Just cancelled my AMV8 order...

[JEBLondon]

Had an AMV8 a while back as a loan car for two weeks. At the end of the first week I walked straight into my local dealership and ordered myself one. After the first week I fell in love with the noise, the looks, etc.

However, the second week of ownership brought to the surface all the things that I glossed over the first week:

- The fuel economy is dreadful
- The car actually needs more power
- All the switchgear (and keys, etc) are from a Ford Mondeo
- The Sat Nav is crap and straight out of a Volvo S60
- The interior looks great but the facia is cheap plastic and the buttons feel cheap
- You get a better standard stereo in a VW
- In the heat the centre console buttons all stuck
- Lots of niggle problems (elec windows, window wipers, etc mostly electrical)
- The car rattles like mad
- etc etc

The crunch came after two weeks when I got back into my 911 (a 997 Carrera). The car felt built like a tank, quicker, easier to drive, etc. It may not have the looks but that I can live it. Unfortunately there is no way I can justify paying a £15-£20k premium for the car and so I just traded in for a 997C2S instead.

I can really see how after one test drive people fall in love with the car based on looks, sounds, etc but it will be interesting to see how many people feel the same way after six months. However, for me the car is far from Porsche's build quality, performance and overall performance per pound ownership.

Good luck to all AMV8 owners but it'll be Porsche for me...

[aston67]

buy an 80s V8 Vantage then...

A67

[sadlerj]

I came out of a 996 C2 into the Vantage, I considered a 997 C2S but could not justify the £35 grand more than my C2 that I would have had to pay for a car that is just slightly better. So I completed my order for my V8 and took delivery back in March, I have had 7000 fantastic miles in it and have never looked back, it is truely IMO a far better car than the Porkie will ever be. So stick to your 997, I actually want less V8's on the UK roads, and I am sick of people who keep complaining that it is not fast enough when they just don't know how to drive it!

- The fuel economy is dreadful (is that really an issue on a 85 grand car)
- The car actually needs more power (learn to Drive it)
- All the switchgear (and keys, etc) are from a Ford Mondeo (big deal)
- The Sat Nav is crap and straight out of a Volvo S60 (dont order the sat nav)
- The interior looks great but the facia is cheap plastic and the buttons feel cheap (what cheaper than the crappy plastic 997 interior.hmmmm)
- You get a better standard stereo in a VW (order the Premium it is fantastic)
- In the heat the centre console buttons all stuck (not on mine)
- Lots of niggle problems (elec windows, window wipers, etc mostly electrical) (not on mine)
- The car rattles like mad (not on mine)

Edited by sadlerj on Tuesday 15th August 17:39

[grant3]

Fair enough, the 997S is a fabulous car, so you can't argue with your decision.

For me as a long term Porker owner (944T, 928, 996C2, 996C2 Facelift, 996TT) I am loving Aston ownership, it really is a special car, not better than Pork, but totally different.
In fact I took the long way home after work yesterday, just for the drive, mmmm that sexy V8 & 49/51 weight distribution!
I also think the Sat Nav, stereo (I had the expensive Bose option on my Turbo & the standard Aston system is better!!), keyfob & controls are actually better than Pork & the interior is 1000% more special!
I had rattles & faults in every one of my Porsches that were fixed under warranty. The Aston certainly ain't perfect, the gearchange is very "clunky" when cold, for example (but so is the other halfs Boxster S) & I do feel that it doesn't have the depth of engineering that Porsche does! It could do with a bit more grunt low down, but I honestly believe on the road there would be nothing in it between 997C2S & AMV8 and even coming out of a Turbo I find it fast enough.

In honesty I think it is great that we now have a real alternative to the 911, but which ever car you go for you can't really go wrong. I just feel lucky to be able to enjoy a period of Aston ownership as well as Pork & so far would thoroughly recommend the experience to others.
I say this without any point to prove that my decision to buy an Aston was right, as I only purchased it to try because my 997GT3 was delayed. I must confess it is making me wonder if I will want to part with it next March, only time will tell.

Anyway enjoy that 997S, one hell of a car.

Edited by grant3 on Tuesday 15th August 18:02

[v8tvr]

sadlerj said:

I came out of a 996 C2 into the Vantage, I considered a 997 C2S but could not justify the £35 grand more than my C2 that I would have had to pay for a car that is just slightly better. So I completed my order for my V8 and took delivery back in March, I have had 7000 fantastic miles in it and have never looked back, it is truely IMO a far better car than the Porkie will ever be. So stick to your 997, I actually want less V8's on the UK roads, and I am sick of people who keep complaining that it is not fast enough when they just don't know how to drive it!

- The fuel economy is dreadful (is that really an issue on a 85 grand car)
- The car actually needs more power (learn to Drive it)
- All the switchgear (and keys, etc) are from a Ford Mondeo (big deal)
- The Sat Nav is crap and straight out of a Volvo S60 (dont order the sat nav)
- The interior looks great but the facia is cheap plastic and the buttons feel cheap (what cheaper than the crappy plastic 997 interior.hmmmm)
- You get a better standard stereo in a VW (order the Premium it is fantastic)
- In the heat the centre console buttons all stuck (not on mine)
- Lots of niggle problems (elec windows, window wipers, etc mostly electrical) (not on mine)
- The car rattles like mad (not on mine)

Totally agree with the above 100%, but how you can complain about plastic interior??????? and then compare it to porsche, who obviously source there interior from Staples.

porsche drivers

Edited by sadlerj on Tuesday 15th August 17:39

[mikial]

Concur with you about loan cars JEBL , I had a 996 c4s on loan once, it rattled like a supermarket shopping trolley , and under steered like one too, still it didn`t put me off buying a 996t which I still have and enjoy as much now as the first day I bought it.
I must say though neither my turbo nor my AMV8V rattle or indeed do any of the things you described in your post.

