Buying a Vantage privately

[dalecan]

I bought my 2012 V8VS privately. After some judicious investigation, I found out the owner was a millionaire (although that doesn’t really mean that the car was looked after, but there was no expense spaired in the maintenance), had a fleet of vehicles, and the service history of the car was impeccable. The car did only have 11k on the clock when I bought it tbh and an Aston Martin PPI verified her health
As long as you do th normal checks, you shouldn’t have an issue. I’m positive that even dealers try to hide things.

[ds666]

Deposit paid . Wish me luck ....

[ChilliWhizz]

ds666 said:

Deposit paid . Wish me luck ....

Good luck

Bought mine privately just over a year ago, no regrets whatsoever... none.... zilch..... nada.... Only downside is not sure I could live without one now.... dammit....

[V8V Pete]

Good man! Welcome to the club. Pictures?

[ds666]

Thanks.will post pictures once I have it

[Simon Lane]

I’m going to put my head above the parapet and bring a little bit of balance to this discussion. There’s nothing wrong with buying a car privately and it certainly should be cheaper than buying from a dealership as there is very little in the way of protection for the buyer. That said, Aston Martin dealerships provide a valid service for a fair return. Think our margins are unacceptable? I beg to differ. It isn’t simply a case of buying a car, lumping £10k on the price, selling it and heading home for tea & medals. We often do put £10k margin over our cars, but let me just explain how this is broken down. If we do sell the car at the asking price, we will pay 20% of that £10k margin in VAT to the Inland Revenue, leaving £8,000. 12 months AM warranty costs a further £2,000 leaving £6,000. The timeless check costs a further £500 to carry out leaving £5,500 to cover preparation costs and deliver a profit for our business. The Timeless standards dictate that we replace items you may well decide to leave when buying privately. We regularly throw away tyres and brakes with plenty of life left in them, but are insufficient to meet Timeless standards. In 2017 we spent, on average, £2,700 per car on preparation. That leaves a profit margin of £2,800 per car BEFORE negotiation on price. A very fair return given the amount of money invested in stock. Anyone buying a car from us has the piece of mind of knowing that it has been checked and prepared by professionals and will not need any further money spent on it in the near future. They can also opt for the convenience of being able to px their current car & finance their next one. Neither of these options is available when buying privately. The warranty is very comprehensive and offers lots of reassurance as does the AM Assistance. Any suggestion we might leave things we don’t want to do, is inaccurate. Our cars are regularly audited by Aston Martin to ensure we are following due process. All manufacturers make cars that go wrong from time to time, these are hand built high performance British Sports cars. The Timeless program builds in all the required backup in case they require it. The costs of running an Aston Martin dealership are significant, I worked out the cost of our business on a daily basis recently in rent, rates, salaries etc and it made my eyes water. The margins we make are very fair for the service we provide. That said I completely understand why those with the knowledge and confidence to do so are happy to buy privately and make a cash saving. Tomatoes Potatoes. S

Edited by Simon Lane on Sunday 14th January 17:55

[ChilliWhizz]

Simon Lane said:

lots of interesting stuff

Thanks for that Simon, it’s good to see the dealers perspective put in simple and honest easy to understand words

I have my own business and for me the quality of the service I provide is of great importance, second only to earning a living.... if you can’t make a living from what you do then It doesn’t matter how good the quality is if you can’t provide it for very long

Had my Vantage serviced at AM Cambridge back in November, lovely people, great service, and I’ll be going back their this year. If they read this I might even get a discount

[vernierMike]

I’ve done all three throughout my 35 years of oldish cars, most recently; private Cayman S (with inspection etc) non franchised dealer AMG C55 estate and main dealer for the V8V because they had my perfect car and I wanted the peace of mind for my first Aston.

Both dealers were great and sorted out problems with the cars that were only manifest to me after purchase, but I am fairly confident when it comes to metal things. The Porsche I got for a song and knew the work I had to spanner to make it pukka. All good.

I was very open to buying privately at the right price, would have had the car properly independently inspected, but haggling with the main dealer was no problem and I am happy with the deal struck and delighted with their after-service. I will consider them next time, as I will a private purchase particularly as I am gathering knowledge from this site and the Book!!!

All have their pros and cons.

Great to have another member of the club, get that car inspected by someone who really knows their Astons.

[Simon Lane]

ChilliWhizz said:

Thanks for that Simon, it’s good to see the dealers perspective put in simple and honest easy to understand words

I have my own business and for me the quality of the service I provide is of great importance, second only to earning a living.... if you can’t make a living from what you do then It doesn’t matter how good the quality is if you can’t provide it for very long

Had my Vantage serviced at AM Cambridge back in November, lovely people, great service, and I’ll be going back their this year. If they read this I might even get a discount

Thanks ChilliWhizz it’s great to read positive feedback. Our service team finished 2017 in 1st place in the AM UK customer satisfaction survey league. We have added a lot more resource into that department in recent years. It’s all about having the right people. Drop me a note on [e-mail] next time you are coming in. I’ll pop down to say hello and see what magic I can do to your bill!

[macdeb]

^^^^ I'm a very good friend of Richards,,,,,,

[ds666]

I bought privately largely because I thought ( limited view mind) that in reality there were probably only 2 dealers worth dealing with for Aston's - Aston and McGurk's . Dealer warranties always seem to have stress associated with claims . The Aston dealer I tried to visit to look at an 07 Vantage told me they don't normally deal in cars "that cheap" and whilst that may be true it was the way it was said that miffed me . Poor relative ...

I hope my car works out - it is £7k below McGurk's equivalent and if it breaks down I will park it in the garage and console myself by just looking at it !! And if it is after my dry January , I will have a nice glass of red to hand .

