Spec for a New AM Vantage
Discussion
Hi All,
looking to buy a new AM Vantage coupe. Test drove one last Friday. Fantastic. I would welcome advice on the following spec I am considering.
Tungsten / black / silver stitching
Bright grille
Xenons
Front parking sensors
700 W system
Auto dimming rear view
heated seats
Sat nav really don't need it but keep being told it is vital for resale.
I am unsure about
cruise control
type of wheels
Thanks for any advice
Josh
looking to buy a new AM Vantage coupe. Test drove one last Friday. Fantastic. I would welcome advice on the following spec I am considering.
Tungsten / black / silver stitching
Bright grille
Xenons
Front parking sensors
700 W system
Auto dimming rear view
heated seats
Sat nav really don't need it but keep being told it is vital for resale.
I am unsure about
cruise control
type of wheels
Thanks for any advice
Josh
Nothing wrong with that spec thus far 
I find cruise control handy - use it a lot through the average speed camera zones in roadworks. It balances up (aesthetically) the steering wheel phone controls too.
Are memory seats standard now? Worth having if not. As are power fold mirrors (if not std). And it might be my advancing years (38!), but heated seats are also very nice to have.
Wheels are a personal choice. IMO the 19" 7-spoke wheels are hard to beat, but not sure if you can get these on the latest cars? The 5 spoke sports pack wheels would likely be my second choice.
Then after all that, make sure you get stoneguards fitted to the front arches
btw, the auto dimming rear view mirror is worth having, not for its function but its form. The std mirror looks nasty!
I find cruise control handy - use it a lot through the average speed camera zones in roadworks. It balances up (aesthetically) the steering wheel phone controls too.
Are memory seats standard now? Worth having if not. As are power fold mirrors (if not std). And it might be my advancing years (38!), but heated seats are also very nice to have.
Wheels are a personal choice. IMO the 19" 7-spoke wheels are hard to beat, but not sure if you can get these on the latest cars? The 5 spoke sports pack wheels would likely be my second choice.
Then after all that, make sure you get stoneguards fitted to the front arches
btw, the auto dimming rear view mirror is worth having, not for its function but its form. The std mirror looks nasty!
On the seats, a couple of observations...
1) My other half would never go near the driver's seat of my 355. She loves the Aston though (I think in part because she can get a decent driving position in it).
2) I'm a slightly larger athlete, but find the seats take some adjusting to get just the right position to be comfortable (a lot of people complain about them being uncomfortable I believe, but IMO it's all down to fine tuning the adjustment).
Once done, you don't want to have to phaff around after taking the car in for service etc
I also think that the latest model memorises wing mirror position which is equally handy.
Think it only used to be a few hundred quid to add it. Get them to throw it in
1) My other half would never go near the driver's seat of my 355. She loves the Aston though (I think in part because she can get a decent driving position in it).
2) I'm a slightly larger athlete, but find the seats take some adjusting to get just the right position to be comfortable (a lot of people complain about them being uncomfortable I believe, but IMO it's all down to fine tuning the adjustment).
Once done, you don't want to have to phaff around after taking the car in for service etc
I also think that the latest model memorises wing mirror position which is equally handy.
Think it only used to be a few hundred quid to add it. Get them to throw it in
josh bear said:
Hi All,
looking to buy a new AM Vantage coupe. Test drove one last Friday. Fantastic. I would welcome advice on the following spec I am considering.
Tungsten / black / silver stitching
Bright grille
Xenons
Front parking sensors
700 W system
Auto dimming rear view
heated seats
Sat nav really don't need it but keep being told it is vital for resale.
I am unsure about
cruise control
type of wheels
Thanks for any advice
Josh
wouldn't worry about auto dimming mirror.....looking to buy a new AM Vantage coupe. Test drove one last Friday. Fantastic. I would welcome advice on the following spec I am considering.
Tungsten / black / silver stitching
Bright grille
Xenons
Front parking sensors
700 W system
Auto dimming rear view
heated seats
Sat nav really don't need it but keep being told it is vital for resale.