I believe the Aston to be an acquired taste that you have yet to develop.

[lightningghost]

I realise that all this is opinion, and i respect your choice to go for the Porsche instead. It's not the car I would have chosen, simply for my contempt for Porsches. I just find them boring to look at, and there are far too many of them, without enough to tell the better variants apart from the boggo ones.

I know AM and Porsche are criticised for their cars all looking the same, but I still prefer Aston Martin, because at least all their identical cars look fantastic!

In a way, I quite like the fact that the interior of the AMV8 is a bit Mondeo-y. It says to me that they've spent their time working on the mechanics. I realise it's a lot of money to pay to end up with being stuck in a Ford parts bin for hours on end, but that's only half the point of owning an Aston Martin. The other half is the performance, the looks, the fact everyone will love you, the noise and the other owners who are generally really nice people. And I expect that the performance isn't that bad if you drive it properly. There'll be a way to make that V8 run like a dream.

[mikial]

lightningghost said:

And I expect that the performance isn't that bad if you drive it properly. There'll be a way to make that V8 run like a dream.

[aston67]

"I realise it's a lot of money to pay to end up with being stuck in a Ford parts bin for hours on end"

you can also buy a Ford GT

and one could not care less of the cheap keys to open the car

A67

[lightningghost]

That's true, although I think the Ford GT is probably more comparable price-wise to the DB9. In which case, I'd still rather have the AM. If I were to spend more than £100k on a car, I'd like it to go round corners.

[stanwan]

I somehow doubt that the 997 has completely bespoke switch gear. In fact, I recall being informed that part sharing is also common amongst porsches. I wouldn't be surprised if there were commonalities between porsche and VW switchgear - nearly all these bits and pieces are either outsourced or bought in, very little parts manufacture actually occurs in-house...

Isn't the 997 transmission made in japan?

Edited by stanwan on Tuesday 15th August 21:02

[Pugsey]

And many Porsche body parts are supplied by BMW!

[grant3]

Sorry chaps I must be missing something, everytime I sit in the Astons cabin I find it a fabulous place to be, it is Classy with a capital C, hand stiched leather, aluminium milled dials only Bentley can top an Aston interior & that has some VW parts!
The only shared parts I was aware of is the sat nav system from a Volvo (ditto the remote!) but hey at least we have a James Bond flip up from the dash. I really don't see this parts bin count thing, Lamborgini has Audi bit's, Pagani Merc,Bentley VW, Maserati Fiat, so what it's the overall effect that is important & they are all fabulous!
Bottom line is there is no need to justify the interior, if some one doesn't like it fine, taste is personal, but it's definitely "class"!!

[Pugsey]

Absolutely spot on. Each to his own as ever. Having said that any knocking should at least be accurate - no Mondeo bits in the V8's cabin.

Edited by Pugsey on Tuesday 15th August 22:25

[siscar]

grant3 said:

Sorry chaps I must be missing something, everytime I sit in the Astons cabin I find it a fabulous place to be

I agree, when we went to test drive the Aston we got back into the 911 and my first words were 'doesn't this feel ordinary?' I like 911s but after 10,000 miles in the Vantage I'm not going back to Porsche anytime soon.

[bund]

Good luck Jeb. Ill be back to porsche soon enough but it will not be for a 997 c2s, not a good swap in my book.

[Leggera]

Being given a V8 as a loan car is a new one on me and given the waiting lists at main dealers, surprised you picked up a new one so quickly? You were obviously on a roll ....surprised you didn't keep with it.

[pugsey]

JEBLondon - in six months and 6,000 miles my V8 had quite a few gremlins, needing seven visits to the dealers. I thought that was bad but you suggest a whole catalogue of faults in two weeks. What were they and, out of interest, who was the dealer who gave you a Vantage as a loan car for two weeks? Just curious.

[g55dxb]

JEBLondon said:

- You get a better standard stereo in a VW

The premium stereo is very good, better than the premium system in our new S-Class

JEBLondon said:

- In the heat the centre console buttons all stuck

What you in London call heat, those of us living in Dubai call a pleasant day. Had the Aston parked in the sun for four hours yesterday in 45C (113F) and everything works fine, A/C is doing pretty well too.

JEBLondon said:

- Lots of niggle problems (elec windows, window wipers, etc mostly electrical)

Only electrical problem so far is that sometimes the passenger door doesn't unlock unless you pull the door handle.

JEBLondon said:

- The car rattles like mad

You haven't ridden in my G55. Seriously, other than the handling being a bit unsettled on rough roads or bumps, I haven't heard a squeak or rattle yet in over 10,000km of driving in a pretty harsh climate.

[:J:]

g55dxb said:

JEBLondon said:

- You get a better standard stereo in a VW

The premium stereo is very good, better than the premium system in our new S-Class

I have heard the stereo in the V8 and must say that I am very interested in which VW has a better sound system ?? Could you let me know please JEB, thanks

I am also interested in how you ended up with Mondeo switch gear in your V8 as I was sure it wasn't the same ? Maybe not ??

As for the key, the the Mondeo one is the same as my Focus, and yet when I look at my key next to the AMV8 one, they are totally different ??

We managed all the way to Le Mans and back in a V8 and not one rattle ? In fact, I have not noticed a rattle in any of the V8's I have been in ??

I think you may have trying to sell you a dodgy car as the one you looked at seems to be different to all the other V8's ??

Maybe you should look into this, doesn't seem very good practice, it's a bit concerning.

Are you sure you weren't in a DB7 and got mistaken that it was a V8 ?

Edited by :J: on Wednesday 16th August 14:20