the machine guns don't work....

[krisdelta]

Congratulations! It's the ultimate feel-good car imho.

[ChilliWhizz]

krisdelta said:

Congratulations! It's the ultimate feel-good car imho.

I'll put some piccies up once I've got her home Kris

[Murph7355]

Congrats.

The clutches are always heavy - I don't think weight is any indicator of wear. My pedal was as heavy at 500 miles as it was 50,000.

If your sat nav is broken, it will probably be a cheap fix. The gears that lift the screen are plastic and break. Takes half an hour to fix. Kit on Aston Bits is £15. Seem to recall it's marginally cheaper from Aston! (https://astonmartinbits.com/models/5-V8-Vantage/parts/676).

Being a pedant, but I don't believe an 06 car will be MY07. A 56 car could be...

[krisdelta]

Don't worry too much about the clutch unless it's slipping, I was convinced it was going at 30k miles... Remarkably I drove two examples with heavier clutches, call it a feature! I did a bunch of pictures for a guide to remove the ski slope and nav cover to cure some rattles. Which may be in the sticky guide and of some use. The nav screen could be as simple as the two tensioned springs becoming un clipped if it's not the plastics gears mentioned above - a quick job for a Saturday morning.

Cheers

Kris

[ChilliWhizz]

Thanks guys, sounds like some tinkering then.... Murph, just checked and it's a 56 plate not an 06.... my mistake