I am unsure about
cruise control
type of wheels
Thanks for any advice
Josh
But would add....
Bluetooth.. phone connection of some sort a must.
SportsPack.. adds great wheels & a more sporting drive
Cruise... great for speed cameras!
As Murph says memory seats are also worth having.
Best of luck
G
Never really sure about cruise control on a manual car. Use it all the time on my auto's because you know it'll kick down when it needs to on gradients. Personal thing but I like to maintain full control in a manual.
Oh, and the tungsten thing. Bit samey, how about Red or Blue or AM Green ? Live a little !
Oh, and the tungsten thing. Bit samey, how about Red or Blue or AM Green ? Live a little !
auto dimming mirror - I had one fitted in my N400 Roadster but I have a real problem with it. It is fitted as though for a LHD vehicle and I can't get it to line up properly (turns more to the left than to the right). AM have been involved and I am on my third mirror (the others kept slipping which proved to be a windscreen that hadn't been sealed correctly and had a slight vibration causing the mirror to drop) but the problem of alignment still exists - I want to turn it more but can't. On this basis I wouldn't recommend - has anyone else had a similar problem ?
Sports pack - just for the wheels alone - is worth having. Premium hi-fi is nice to have in theory and probably will be a small tick in the box when you sell but I haven't turned my on since buying the car last June - the engine is all the entertainment you will need.
Sports pack - just for the wheels alone - is worth having. Premium hi-fi is nice to have in theory and probably will be a small tick in the box when you sell but I haven't turned my on since buying the car last June - the engine is all the entertainment you will need.
I would really skip the sat nav. It's so bad looking and slow that unlikely somebody would pay more for the car. My dealer agreed to this too.
Would definitely go for the sportspack.
Make sure you have seen the front parking sensors in the flesh, IMO they are, unlike those at the rear, not very nicely integrated.
Would definitely go for the sportspack.
Make sure you have seen the front parking sensors in the flesh, IMO they are, unlike those at the rear, not very nicely integrated.
the satnav will REALLY annoy you, especially when you realise you've been conned out of £1700 for such a useless piece of kit. The person that signed this off is probably working for another satnav company having done his job that entailed undermining Aston's reputation for quality. It's so annoying that I have to stick a Tomtom onto the Aston satnav screen if I'm going somewhere I don't know.
The satnav is a complete piece of crap in the V8V.
Try a 911 and then try a V8V and it's just the difference between night and day.
I actually use google maps on my GPS enabled blackberry rather than the rubbish Aston Martin sat nav. I reckon dealers make a massive margin. Honestly - it's just rubbish.
Try a 911 and then try a V8V and it's just the difference between night and day.
I actually use google maps on my GPS enabled blackberry rather than the rubbish Aston Martin sat nav. I reckon dealers make a massive margin. Honestly - it's just rubbish.
thanks all
re sat nav so what is the impact on resale value say after 3 years if I dont spec the sat nav?
possible stupid question so apologies in advance. I have a tom tom and use it may be 3 times per year hence my reluctance to splash out of fixed sat nav which no doubt will be obsolete in 3 years.
best regards
josh
re sat nav so what is the impact on resale value say after 3 years if I dont spec the sat nav?
possible stupid question so apologies in advance. I have a tom tom and use it may be 3 times per year hence my reluctance to splash out of fixed sat nav which no doubt will be obsolete in 3 years.
best regards
josh
josh bear said:
sat nav which no doubt will be obsolete in 3 years.
I think it's obsolete now! I was speaking with Astons UK Sales Mgr yesterday - I can't remember his exact words, but something along the lines of "...you won't buy the car for its SatNav". It's true enough as the car has so many other excellent attributes. Mine car has the factory fit Nav, and although not brilliant (under statement), and frustrating to use, and you can't see the damn thing if the sun's shining through the rear of the car, it will do the job of finding the end location.
It's 'nice to have' and better IMHO than having a scrote smashing a window to nick a £100 TomTom.
