Opinions on a V8 Vantage please

[Murph7355]

Neil1300R said:

996GT2 said:

It has the premium audio system, is that any good?

Its excellent, although if you buy the car will be very surprised if you turn it on for the first couple of months, as you'll be listening to the exhaust!!
Good luck with the car

The premium audio set up sounds great. One "but" though - no ipod connectivity on pre-MY08 cars. Can be added but costs in excess of 600 quid to do so (via places like Paralight - official AM retro-fit is 1100GBP).

Agree with Neil on some of the other niceties that you can easily dismiss but would miss if you didn't get them (memory seats - massive plus if you have someone else use the car regularly, coarse contrasting stitching, powerfold mirrors etc). Compare spec sheets of different cars very carefully as a lot of stuff cannot be retro-fitted and come resale the "fully loaded" cars will be much easier to sell, forcing "skimped" cars down in price (IMO).

For the common fixes, do a search on here. Well documented. Equally the differences between model years.

Great cars. Very different to a GT2, but great cars (that often take time to fully impress).

[996GT2]

Murph7355 said:

Neil1300R said:

996GT2 said:

It has the premium audio system, is that any good?

Its excellent, although if you buy the car will be very surprised if you turn it on for the first couple of months, as you'll be listening to the exhaust!!
Good luck with the car

The premium audio set up sounds great. One "but" though - no ipod connectivity on pre-MY08 cars. Can be added but costs in excess of 600 quid to do so (via places like Paralight - official AM retro-fit is 1100GBP).

Agree with Neil on some of the other niceties that you can easily dismiss but would miss if you didn't get them (memory seats - massive plus if you have someone else use the car regularly, coarse contrasting stitching, powerfold mirrors etc). Compare spec sheets of different cars very carefully as a lot of stuff cannot be retro-fitted and come resale the "fully loaded" cars will be much easier to sell, forcing "skimped" cars down in price (IMO).

For the common fixes, do a search on here. Well documented. Equally the differences between model years.

Great cars. Very different to a GT2, but great cars (that often take time to fully impress).

Thanks for that. I think I'm going to have to sit down and put together a list of changes made for each model year and the options available with each. I'm starting to think about spending a bit more on a MY07 but if the changes were mostly on the interior then I don't think it's really worth spending more money.

I've already worked out the average mileage and price for an 06MY based on PH classifieds:

Miles: 16530
Price: 49542

Pretty useless arbitrary information but I enjoyed putting the spreadsheet together

Getting quite excited about seeing the car now.

[silverfox42]

Hi there,
I bought an Aug 06 AM V8 2 weeks ago, picked it up last week and have put 400 miles behind me already. The 700W premium sound system is excellent - I came from a series of RS/S Audi's with Bose, and this is much better. I bargained with the dealer I bought from and managed to get agreement for a 24 month warranty as well as £1000 off the price of the car and a generous P/X on my Audi S4 cab - about another £1000 than Audi offered me.

In essence, the experience of driving this car in the past few days has been nothing short of amazing. On pickup day I have to travel up the M1/M6/M6 toll and it was like I was in a police car with fast lane courtesy being unbelieveable - mainly so people could look at the car! Also got 24 MPG!!

So, IMO, take the test drive, fall in love and cherish!!

Good luck!

[996GT2]

Thanks for that.

Hopefully the car should be available to view tomorrow. The only thing that's putting me off is the mileage at 25,000. That's about 7000 miles a year, I think I'd probably do this if not a bit more. What's the average for a Vantage? It seems to be very low. I guess I'm better off buying a higher mileage car and running it up to intergalactic mileage rather than paying a premium for an unused car and then pile the miles on.

[bogie]

if you are gonna be doing daily mileage in it, I wouldnt pay a premium for a real low miler....they are a daily kinda car though...certainly more akin to a 911 than a F430 as far as wearing their mileage goes, so I wouldnt worry too much

[Murph7355]

bogie said:

if you are gonna be doing daily mileage in it, I wouldnt pay a premium for a real low miler....they are a daily kinda car though...certainly more akin to a 911 than a F430 as far as wearing their mileage goes, so I wouldnt worry too much

I'd second this.

Do a search on here and you'll find all the differences between model years.

(If nothing else, the LEDs in the door handles work on 07MY and on. THAT alone is worth it ).

[996GT2]

Murph7355 said:

bogie said:

if you are gonna be doing daily mileage in it, I wouldnt pay a premium for a real low miler....they are a daily kinda car though...certainly more akin to a 911 than a F430 as far as wearing their mileage goes, so I wouldnt worry too much

I'd second this.

Do a search on here and you'll find all the differences between model years.

(If nothing else, the LEDs in the door handles work on 07MY and on. THAT alone is worth it ).

Cheers. LEDs would be nice, hmmm.

Just talked to the dealer, the car is currently making its way down south on a truck. Having had a look around this car ticks all of the boxes for me so I'll be heading over in a taxi to look at it with the intention of bringing it home

Perhaps it's a bit foolish to not test drive more but I also bought my GT2 in a similar way, and that turned out very well. I'm putting a lot of faith in buying from a main dealer and having the 12 month warranty.

I'll post some pictures if I get it.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Edited by 996GT2 on Tuesday 3rd November 13:52

[996GT2]

Picked the car up last night.

First thoughts
- there isn't one part of it that doesn't look good
- the sound on wide open throttle in a tunnel is worth the cost of the car
- the interior quality is in a different league to the Porsches I've owned

I didn't get the chance to drive it enthusiastically so can't comment on the performance just yet. All I can say is that it's more than I expected it to be, and I expected a lot!

I'll post some pictures of it later on.