[anonymous-user]

ds666 said:

I bought privately largely because I thought ( limited view mind) that in reality there were probably only 2 dealers worth dealing with for Aston's - Aston and McGurk's . Dealer warranties always seem to have stress associated with claims . The Aston dealer I tried to visit to look at an 07 Vantage told me they don't normally deal in cars "that cheap" and whilst that may be true it was the way it was said that miffed me . Poor relative ...

I hope my car works out - it is £7k below McGurk's equivalent and if it breaks down I will park it in the garage and console myself by just looking at it !! And if it is after my dry January , I will have a nice glass of red to hand .

Congratulations on your new purchase. Bit stupid of the dealer, I had a similar experience last year. Enjoy.

[Shinjuku79]

Simon Lane said:

The costs of running an Aston Martin dealership are significant, I worked out the cost of our business on a daily basis recently in rent, rates, salaries etc and it made my eyes water.

Edited by Simon Lane on Sunday 14th January 17:55

For me this is one of the key points. It's well known that there is a cost structure problem with dealerships. The sector has not kept up with the move to light overheads seen in other sectors. It's why there is so little money in new cars - relative to what people might think anyway. Perhaps I could have chosen my words better than profit margins - I meant mark ups and cost base.

Change will blow in the dealership model soon I think. Smaller showrooms. More intimate. Less blingy. Less staff. First selection of cars done by high quality internet tours with videos, high res shots, etc. Not just as a front window.
Car stock parked off site and brought in for arranged viewings. Defo for new cars likely also for used.

[Simon Lane]

Shinjuku79 said:

Simon Lane said:

The costs of running an Aston Martin dealership are significant, I worked out the cost of our business on a daily basis recently in rent, rates, salaries etc and it made my eyes water.

Edited by Simon Lane on Sunday 14th January 17:55

For me this is one of the key points. It's well known that there is a cost structure problem with dealerships. The sector has not kept up with the move to light overheads seen in other sectors. It's why there is so little money in new cars - relative to what people might think anyway. Perhaps I could have chosen my words better than profit margins - I meant mark ups and cost base.

Change will blow in the dealership model soon I think. Smaller showrooms. More intimate. Less blingy. Less staff. First selection of cars done by high quality internet tours with videos, high res shots, etc. Not just as a front window.
Car stock parked off site and brought in for arranged viewings. Defo for new cars likely also for used.

I agree dramatic change is on the horizon for volume/premium manufacturers. Why go to a Mini dealership to order a new car when you can lie in bed and order it on an iPad and have it delivered like an Amazon package? At the Luxury end of the market I’m really not so sure. Buying an Aston Martin is an experience. The specifications can be highly complex, take time and need a face to face discussion & guidance. The more cars we can display inside the better as it allows customers to see different options & colours. I’ve also found it is very difficult to sell AM stock customers can’t see, therefore the more space the more space the better. The cars need to be serviced so we need a worshop to do this. Not sure there is a valid alternative on the horizon, in fact we are looking to build a significantly larger dealership as we need more space.

Most importantly though, is the relationship between customers and dealerships. We spend a lot of time with each other, many customers I regard as personal friends. Take that element away and I think the experience of owning the cars would become transactional.

Look forward to seeing you at Duxford for our Vantage launch Martin, going to be a big night!

[ChilliWhizz]

I’ll be their too

[HBradley]

Simon Lane said:

Most importantly though, is the relationship between customers and dealerships. We spend a lot of time with each other, many customers I regard as personal friends. Take that element away and I think the experience of owning the cars would become transactional.

Couldn't agree more Simon. A significant element of the Aston Martin brand is the emotion they invoke both in buying & owning. Whilst it's essential for the customer to have the opportunity to browse stock online, there is nothing more important that the relationship between dealer & customer.

Simon Lane said:

Look forward to seeing you at Duxford for our Vantage launch, going to be a big night!

When is it Simon?

Edited by HBradley on Monday 15th January 09:07

[Simon Lane]

HBradley said:

When is it Simon?

Edited by HBradley on Monday 15th January 09:07

Tuesday 23rd Jan at IWM Duxford. We have over 25 cars going into the Conservation hanger (same place we conducted Spitfire handover), tried to get hold of every car that has ever carried the Vantage nameplate, so DB6 Vantage, DBS Vantage. 70's V8 Vantage, 80's Zagato, X-Pack, 90's V600 etc etc. Lots to look at. Will also have 2 x examples of New Vantage on display as we have 400+ people coming so need an extra car to show. 2nd car will be a cutaway, so opportunity to see inner workings of the new car. We have a band, full bar service, Champagne, PA system, giant screen, stage for speeches, professional lighting, etc. We are even putting a Vulcan under the wing of the Vulcan bomber and uplighting it. Hoping it will be a night to remember!

You should have received an electronic invitation via e-mail if you have not had one let me know and I will send to you.

[ChilliWhizz]

macdeb said:

^^^^ I'm a very good friend of Richards,,,,,,

Nice try Mac

[ds666]

The Daily Mail headline read " Dealer Principle sabotages " should I buy privately " thread ..... whilst explaining that bands and champagne receptions are expensive don't you know ....lol . (I'm only jealous really ) .

Edited by ds666 on Monday 15th January 13:33

[Simon Lane]

ds666 said:

The Daily Mail headline read " Dealer Principle sabotages " should I buy privately " thread ..... whilst explaining that bands and champagne receptions are expensive don't you know ....lol . (I'm only jealous really ) .

Edited by ds666 on Monday 15th January 13:33

Sorry I'll get back in my cave