Graham
Titanium Silver, Black with silver stitching, taylor grey rooflining, Sat Nav, 19" 7 spokes, Cruise, powerfold mirrors, bluetooth, etc etc ................
t.Thorfum is right... powerfold is useful as well, my car won't go into my garage without folding the mirrors!!
The latest Nav on the 4.7 is better, not half as bad as many are saying, but it isn't the ... best for sure the problem rests with the fact that regardless of the actual deal you are doing the new V8 is a £90-100k car & with many a pocket rocket at £15k now coming with Sat Nav, a future buyer would expect his high end Aston Martin to have Sat Nav fitted where he doesn't have to plug some tit on his windscreen, have wires trailing all over the dash & the Mrs with a black eye when it all falls off 
!!! Not to mention having to hide it all in the far too small glovebox (impossible!!) when he/she leaves the car, so I agree with the dealer that it will affect re-sale value if you don't have it. Of course when its 6 years old & far cheaper it won't matter a jot but over the next 2-3 yrs it will.. all IMO of course, so spec it unless you get another cheaper integrated option!
The latest Nav on the 4.7 is better, not half as bad as many are saying, but it isn't the ... best for sure
the problem rests with the fact that regardless of the actual deal you are doing the new V8 is a £90-100k car & with many a pocket rocket at £15k now coming with Sat Nav, a future buyer would expect his high end Aston Martin to have Sat Nav fitted where he doesn't have to plug some tit on his windscreen, have wires trailing all over the dash & the Mrs with a black eye when it all falls off !!! Not to mention having to hide it all in the far too small glovebox (impossible!!) when he/she leaves the car, so I agree with the dealer that it will affect re-sale value if you don't have it. Of course when its 6 years old & far cheaper it won't matter a jot but over the next 2-3 yrs it will.. all IMO of course, so spec it unless you get another cheaper integrated option! Edited by Grant3 on Wednesday 11th March 22:46
Knowing what I know of the satnav, I wouldn't order it if I bought new again.
Are you going to lose 1.7k at resale? I doubt it.
A TomTom, even a very old one, is light years better (to the point where when I've really been in the need of good navigation, I take it in the Aston and leave the built in one off).
Are you going to lose 1.7k at resale? I doubt it.
A TomTom, even a very old one, is light years better (to the point where when I've really been in the need of good navigation, I take it in the Aston and leave the built in one off).
Grant3 said:
The latest Nav on the 4.7 is better, not half as bad as many are saying, but it isn't the ... best for sure the problem rests with the fact that regardless of the actual deal you are doing the new V8 is a £90-100k car & with many a pocket rocket at £15k now coming with Sat Nav, a future buyer would expect his high end Aston Martin to have Sat Nav fitted where he doesn't have to plug some tit on his windscreen, have wires trailing all over the dash & the Mrs with a black eye when it all falls off !!! Not to mention having to hide it all in the far too small glovebox (impossible!!) when he/she leaves the car, so I agree with the dealer that it will affect re-sale value if you don't have it. Of course when its 6 years old & far cheaper it won't matter a jot but over the next 2-3 yrs it will.. all IMO of course, so spec it unless you get another cheaper integrated option!
Come on Grant. Even the 4.7 sat nav looks and feels like technology from the last century the problem rests with the fact that regardless of the actual deal you are doing the new V8 is a £90-100k car & with many a pocket rocket at £15k now coming with Sat Nav, a future buyer would expect his high end Aston Martin to have Sat Nav fitted where he doesn't have to plug some tit on his windscreen, have wires trailing all over the dash & the Mrs with a black eye when it all falls off !!! Not to mention having to hide it all in the far too small glovebox (impossible!!) when he/she leaves the car, so I agree with the dealer that it will affect re-sale value if you don't have it. Of course when its 6 years old & far cheaper it won't matter a jot but over the next 2-3 yrs it will.. all IMO of course, so spec it unless you get another cheaper integrated option! I talked to several dealers about this before specing my car and all of them told me it doesn't affect resale value. Honestly, the system is so embarrassing I wouldn't dare to show it to somebody. It just doesn't match the rest of the high class interiror.
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