[djakarta]

it does sound out of this world in a tunnel doesn't it? Good thing is it isn't super fast that i get in too much trouble.

and yes - there isn't a part of it that does not look good. It's a real crowd pleaser.

lookin forward to the pictures!

Edited by djakarta on Thursday 5th November 15:01

[bogie]

cool

have you uncorked the exhaust yet? so it sounds the same under 4000revs ....remove Fuse22 out of the boot fuse box.....

[Mulliner GT]

996GT2 said:

Picked the car up last night.

First thoughts
- there isn't one part of it that doesn't look good
- the sound on wide open throttle in a tunnel is worth the cost of the car
- the interior quality is in a different league to the Porsches I've owned

I didn't get the chance to drive it enthusiastically so can't comment on the performance just yet. All I can say is that it's more than I expected it to be, and I expected a lot!

I'll post some pictures of it later on.

What kind of deal did you get, if you don't mind me asking. Only reason as considering this


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1304691.htm

[996GT2]

Mulliner GT said:

996GT2 said:

Picked the car up last night.

First thoughts
- there isn't one part of it that doesn't look good
- the sound on wide open throttle in a tunnel is worth the cost of the car
- the interior quality is in a different league to the Porsches I've owned

I didn't get the chance to drive it enthusiastically so can't comment on the performance just yet. All I can say is that it's more than I expected it to be, and I expected a lot!

I'll post some pictures of it later on.

What kind of deal did you get, if you don't mind me asking. Only reason as considering this


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1304691.htm

Didn't really get much of a deal at all to be honest. Looking around at comparable cars I thought the price was about right and so I didn't feel like I was paying the usual dealer prices anyway, especially considering it was a main dealer car with warranty etc. I had every intention of knocking as much off the price as I could at the showroom but I just wanted to get the keys and go!

That car looks very similar to mine, go for it! I bought through Stratstone West London and thought they handled everything very well, they actually called 10 minutes ago to make sure that I was enjoying the car!


I've been out in the car a few times today and I'm trying to find a reason not to go out again tonight. The whole driving experience is very special, it has a luxurious feel that no Porsche I've ever driven has. It's not devastatingly fast but it hasn't felt like it needs more power yet, hard to describe but it's the perfect amount of power for me, plus the exhaust makes it feel faster than it is.

[996GT2]

bogie said:

cool

have you uncorked the exhaust yet? so it sounds the same under 4000revs ....remove Fuse22 out of the boot fuse box.....

Not yet, thought I should at least go 24 hours before starting to modify it

Does it make it difficult to be quiet at low RPM with the fuse out? I'm just concerned that my neighbours don't need any more reason to hate me than they already do.

[bogie]

996GT2 said:

bogie said:

cool

have you uncorked the exhaust yet? so it sounds the same under 4000revs ....remove Fuse22 out of the boot fuse box.....

Not yet, thought I should at least go 24 hours before starting to modify it

Does it make it difficult to be quiet at low RPM with the fuse out? I'm just concerned that my neighbours don't need any more reason to hate me than they already do.

my neighbors dont complain at 6am ....its not *that* noisy ...besides, its a nice noise ....only takes 30secs to give it a try

[Neil1300R]

Congratulations on the car. know that feeling of being in a dealer and just wanting to grab the keys and pay the full amount. 6 months later still love looking at mine and driving it, the only downside is all your friends, relatives, work colleagues, people in the street will be demanding a ride out in it
Fuse 22 not removed it yet thats almost unforgivable on this forum
It is a tad noisy without especially on a cold start, but makes my neighbours smile. Put Shell Optimax in it and it will pop and bang a bit more on the cold start adding to the full aural treatment
Enjoy

[V8V Man]

Top Man welcome to the fold, had mine a year now and it still feels like the first drive every time! I call it a sense of occasion. Totally agree it does not matter what angle its just Drop Dead Gorgeous..

[WantanewV12V]

Brave move - it looks like you have been a Porsche man for a long time. From my point of view, unless you are looking for sheer outright performance, you have made a great choice. Part of the feel good factor about owning, and more importantly driving an Aston is that you are constantly reassured about your choice by the way others behave toward you. People will forgive fuse 22 because they enjoy the sight and sound of your car. Cars will pull over, people will let you out at junctions, and you will constantly be told by others what a great car you are in. On top of that it is genuinely a good car to drive, it handles superbly, it has a sound like very few other cars and you can't help smiling as you walk around it every time you approach it - if a car can be beautiful this is it. Whilst I would get the occasional admirer of my GT3, many more would ask why I had such a car for the road. Since moving to AM I have to hide my keys if I want to avoid the next positive comment. I hope you enjoy the experience.

[996GT2]

Thanks all

I have to say though that so far reactions to the car have been negative! Had someone pull out infront of me at the last minute as I was overtaking on the A3, he then put his face right up to his mirror to try and intimidate me, nice chap. Then stopped next to a cash machine to get some cash and had some nasty comments from a group of lads.

Overall, it gets more attention than the GT2 but so far none of it has been nice


And no I don't live in a rough area or drive like an idiot

[996GT2]

A couple of poor quality photos for anyone who's interested

[Neil1300R]

996GT2 said:

Thanks all

I have to say though that so far reactions to the car have been negative! Had someone pull out infront of me at the last minute as I was overtaking on the A3, he then put his face right up to his mirror to try and intimidate me, nice chap. Then stopped next to a cash machine to get some cash and had some nasty comments from a group of lads.

Blimey where in Surrey was that?!! Esher - confused you with a Chelski footballer? Live in Surrey myself and either get admiring looks or just ignored as there are lots of top cars around Weybridge / Cobham area.

If not in the rush hour find most people get out of the way when I am on the A3 and making progress